NBA teams hope to improve their rosters to make a push for the 2008 NBA Playoffs.
As 2007 comes to a close, many NBA teams look to improve their rosters in order to make a bigger push for the NBA Playoffs in 2008. The season has had some odd twists so far. Yet, anything's possible as the NBA trade deadline looms.
The Chicago Bulls are rumored to be shopping center Ben Wallace. His production hasn't been up to par lately. He averages only 4.4 ppg, 8.5 rbpg and 1.7 bspg this season. Moreover, those three statistics have actually regressed in each of the last four seasons, making it evident that Wallace's 33-year-old body is starting to show wear and tear. What might make "Big Ben" tough to trade is the $15.5 million he's making this year, and the fact that his large contract doesn't expire until after the 2009-2010 season. Two likely candidates to be involved in a deal for Wallace might be the New Jersey Nets or the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to shop scoring guard Larry Hughes. Hughes hasn't lived up to expectations after signing an enormous contract in 2005 worth between $65 and $70 million for five years. Partly due to injuries, his scoring average has fallen to 9.4 per game this season, which is the lowest it's been since his rookie season in 1998-1999 when he averaged 9.1 ppg with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Washington Wizards were rumored to be interested in re-acquiring Hughes. After all, he had his best season with them before signing with Cleveland. However, they have recently made it evident that they aren't interested in the injury prone guard.
Point guard Jason Williams' name keeps coming up in trade rumors. The Miami Heat have been shopping him around since the start of the season. The Heat seek a point guard in return and hope that teams will want Williams' $8.9 million dollar contract which expires after this season.
There's also been speculation that the struggling New York Knicks may trade either center Eddy Curry or power forward Zach Randolph. Though Curry is often hailed as the future of the Knicks, he's failed to show significant improvement this season. The real issue here is that Curry and Randolph can't coexist. That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who pays attention to the NBA. Yet, Isiah seems stubborn in sticking with the experiment. Neither of the two are very good at the defensive end, and neither of them pass well out of double teams. That makes for a lot of turnovers (5.2 per game combined), not many assists (2.5 per game combined) and not many blocked shots (0.7 per game combined).
Another rumor has Houston Rockets star guard Tracy McGrady heading to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Ben Wallace and guard Ben Gordon. The Rockets have underachieved this season after falling in the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of weight to this rumor, but it would make sense as Wallace would give the Rockets some toughness at the power forward position so that Yao Ming could have an easier time operating in the post. Also, Gordon's youth and scoring prowess could help offset the loss of McGrady on the perimeter. McGrady would give the Bulls a leader and superstar they haven't had since Michael Jordan retired. However, at this point, such a deal is purely speculation.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are apparently in the hunt for Philadelphia 76ers point guard Andre Miller. Miller was a teammate of Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry and Cleveland badly needs a reliable point guard. Ideally, they would want a point guard who could also shoot. Miller isn't that point guard, but he would be a huge upgrade from what they have and they may be able to acquire him cheaply.
The NBA trade deadline is February 22nd. Fans can expect rumors to continue to surface as that date approaches.
