The NBA trade rumor mill is going to start spinning even more as the trading deadline gets closer and names like Greg Monroe, Josh Smith, Thaddeus Young, Marcus Thornton, Tyreke Evans and Dion Waiters will be on the minds of general managers around the league and those names have the latest deadline buzz with the date just a few weeks away.
Omer Asik looked like he was guaranteed to move on from the Rockets, but now the Houston big man is staying put and other names could take his place, including Monroe, Thornton and Young for teams looking for a big man in the middle. Luol Deng and Rudy Gay are the biggest names that have moved so far this season along with Andrew Bynum and as the schedule gets deeper into winter, teams are going to start positioning for the playoffs or the draft lottery and that will affect how those GM's deal at the deadline.
The Detroit Pistons are in an interesting position, as they are right on the fringes of the east and have improved since last season, but Joe Dumars is building for the future, meaning he will have to walk a fine line between getting rid of players and trying to get the team ready for a possible playoffs appearance. The team traded for Brandon Jennings and signed Smith in the offseason and now they could blow that up a bit, as Greg Monroe and Smith could be on their way out of town depending on how Dumars views the situation.
Smith is a very good offensive player, but his shooting and his shot selection often hurts the Pistons and his huge contract could be an issue going forward if the team wants to make moves and it isn't helping that he is averaging less than 20 points per game. Smith is not shooting at a high percentage either and he is not grabbing rebounds at his usual clip and that could lead to a trade, especially with younger players like Monroe and Andre Drummond there. Monroe pus the team in a tough situation as well, as he did not have his extension picked up and he now will be a restricted free agent and that is one reason why he could end up getting moved.
The Kings have been active in the trade market with Gay and Derrick Williams and they also dealt Tyreke Evans in the offseason and now they could deal Marcus Thornton next. The star could move in a deal for Andre Miller, which the Kings have been interested in since they have DeMarcus Cousins already, but they won't just give Thornton up for nothing. Thornton had a 40-point game earlier this season and he has been playing well and while he has $8 million due to him, another team could see him as a good addition heading into the playoffs.
Young and Evans are names that are on the market as well and the Sixers could deal Young to someone like the Suns ort the Knicks, but his contract could make it difficult. Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes and Young all could move for the 76ers and he has a $10 million salary for 2015-16 with a player option and that could complicate things. The trade deadline should be interesting this season.