PORTLAND, OREGON - NOVEMBER 30: CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers stands for the national anthem before the game against the Detroit Pistons at Moda Center on November 30, 2021 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Despite so much uncertainty swirling around his future in Portland, CJ McCollum has a pretty healthy perspective.
“I’ve always focused on controlling the controllables,” McCollum told The New York Times recently. “I can’t control any of the noise that comes with playing this game. I can say that as a basketball player you will be involved at some point in rumors regardless of the magnitude because you play a sport. The media kind of dictates the storyline. Success and failure also plays a role.”
He’s right about the media dictating storylines, but where there’s smoke there’s often fire. Now that we’ve reached, and passed, the magical date of Dec. 15, practically every player in the Association is eligible to be traded, so expect the rumors and innuendo about swaps featuring stars and consequential deals to drastically heat up in short order. More than a quarter of the way into the season, every front office has a pretty decent idea of what improvements need to be made or what assets should be shed, depending on each team’s unique situation. The wheelings and dealings are imminent.
Currently on the mend following a collapsed lung, McCollum is one of the most interesting names potentially available on the trade market as the Blazers struggle to put a team on the court that consistently competes and wins. Every NBA observer knows something needs to change in Portland, and with Damian Lillard giving us zero indication he wants to leave his adopted home since his loyalty to Portland should never be questioned, his sidekick is the logical choice to be shipped out in the name of reshaping and revamping a flawed roster.
But McCollum, of course, isn’t the only notable name potentially on the move before the trade deadline arrives Feb. 10, a week prior to the All-Star break. Many you already know. Some might come as a surprise. If we wrote about every NBA player linked to a trade rumor, our list would run 100 deep. But for now, we’ll settle on the 11 most interesting, intriguing, and enticing candidates, some easier to deal/acquire than others.
Jaylen Brown
Contract: Year 2 of 4-year, $106 million deal, UFA 2024
Hey, I understand Dennis Schroder is the more likely Celtics player to get dealt since he’s on an expiring deal. But we have to talk about the pairing of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Once upon a time it appeared to be the future of the Celtics, yet nowadays it resembles something that needs to be seriously reevaluated—or, more drastically speaking, broken apart. Tatum is obviously the superior player, easily one of the best ballers under the age of 24, and an offensive force that Brown can’t come close to matching. He’s the guy the Celtics are going to hang onto should they decide to break up the duo. But Brown has the more well-rounded game and he certainly plays a level of defense that Tatum doesn’t while he continues to mature into a very good offensive player. In theory, they should make for a dynamic duo. But the results just haven’t proven it yet and Boston has been very disappointing so far this season. While the Celtics reportedly are not ready to break them up just yet, absolutely never say never.
CJ McCollum
Contract: Year 1 of 3-year, $100 million deal, UFA 2024
We briefly laid it out above, but the Blazers are nowhere near the kind of team who will make noise in the Western Conference playoffs as currently constructed. The roster is flawed, the front office just experienced some major upheaval, and Damian Lillard, who is desperate to win in Portland, must be frustrated with the downward direction of the only organization he knows since they reached the Western Conference Finals in 2019. CJ McCollum, a very good offensive player who could undoubtedly help a number of squads around the league, obviously represents Portland’s top trade chip, assuming Lillard doesn’t want to leave. Yet. A McCollum for Ben Simmons swap will remain a popular trade scenario, but it feels like McCollum isn’t quite the kind of player the Sixers want in return for Simmons. Regardless, if the Blazers are serious about shaking shit up for the sake of shaking shit up, McCollum’s the overwhelming favorite to be dealt and the Portland player who can bring back a difference maker.
Ben Simmons
Contract: Year 2 of 5-year, $177 million deal, UFA 2025
If Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations, is really waiting to get a top 25-caliber NBA player in return for the disgruntled Ben Simmons, who hasn’t budged on his trade demands, then the demoralized point guard is never leaving Philadelphia. Reportedly, talks between the Sixers and a number of notable franchises—our pal Shams Charania of The Athletic reported the Knicks, Lakers, Timberwolves, Blazers, Kings, Pacers, and Cavaliers—have checked in on Simmons recently. You can rule out the Lakers as a destination because it would take an act of God for them to work out the numbers to fit in Simmons under their cap. But the other squads mentioned all make sense as a trade destination for Simmons, except for New York. As far as we know, Simmons is one of the few NBA players who still isn’t vaccinated and he’d have to get a jab or two in order to be eligible to play in Madison Square Garden for the Knickerbockers.
Terrence Ross
Contract: Year 3 of 4-year, $54 million deal, UFA 2023
While the rebuilding Magic are extremely young and going nowhere fast, they do have a veteran who represents an enticing trade chip they could offer to further accumulate future draft capital. Terrence Ross has been a candidate to be dealt out of Orlando for what feels like forever, but maybe this is finally the year the Magic find a partner that makes sense. While Ross isn’t lighting it up for Orlando, he is a known commodity around the league and would make for an excellent addition off the bench for a number of contenders. He’s also making reasonable money and only signed through next season.
