The NBA trade rumor mill has continued to move along as the February deadline gets closer and now names like Taj Gibson, Josh Smith, Jimmer Fredette, Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes, Evan Turner could be on the move in 2014 after the latest deadline buzz and reports, including that the Los Angeles Lakers, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats have called on the Chicago Bulls star.
The Bulls are caught in the middle of trying to stay in the mix this season and possibly rebuilding around and injured Derrick Rose and after trading Luol Deng, many feel the team still has moves to make. The Bulls had tried to sign Deng and now he is on the Cavaliers, but the way their season is going, it is very unlikely that he will remain there after becoming a free agent. According to Pro Basketball Talk, a number of teams have called the Bulls about Gibson, including the Lakers and the Wizards and now the team must decide how to plan for the future and this trading deadline could be very important for that.
Reports this season have said that Chicago will go after Carmelo Anthony in the offseason and to do that the team must clear cap space and that is what some of these deals could be about. Gibson makes $8 million and that could put them in better position to sign him and there are also reports that teams are interested in acquiring Mike Dunleavy and Kirk Hinrich, while Carlos Boozer could get moved as well.
Boozer comes off the books after next season and his salary is at $16.8 million and the Bulls have to decide how they want to handle the rest of the season along with deadline with Rose's recovery from a second straight season-ending knee injury.
The report said that the Bulls did not like what the teams were offering, which likely included names like Trevor Ariza, Marcin Gortat, Gerald Henderson and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The Detroit Pistons have been going through a tough season and a report from ESPN.com writes that the team would love to trade Josh Smith, but they can't because of the contract they signed him to over the summer. Joe Dumars signed Smith to a four year contract for over $50 million and traded for Brandon Jennings, but the team has not performed like he expected and ESPN.com reports that the team would trade him if they "could", but right now no team in the league wants to take on a contract of that size. The team has also dealt with reports of a trade with Greg Monroe with the Wizards being a team that is interested, but Dumars has come out to say that he is not available despite the fact that the two sides did not come to an extension agreement before the season started.
Jimmer Fredette, Thaddeus Young, Spencer Hawes and Evan Turner are also players that could move and that comes after the Kings already dealt for Rudy Gay and Darrick Williams this season. The team did not pick up the option on Fredette and he could be an option for a number of teams, while the Sixers are one of the worst teams in the league and since they are in the middle of rebuilding, Turner and Young could move. Turner is headed into free agency and there have been reports about Hawes as well. The trading deadline for the NBA is February 20.
