Which of these players is most likely to be traded at the deadline?

If DMo isn't untouchable I am completely lost.

 

The only truly untouchable player on the team is probably James Harden, period. If you think Dwight is untouchable then see how fast his ass would be out of here if Lebron was offered for him. Obviously thats not going to happen but my point is almost every player on the team has a selling point.

Donatos Motiejunas has a very high selling point. Nope he is definitely not untouchable but it would require a player like Dragic to even get the conversation started and I'm not sure Daryl would trade DMo for Dragic. DMo has been that good and continues to get better and better as the season goes on.

One reason that DMo is very likely not going to get traded is because he is still developing and Daryl Morey is not going to leave 1 penny on the table if he sells him. Right now DMo is like a stock who's value has not peaked, do you want to sell your stock when it's well below it's peak and it's value is still climbing? No.

 

should have been a multi choice poll

 

Aleron you know Holic has an agenda. Lol

 

should have been multiple with the addtion of popa

 

I think pretty much anyone other than Harden, Howard, and Motiejunas are expendable. Ariza has been a great find but even he could be moved for a superstar. I'll assume he's a fixture for now though. I'll also assume that Smith and Brewer have found a home as super subs off the bench.

So who would I trade to make an upgrade?

Beverley - he's slipped some this season and is basically playing at replacement level. His defense is more about disruption than staying in front, and he's been burned on multiple games by the opposing PG. He's added a 3 pointer and lost his shorter range touch. He doesn't need to be a playmaker, but he does need to play better defense. He can be traded or upgraded.

Terrence Jones - we basically don't have a real need for him now with Smith in the fold, Motiejunas becoming a solid 2 way player, and with him still trying to pick up his game. I feel bad for him, since he could have continued his development this year before being sidelined by a freak injury, but the reality is he's a luxury at forward and we really need a guard. He's also due for a big payday around the same time as D Mo, and I'd much rather have D Mo than him if I had to choose.

Canaan - he could be pretty good, he could be a bigger Aaron Brooks, or he could be completely useless. Hard to know with such a small sample size and such a huge variation in performance. I'd trade him in a heartbeat to upgrade the PG spot.

Terry - he's been garbage. If he's a locker room guy, then that's fine. But as our backup PG? We need to do better than that. Other than last year in BKN, this is his worst season, and he's a negative defensively. Doubt he has value outside of salary filler.

Capela - he's raw as hell, but these kind of players are much more likely to be busts than impact players. He has virtually no offensive game and is basically a super shot blocker who lacks defensive awareness. I'd trade him as a "prospect" in a heartbeat if it sweetened the pot for a vet who could help us in the postseason. Wasn't there discussion about whether we would cut him at one point?

Nick Johnson - haven't seen too much to like here. He's young (but not THAT young - he's 22) and hasn't shown much in the way of shooting. He could end up being a decent defender, but we don't have the luxury of developing a marginal talent if we could include him in a deal for a proven player.

Big Papa - he's shown that he can be a playmaker, and is actually a plus defender statistically (even though it doesn't pass the eye test, I see him making rookie mistakes all the time), but his shooting is just not there right now. He's non-guaranteed next year, but you'd rather include him in a trade if it helps us upgrade.

Shved - I really haven't seen anything here to suggest that he's even an NBA quality player. He's been absolutely terrible. Would anyone even want him? He looked like he might have some potential when he was on the 76ers, but his numbers are down across the board and his BPM is a ghastly -8.4 during his time with the Rockets.

Dorsey - I hated on him pretty hard earlier in the year, but he's been very good defensively (DBPM +3.1), even though he can't dunk or do anything on offense. He's playing at replacement level or so, which is fine for our backup center. I'd say he's expendable, except that we don't really have an insurance policy on Dwight's knee right now other than D Mo playing center. He could be shipped out if we could convince someone like Jermaine O'Neal to be backup, but the reality is that we just don't have a decent backup C other than Dorsey right now (and decent is still a stretch here).

The West is way too close to hang on to anyone with marginal talent or semi-potential, which is essentially what most of these players have. Bev could figure things out, or this could be his peak. Jones is the only one that still has a high ceiling, and no one can really predict exactly how good he could be. The rest of those guys, I wouldn't bat an eyelash at. The West isn't going to get any easier over the next 2 or 3 years. Here's hoping we go all in and make a deep playoff run!