2013-2014 NBA team needs and trade block (POST YOURS)

[HartfordWhalers]

So, with free agency pretty much done, it seemed like a good time to take a look at what each team needs. Last year we did this at the start of the season, but, now struck me as good as waiting.

So what is your team's trade needs, what sort of return would they be ideally looking for if the traded some assets. What position, what sort of player: stretch 4 or banger, defensive presence or low post option, and any salary restrictions such as no money due for the '13 fa or not over 9m as that puts over the tax, etc).

Let everyone know so we can all make better trades to you team.

Feel free and add what sort of asset they would be willing to send out in a trade, although that tends to diverge into a whole different debate as to the degree of tradability of each player on a roster (a worthy separate thread).

Also, if your interested here is the list from last year: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1199664

Atlanta:
Boston: Cap flex, a center. Has sg and pf glut.
Brooklyn:
Charlotte: Sg/sf shooter. Has Gordon, Haywood both moveable.
Chicago:
Cleveland:
Dallas: Center (better than Dalembert). Has VC and Marion if the season goes bad.
Denver:
Detroit:
Golden State:
Houston: Pf, possible pg. Has Asik, Lin, T. Jones, Motie, Greg Smith, picks.
Indiana:
Clippers:
Lakers:
Memphis: Sf and a backup pg. Has Prince and Pondexter, Wroten, Bayless and possibly Randolph
Miami:
Milwaukee:
Minnesota:
New Orleans: A center and a sf.
New York Knicks:
Oklahoma City: A center.
Orlando:
Philadelphia: Future assets. Has cap space, Hawes and possibly Thad and Turner to move. Jrich.
Phoenix:
Portland: Pf/C depth. Has Barton, Freeland, Crabbe, owes a pick to Charlotte.
Sacramento:
San Antonio:
Toronto: Bench scoring (or to blow it up). Has Hansbrough, Acy, Novak, NYK 2016 1st.
Utah: Future assets. Has Rush, less useful expirers and a 3m TPE.
Washington: Long term pf/c. Has Ariza as tradable, and Vesley, Singleton, Temple.

[HartfordWhalers]

Philadelphia
Needs: anything of future value (picks or very young players), does not want to get better now at all.
Available: 15m or so in cap space, Hawes, Thad (only in a good offer or if he is winning the team too much, I think he gets burn at sf this season), Turner (but almost definitely falls in the worth more to us than you, as would need to be moved for better prospect still).

[Drax]

Boston Celtics

Needs:
- cap flexibility (clear long term deals)
- an expirienced center

Available:
- two of our shooting guards (Bradley, Lee, Crawford, Brooks, Bogans)
- one of our power forwards (Sullinger, Olynyk, Bass, Humphries),

[loserX]

Utah

We are in a bizarro rebuild zone wherein we want all of our young guys to be super-awesome and yet somehow lose all our games. Our "needs" are not apparent until we figure out how all these kids react to bigger roles; our bench is total crap and yet we don't want it to be better.

Wants: future picks, I guess. Again, this whole season is basically a lab experiment so the answer to this question may change over time or it may not.

Available: in theory, some huge expirings (and a small TPE from the Foye trade). But we're not exactly interested in taking on future salary so I don't know how "available" those are either (and believe me, nobody wants those players as players).

We also have Brandon Rush who may have some value in the "3-and-D" wing craze, but having come off a major injury he needs to play his value back up, too.

[nate33]

WASHINGTON WIZARDS

Lineup:
PG Wall/Maynor/Temple
SG Beal/Webster/G.Rice Jr.
SF Webster/Ariza/Porter/Singleton
PF Nene/Booker/Harrington/Vesely
C Okafor/Nene/Seraphin/Vesely

Needs: Over the long term, they definitely need to find core frontcourt players for the future. Nene and Okafor are getting long in the tooth and there is nobody to replace them. Vesely and Singleton are busts. Booker is a solid backup, but injury prone. Only Seraphin has any hope of one day being a starter, but after regressing significantly last year, that is very much in doubt. The Wizards could also use a high quality 3rd guard.

All that said, there are no immediate glaring holes in the lineup that need to be addressed. The Wizards are unlikely to make any major trades this season unless something dramatic happens like an injury to Wall or some disgruntled young superstar is forcing his way out somewhere. The plan is to compete for a playoff seed and maybe sneak into the 2nd round, so that Wall, Beal and Porter learn what it takes to win.