Jerami Grant
Contract: Year 2 of 3-year, $60 million deal, UFA 2023
He recently went on the shelf with a torn ligament in his thumb, but Jerami Grant should be back by roughly the All-Star break, and the Pistons guard/forward will be an attractive trade chip for teams looking to bolster their roster as they push toward the postseason. Charania reported the Lakers and Blazers have expressed interest in Grant, and the Pistons are open to dealing him. Grant can score and defend on the perimeter so it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s coveted by teams with their eyes on a deep playoff run. Detroit’s signing of Grant a few offseasons ago was surprising, but clearly he’s not part of the Pistons’ long-term plans and if the right contender gives up the right assets for Grant, he’ll be gone in the blink of an eye.
Cam Reddish
Contract: Year 3 of 4-year, $19 million rookie deal, RFA 2023
The Hawks’ forward is putting up career-high numbers so far this season (11.2 PPG, 36.7 3FG%) and we all know Atlanta would love to keep him around. But the franchise probably can’t for much longer after it handed Trae Young, Kevin Huerter, and John Collins handsome extensions. Someone’s not going to get paid and it looks like that could be Reddish, who is eligible for a massive extension next summer (key word “eligible, doesn’t mean he’ll end up getting Young dollars). As one of the NBA’s deepest teams, Atlanta would be dealing from a position of strength if it decides to trade Reddish. While the Hawks could absolutely use his talents in their drive toward second-straight Eastern Conference Finals, if they can secure a future first-round pick, as Charania reported the Hawks will seek in return for the talented wing, it makes sense to get something out of Reddish while his stock remains high.
Buddy Hield
Contract: Year 2 of 4-year, $94 million deal, UFA 2024
The Kings fired Luke Walton a few weeks ago yet they’re still a dumpster fire. Shocker. Maybe in our lifetime Sacramento will look like a competent, organized, cohesive franchise. But before pigs fly, Buddy Hield—the Kings’ sharpshooter who has been rumored to be a trade candidate for a few seasons now—will once again be mentioned in all kinds of rumors. The Lakers messed up not doing that proposed deal for Hield during the summer, instead pivoting to Russell Westbrook (forget about now, how’s that going to look for Los Angeles if they make the playoffs?). Hield, a 40.1 percent shooter from beyond the arc for his career, would be a valuable, difference-making addition for any playoff squad. So you know he won’t come cheap.
Collin Sexton
Contract: Year 4 of 4-year, $20 million rookie deal, RFA 2022
The Cavaliers are the most surprising team so far this season. They’re young, they’re fun, and they’re winning games without Collin Sexton, their offensively gifted shooting guard drafted eighth overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. Sexton underwent knee surgery in November that reportedly would keep him out for the rest of the season, but that may not stop the Cavs, and other teams, from doing a deal for him since his future with Cleveland appears murky. Even if the Cavs reportedly think he could be part of the future. But they kind of have to say that to keep his value high. One of the best players under the age of 24, most NBA observers would agree the Cavs should build around their other three young studs—Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley—and make Sexton available to the most attractive suitor since he was eligible for a big extension this past summer, yet Cleveland ultimately declined to give him one. While he’ll never play defense, Sexton can get buckets at a high level when he’s healthy and scoring will always be prioritized in the NBA over everything else. The Pacers reportedly are intrigued.
Kemba Walker
Contract: Year 1 of 2-year, $18 million deal, UFA 2023
The analytics on the Kemba Walker experiment in New York have been ugly (his On/Off number is a ghastly -17.6). And that’s why coach Tom Thibodeau sat him down weeks ago—Walker’s been collecting DNPs—in an attempt to jumpstart the Knickerbockers. Newsflash: it hasn’t worked. While we all know Walker is a liability defensively, I find it hard to believe he’s completely washed as an offensive player at age 31. Some team will find his ability to get buckets in a limited role appealing. Just don’t play him during the closing minutes when you need guys to clamp down on defense. The conspiracy theory around the Knicks is they’re sitting Walker down to protect his trade value. Do I believe it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
John Wall
Contract: Year 3 of 4-year, $171 million deal, player option for 2022-23
While John Wall is technically available, and would help a number of teams in the backcourt (like Miami or New York), under no circumstances will any of the other 29 squads in the NBA trade for the point guard with such an insane amount of money remaining on his deal (he’s absolutely picking up his player option for next season) and his injury history. If ever there was a truly un-tradable contract in the NBA, it’s Wall’s. But maybe some dumb general manager will astonish us all by pulling off the unfathomable this winter.
Three Pacers Starters
Domantas Sabonis’ contract: Year 2 of 4-year, $75 million deal, UFA 2024
Myles Turner’s contract: Year 3 of 4-year, $90 million deal, UFA 2023
Caris LeVert’s contract: Year 2 of 3-year, $52 million deal, UFA 2023
Indiana is open for business. Myles Turner is available. So is Damontas Sabonis. So is Caris LeVert. The Pacers were surprisingly public with their proclamation recently that they’re going to begin to rebuild a roster that hasn’t meshed the way the front office envisioned and teams can pluck whoever they want—for the right return, of course. Except Malcolm Brogdon and first-round pick Chris Duarte. Thanks to the extension he signed during the offseason, the Pacers’ point guard is not eligible to be traded until the summer and it sounds like the Pacers like what they have in the product out of Oregon. As for those available, Turner would be a good fit in Charlotte, Sabonis is one of the best power forwards in the Eastern Conference and every team would love to have him on the roster, and LeVert—despite past injury and illness issues—is a young, desirable scorer.