NBA Roundtable: What Will And Won’t Happen At The Trade Deadline

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NBA: Washington Wizards at Houston Rockets
NBA: Washington Wizards at Houston Rockets

The Biggest name to be dealt at the deadline will be?

Saenz: Al Horford. I went back and forth between Horford and Dwight Howard, but my guess is that the Rockets will be asking for more in exchange than the Hawks will be.

Gonzalez: Dwight Howard. The big trade I see is Howard for Hassan Whiteside between the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets.

Coldiron: Timofey Mozgov.

Murray: The biggest name to be dealt will probably be Jeff Teague. He’s been linked to so many teams within the past few days and the Hawks repeatedly might break up their core.

Lederman: I cannot wait to see which contender throws away its next 5 years in order to get Dwight Howard. I was skeptical that anyone would go after him when I heard the news that he was on the trading block, but the report that the Rockets are already taking calls makes me think that this is going to happen. I would say that Boston has the best pieces to deal if they were really interested in Dwight, but he doesn’t really fit their system, and they seem reluctant to mess with their current small-ball nucleus. Toronto reportedly isn’t interested, and the Cavs don’t want to give up anything significant. So where does that leave a Dwight trade?

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I could see a Howard for Jeff Teague swap with Atlanta, or maybe a Dwight for Al Jefferson, Frank Kaminsky and picks trade move with Charlotte. It’s hard to gauge real interest for Dwight Howard around the league right now, but I foresee him wearing a new uniform after the deadline.

Hughes: After his most recent debacle (a side-line shoving match with Archie Goodwin) Markieff Morris has undoubtably made himself a must-trade player in Phoenix. This isn’t to say he’s a big name player, but he’ll likely be the most noteworthy of all those who do in fact get traded. Consider him the medium sized fish in a pond otherwise filled with slightly smaller fish.

Piers: If a big name gets traded this year, I think it will be Dwight Howard. Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey knows he needs at least two, young superstars to compete out West. Howard, past his prime, just isn’t a player you want to build around. Plus, he plans to opt out after this season. But is there a market for the big man?

Armstrong: Dwight Howard seems like the most popular and most likely candidate, but I don’t see any team in both a position to offer Houston any comparable players or picks in return and be a lock to re-sign Howard in the offseason. I don’t see too many teams taking that risk when they can go for him in the offseason. Plus, it looks like Houston is sold on their backup Clint Capela. Therefore, I think Ryan Anderson is the answer. He’s in a similar contractual position as Howard being a free agent in the offseason, but there’s less risk in trading for a potential “rental player” in Anderson.

Baranko: The biggest name to be dealt at the deadline has to be Carmelo Anthony. Jackson will try to send Melo to a desperate playoff team and put the Knicks into full rebuild mode.

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