Parts 1 and 2 of this trade deadline series covered all of the NBA's teams from Atlanta to New Orleans on the road trip, and we're continuing our adventure with the Knickerbockers of New York.
New York
They're the primary team pursuing Carmelo Anthony right now, and we could see a radically different Knicks team if that trade ever gets done. Amare Stoudemire is the only player the Knicks won't trade as part of a deal to get Anthony.
Chauncey Billups was recently thrown into the trade rumors between the Knicks and Nuggets, but why wouldn't the Knicks be trying to get Nene thrown into the trade? Nene has a player option for next season, just like Anthony, and is expected to opt into free agency. The Knicks started a struggling Timofey Mozgov at the beginning of the season to try and keep Stoudemire at power forward. Nene would give them that opportunity.
There are a number of reasons the Anthony trade has not happened yet, and why couldn't the inclusion of Nene in the trade be one of those reasons? Imagine the Knicks starting Nene, Stoudemire, Anthony, Billups, and either Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, or Landry Fields at shooting guard. One of those three players would likely stay with the Knicks. But even if all three were moved, Toney Douglas could start in the backcourt with Billups, and Billups could guard opponents' shooting guards.
Beyond that, the Knicks would still probably have Shawne Williams and Bill Walker to use on the wing. I may be stretching the fabric of reality with some of the permutations I've suggested, but the Knicks have the pieces to make the Nuggets at least consider trading Anthony, Nene, and Billups in a package.
For funnsies, I just went and threw this trade into the trade machine over at that gossip mag ESPN, and it would take a package of Eddy Curry, Mozgov, Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf, and Wilson Chandler being sent to the Nuggets for the contracts to match up and have Billups, Nene, and Anthony go back to the Knicks. Roger Mason or Anthony Randolph could be swapped in for Chandler, but there are few changes that could be made, because the salaries have to fall into certain confines due to the collective bargaining agreement.
No matter how you swing a possible Knicks trade, Shawne Williams is the guy to watch. If he came away with a more regular gig off the bench, or was moved into the starting power forward spot, he could help teams in three-pointers, blocks, points, and percentages.
Oklahoma City
The Thunder don't have a lot of room on their roster to make any fluff trades. They traded away their salary cap flexibility to sign Nick Collison to a ridiculously well designed front-loaded contract extension. The only two relative needs they have are a dominant starting center and a more experienced backup point guard for Russell Westbrook. If they were able to swing a trade that would get them someone like Nene for their expendable pieces, we might see them make a splash. Kirk Hinrich would be another decent target for them, but he's got another year on his contract, pretty much putting him out of the equation.
The Thunder are just one of many teams that have value buried on their depth chart, but those buried players (James Harden, Serge Ibaka) will probably only see increases in minutes and value if injuries befall the team's starters.
Orlando
They'd probably like to add a real backup center to help spell Dwight Howard, but the only moderately substantial contract they have to move in a trade is Chris Duhon. And Duhon isn't the hottest trade commodity on the market.
If Denver is truly interested in shedding themselves of Al Harrington's contract, the Magic might be a realistic destination for him. The Magic could send Quentin Richardson and Duhon to the Nuggets for Harrington. Both Duhon and Q-Tip are expendable, and Harrington would be another seasoned power forward the Magic could use. I don't really like the trade for either team, but that's the kind of trade you get when you're trading useless crap for useless crap.
The Magic have trade exceptions totaling about $8 million from their trades of Marcin Gortat and Rashard Lewis that they could also use to acquire a big. They could try and get an old bruiser like Ben Wallace by giving up a pick or a young piece like Earl Clark.
Philadelphia
Coming into the season, the Sixers looked like one of the teams that would be active in trade talks all season, but their relative success has slowed any potential moves the team may have considered earlier in the season.
Marreese Speights and Evan Turner have the most upside of the Sixers' bench players. Craig Brackins could also put up good stats if he were to get minutes down the stretch. Unfortunately, it would take trades of Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala to open the minutes needed to make Speights and Turner consistent fantasy producers in standard leagues. As long as the team is in contention for a playoff spot, they're unlikely to make any big changes.
Phoenix
Josh Childress is my favorite Suns player in the running to get traded. If he were moved to Washington or some other team that could use a real small forward (cough, Atlanta, ahem), we could see him return to fantasy relevance once again.
Robin Lopez is a waste of space blocking Marcin Gortat's path to consistent fantasy production, but Lopez has the unfortunate lack of trade value resulting from his lack of talent.
Vince Carter's recent struggles have me believing that the team is planning on buying him out of his contract as soon as the trade deadline passes. His recent play reminds me of his final season in Toronto. Even though the Suns came out and said they wanted him to be their primary scorer, he's failed to step up. If Carter gets bought out after the trade deadline, Jared Dudley would be the player to grab. There's a chance the team would give Mickael Pietrus another look in the starting lineup, but Dudley has been the one player on the Suns roster that has made positive contributions every time his number has been called.
Fantasy managers in extremely deep leagues should be aware of Zabian Dowdell if Goran Gragic or Steve Nash were moved without a significant point guard coming back. Dowdell has been Nash's backup at point while Dragic has been out with a lacerated foot over the last two weeks and proven himself to be serviceable in that role.
Portland
Rip City would have a lot of options if general manager Rich Cho decided to push the button on shaking up their roster. Unfortunately, it's hard to see them making any wholesale changes when they're in possession of a playoff spot.
Andre Miller, Marcus Camby, and Joel Przybilla are probably all available, but Portland won't move any of them without getting something valuable back in return. Miller's and Przybilla's contracts are expiring after this year, and Camby has proven to be worth the $9 million he'd be making next year.
