Players likely to be traded by the deadline

[AboveLegit]

Obviously Dwight Howard leads the list of players likely to get traded by the deadline (March 15th), but who else do you believe will get traded? Will the Clippers trade one of their PG's in order to make a strong run in the playoffs? If the Lakers are unable to get Dwight, or better yet, if the Magic don't trade him at all, will Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak stay patient and wait till the offseason to make moves, or will they make a huge trade in hopes of getting back to the Finals? The Hawks have long been rumored to dealing Josh Smith, it's a franchise in need of a change, and it would be wise to deal him for a legitimate center to pair up with Horford in the frontcourt.

 

I think this is another year where we'll see a lot of player movement, much like 2011, it will be interesting.

[Real Deal]

I'm sure Houston will put a few guys on the block. They were ready to deal a huge portion of their team before the season started, and now that they are struggling, you'd think they want to deal 75% of that roster again.

 

Jenneral talked about the Bucks needing to deal everyone and start over. I'm not sure if they are ready to part with Jennings, but Bogut being up for grabs wouldn't shock me. They would be happy with a top pick, trying to grab a big.

 

Will Toronto deal Bargnani or Calderon? I just read something on Twitter that they were offering both for Gasol and someone else, which I would hate to see happen (for the Lakers' sake) and I doubt we take that to begin with, but if any of it is remotely true, even a fraction of it, they are putting them out there. Toronto just needs to go for broke. They have a couple of guys that need to start winning, players like Davis, DeRozan and Valanciunas that they need to keep happy in the future...so someday, they will need to make a move.

 

The Jazz have a stacked frontcourt. I wouldn't be surprised to see them get rid of one of their bigs.

[DunkinDerozan]

I think Lakers will trade Pau Gasol by or at the deadline. I kind of feel like when he was made part of the CP# trade that was denied it showed that he could be available. If the Lakers are going to get Dwight he's most likely going to be part of the trade, but even if they don't get dwight I see them trading him.

[Real Deal]

I think Lakers will trade Pau Gasol by or at the deadline. I kind of feel like when he was made part of the CP# trade that was denied it showed that he could be available. If the Lakers are going to get Dwight he's most likely going to be part of the trade, but even if they don't get dwight I see them trading him.

I wouldn't be shocked to see that happen, but with the offense they've installed, Gasol almost fits in perfectly...as long as he takes advantage of it. That's the problem, and why I'm 50/50 on a trade.

 

Now, do the Lakers trade Drew and Gasol, both, for Dwight? That's hard to say. We would be left with no backup PF, and our starting PF would have to be Josh McRoberts. Troy Murphy would have to play the four and five, I guess...not that great from a defensive standpoint.

 

If I knew we could use that $8.9 million TPE we received by trading Lamar Odom (stupid move, but he wanted out because he threw a fit), we could trade it to someone like the Jazz, maybe for Millsap or Favors (dreaming...maybe). THEN, I would most certainly be supportive in the Lakers dealing Drew and Gasol for Dwight.

[Built Ford Tough]

Leandro Barbosa is (or at least should be) as good as gone from Toronto if you ask me. He is completely unecessary on the Raptors and with Bayless, the Raptors have a younger, cheaper player who gives basically the same things to a team. I can see Colangelo dealing him to the first team that offers a 1st rounder or a marginal prospect when the deadline nears.

 

Clippers are likely going to deal Bledsoe at some point in the season for a more traditional 2 guard. They have way too many small, scoring guards in Bledsoe, Williams, Billups and Foye. They definitely need to deal one of them for a shooting guard with some size and Bledsoe is the best bet to be dealt considering his age, contract and 'potential'.

 

I could see Washington trying to deal one of their nut jobs, assuming somebody is desperate enough to take them. Blatche would be the most obvious candidate, but I could also see Young being dealt (perhaps to the Clippers?).

 

Depending on where Utah is in the standings, I could see them trying to move one of Millsap or Jefferson to make more room for Favors and Kanter in that frontcourt.

 

Rockets will try and make a big deal like they always do. It will probably amount to nothing, but they will defintiely try.

 

There are more, but those are the ones that came to me right off the top of my head.

[DunkinDerozan]

I wouldn't be shocked to see that happen, but with the offense they've installed, Gasol almost fits in perfectly...as long as he takes advantage of it. That's the problem, and why I'm 50/50 on a trade.

 

Now, do the Lakers trade Drew and Gasol, both, for Dwight? That's hard to say. We would be left with no backup PF, and our starting PF would have to be Josh McRoberts. Troy Murphy would have to play the four and five, I guess...not that great from a defensive standpoint.

