My list, description/comment ESPN insider http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8856467/trade-watch-10-impact-players-block 1. Marcin Gortat, C, Suns The Suns are a mess and there's no clear way to fix this team right now. They parted ways with coach Alvin Gentry on Friday, but Gentry wasn't the person who put together this mismatch of assets, and it's highly doubtful any coach is going to make a major turnaround. The Suns are going to need to make some trades. The truth is there aren't a lot of players on their roster with a ton of trade value. Gortat may be the exception. Teams are always looking for tough, productive big men. If the Suns decide to blow things up and try to collect young assets, I think they can get a draft pick and a young prospect in return for Gortat. Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta are all on speed dial. 2. DeMarcus Cousins, C, Kings Several GMs have told me that their calls to the Kings about Cousins' availability are being rebuffed. With the team currently for sale, it makes sense that president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie's hands are tied, even if he wants to trade Cousins. The reason he's on the list is because Cousins seems like he's one more incident away from forcing a trade. Given his background and desire for a new team, that's not out of the question. There are a lot of teams, including the Mavs, Rockets, Celtics and Suns, ready to help take Cousins off the Kings' hands. 3. Al Jefferson, F/C, Jazz The one thing I know about the Jazz is that we're not going to know about any Jefferson deal until the Jazz hand him a plane ticket. The Jazz are as secretive an organization as there is and they've been tight-lipped about their trade plans this season. But virtually every GM in the league believes the Jazz are moving one of their two big men -- either Jefferson or Paul Millsap. Because Millsap is a favorite of the team, Jefferson could be the odd man out. The team needs to clear more playing time for Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter and would probably be happy with a nice draft pick or a young point guard prospect in return. 4. Eric Bledsoe, PG, Clippers The Clippers don't want to trade Bledsoe. Not only has he been a terrific sparkplug off the bench for them, he's also been valuable insurance for those occasions when Chris Paul is out with injury. Furthermore, Bledsoe is even better insurance should Paul decide to bolt for another team this summer when he hits free agency. The problem is there is almost no chance that Bledsoe is wearing a Clippers uniform next year. A restricted free agent in the summer of 2014, he will get a major offer from a team under the cap and the Clippers already know they won't be able to afford to match it. With so many teams coveting Bledsoe, the Clippers could get some terrific assets in return -- either now or this summer. But with his stock probably as high as it's ever going to be, now may be the time to make a deal. It's a very tough call, but a number of GMs I spoke with are convinced that at the end of the day the Clippers will try to get some value in return for him before the deadline. 5. Josh Smith, F, Hawks Smith has been on the trade block for several years, but the Hawks always pull back at the last second. Once again Smith is the talk of the NBA after he was thrown out of practice Tuesday and suspended for Wednesday's game against Brooklyn. His agent says Smith is frustrated, but hasn't demanded a trade. The Hawks have been fielding calls, but have been reluctant to trade him because they believe Smith's presence in Atlanta could be a powerful lure for Dwight Howard this summer. But with Howard's situation up in the air, the time seems right for the Hawks and Smith to move on. Dallas, Houston, Boston, Milwaukee, Toronto and the Lakers are all potential suitors. The biggest question is: What is the price tag for a mercurial forward who is entering his prime and will be a free agent this summer?
http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=224894 What makes you think the Rockets have Gortat first on their list? Is he really worth ruining our ability to sign a max free agent? What does he bring to the table that the Rockets don't have? Morey should look into getting Jefferson, Smith, and Cousins. We don't need Bledsoe.
After the Royce White situation.. There's no guay we'll trade for cousins. Take him off you lost ASAP
Gortat's contract expires in 2014 which is the year of the good FA class as opposed to the really mediocre one coming up.
only person on that team worth getting and who will make our team a future championship contender is Cousins
how? people talk about BBall IQ with Smith but Cousins is even worse! He is low energy, immature, bad defense. Oh well once the forum has one player in mind they dont look back it seems. Follow the leader
i have a question OP. Is it top 5 targets Morey will look into! or top 5 targets Morey should look into!
smith has low bball iq (jacking up contested 3's and long twos, missing some dunks by trying to do too much when a normal dunk or layup will suffice) Cousins has a high bball iq, but is immature. Which any talented player would be too playing with tyreke evans and salmons and bad coaching
There is no team in the NBA that wouldn't trade for ANY of those players, its only a matter of what they would have to give up. Im sure the Rockets have "interest" in all of these players because guess what.... EVERY TEAM IN THE NBA HAS INTEREST IN THESE GUYS. That doesn't mean that every team would be willing to overhaul their entire roster to acquire one of them... especially when some of them are going to be UNRESTRICTED Free Agents in a mere 4 months. - With Cousins, the Seattle group more than likely has told the Maloofs that they are NOT to trade him before the sale of the franchise. Cousins will not be moved until next year and I can guarantee you that much. No way they give power to the Maloofs to trade him for peanuts on the eve of the sale of their franchise when he is their future cornerstone piece. -Bledsoe- He is a big part of a team competing for a title. The team wont look to move him until he's set to sign a new contract making more than Sterling is willing to buck up and pay. Bledsoe isn't going anywhere till next year at the earliest. -Gortat could be had, but at what cost for a backup center??... Unless he is a major upgrade from Asik, the Rockets will not look to replace him with Gortat. Im sure they would LOVE to bring him in as a backup, but at the cost of a future building block like Chandler Parsons or multiple first round picks(which is what Phoenix will want)... no way a deal gets done. -Smith, & Jefferson will both command huge trade packages at the deadline. Why would Morey give up a bounty of assets when he could just go after them in Unrestricted free agency this Summer. -Millsap MIGHT be let go of a little cheaper than the previous names mentioned, but again, if Utah wants a large amount of assets for him, why not just wait till the Summer, and retain your assets moving forward? All of these guys are good players, but I just dont see any of them being legitimate trade deadline targets for the Rockets. Maybe Millsap, but it would take Utah just trying to get rid of him for peanuts, cause that's about all the Rockets have to offer for a player like him at this point.
I bet you any group will listen to an offer centered around Lin and Parsons. Lin- not because of his talent, but they would like to generate fan interest and revenue, and we all know Lin is a polarizing as Tebow. Not saying they will bite, but they will listen to a package around those two players But i agree with what you said
