NBA AM: Almost Trade Season In the NBA

Almost Trade Season: With the first month of the NBA season behind us, the first milestone of the trade season is quickly approaching and some teams are starting to make their intentions known that when things open up on December 15, there is some interest in making a deal.

NBA teams are prohibited from trading players they signed during the summer until December 15 which makes almost half the NBA untradable until mid-December. Some of the players that signed towards the end of the summer are restricted until January 15. Most of the players under restriction become trade eligible in about two weeks and some teams are revving up interest in deals now, before things slip away from them.

Here are a few of the teams to watch:

New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans recently opened up two roster spots waiving swingman Darius Miller and big man Patric Young. The Pelicans have been sniffing around the trade market and have logged some interest with a few unsigned free agents including forward Dante Cunningham. Sources close to the Pelicans call the sniffing normal due diligence at this time of year, however teams on the other side see New Orleans as a motivated buyer and peg them as a team looking to make a trade.

The Pelicans are sitting at 7-8 on the season and have dropped three straight games. Ownership in New Orleans is eager to see this team turn the corner, and it seems that Pelicans GM Dell Demps is looking for a move or two to right the ship.

LA Lakers

The Lakers have a loaded roster, which means making a trade might be a little difficult, especially considering how much of the Lakers roster has trade restrictions. One of the Lakers best trade chips might be big man Jordan Hill; however, because of the contract he signed this summer he has the ability to block a trade. The Lakers are sitting on two disabled player exceptions, one from Julius Randle ($1.49 million) and one from Steve Nash ($4.85 million). While these exceptions cannot be combined with other elements, they do represent the ability to take on a player for little or nothing in return. The Lakers are under no obligation to use the exceptions and have until March 10 to use them. The Lakers have worked out about a dozen or so free agents and are said to be close to signing former Laker Earl Clark from the D-League. The Lakers are not being overly active in the trade market, but their exceptions make them interesting trade partners as they can take on an unwanted salary using one of their exceptions.

It’s unlikely that the Lakers are players early in the trade season, but they do have two assets that make them worth paying attention to as teams try and construct deals parking a player to or through LA is a possibility.

Charlotte Hornets

Like the Pelicans, the Hornets are trying to right the ship and have been labeled as one of the teams being aggressive in the early goings of the trade season. The name mentioned the most is swingman Gerald Henderson, but with basically two years and $12 million reaming on his contract ($6 million this year and a player options worth $6 million next year), he’s not the most attractive of trade chips. The Hornets are said to be open to trading just about anyone not named Al Jefferson or Kemba Walker and seem interested in shaking up their 4-14 roster.

Orlando Magic

The Magic are not actively looking in the trade market but they do have two players that get mentioned a lot by other teams. The Magic are 7-12 on the season and still finding their way, but it seems clear that forward Maurice Harkless and big man Andrew Nicholson are not going to play a big role for the team, which has some teams sniffing around about their availability.

Harkless clearly is the bigger trade asset, however sources close to the Magic say Harkless is one of GM Rob Hennigan’s favorite guys. He is not getting consistent playing time, though, and seems to be in head coach Jacque Vaughn’s doghouse. Harkless has said he’s trying to make the best of the situation, but it is clear that if the Magic are not going to play him that moving him becomes almost inevitable.

Like Harkless, Nicholson has been marginalized with the emergence of other players and he too sits more than he plays, prompting teams to inquire about his availability in trade.

The Magic at some point are going to need to decide what to do with their excess pieces, and as teams start making offers, the Magic might find a deal worth doing.

The Magic are not actively pursuing deals, which puts them in the driver’s seat, however at 7-12 with increased expectations the Magic may have to pull the trigger sooner than later.

Detroit Pistons

Like many of the teams on this list, the Pistons expected to be better than their 3-14 record. The fact that the team has lost eight straight games has the Pistons squarely in the sellers category. The Pistons are preaching patience, but it’s clear that a number of the pieces in Detroit simply don’t fit how head coach Stan Van Gundy wants to play.

The Pistons’ biggest trade chip might be big man Greg Monroe, however given that he accepted the Pistons’ qualifying offer and is headed towards unrestricted free agency, he can block any trade. That makes moving him tough. The Pistons continue to talk about retaining him, so it’s possible given how he’s been playing that the Pistons make other moves to solidify Monroe’s future in Detroit.

Surprisingly, the Pistons most productive player has been Brandon Jennings, a player most thought would struggle in Van Gundy’s demanding system.

Second year guard Kentavious Caldewell-Pope seems to be having the toughest time adjusting to Van Gundy and he might be one of the players on the move, especially if he can be packaged in with someone like Jonas Jerebko ($4.5 million) or Josh Smith ($13.5 million) and return something more valuable than his $2.7 million salary can return under NBA trade rules.

The Pistons are preaching about patience, however it’s clear that no one in Detroit is happy with how this season is playing out and that a change is more than likely.

Brooklyn Nets

The Nets are very much like the Pistons, they hoped that a coaching change would solve most of their woes, however at 6-9 and having lost seven of their last ten games, things are not going as swimmingly as some expected.

There have already been a number of small blow ups in the media from shooting guard Joe Johnson questioning his team to Brook Lopez being benched in the fourth quarter and even second year big man Mason Plumlee playing a vastly reduced role.

The team has already shopped forward Andrei Kirilenko and found little interest or value in him, leaving them with no choice but to backpedal in the press, downplaying their desire to move him.

The Nets continue to be a team that seems like its open for business and with Lopez eligible for free agency in July, there is a chance the Nets look to move him before they potentially lose him for nothing in return. Lopez is owed $15.7 million this season and holds a player option worth $16.7 million next season and could be the trade chip that returns the most value.

The Nets are said to have made Kirilenko and guard Sergey Karasev available in trade talks with other teams, neither likely returns much, but the Nets seem open to making a deal sooner than later.

Phoenix Suns

The Suns are very much like the Magic. They are overloaded with talent. It’s talent that they like quite a bit, but its talent they simply don’t have a lot of minutes for. The Suns are not actively shopping for deals, but a few teams believe the Suns will be sellers before it is said and done and that guard Goran Dragic is the name to watch.

Dragic has the option to hit unrestricted free agency in July. With the offseason deals guards Isaiah Thomas and Eric Bledsoe signed this summer and the drafting of Tyler Ennis, there is a sense that Dragic could be moved before he walks to a different situation.

Dragic has in essence has two years left on his deal, a $7.5 million year this year and a player option worth $7.5 million next year. Its possible Dragic stays in his deal, and the Suns would likely want that to be agreed to before the trade deadline, or they’d have no choice but to move him before losing him for nothing in return.

After an All-Star caliber season last year Dragic has settled back down to earth, likely due to the log jam the team has at the guard position.

Its seems likely if the right offer fall Phoenix’s way they’ll pull the trigger, especially with the team sitting at 10-8 and just inside the Playoff picture in the West.

Given that the team is having some success they are clearly not motivated to make a change, but if the teams starts to slip or that missing playoff piece surfaces, there is no doubt the Suns have the assets to make some changes, especially if it locks them into the postseason.

The number of in-season trades that get done on a year-to-year basis is generally fairly small, while there are a number of teams open to making trades, don’t expect a lot to drop in December. You can expect the trade chatter to pick up especially as December 15 gets closer, as that’s when teams that are looking to make changes tend to get more serious in their conversations.

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