 

If I knew we could use that $8.9 million TPE we received by trading Lamar Odom (stupid move, but he wanted out because he threw a fit), we could trade it to someone like the Jazz, maybe for Millsap or Favors (dreaming...maybe). THEN, I would most certainly be supportive in the Lakers dealing Drew and Gasol for Dwight.

 

In my opinion, the Lakers would be nuts to trade Bynum AND Gasol for Howard. I know Dwight is obviously a superstar, but I think They could get someone they need more for Gasol and still be able to keep Bynum, who is such a dominant player.

[DunkinDerozan]

Leandro Barbosa is (or at least should be) as good as gone from Toronto if you ask me. He is completely unecessary on the Raptors and with Bayless, the Raptors have a younger, cheaper player who gives basically the same things to a team. I can see Colangelo dealing him to the first team that offers a 1st rounder or a marginal prospect when the deadline nears.

 

I 100% agree with you on trading Barbosa. He has been a solid enough player for us this year coming off the bench, but Derozan is our SG of the future. We need to get something for Barbosa before it's too late. I'd love if we could get a 1st round pick, and possibly be able to draft a SF and a PG in the draft.

[Real Deal]

In my opinion, the Lakers would be nuts to trade Bynum AND Gasol for Howard. I know Dwight is obviously a superstar, but I think They could get someone they need more for Gasol and still be able to keep Bynum, who is such a dominant player.

Most definitely, Drew is dominating. The problem is, us Laker fans will never forget those knee injuries, and if we can swap Drew and Gasol for Howard and Millsap, I mean...that's huge. Even age-wise, that's a big deal.

 

Obviously, Drew is the best offensive center in the NBA. Howard can score efficiently, but he's not the back-to-the-basket scorer that Bynum is. The Lakers play a "four out, one in" offense that Mike Brown basically ripped from his assistant coaching days in San Antonio, and while Drew has put up impressive numbers, the two things he has trouble with are passing out of the post (something that is vital when playing in this offense) and scoring through double teams, where he struggled the most when Portland ran two guys at him in the second half of our loss.

 

Defensively, it's not even close. Howard trumps Bynum. That may be the difference-maker. We may not get a decent PG, and Howard takes a pathetic Orlando Magic team (pathetic on defense) to a 50+ win season, ranked top five in the NBA in defense...all by himself, really.

 

It would be crazy hard not to pull the trigger, even if we weren't getting someone like Millsap to replace Gasol...but if we were? I wouldn't think twice.

[Built Ford Tough]

Will Toronto deal Bargnani or Calderon? I just read something on Twitter that they were offering both for Gasol and someone else, which I would hate to see happen (for the Lakers' sake) and I doubt we take that to begin with, but if any of it is remotely true, even a fraction of it, they are putting them out there. Toronto just needs to go for broke. They have a couple of guys that need to start winning, players like Davis, DeRozan and Valanciunas that they need to keep happy in the future...so someday, they will need to make a move.

 

Bargnani? No, especially if he plays the entire season like he has the first 8 games. He has been awesome for them.

Calderon? Possibly, depending on how Bayless plays and what they can get for him.

 

As for the whole Calderon/Bargnani for Gasol/Fisher deal, that was just some made up BS. Some guy tweeted that using a fake John Hollinger account (John.HollingerESPN while Hollinger's actual account is John.HollingerINSIDER). Then some second rate site took it and ran with it, which caused it to spread even more.

 

The entire thing was BS.

 

Also, it sounded like the Lakers were the ones who were considering offering Gasol/Fisher for Bargs/Calderon, not the Raptors. I've also read something to make it sound like the Raptors offered as well, so who really knows.

 

Not that it matters because, like I said, it is obviously fake.

 

Lastly, in regards to your making a move comment, Colangelo has every intention of doing just that. However, he plans on doing it in the offseason either in FA or through a trade. Ever since Bosh left he was building towards the summer of 2012 to make his big move after adding two more high draft picks. He has made it very clear that he will be looking to make a huge splash this summer in hopes of getting the Raptors into the playoffs.

[DunkinDerozan]

Most definitely, Drew is dominating. The problem is, us Laker fans will never forget those knee injuries, and if we can swap Drew and Gasol for Howard and Millsap, I mean...that's huge. Even age-wise, that's a big deal.

 

Obviously, Drew is the best offensive center in the NBA. Howard can score efficiently, but he's not the back-to-the-basket scorer that Bynum is. The Lakers play a "four out, one in" offense that Mike Brown basically ripped from his assistant coaching days in San Antonio, and while Drew has put up impressive numbers, the two things he has trouble with are passing out of the post (something that is vital when playing in this offense) and scoring through double teams, where he struggled the most when Portland ran two guys at him in the second half of our loss.