This offseason, Okafor and Ariza come off the books (and Seraphin and Booker are RFA's), freeing up max cap room. The Wizards will probably take a shot at signing one of Monroe or Cousins, or maybe packaging their cap space and relatively meager assets to work out a trade for some other youngish, above-average starting big man. Because of this, any trades need to bear in mind that future cap space is being conserved.

Untouchable: Wall and Beal

Unlikely to be traded: Porter, Webster

Not shopping, but will listen to offers: Nene, Okafor, Seraphin, Booker, Glen Rice Jr., Maynor, Harrington

Expendable: Ariza

No meaningful trade value: Vesely, Singleton, Temple

[Trader_Joe]

Brooklyn Nets

Deron Williams / Shaun Livingston / Tyshawn Taylor
Joe Johnson / Jason Terry / Alan Anderson
Paul Pierce / Andrei Kirilenko / Toko Shengelia
Kevin Garnett / Reggie Evans / Mirza Teletovic
Brook Lopez / Andray Blatche / Mason Plumlee

Overall Needs
-Health/Time Machine
Assuming this team stays healthy and plays up the standards of recent years, I think most of our needs are met. We can even withstand injuries to pretty much any position, except PG (Deron) and C (Brook). Once again this team will go as far as Deron and Brook take them.

-Athleticism
Thanks in larger part to our age, and also because of the size of most of our players we lack athleticism across the board. Plumlee is our most athletic big man (sad) and Alan Anderson probably our most athletic wing. I also worry who will guard the Roses, Irvings and Westrbooks of the league as Deron was a pretty poor defender the last couple seasons, though he looks to be much thinner in recent pictures.

Heart/Leadership
That is what KG and PP were brought in for and already the culture is changing, but it needs to be seen on the court. Will KG be willing to call out Lopez for pouting on a non-call? How will Brook react? Will Deron play like he did post ASG where he had arguably the best numbers of any point guard or will he take games off? It's up to the vets and coach Kidd to make sure there is accountability.

On the block
I can't see many players on the block any time soon, but perhaps later on.
If I had to guess, right now I think the most available would be (in order of availability)

Toko Shengelia - supposedly the most inquired about Net last trade deadline. Talented, but raw his salary is much to small to bring back anything of significance

Tyshawn Taylor - our 3rd string PG who is probably our best PG defender but has shown very selfish play

Reggie Evans - supposedly KG and Lopez love him (and he can help on the boards like few can) but there is a worry he might not be happy if he doesn't see minutes and be a distraction.

Mirza Teletovic - Either he or Evans will be a DNP night in and out. The FO remains high on him, but he is one of our few players with a significant enough salary to match and also drew interest at last trade deadline.

Right now, most of us Net fans are in love with our line-up.
My biggest worry about the team when healthy would be the pairing of JJ and PP on the wing. One will essentially be relegated to spot up shooter and neither are the quickest of players.

Untouchable:
Deron Williams
Brook Lopez
Kevin Garnett
Paul Pierce
Andray Blatche (can veto any trade)
Andrei Kirilenko
Joe Johnson (because of his contract)

[bondom34]

Nate, I like the setup, so I"m stealing!

OKC Thunder

Lineup:
PG - Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson
SG - Thabo Sefolosha, Jeremy Lamb
SF - Kevin Durant, Perry Jones
PF - Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison
C - Kendrick Perkins, Hasheem Thabeet
D - Ryan Gomes, Steven Adams, Derek Fisher, Daniel Orton

Orton or Gomes most likely will be cut (one of the two)

Needs: A center (on a not-terribly expensive contract). Literally, if you're 6'10" or taller and can catch a ball without fumbling it around clumsily, call. Its a lineup one big shy of a great title shot.

Otherwise, bench depth doesn't hurt, and could use maybe a backup guard/forward, as KD could use a more solid backup, and I think Jackson can be a 1 or 2. If needed, a backup for the other guard position would be ideal.

Untouchable: Durant/Westbrook

Unlikely to be traded:Ibaka, possibly Adams and Jackson

Available if a deal comes for a solid piece in return: Thabo, Collison, Jones, Lamb, Thabeet

No meaningful trade value: Perkins

Also available is an owed 1st from Dallas (protected top 20 through I believe 2017).

