4. Bruce Brown, Toronto Raptors
Now that Bruce Brown is officially back, he's certainly going to be a name to watch as we inch closer to the trade deadline season. With the Toronto Raptors struggling to string together wins this season, despite the promise that their young core has shown, this is a team that should probably embrace the label of the seller at the NBA Trade Deadline. Brown specifically would be a strong candidate to be traded at the deadline because he's a bit older than the rest of the team's young core. While he may not make much sense for the Raptors, he could be a huge asset for a playoff contender.
He'll probably have to prove that he can remain healthy over the next few weeks before any team seriously looks to make a move for him but that seems like a very strong possibility. As a player who proved he could play a big role for a championship team, it would be surprising if he didn't emerge as a pretty highly sought-after commodity at the NBA Trade Deadline. At this point, this would be a deal that the Raptors should be extremely interested in making happen.
3. Cameron Johnson, Brooklyn Nets
As one of the most rumored big names set to potentially be moved ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, I'd say that there's a good chance that Cameron Johnson ends up being on the move at some point in the near future. Johnson continues to prove that he could be a difference-maker in the right system and playing the right role. I'm not sure if being a No. 1 or 2 option on a team is where he'd be the most effective but if he can get back to the role he was playing on the HPoenix Suns when they made their NBA Finals run, he could easily be viewed as a key part of another championship-worthy roster.
As the Nets have continued to pivot toward a complete rebuild of their roster, already having traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder in the last week, it would be safe to assume that Johnson could be the next Nets player on the move. I don't question whether the Nets will be open to trading Johnson. Instead, I wonder if there's a team that's going to step up to meet the asking price for Brooklyn in the next month. Either way, he's a player that should be on every team's radar heading into the trade deadline.