December 15th marks a very important day in the NBA calendar, players who signed free agent contracts in the offseason can be traded. Not everyone can be traded but 85% of the league can now be moved, leading us into the 2021-22 unofficial trade season. This includes rumored players like Kemba Walker, Daniel Theis, Torrey Craig, Doug McDermott and others. With the expanded play-in format more teams will likely be trying to buy then sell, let’s dive in and what player could be available for trade.
Let’s start in Detroit with Jerami Grant. Grant is having a down year compared to last season, his shooting percentages and points per game are down this year but he had bounced back before he got injured. After signing a 3-year-deal with the Pistons last November and instantly became the team's best player. However, the Pistons have since drafted Cade Cunningham with the top pick in last year’s draft which has made Grant a bit more expendable. Grant is still a key player for Detroit, and still holds a lot of value around the league. He is an elite defensive player and has developed over the past few years into a really good scorer, averaging 21.6 points on .42/.34/.85 shooting splits in 78 games since signing with the Pistons. One team that has reportedly expressed interest are the Utah Jazz. Utah’s path to Grant is a simple one, Bojan Bogdanović, and future picks. Grant and Bogdanović’s contracts are close enough that the math works one for one. Grant is most certainly an upgrade for Utah, especially on the defensive end of the court. Some other teams that could reach out are the Sacramento Kings, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Portland Trail Blazers. Grant is expected to miss 6 weeks so that could hurt his value a bit but should not take him off of teams boards.
Let’s talk about Portland. They have a ton of guys they could trade like Robert Covington, Jusuf Nurkic, and Larry Nance Jr., not to mention the stars they have. Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum are unlikely to be moved though McCollum is a lot more likely than Lillard. However, the fringe guys are definitely possible, let’s start with Nurkic. Acquired at the 2017 deadline in a trade with the Nuggets, ‘Nurk’ has been a mainstay in Portland for the past couple of years now starting 244 games for Portland since the trade. However, centers are not very needed around the NBA, as most teams have a quality center or are rebuilding. One team that could make a push and desperately needs a center are the Charlotte Hornets. A package built around Mason Plumlee (the player Portland sent to Denver for Nurkic in 2017) could make a lot of sense for both sides, should the Blazers continue to fall in the standings.
Robert Covington is a player who has been traded for 2 first round picks twice in his career (both coming in 2020). Now, it is very unlikely the Blazers could get 2 first rounders, or even one first rounder for Covington. He is a good team defender but not a good on ball defender and has not shot the 3 well this season (33%). There are plenty of teams who could still be interested in ‘RoCo’, however. Some examples are the Philadelphia 76ers, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Lastly, Larry Nance Jr., is the most attractive asset amongst the 3 Blazers players we have discussed today. He is a rim running big, who is really good in the pick and roll. Everyone should want to acquire Larry Nance as he is very good and can contribute to any team. Portland could definitely recoup the first round pick they sent out to acquire Nance.
It has been awhile since I’ve written about Ben Simmons. Philadelphia is 15-15 and sputtering as of late. They have Joel Embiid who is playing great basketball, however, the team does not win enough. They could be getting desperate so they don’t ‘waste’ a dominant Embiid season because it is unclear (due to past injuries) how many he has left. Enter a Simmons trade, Daryl Morey has said they are not going to take 75 cents on the dollar in a Simmons trade. At what point does Philly decide to take a little less than they see value for Simmons, who is not playing for them at the present moment, and might not ever again, even if he is on the roster. Sacramento can offer De’Aaron Fox and picks, should the Sixers take that? What about a Portland offer of C.J. McCollum, they already have a ton of small guards who can score. Yes, Philly has to start winning games but what offer is good enough for the Sixers to say, yeah you can have Simmons? Will Portland ever let them have Damian Lillard? There are so many questions that need to be answered surrounding a Simmons trade, no matter how desperate the Sixers seem, they are not going to get robbed just to trade Ben Simmons.
The NBA trade season is an exciting time for fans to create fake trades (use fanspo.com it is much better than ESPN’s trade machine) and for some fanbases to dream about stars and role players who can help their team make a push. There are so many questions we still need to answer before February 10th’s trade deadline.
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