The 2016 NBA Trade Deadline is just a week away and while there have not been major moves made, there are major names being thrown out there as possible trade candidates.
The core four with the Atlanta Hawks has been discussed in deals. Dwight Howard with the Houston Rockets and Markieff Morris with the Phoenix Suns are all but gone from their teams after recent issues with the players. Ryan Anderson on the New Orleans Pelicans has been the name that many teams appear to covet heavily. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers have a ton of assets they could move for the right price.
With so many names being thrown around and the growing idea that teams have lost interest in expiring contracts, it makes for some interesting possibilities in the trade market. Let’s check out five possible deals for the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline with the help of ESPN’s trade machine.
Dwight Howard goes home
The experiment in Houston to push for an NBA title hasn’t worked to this point. It’s time to break up the band and put some real, solid NBA players around James Harden.
In this deal, Houston would have to send either a trio of their available second round picks or their first round pick in 2017 plus two second rounders to the Pelicans. New Orleans is most likely going to shut things down after the All-Star break so it’s time to get some sort of value back for their expiring assets.
Dwight Howard goes home and he can sign his last big NBA deal with his hometown team. The Rockets get a legit center in Al Horford who can actually shoot free throws and play alongside both rim protecting big men in Tiago Splitter and Clint Capela. A Rockets lineup of Patrick Beverley, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson and Al Horford could mean some great scoring and ball movement to help out Harden.
The Cavs Get a Lot Better
The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking for additional shooting to help in their push back to the NBA Finals. Look no further than two Southeastern division teams looking to make some changes. The Cavs have a huge trade exception from their deal over the summer that sent Brendan Haywood off the roster and they have the ability to either make the above deal with or without Timofey Mozgov, if they want.
The Magic get a solid point guard in Jeff Teague and the Hawks get a nice young piece to help in their weird development alongside Paul Millsap to try and stay above .500 but also get assets in return. The Hawks will more than likely get some draft pick compensation for this deal.
Boston is ready to take over, Clippers make one last push
The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers are two teams that need to make deals happen to take that next step into the top tier of their respective conferences.
Boston acquiring Blake Griffin, once he returns from injury and suspension, would immensely help their team and they wouldn’t be giving up huge pieces to their rotation. The two biggest losses, Tyler Zeller and Jared Sullinger, will be missed by Boston fans but once they see Blake Griffin soaring through the air at T.D. Garden in a new change of scenery, they will quickly forget about those two big men and the two first round picks they would have to give Denver in the process. No, Boston won’t be giving up the 2016 unprotected Brooklyn Nets pick they own but instead they’ll send their own draft pick and the Dallas Mavericks pick they own to the Nuggets and a 2017 first rounder to the Clippers.
Denver is in rebuild mode and this trade might not be all that crazy considering they planned something like this since the summer when they signed Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari to cap-friendly extensions over the summer.
The Clippers might lose Blake Griffin but given the current state of the organization with him in it, it might be time to move on and get a haul that could actually produce something great with Chris Paul at the helm. The CP3-Blake-DeAndre Jordan trio hasn’t produced anything so it might be time to rewind back to Chris Paul’s days in New Orleans and allow him to run a nice pick and roll with a large big man and some good shooters around him.
Miami is ready to win now
Hassan Whiteside needs to go, now. He’s not a ‘Miami guy’ and they will most likely lose him in the offseason to teams with more money to spend. Sure, Markieff Morris might not be a guy the Heat want but learning under Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and with the guidance of Alonzo Mourning, the disgruntled twin might actually turn it around. If the Hawks, as expected, get rid of Al Horford, they will need a rim protecting big man to pair with Paul Millsap. Why not get Hassan Whiteside in the fold and try to see if they can use their free money to re-sign him? The Suns will get some picks sent their way but more than anything, they lose the issue of Markieff Morris. They also get some solid veterans in Chris ‘Birdman’ Andersen and Luol Deng to help this young locker room and give Tyson Chandler some help with leadership.
The Heat, who are the worst perimeter shooting team in the league, can put out a lineup of Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Kyle Korver, Markieff Morris and Chris Bosh to be a possibly dynamic offense. The defensive end will be their downfall in losing Whiteside and Deng but its a move that has to be done.
Detroit wants to contend again
The Detroit Pistons might be a little ahead of schedule in their progress. They are a team that is contending for a playoff spot and it’s time they make a move to possibly push their team into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference. To get two bigs like Thaddeus Young and Nerlens Noel, the Pistons will have to unload some draft picks. They would most likely have to send their 2016 first round pick to the 76ers for Noel and 2016 and 2018 second round picks to the Nets. It’s a yin and yang addition to give Andre Drummond some help in the interior. Thaddeus Young can stretch the floor and shoot and Nerlens Noel provides the interior defensive punch that could make the Pistons have the most dangerous front court in the league. The Pistons backcourt, with Reggie Jackson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope along with veteran Steve Blake and young guard Spencer Dinwiddie, can manage losing Jennings, who would most likely leave in free agency in the summer.
Brooklyn Nets aren’t going anywhere fast so instead of trying to wait for the summer and sign a big name, why not acquire a big name and also get some future assets. They could get some second rounders and flip them into a first rounder but first things first, get a point guard that can actually perform in the NBA in 2016. Brandon Jennings fits that bill and they can use him to excite the Barclays Center faithful alongside Brook Lopez. The Sixers just add more assets in this deal.
And for fun, here’s a big blockbuster trade with some pretty high profile names. (The Nuggets get all the picks they can.)