[HartfordWhalers]

We need a SF and a c

[HornetJail]

Charlotte:

Lineup:
Jefferson/Biyombo/Haywood
Zeller/McRoberts/Adrien/Tolliver
Kidd-Gilchrist/Taylor
Henderson/Gordon
Walker/Sessions/Pargo

The way the roster is currently set up, we definitely have a 9-man rotation of Jefferson/Biyombo/Zeller/McRoberts up front, MKG at the 3, Henderson at the 2, Taylor backing up the 2 and 3, Kemba at the point, and Sessions backing up the PG and SG spots. We currently have no use for Ben Gordon or Brendan Haywood, unless someone gets hurt. I suspect McRoberts could potentially get spot minutes at the 3 given his ball-handling abilities. We'll probably sign a fifth wing player from the D-League or pick up Seth Curry or something.

Needs:
I'd say we need a young, legit shooter on the wings first and foremost. Whether it's a sixth man playing a Nate Robinson role or a starter playing a Danny Green/Kyle Korver role, we have to be able to spread the floor somehow. Kemba, Henderson, McRoberts, and Taylor are too inconsistent with their 3s, and Gordon, who can shoot well, is simply too terrible to leave on the floor for very long. I'd love to take a flyer on Seth Curry, but swinging a trade for a guy like Klay Thompson, Jeremy Lamb, etc would be a dream scenario.

Also wouldn't mind an expiring veteran forward who can teach MKG and Zeller things. (Shawn Marion???)

Completely available:
There's nobody I'd pay extra assets to give away, but I'd give away Ben Gordon or Brendan Haywood for mediocre 2nd round picks. Same goes for Adrien- even though he showed a lot of heart and tenacity last year, he is expendable, and likely to be waived. I haven't seen Tolliver play much, but he doesn't strike me as anything special either. Any type of decent asset would be welcome.

Available for the right deal:
Henderson, McRoberts, Taylor, Pargo.
-To most people, the only name worth a second look is Henderson, a 15-18ppg scorer who is tenacious on defense, plays well within his role, hits a ton of mid-range shots, finishes at the rim, but he 3-point shot isn't quite there yet. He obviously won't come cheap as he is a very, very good player, but with MKG (poor shooter) they aren't an ideal fit playing alongside each other. Henderson is likely a future sixth, but if Henderson could help us get that Klay Thompson/Jeremy Lamb- esque player to stretch the defense, that's the kind of deal we'd be looking for.
-Taylor is the definition of a 3 and D guy with the added advantage of being super athletic. Doesn't have an incredibly high ceiling, but is definitely serviceable. Again if he can assist us in getting that pure shooter, he could be traded.
-McRoberts is an underrated all-around PF, who can defend, shoot, score, rebound, produce some highlights, and even do some ball-handling.
-Pargo is a shooter who we apparently liked enough last season to warrant bringing him back. He's streaky, and when he's hot, he's hot.
-Our top 12 protected 1st from Portland
-Our top 8 protected 1st from Detroit


Unlikely to be traded:
Bismack Biyombo, Ramon Sessions, Al Jefferson

-There is nobody in the league that will value Bismack like we do. From day one, we knew he was going to be a big project and most of us expected him to play a lot of D-League minutes. He's shown a little progress, but he's still only 20 (turns the big "2 1" in a couple weeks) so there's still plenty of hope for him. His role might decrease this year, but he's the only defensive big we've got and he won't need to worry about his atrocious offensive game hurting the team with Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller there.
-Ramon Sessions has publicly stated that he wants to remain in Charlotte and has been the definition of a professional here. He's been a terrific backup combo guard, understands that role, and embraces it like few others. He's a keeper unless we get great value.
-A lot of people though the Jefferson signing was a little bit of a head-scratcher. It wasn't the type of move that puts us in playoff contention, but it keeps us from being bad enough to have a great chance at Wiggins. Jefferson's interior scoring and rebounding plug our two biggest holes from last season. A small part of me thinks that Jefferson could be terrific trade bait to assist us in gaining additional picks, or bait to move up in the draft, as he is plenty older than our core, and might make us too good too soon. Of course, he is also presumably a mentor to guys like Zeller and Biyombo, so I wouldn't bank on that. Plus, Kemba recruited Jefferson, and trading him would definitely upset Kemba, which is definitely something we don't need.

