With the 3 p.m. EST Thursday trade deadline approaching, could we be close to seeing Paul George or Jimmy Butler in a different uniform? Here is our most recent list of 40 players that could be moved by Thursday. No one knows exactly how crazy this deadline will be, but there are certainly lots of teams looking to make changes.
Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls: It seem nuts for the Bulls to even consider trading Butler, a franchise player they drafted with the No. 30 pick in 2011, but there have been reports that the front office is not sold on building around him. If they do decide to move him and do a full tear-down, expect a bidding war and expect the Celtics to be involved. If Boston would give up one of its Brooklyn picks for anybody, you would think it would be for a player of Butler’s caliber. Celtics president Danny Ainge reportedly doesn’t want to give up Jae Crowder, though.
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks: The safe bet now is that the star forward will not waive his no-trade clause, meaning he’ll stay in New York the rest of this season. Knicks president Phil Jackson was reportedly “determined” to move him less than a month ago, so it would be unwise to completely dismiss the possibility. If Jackson can somehow put together a deal that sends him to the Clippers or Cavaliers, then he would surely consider it.
Paul George, Indiana Pacers: A few hours before the DeMarcus Cousins trade, ESPN’s Justin Verrier reported the Pelicans had made calls about Cousins and George. In an interview on ESPN Radio this past Friday, George said he wants to bring a title to Indiana, but stopped short of saying he would sign an extension this summer. Now it’s being reported that he Lakers are going after him, and the Celtics are reportedly discussing giving up this year’s Nets pick. He’ll be a free agent in 2018, but if the Pacers think they might lose him, maybe they’ll see what they can get before he becomes an expiring contract.
Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks: As the Cousins trade proved, you can’t always trust the executive who publicly proclaims his star isn’t going anywhere. The Hawks, however, are much more trustworthy than the Kings, so it would be surprising if Millsap were traded ... unless he tells the front office he’s probably not going to re-sign.
Jahlil Okafor, Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers benched him for a couple of games because they were close to completing a trade. While the Pelicans presumably no longer are an option, Okafor has also been linked to the Bulls, Mavericks and Celtics. There’s no guarantee his defense and rebounding will ever be even average for a center, but his footwork and touch aren’t easy to find. His tenure in Philadelphia has been forgettable, but he could develop into an Enes Kanter-like contributor elsewhere.
Brook Lopez, Brooklyn Nets: The Nets reportedly want two first-round picks for Lopez, though the Kings got less than that for Cousins. Lopez quietly has had an excellent season (became the first player in NBA history to record eight blocks and six 3-pointers in a game last week), but there might just not be much of a market for him.
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons: ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that the Pistons aren’t discouraging teams from calling them about the 23-year-old center, but that’s a little different than shopping him. Detroit president and coach Stan Van Gundy denied that there have been “serious” trade discussions about Drummond, whose development has stagnated in his fifth season.
Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons: The Pistons regressed as soon as he returned from his knee injury, and now they have to figure out how much of that was because he wasn’t ready to come back. Jackson and Andre Drummond were supposed to be the two pillars of Stan Van Gundy’s program in Detroit, but now the front office has “quietly explored” the trade market for both, per ESPN. The Pistons probably can’t get fair value right now because they’re dealing from a position of weakness, but the rumors haven’t completely died down.
Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic: Of the low-post bigs on this list, the 26-year-old Vucevic might be the most intriguing. He has made progress as a passer and defender in the past couple of seasons, and he always has been an excellent rebounder. He not knocking down 3s like Lopez, but he has at least started to attempt them this season. The Serge Ibaka trade could mean that he is off the market, though you never know with the Magic.
Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic: The point guard has been shuffled in and out of the lineup and his name has been in trade rumors almost the entire time. While this has been his best season, opponents routinely ignore him behind the 3-point line and Orlando does not appear committed to him as its point guard of the future.
Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves: It’s somewhat surprising he still hasn’t been traded, given how long the Timberwolves reportedly have been shopping him. Rubio is not their point guard of the future -- Kris Dunn is -- and could be a bargain for a team willing to overlook his poor shooting, because he’s good at just about everything else.
Derrick Rose, New York Knicks: A recent report indicates Minnesota reached out about Rose, and that’s fascinating. He has been better than some expected as a scorer this season, showcasing an ability to get to the rim and put pressure on defenses in transition, but his poor defense and reluctance to shoot from deep limits his value. It seems unlikely that New York would be able to get a first-round pick in exchange for a few months of Rose, who will be a free agent in July.
Brandon Jennings, New York Knicks: Like Rose, Jennings would be a rental. Also like Rose, he has not exactly played his best basketball in New York. He might be better in a different system, though, and if the Knicks think he’s going elsewhere in free agency, he could come cheap.
Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz: It’s not fair to judge the big man on his production this season since he’s been fully healthy for so little of it. There are questions about his long-term fit next to Rudy Gobert, though, and the Jazz have reportedly “tested the market” on him over the past few weeks. The Suns have reportedly reached out about Favors, but it doesn’t sound like Utah is in a rush to move him unless it gets an amazing offer.
Brandon Knight, Phoenix Suns: It’s hard to think of another youngish player whose value has declined as much as Knight’s the past couple of seasons. The 25-year-old no longer is part of this core, and in his sixth year, he’s still more of a combo guard than the cerebral point guard he has always wanted to be. The trouble is that he’ll be making $15.6 million in 2019-20, so there’s risk involved for any team acquiring him, regardless of Phoenix’s asking price.
Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls: The longest-tenured Bull was linked to the Raptors before the Ibaka deal, and if he gets traded, it’s through no fault of his own. A full-time starter for the first season of his eight-year career, Gibson has been one of the few consistent positives on a mediocre team. He’ll be a free agent for the first time in July, and the Bulls don’t want to lose him for nothing.
Rajon Rondo, Chicago Bulls: He didn’t sign with Chicago to be a backup, but does anybody see him as anything more these days? Rondo is ineffective off the ball and needs to play with multiple shooters to thrive. The Bulls never made sense for him, and it’s difficult to pinpoint other teams that do.
Robin Lopez, Chicago Bulls: If -- and this is a big if -- the Bulls decide to blow things up, it would make sense to try to extract a first-round pick from a team in search of a solid big man. Lopez is one of my favorite role players, and he’s on a good contract, but this organization might be better off with a pick.
Nikola Mirotic, Chicago Bulls: A streaky shooter, Mirotic has made only 29.9 percent of his 3s this season. Chicago has been “aggressive” in shopping him, per the Chicago Tribune.
Danilo Gallinari, Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets want a first-rounder and swap rights on another pick for Gallinari and the next guy on this list, according to ESPN. It’s unclear if they’ll get that, but the versatile forward could be a nice rental for a playoff team’s stretch run. He will likely decline his player option and ask for a big contract in a few months, though.
Wilson Chandler, Denver Nuggets: The Rockets, Clippers, Raptors and Thunder have been linked to Chandler, who is averaging 31 minutes but sometimes plays 20 one night, 40 the next. If he’s available, he should have a bunch of suitors -- he is on a below-market-value contract through 2019.
Greg Monroe, Milwaukee Bucks: Quietly, Monroe has excelled in his sixth-man role this season, and he’s second on the team in real plus-minus. He’s reportedly likely to decline his player option, though, so the Bucks would have to listen if other teams were interested.
Nick Young, Los Angeles Lakers: Rejuvenated under Luke Walton, Swaggy P has shot a career-high 41.3 percent from 3-point range. That makes him an attractive trade target on a rebuilding team, which is remarkable when you consider there were reports that the Lakers might waive him last off-season.
Deron Williams, Dallas Mavericks: Another Maverick on an expiring contract, the once-great point guard would be a useful role player in a winning situation.
Iman Shumpert, Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavaliers won’t just give away a guy shooting 40.3 percent from 3-point range, but ESPN reported that Shumpert is available and everybody knows they want more playmaking.
Tyson Chandler, Phoenix Suns: There are two more years on the 34-year-old’s contract, and it’s hard to imagine him spending both in Phoenix. He has definitely lost a step, but he’s still pulling down 11.4 rebounds per game.
P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns: The vet is superfluous on a rebuilding Suns team, but could provide toughness, defensive versatility and the occasional 3-pointer to a team like Boston, Toronto or Washington.
Festus Ezeli, Portland Trail Blazers: After acquiring Jusuf Nurkic, the Blazers are reportedly trying to move Ezeli’s (team-friendly) contract. The injured center is on the books for $7.7 million next season, but only $1 million of it is guaranteed.
Kyle O’Quinn, New York Knicks: The Knicks have a massive logjam in the frontcourt, especially with the emergence of Willy Hernangomez, and O’Quinn’s cheap contract is much more movable than, say, Joakim Noah’s. New York’s reported asking price (a first-round pick) is probably much too high, though.
Kosta Koufos, Sacramento Kings: The Kings are essentially tanking, and Koufos and the following three names on this list reflect that. Koufos is a solid center, but it’s probably time to give Willie Cauley-Stein the starting spot and see what Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis have to offer.
Darren Collison, Sacramento Kings: If Sacramento can just get a second-round pick for him, that seems like a win. Might be an interesting rental for Cleveland.
Ben McLemore, Sacramento Kings: Inconsistent as ever in his fourth season, his skill set is still intriguing for teams with confidence in their player development coaches.
Arron Afflalo, Sacramento Kings: There’s just no point in Afflalo being a King anymore, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he wound up on his sixth team in four seasons.
Terrence Jones, New Orleans Pelicans: He’s one of the Pels’ better players, but there’s not much room for him on this roster now. ESPN reported that the team and his camp have decided it’s best to find a deal.
Omer Asik, New Orleans Pelicans: The Pelicans were trying to trade his contract before the Cousins deal, but now it’s hard to see how they’d get that done without packaging him with Holiday or a first-round pick.
Alexis Ajinca, New Orleans Pelicans: Same deal as Asik, except New Orleans shouldn’t be quite as desperate -- Ajinca is making about half as much money as the team’s other marginalized big man.
Shabazz Muhammad, Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves are reportedly “determined” to move the swingman, and they’re looking for a pick in return.
Jared Sullinger, Toronto Raptors: Never healthy enough to contribute this season, the big man could be packaged with a first-round pick as the Raptors try to get stronger on the wing.
K.J. McDaniels, Houston Rockets: Lost in the shuffle, McDaniels might be on the move because the Rockets are looking to make an upgrade, per ESPN. He hasn’t had much of a chance in Houston, but I love his potential as an athletic, two-way wing player.
Shelvin Mack, Utah Jazz: The Cavs have discussed trading for the the 26-year-old point guard, according to cleveland.com, and Mack is out of the rotation in Utah behind George Hill and Dante Exum.
