The NBA regular season is already about 25% over which means trade rumor season is officially in full swing. Every team in the league has a solid idea of where they stand after playing 20 games or so and the trade landscape has started to come into focus as teams emerge as clear buyers or sellers.
Recently, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype published an article in which he went through every team in the league and identified their trade assets and targets. There were some clear themes throughout the article, as well as a number of players who appeared on the radar of multiple teams.
Given the implementation of the league’s Play-In Tournament, more teams are alive for playoff spots for longer, which has created a seller's market around the trade deadline in recent years. That appears to be the case again this season as there are only a few clear-cut rebuilding teams that are looking to unload veteran talent.
Some of the teams that Scotto expects to be selling ahead of the deadline include the Nets, Raptors, Trail Blazers, Wizards, Jazz, Hornets, Bulls, and others. They’re all long shots to make the playoffs and would be best suited rebuilding around their young core players. But they each have some solid veteran players who could be valuable role players for contending teams around the league this season.
Bruce Brown and Jerami Grant available in trade talks
Two players who popped up in Scotto’s article were a pair of former Denver Nuggets, Bruce Brown and Jerami Grant. Brown was a key cog in the Nuggets’ title run but signed a big free agency deal with the Raptors last offseason. Grant had a strong season in Denver in 2019-20 but chose to pursue a bigger role in Detroit before being traded to the Blazers.
Now, both players are toiling away on teams that would rather bottom out for a high draft pick than try to pursue a playoff spot. Brown hasn’t played this season, but he’s an extremely useful and versatile role player that could help almost any team. He has a $23 million expiring contract which should be very movable and appealing.
Grant has three years and $96 million left on his deal, but that’s attractive long-term security for any team that acquires the 30-year-old forward. Grant is a heck of a player who has proven his value in a variety of situations. Scotto reported the Blazers wanted two 1st-round picks for Grant, but there is some disagreement about his worth around the league.
Realistically, the chances of the Nuggets being able to re-acquire either of these players are very slim. They have no matching salary, no movable young assets, and basically no draft capital.
Both of these players would be extremely helpful, but they are just too limited in their ability to spend. By all accounts, it sounds like they will be finding new homes in the coming weeks and helping other teams contend for a championship in 2025.