Close to untouchable:
You'd really have to blow us away to make us part with MKG, Kemba, or Zeller. Kemba is the heart and soul of the team and probably wouldn't be traded for anything short of an all-star, as he was not too far off of being one last year. MKG is raw and had rough patches in his rookie year, but that guy showed off crazy potential. Z-Rex is a terrific offensive big man already, and starting his career with Al Jefferson and Patrick Ewing teaching him post moves is something special. Cho is fully committed to him.

[Texas Chuck]

Nate, I like the setup, so I"m stealing!

Me too!


DALLAS MAVERICKS

Lineup:
Dalembert/Blair/James
Dirk/Wright/Marion
Marion/Crowder/Vince
Have it All/Vince/Ellington
Calderon/Harris/Mekel or Larkin

Needs: We need bigs. We need a starting center and it wouldnt hurt to find another upgrade. I actually like the Blair signing for the minimum and I think he can fit nicely next to Wright on our 2nd unit, but Dalembert as a starter scares me and we are thin on experienced depth. And if Dirk gets hurt again we would have to start Marion at 4 which creates its own set of problems.

Id love a different 2-guard, but here's praying that Rick and Dirk and Jose can help Monta find his inner-JET and Dirk will have a strong sidekick. No matter what our offense should be really good, but defense is a problem. Marion is a good defender, but he can only guard one guy and while Daly has the ability to protect the rim and rebound who knows what to expect from him. Harris may force his way into more minutes since he is the only chance we have at defending pgs and it seems like every team has a scoring pg these days.

Would also really like to see Rick find a way to give meaningful minutes to Crowder, Larkin and James early in the season to see what we have. This will be tough since we are trying to be a playoff team and Rick loves his veterans. Still we have to have to have to start developing some young cheap rotation guys. I miss the days of $90M payrolls where we could have $7-10M role players everywhere, but alas...

Dirk and Marion and Vince come off the books following this year for a combined $34M and Dirk has already said he will take a massive pay cut. We'd ideally leave room to add a max player along with a new deal for Dirk and maybe Marion too. I dont love all our signings this summer, but Im glad we did give out some multi-year deals. Its time to start forming an actual team.

Untouchable: Dirk. He has NTC but Cubes wouldnt deal him anyway

Everyone else on our roster is available to some degree or another. Most of our roster we just signed so its unlikely we deal any of them this year. Marion and Vince might become available at the deadline if Dirk isnt Dirk and we arent looking like a playoff team. None of our young players have meaningful value. We cant deal a first. We likely arent big players on the trade market, but never rule us completely out as Cubes and Donnie have proven to be creative in making trades.

[DrazenForThree]

Brooklyn Nets

Deron Williams / Shaun Livingston / Tyshawn Taylor
Joe Johnson / Jason Terry / Alan Anderson
Paul Pierce / Andrei Kirilenko / Toko Shengelia
Kevin Garnett / Reggie Evans / Mirza Teletovic
Brook Lopez / Andray Blatche / Mason Plumlee

Overall Needs
-Health/Time Machine
Assuming this team stays healthy and plays up the standards of recent years, I think most of our needs are met. We can even withstand injuries to pretty much any position, except PG (Deron) and C (Brook). Once again this team will go as far as Deron and Brook take them.

-Athleticism
Thanks in larger part to our age, and also because of the size of most of our players we lack athleticism across the board. Plumlee is our most athletic big man (sad) and Alan Anderson probably our most athletic wing. I also worry who will guard the Roses, Irvings and Westrbooks of the league as Deron was a pretty poor defender the last couple seasons, though he looks to be much thinner in recent pictures.

Heart/Leadership
That is what KG and PP were brought in for and already the culture is changing, but it needs to be seen on the court. Will KG be willing to call out Lopez for pouting on a non-call? How will Brook react? Will Deron play like he did post ASG where he had arguably the best numbers of any point guard or will he take games off? It's up to the vets and coach Kidd to make sure there is accountability.

On the block
I can't see many players on the block any time soon, but perhaps later on.
If I had to guess, right now I think the most available would be (in order of availability)

Toko Shengelia - supposedly the most inquired about Net last trade deadline. Talented, but raw his salary is much to small to bring back anything of significance

Tyshawn Taylor - our 3rd string PG who is probably our best PG defender but has shown very selfish play

Reggie Evans - supposedly KG and Lopez love him (and he can help on the boards like few can) but there is a worry he might not be happy if he doesn't see minutes and be a distraction.