 

Defensively, it's not even close. Howard trumps Bynum. That may be the difference-maker. We may not get a decent PG, and Howard takes a pathetic Orlando Magic team (pathetic on defense) to a 50+ win season, ranked top five in the NBA in defense...all by himself, really.

 

It would be crazy hard not to pull the trigger, even if we weren't getting someone like Millsap to replace Gasol...but if we were? I wouldn't think twice.

 

Oh no doubt if your going to get Millsap to take over for Pau than that is a huge win for the Lakers. But It wouldn't be easy to get him and Dwight without giving up more then Gasol and Bynum. It's a no brainer that Dwight is such a huge pickup defensively and he alone would be such a huge pick up. It's hard to say if Howard is enough to make the Lakers better if they have to give up both Gasol and Bynum though. But looking at this years draft even, there are quite a few good powerforwards that if they keep their first rounder they could get someone to replace Gasol then.

[Dash]

I'm sure Houston will put a few guys on the block. They were ready to deal a huge portion of their team before the season started, and now that they are struggling, you'd think they want to deal 75% of that roster again.

 

True but can you really blame the Rockets for being 2-6 though? The Rockets have played 25% of the season without their best player, half of it without a key reserve in Courtney Lee who usually has to nullify Martin's shortcomings on defense, Kevin McHale has coached in the past but essentially is a rookie head coach since he's never coached for a FULL season before, we're in the middle of a very tough schedule that included games against the Thunder twice, Kevin Martin is in a slump and struggling to adjust to the new rules, our starting center (Dalembert) is currently out of shape and seems to regress after every game, the Rockets also had a trade rejected that sent the team into turmoil for most of the offseason, and last but not least we didn't have a full training camp and at times it feels like it is still the preseason for the Rockets. Frankly I would be surprised if the Rockets weren't struggling.

 

Right now Houston is just figuring things out and trying to get healthy already, this team has a ceiling of making the playoffs as a 7th seed and had one of the BEST records after last year's all-star break. Its too early to give up on the season now.

 

By the trade deadline depending on where Houston stands, we could either be buyers and aggressive in acquiring an All-Star or we could be at the bottom of the West and looking to sell high on talent. In which case Kevin Martin and Luis Scola instantly become the top Rockets on the market and I know the Timberwolves would be more than willing to pay top dollar (Wesley Johnson, Anthony Randolph and the Jazz protected first round pick) for a guy like Kevin Martin.

 

My issue with rebuilding is even if we do move our veterans (Dalembert, Martin and Scola), I don't think we are that bad of a team and will probably finish outside of the top 8 in next year's draft.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Dash

[Real Deal]

True but can you really blame the Rockets for being 2-6 though? The Rockets have played 25% of the season without their best player, half of it without a key reserve in Courtney Lee who usually has to nullify Martin's shortcomings on defense, Kevin McHale has coached in the past but essentially is a rookie head coach since he's never coached for a FULL season before, Kevin Martin is in a slump and struggling to adjust to the new rules, our starting center (Dalembert) is currently out of shape and seems to regress after every game, the Rockets also had a trade rejected that sent the team into turmoil for most of the offseason, and last but not least we didn't have a full training camp and at times it feels like it is still the preseason for the Rockets. Frankly I would be surprised if the Rockets weren't struggling.

Out of everything you typed, the injury situation is the only thing that will change (maybe). Kevin Martin is struggling to adjust to what new rules? If he's struggling because of THAT, he's going to be this way for the rest of his career...there's no way that the new shooting foul rules can change a player like that. Dalembert isn't going to be a good starting center. There's a reason why teams weren't flocking towards him before the season started. The trade rejection won't go away...Scola and Martin won't forget that Houston wasn't going to give them a chance this season, despite that second-half run in 2011.

 

Let me put it this way: Dalembert was probably the last guy that Houston took a serious look at. The Gasol brothers, Nene, Jordan, Chandler...at some point, Houston had to have considered big offers for those guys, and after the dust cleared, it was Dalembert being the consolation prize (if you can call him that).

 

From my perspective, I can't see why Houston would want to give the Martin-Scola duo another chance, but then again, I've never been a fan of either player.

[Nitro]

Out of everything you typed, the injury situation is the only thing that will change (maybe). Kevin Martin is struggling to adjust to what new rules? If he's struggling because of THAT, he's going to be this way for the rest of his career...there's no way that the new shooting foul rules can change a player like that.