Portland would probably want a point guard back in any trade for Miller, but if they acquired a big instead, Patrick Mills (Patty Cakes) could be a huge addition to any fantasy team down the stretch. Mills has the biggest upside of any of their bench players at this point. Rudy Fernandez held that spot until his recent emergence. But the team has Nicolas Batum and Wesley Matthews blocking him from getting starter type minutes nightly. Neither Matthews nor Batum would be traded for anything but a top-flight point guard or center.
San Antonio
The Spurs seem pretty set with their roster. Beyond moving a package of their promising bench pieces for a real center like Nene, it's hard to imagine them doing anything drastic.
George Hill has the biggest upside of any of their bench players, and Tiago Splitter could be a double-double guy if given the minutes. But that isn't likely to happen unless they're beset by injuries.
The Spurs won't do it, but it'd be cool to see them try and acquire Carmelo Anthony for a trade package featuring Tony Parker.
Sacramento
The Kings have come out and said that any move they make will probably be salary-cap neutral. They acquired Samuel Dalembert in the summer, because he has an expiring contract that helped them get out from another year of Andres Nocioni and from having to make a decision on Spencer Hawes following this season.
They have a lot of duplicative talent on their roster that could be packaged to acquire a quality starter, but they've hurt a lot of their players' values by shuffling everyone in and out of the starting lineup on too regular a basis.
Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins should be off limits in trades for their absurd talent levels, but Carl Landry, Omri Casspi, Jason Thompson, Beno Udrih, and the rest of their team should be available.
Eugene Jeter (Pooh Jeter) could emerge with good value if the team were to move Udrih. His game is somewhere between Earl Boykins' and Ramon Sessions'. Jeter doesn't have a lot of range, but he has quickness and guile.
I'm not investing a roster spot in Thompson this season, because he's failed to capitalize on all of the opportunities he's been given. The Kings have wanted him to step up and claim his role as the team's power forward of the future, but Thompson doesn't know how to play consistently every night.
Their roster is deep in talent but short in substance. Even a deadline trade of one player may just open up the depth chart one player deeper instead of directly giving an already established player a larger role.
Toronto
The Raptors have Jerryd Bayless and Amir Johnson as their two most likely pieces to get traded in my eyes. Both players are probably available, and both should have value on the trade market. Ed Davis, DeMar DeRozan, and Andrea Bargnani are as off limits as anyone would be on their roster.
Jose Calderon has been available for the better part of a year, and no one has bit the bullet on completing a trade for him. Charlotte considered it before the season started, but they backed off after realizing that Calderon is unaware of the concept of defense in basketball.
Even before he was forced out for the year with knee injury, Linas Kleiza was struggling at small forward for the Raptors. No one has really stepped up for them there. Ultimately, they need a starting small forward, a starting point guard they are willing to commit to, and, ideally, a starting center that would allow Bargnani to play at power forward.
If Calderon gets moved, Bayless would be huge the rest of the season. If Johnson were to get moved, Davis would be a big contributor in rebounds and blocks the rest of the season. Beyond Bayless and Davis, there isn't anyone on the Raptors' bench that could jump up and claim a lot of value consistently. No one is talented enough.
Utah
Raja Bell's calf injury has prompted the team to experiment with C.J. Miles at shooting guard in their starting lineup. If he works out there, the team could be set going forward. Beyond that, they could use some more effective veterans off their bench. Mehmet Okur can't really be counted on to provide much this season. He started the season recovering from a torn Achilles, sprained his ankle, and now he's missing time with a back injury.
Gordon Hayward and Miles have the most upside out of the Jazz' bench players, but I can't see them going to Hayward as a consistent option while trying to win big in the Western Conference.
Andrei Kirilenko's contract is expiring at the end of the season. They could look to move that in exchange for another significant piece, but the Jazz will probably just hold onto him for the free-agent money he'll open up at the end of the season.
Washington
Some rumors started getting tossed around earlier in the season that the team was looking to move pretty much anybody but John Wall. Nick Young, Andray Blatche, and JaVale McGee were all considered readily tradable for different reasons based mainly around character flaws.
Young has since emerged as a volume scorer for the Wizards after Gilber Arenas' departure; Blatche has displayed a more diversified game recently that has included better steals, blocks, and assist numbers; and McGee has been invited to represent the team in the dunk contest at All-Star Weekend.
Each of them have improved their value over the last month and a half and likely made the Wizards question whether to break up their talented young core.
Trevor Booker and Yi Jianlian are both candidates to emerge with value if Blatche gets traded. Yi would probably have the upper hand on the starting gig, but he's also proven to be somewhat brittle.
Cartier Martin could get good run if Rashard Lewis gets moved or opts to undergo surgery on his troublesome knee. Josh Howard stepped into the starting lineup for Lewis this weekend, but he's had knee issues himself this season.
Mustafa Shakur, if signed for the rest of the season after his second 10-day contract is up, could find value as a backup to John Wall if Kirk Hinrich were moved.
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Thanks for reading through the series. I encourage you to suggest in the comments any ideas that you may have regarding any possible moves you might see teams might make. We've got just 10 days until the trade deadline, and this weeks All-Star break should give front offices the chance to meet and discuss moves leading up to the deadline.
Here's hoping we have an exciting deadline, because the uncertainty surrounding the collective bargaining agreement seems to have put a lot of teams in a holding pattern this season.
-Kyle
@fbm|UNDER|kyle on twitter.