Mirza Teletovic - Either he or Evans will be a DNP night in and out. The FO remains high on him, but he is one of our few players with a significant enough salary to match and also drew interest at last trade deadline.

Right now, most of us Net fans are in love with our line-up.
My biggest worry about the team when healthy would be the pairing of JJ and PP on the wing. One will essentially be relegated to spot up shooter and neither are the quickest of players.

Untouchable:
Deron Williams
Brook Lopez
Kevin Garnett
Paul Pierce
Andray Blatche (can veto any trade)
Andrei Kirilenko
Joe Johnson (because of his contract)

yea, i mean, i really cant envision us making a trade. the guys we have cheap are insane values(kirilenko/blatche). our max guys are either or franchise players(lopez/dwill) way too overpaid for anyone to want(JJ). or just brought in (kg/pierce)

other then maybe a Terry + Evans or Mirza+Taylor for an athlete trade, i really cant see us making a move. unless some megastar get sun happy and demands a trade here like dwightmare V i cant see it

[tenkev]

MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

Lineup
PG Mike Conley/Nick Calathes/Tony Wroten/Josh Akognon
SG Tony Allen/Jerryd Bayless/Jamaal Franklin
SF Tayshaun Prince/Mike Miller/Quincy Pondexter
PF Zach Randolph/Ed Davis/Jon Leur
C Marc Gasol/Kosta Koufus/Fab Melo

Team Needs
Upgrade at Small Forward
The Grizzlies have three players at this position that are very similar in that they all would make very fine backups; but, they are below average for starters. They could play them all 16 minutes a game; but, they would much prefer to trade away some depth for a better starter, preferably someone who can make threes AND play good D.

Experience at Backup PG
Nick Calathes, Tony Wroten and Josh Akognon have a combined 299 in NBA minutes played. Tony Wroten did not look good in the summer league. Josh Akognon is 5'11"" and was waived by the Mavericks. Nick Calathes shot terribly in Europe but is probably the best of the bunch. A experienced veteran who handle the offense and shoot the occasional 3 would be very nice.

On the Block
Zach Randolph - The Grizz might not be able to get value for him so they will probably just keep him; but, if the right deal comes along they will trade him no problem. He still can bring toughness, low post scoring and rebounding to the table; so the deal would have to be good though.

Tayshaun Prince and Quincy Pondexter - Like I said earlier, the Grizz would be willing to trade depth for quality at the SF position. Tayshaun Prince is past his prime but his long arms and experience mean he can still play pretty good defense and he can hit a shot or two. Q Pon might actually start for the Grizz this season do to his improved shooting and hustle. Not a very good defender though.

Jerryd Bayless- Quality backup; but, I don't think the Grizz management are confident in his abilities to play point for this team so he can no longer be considered a combo guard, rather just a backup two. If Jamaal Franklin shows some ability this makes Bayless expendable.

Tony Wroten - Grizz management have moved on. He has some talent but just hasn't shown enough of it to earn the backup PG role. Still could develop into a broke man's version of Rajon Rondo; but, the Grizz need a different skill set from their PGs than what Wroten brings to the table. The Grizz need shooting and offensive skill and Wroten brings defense and athleticism.

Ed Davis - Played well in limited minutes last year. For some reason Lionel Hollins chose to play the scrub Darrell Arthur over him. He had a 17.8 PER last season to go with .159 WS/48 and a xRAPM of -0.3 and these numbers have gone up every year in the league so he is a nice, average level NBA PF. Makes a good backup and could develop into more but if the right deal comes along he could be had.

Untouchables
Mike Conley and Marc Gasol - No way we could get equal value for either of these players so don't even bother.