 

Kevin Martin literally made a career off the old rules, probably moreso than any other player in league history. He perfected that style of drawing fouls, and it worked and made him extremely efficient despite regularly shooting 42-43% from the field. I'm sure as a defender, knowing that ability made them sag off him a bit, which further opened up his offensive game. So far, the only thing that's regressed about Martin this season has been his FTA....from 7-10 attempts a game the previous 5-6 years, to under 4 this season. That's a steep drop, and since he rarely plays near the rim, it's obvious the rule changes have made an impact.

[Warren2ThaG]

why doesnt Portland trade Batum, i know hes young but still. Maybe for Robin Lopez

[Real Deal]

Kevin Martin literally made a career off the old rules, probably moreso than any other player in league history. He perfected that style of drawing fouls, and it worked and made him extremely efficient despite regularly shooting 42-43% from the field. I'm sure as a defender, knowing that ability made them sag off him a bit, which further opened up his offensive game. So far, the only thing that's regressed about Martin this season has been his FTA....from 7-10 attempts a game the previous 5-6 years, to under 4 this season. That's a steep drop, and since he rarely plays near the rim, it's obvious the rule changes have made an impact.

Right. I never denied that it would force him to play differently, but he's also a born scorer. If he can't recover from that, I don't know what else to say about the guy. He's still shooting his usual percentage. I wouldn't say he's struggling any more than he did last season...he's just not getting the extra points off his free throws.

 

If he was shooting 35% or so, that's different.

[Dash]

Out of everything you typed, the injury situation is the only thing that will change (maybe). Kevin Martin is struggling to adjust to what new rules? If he's struggling because of THAT, he's going to be this way for the rest of his career...there's no way that the new shooting foul rules can change a player like that. Dalembert isn't going to be a good starting center. There's a reason why teams weren't flocking towards him before the season started. The trade rejection won't go away...Scola and Martin won't forget that Houston wasn't going to give them a chance this season, despite that second-half run in 2011.

 

Let me put it this way: Dalembert was probably the last guy that Houston took a serious look at. The Gasol brothers, Nene, Jordan, Chandler...at some point, Houston had to have considered big offers for those guys, and after the dust cleared, it was Dalembert being the consolation prize (if you can call him that).

 

From my perspective, I can't see why Houston would want to give the Martin-Scola duo another chance, but then again, I've never been a fan of either player.

 

Getting to the free throw line was a huge part of Martin's game for the majority of his career but I don't think it will continue to hurt him as much as the season goes on and he adjusts. Right now its his shot that is holding him and this team back.

 

I hated the Dalembert signing because I honestly never really liked him but the Rockets had already exhausted all their remaining options. Dalembert brings size and shotblocking, two things the Rockets haven't had since Yao Ming, but overall I'd consider him a downgrade from Chuck Hayes. Dalembert was excellent at the beginning of the season though and I have hope that he can get back to that level once he gets more into shape and realizes that he is potentially in a contract year (Houston has a team option for the 2nd year).

 

They were ready to move on from the Martin/Scola duo to a trio of Pau/Nene/Lowry that could have propelled them into a top 4 team in the West. However, that isn't an option anymore and the Rockets plan to keep Martin/Scola for now in hopes that they can bring in an all-star or heck even a superstar to pair with them. Also if Houston could somehow make the playoffs and push a series to around 6 games and Kyle Lowry continues to play like an All-Star that could help make Houston a desirable destination again for top free agents. Think about it Houston is a top market that still gets endorsement deals from China (ex. Scola has a shoe deal), a front office that is well known by now as top notch, an All-Star caliber point guard in Kyle Lowry (assuming he continues to dominate this year), two very good-borderline all-stars in Kevin Martin and Luis Scola, a glut of role players and not to mention this is one of the youngest teams in the NBA and they did just make the playoffs (only in this scenario) so they could be viewed as a team "on the rise". I have to say that sounds like a damn good pitch.

 

Or we could just rebuild and making the playoffs would at least increase the value of our players. The problem is making the playoffs first.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Dash

[Dash]

Kevin Martin literally made a career off the old rules, probably moreso than any other player in league history. He perfected that style of drawing fouls, and it worked and made him extremely efficient despite regularly shooting 42-43% from the field. I'm sure as a defender, knowing that ability made them sag off him a bit, which further opened up his offensive game. So far, the only thing that's regressed about Martin this season has been his FTA....from 7-10 attempts a game the previous 5-6 years, to under 4 this season. That's a steep drop, and since he rarely plays near the rim, it's obvious the rule changes have made an impact.

 

Like I said if Martin and the Rockets continue to struggle then he is gone. I'm sure Kevin would love to reunite with Rick Adelman in Minnesota.