The 2016-17 NBA season isn’t even one month old and already there are a number of teams shopping around quality players that they might feel no longer fit their long-term outlook. It certainly didn’t take long for the rumor mill to start churning and there are a handful of players whose names just keeping coming up in conversations about potential trades. Here is a look at four NBA players that are already on the trade block.
DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
It’s not officially an NBA season until Cousins’ name is thrown around in the rumor mill, right?
Cousins is one name that seems to come up in trade rumors every single season and the fact that the Kings franchise appears to be in complete disarray is a big part of that. The 26-year-old Cousins is still in the prime of his career but Sacramento can’t seem to surround him with enough talent to make a legitimate playoff push and as a result his potential has been absolutely wasted over the last couple of years. The Kings have remained committed to drafting big men in the first round even though they have a deep need for guard help, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Cousins wanted out. Sacramento could acquire a handsome package in exchange for Cousins so it won’t shock anybody if he is moved at some point this season.
Willie Cauley-Stein, Sacramento Kings
As if the possibility of moving Cousins wasn’t big enough news, another rumor popped up this week that involved Cauley-Stein being moved to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Terry Rozier and James Young. The Kings selected Cauley-Stein with the sixth-overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and while he has shown flashes of his immense upside the biggest problem in Sacramento is that they have too much of the same thing. Cauley-Stein has averaged just 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in just 13.7 minutes per game so far this season and the rumors have indicated that he’s unhappy with the playing time. Of course, when you have so many centers on your roster, someone will get the short end of the stick. A team like the Celtics would definitely give him more of an opportunity to showcase what he can do at the NBA level. He would be a much better fit there than in Sacramento.
Danilo Gallinari, Denver Nuggets
Gallinari has emerged as a formidable combo player that can help stretch the floor as a 6’10’’ player that can shoot the three-ball. Gallinari has averaged 16.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 35.5 minutes per game this season but the problem is that the Nuggets are 4-7 and their inability to win games has put that much more pressure on them to make a decision about whether it’s in their best interest to try to win now or to work towards the future. At 28-years-old, Gallinari is Denver’s oldest starter so it might make sense for the Nuggets to move him in an effort to get acquire young talent while turning to their younger big men like Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic to take on feature roles.
Greg Monroe, Milwaukee Bucks
Monroe is the perfect example of a quality big man failing to live up to his potential because of a situation that isn’t conducive to his skill set. We knew from the onset that the Bucks signing Monroe probably wasn’t a good decision and here we are just over a year later and they are trying to unload him.
The Bucks have some intriguing young talent but the problem is that they have too many similar players. The lack of pure scorers is probably the biggest problem and Monroe’s grinding approach clogs the lanes even more and doesn’t help to open up space for Milwaukee’s guards. At 26-years-old, Monroe could still be a quality big man on a team where he is a better fit. A team that just needs a traditional power forward to rebound and score – possibly a team like the Toronto Raptors, for example. The Bucks have too many weaknesses to continue to try to win with their current roster so it shouldn’t surprise anybody if they shop Monroe around in an effort to trade him for more important assets early on this season.