[witnessraps]

Hope nate doesn't mind I will use this template:

Lineup:
PG Lowry/Augustin/Dwight Byucks
SG DeRozan/Ross/Austin Daye
SF Gay/Fields/Novak
PF Amir Johnson/Psycho Hans/Quincy Acy
C Jonas V/Gray/Amir/

Needs: For the first time in many years the Raptors actually know what their starting lineup will be going into the season, and for the first time in a long time we will be getting good defense from our frontcourt particularly Amir Johnson being unleashed for 27+ minutes per game. Many Raptor fans want to tank for a young horse to pair with Jonas V like Wiggins or Parker. Unfortunately that is impossible with this roster and dramatic trades will have to be made fast. Even if we are bad the top 5 will be out of reach. What the Raptors need is health and stability. Jonas development will determine if we are a 30 win team or a 40+ win team. DeRozan hasn't got there yet defensively and is the weak link on that end, and Jonas is not there yet on the pick and roll D. The Raptors will be greatly improved though with the Andrea Bargnani trade and Amir taking his spot. The Raptors could use an established scorer off the bench. With Ross and Augustin as the main creators the going could be tough which is why us fans don't want hockey substitutions but rather a tight rotation with starters mixed in with bench.

Untouchable: Jonas Valanciunas, Amir Johnson (Would have to blow us away)

Unlikely to be traded: Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan : Ok some people say it's likely but as it stands these are our core players, Rudy and Kyle are long-term friends. These can quickly change once the season starts. Rudy and Kyle's contract situation make this season an important one..I guess you can put these players in the category below as well

Not shopping, but will listen to offers: Hansbrough, Acy, Novak, maybe the Knicks 2016 pick


No meaningful trade value: Fields, unless someone wants a large expiring next year and a decent role player

Raptors new ceo and GM have talked about getting out of the 7-11 zone so expect us to make another move to get to the next level or blow it up for a supertank

[DeBlazerRiddem]

Portland Trail Blazers
After making some great moves at bargain prices, the Blazers are trying to make the playoffs.

Lineup
PG: Lillard - Williams - Watson
SG: Matthews - McCollum - Barton - Crabbe
SF: Batum - Wright + (Claver and Matthews can both add minutes here)
PF: Aldridge - Robinson - Claver - Freeland
C: Lopez - Leonard

Needs
Portland actually did a pretty good job filling their holes and getting the right role players this summer. The one area of concern in our front-court, and there has been debate on the Blazer board as to whether this should focus on the PF or C position. As one can see from the depth chart, we have 4 second-year players backing up the PF/C positions, meaning a veteran who can play if need-be (but might not require many minutes) would put our mind at ease. The center position is the thinnest, especially since Lopez has never been a big minute player, however Aldridge plays pretty well there and Stott's seems fond of using that lineup so a PF would also make sense. Basically Portland would want the best player they can get. Ideal attributes would be defense and rebounding, however since Freeland would likely be in any deal, it limits what Portland can expect through trade. If Portland is shooting for the stars, the focus would be on upgrading the SG and/or center starting positions.

Trade Assets
Untouchable: Lillard, Aldridge
Barring some sort of superstar trade, or in Aldridge's case an excellent rebuilding offer, these are the guys Portland is building around. Both are expected to be All-Star quality, but lets not delude ourselves into thinking they are elite players.

Unlikely to be traded: Batum, Matthews
These guys fit the direction and needs of the team very well. A rebuild might make them available, or a seriously impressive offer, but Portland is happy with our starting SG and SF.

Might shop for a serious upgrade: McCollum, Leonard, Robinson, Claver
Young guys with upside, but if Portland is serious about making the playoffs then these guys would be the bait to get another big time player to Portland.

Not shopping but will listen to offers: Williams, Wright, Lopez
The 3 vets are very good role players and fit the needs Portland has. Since all of them are on pretty friendly contracts, they would be good additions to a consolidation trade. Obviously if Lopez is traded Portland would need a starting center in return.

Available: Barton, Freeland, Crabbe
It is unlikely that either guy will get much burn this year. Portland does kind of like Barton's unique skill-set (rebound and bring the ball up the floor, plus the ability to sink some crazy shots), but he looks like an elite street-ball player so his NBA future is a little questionable. They did trade 2 second round picks for rookie Crabbe so they might not let him go too easily but, since he is unlikely to play much, if someone else values him he could provide trade incentive.

Not much trade value: Watson
He was signed as a defensive presence during practice and a mentor due to his connections. Doubt anyone values him and I doubt he is traded.

Going to be cut: Harris, Bost
Guys here for preseason and will be cut and sent to the D-league unless a minimum salary is needed for a preseason trade.

Other notes
Portland owes a 2014 draft pick to Charlotte, which has top-12 protection on it. It is also top-12 protected in 2015. It becomes unprotected in 2016, which is unfortunately the season after Aldridge's current contract. Because of this it is unlikely Portland goes into a full-fledged rebuilding mode, as losing an unprotected pick in the middle of a rebuild can completely screw a team over. Some might say this was a bad thing to trade, but it essentially netted us Damian Lillard. We can technically trade a 2018 pick, but we would have limited options since owed picks cannot go into 2019. Portland has traded away all our second round picks.

[x-]

Rockets

Lineup:
Howard Asik Camby
T.Jones G.Smith Motiejunas
Parsons Casspi Covington
Harden Garcia R.Williams R.Brewer
Lin Beverley A.Brooks Canaan

Needs: PF upgrade

Do not want (JMO): Ryan Anderson, David Lee, Carlos Boozer, Thad Young, Bargnani, Hawes, Glen Davis, JJ Hickson
Would be happy with: Bosh, LMA, Horford, Tobias Harris, Ilyasova, Gallinari
Could talk myself into at the deadline: Millsap, Jeff Green

Untouchable: Howard and Harden

Unlikely to be traded: Parsons, Beverley (some may disagree)

Not shopping, but will listen to offers: Asik, Lin, Terence Jones, Motiejunas, Greg Smith

Expendable: Asik, Lin (some may disagree), Terence Jones, Motiejunas, Greg Smith, draft picks

No meaningful trade value: the rest of the roster, expect for Isaiah Canaan, who I'm not really sure where to put. He's expendable, but likely not getting shopped and probably rather unlikely to be traded.

[djthesonicsfan]

Nate, I like the setup, so I"m stealing!

OKC Thunder

Lineup:
PG - Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson
SG - Thabo Sefolosha, Jeremy Lamb
SF - Kevin Durant, Perry Jones
PF - Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison
C - Kendrick Perkins, Hasheem Thabeet
D - Ryan Gomes, Steven Adams, Derek Fisher, Daniel Orton

Orton or Gomes most likely will be cut (one of the two)

Needs: A center (on a not-terribly expensive contract). Literally, if you're 6'10" or taller and can catch a ball without fumbling it around clumsily, call. Its a lineup one big shy of a great title shot.

Otherwise, bench depth doesn't hurt, and could use maybe a backup guard/forward, as KD could use a more solid backup, and I think Jackson can be a 1 or 2. If needed, a backup for the other guard position would be ideal.

Untouchable: Durant/Westbrook

Unlikely to be traded:Ibaka, possibly Adams and Jackson

Available if a deal comes for a solid piece in return: Thabo, Collison, Jones, Lamb, Thabeet

No meaningful trade value: Perkins

Also available is an owed 1st from Dallas (protected top 20 through I believe 2017).

I agree with all of this more or less. Minor additional thoughts...
- I like Orton's chances. Played good in summer league. Maybe he stays and Thabeet hits the road?
- I wonder about Roberson's potential to take over for Collison (& maybe even Thabo's role)? Little guys get tired but big guys don't shrink. Still, Collison is almost 33 years old and has two years left on a super nice contract. I could easily see him retiring at that point. But Thabois 29 years old on the last year of a fair contract. Thabo is still in his prime but wing guys typically drop off fast when they hit 30. If Roberson becomes Faried-esque, maybe Thabo is not resigned. Roberson appears to have a lot of opportunity. Let's see what he makes of it.
- Will Lamb become a player that can displace Thabo in the starting lineup? I could easily see that happening. If so, that may make resigning Thabo less of a priority. Especially if Roberson becomes a stopper.
- Abrines seems an interesting player... will he amount to anything in the future? If so that may make resigning Thabo even less of a priority. Lots lining up against Thabo returning. Or at least retaining a significant role.
- I sincerely hope PJ3 becomes much more assertive this year. That kid has soooooo much talent. He can become as good as he wants. I still think a front court of Durant, PJ3 & Ibaka could be amazing. He could also carve out decent minutes backing up both Ibaka and Durant. We will see. I think it's up to him.
- In summary, at least regarding the players, we've got a bench load of athletic, talented kids who have a chance at becoming legit contributors. Easy to understand why lots of RealGM posters are constantly dreaming up trades for them. And why we never seem to be interested.
- Would add that Brooks needs to continue improving as a coach. Might be our team's biggest need.

[OrlandoNed]

Rockets

Lineup:
Howard Asik Camby
T.Jones G.Smith Motiejunas
Parsons Casspi Covington
Harden Garcia R.Williams R.Brewer
Lin Beverley A.Brooks Canaan

Needs: PF upgrade

Do not want (JMO): Ryan Anderson, David Lee, Carlos Boozer, Thad Young, Bargnani, Hawes, Glen Davis, JJ Hickson
Would be happy with: Bosh, LMA, Horford, Tobias Harris, Ilyasova, Gallinari
Could talk myself into at the deadline: Millsap, Jeff Green

Untouchable: Howard and Harden

Unlikely to be traded: Parsons, Beverley (some may disagree)

Not shopping, but will listen to offers: Asik, Lin, Terence Jones, Motiejunas, Greg Smith

Expendable: Asik, Lin (some may disagree), Terence Jones, Motiejunas, Greg Smith, draft picks

No meaningful trade value: the rest of the roster, expect for Isaiah Canaan, who I'm not really sure where to put. He's expendable, but likely not getting shopped and probably rather unlikely to be traded.

Why wouldn't you want Ryan Anderson to be your starting 4? You'd want Illyasova, but not Anderson. Why? I don't see a ton of difference.

Also you got some expensive tastes for your 4 spot. No way you'd get Bosh, LMA or Horford for the assets and cap space Houston has, unless something crazy happens.

[Klomp]

Timberwolves

Lineup:
Rubio
Martin
Budinger
Love
Pekovic
----
Brewer (SG/SF)
Williams (PF/SF)
Cunningham (PF)
Barea (PG)
Shved (SG/PG)
Turiaf (C)
Dieng (C)
Muhammad (SF/SG)
Johnson (C/PF)


Needs: Wing consolidation. Center depth.
Untouchable: Love, Rubio
Unlikely to be traded: Martin, Pekovic, Budinger, Cunningham
Not shopping, but will listen to offers: Barea, Dieng, Brewer, Muhammad
Expendable: Williams, Shved
No meaningful trade value: Johnson, Turiaf

What I personally see happening at some point this season is a trade involving Williams, one of Shved/Muhammad, and/or one of Brewer/Budinger for an upgrade at starting SF. Someone who comes to mind is Jeff Green.

Regarding future picks, Minnesota's 2014 1st round pick is top-13 protected, otherwise it goes to Phoenix. In addition to our own 2014 2nd, we also own 2nds from New Orleans and Golden State.

[big3_8_19_21]

Timberwolves

Lineup:
Rubio
Martin
Budinger
Love
Pekovic
----
Brewer (SG/SF)
Williams (PF/SF)
Cunningham (PF)
Barea (PG)
Shved (SG/PG)
Turiaf (C)
Dieng (C)
Muhammad (SF/SG)
Johnson (C/PF)


Needs: Wing consolidation. Center depth.
Untouchable: Love, Rubio
Unlikely to be traded: Martin, Pekovic, Budinger, Cunningham
Not shopping, but will listen to offers: Barea, Dieng, Brewer, Muhammad
Expendable: Williams, Shved
No meaningful trade value: Johnson, Turiaf

What I personally see happening at some point this season is a trade involving Williams, one of Shved/Muhammad, and/or one of Brewer/Budinger for an upgrade at starting SF. Someone who comes to mind is Jeff Green.

Regarding future picks, Minnesota's 2014 1st round pick is top-13 protected, otherwise it goes to Phoenix. In addition to our own 2014 2nd, we also own 2nds from New Orleans and Golden State.

Interesting. Right now, I might value Brewer higher than Budinger partly because of healthy but also partly because of how he has displayed great chemistry with the rest of the starters. Also, I could see them handling the wings in one of two ways: the way you said (consolidation), or trading some package of Williams/Shved/Muhammad for another solid 2/3 to add to Martin/Brewer/Budinger. Because in our current situation it seems like we have a decent rotation with 3 guys at the wings, but our bench is screwed as soon as one gets hurt. Could be good to have a 4th, depending on what it would cost us (both financially and trade-wise).

[Klomp]

Interesting. Right now, I might value Brewer higher than Budinger partly because of healthy but also partly because of how he has displayed great chemistry with the rest of the starters.

Notice that post was from September 20. I definitely would value Brewer higher now.