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Around The League In 30 Trades – Pt. 1:  The NBA Trade Deadline is just 16 days away and with the All-Star break behind us more teams will start focusing their attentions on the trade market.

The March 1st clearing date is just two days away, meaning after Thursday all players who signed contracts this year are eligible to be traded.

Over the next few days we’ll take a look at what’s out there and likely on a team by team basis – so let’s get the first ten teams out of the way:

Atlanta Hawks:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Kirk Hinrich, Marvin Williams, Tracy McGrady

The Hawks are still looking for size and if dealing Kirk Hinrich can return that, the team seems open to it. If someone would take Marvin Williams and his contract, they’d move him too. There were reports of unrest with Marvin regarding playing time and role, but with Joe Johnson on the shelf with a knee injury Hawks’ sources say Marvin will see the floor more.

Tracy McGrady had a similar blow up in the media, the problem is the market for McGrady is almost non-existent and he’s worth more to the Hawks than what he can return in trade because he is a low dollar player.

It looks like Tracy’s minutes and role may shift to Jerry Stackhouse, so the Hawks may try and force something with McGrady just to get him off the roster if things go south when he doesn’t play in the coming weeks.

Boston Celtics:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Jermaine O’Neal, Rajon Rondo, Brandon Bass

The Celtics find themselves at a crossroads. They are not nearly good enough to compete and they are not nearly bad enough where it’s clear the team should be blown up for draft picks and younger players.

The Celtics have two ending contracts in Jermaine O’Neal and Brandon Bass (team option) – both represent reasonable money and both could return assets, especially for teams looking towards free agency.

There has been a lot of Rajon Rondo speculation, and while his name has been mentioned to several teams, sources close to the process say the only way Rondo is moved is if the returning player all but assures the Celtics are a home court team going into the playoffs and frankly there just are not those kind of players available going into the deadline.

Rondo is a prime candidate to be traded around the draft this year especially as the Celtics try and rebuild, but sources near the situation peg a Rondo trade in the low teens percentage wise and the general belief is unless someone really makes a great offer to Boston, Rondo will remain in a Celtic jersey.

Charlotte Bobcats:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Corey Maggette, Boris Diaw, Tyrus Thomas, DeSagana Diop, Matt Carroll

The Bobcats would love to shed their long-term contracts especially those belonging to Corey Maggette and Tyrus Thomas. Their best trade chips might be the ending contract of Boris Diaw.  Cats’ sources say there have been calls regarding Diaw.

The Bobcats are in total rebuild mode, so there may not be an untouchable player on the roster. However if you want one of the Bobcats younger guys like say a DJ Augustin, you may have to be willing to take on luggage to get him.

It is possible the Bobcats are active in the run up to the trade deadline, but don’t expect anything too crazy unless someone wants to part with unprotected draft picks.

Chicago Bulls:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Jimmy Butler

If there is a team that will likely sit out the Trade deadline, it’s the Chicago Bulls. That said if the Bulls could flip Ronnie Brewer or Kyler Korver or even promising rookie Jimmy Butler into a real option at two guard they would explore it.

Outside of upgrading the two spot, the Bulls believe they are set going forward and looking at how well the Bulls are playing, it’s hard to argue they need much if anything.

Don’t expect the Bulls to be engaged in anything serious over the next few weeks. They just do not seem overly interested in a deal.

Cleveland Cavaliers:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Anthony Parker, Antawn Jamison, Ramon Sessions, Ryan Hollins, Daniel Gibson

The Cavs have a tone of moveable assets the most impactful may be the ending contract of Antawn Jamison.

The problem for the Cavs is they are one and half games out of the playoff picture and as an organization, they’d rather get their young guys playoff experience rather than tearing the team apart for draft picks.

The Cavs have 10 games to play before the March 15th trade deadline. If they can get into the 8th seed in the East do not expect the Cavs to be overly active. If the floor falls out from under them change is likely.

If the Cavs decide to sell off their pieces, Ramon Sessions has made it clear he will be opting out of his deal so you can expect the Cavs to try and move him, which should be very easy.

Anthony Parker would solve a number of problems for teams like the Bulls and Hawks, so expect his name to be kicked around as well.

So watch the standings, if the floor falls out from under the Cavs expect to see a For Sale sign hanging in the window in the days leading up to the deadline.

Dallas Mavericks:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Lamar Odom, Shawn Marion, Brendan Haywood, Roddy Beaubois, Dominique Jones

The Mavericks may not move anyone before the trade deadline as their primary goal is to be in a position to romance both Deron Williams and Dwight Howard in July.

The Mavs won’t have enough money for both without a sign and trade deal, so flipping players now for tradable assets later is a real possibility.

If a team would take on one of Dallas’ bad contracts like Shawn Marion or worse yet Brendan Haywood, the Mavs would likely do that deal in a heartbeat. But the reality is no one is doing that and Dallas is likely going to end the season with the same roster they have right now.

The Mavs have two available young guys in Roddy Beaubois and Dominique Jones, however the price tag may include taking a boat anchor deal in the process.

Sources close to the process say they view Beaubois and Jones as possible sweeteners in a sign and trade deal with either New Jersey or Orlando if they can sway both guys to Big D, so do not be surprised if the Mavs sit out the deadline, which would be odd given their history of roster shake up at the deadline.

Denver Nuggets:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Chris Andersen, Andre Miller, Rudy Fernandez

The Nuggets have been battling injuries and have fallen out of the playoff picture, but word is they will do a new deal with Wilson Chandler in the coming days and once he is acclimated there will be a bit of a log jam.

Rudy Fernandez is a tradable asset; however he’s been nursing a sore back, so it’s unclear what he could return.

Chris Andersen has been something of the odd man out in Denver, and once the Nuggets get healthy he may not have a role in the rotation.

Andre Miller is an ending contract, however it’s highly unlikely Dre is moved unless someone offers something of real value in exchange for him.

The Nuggets are jammed up at a lot of position so expect them to liquidate a few guys to just clear up the roster.

Detroit Pistons:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Ben Gordon, Rodney Stuckey, Jason Maxiell, Charlie Villanueva, Will Bynum

The Pistons are going nowhere fast and they know it. The problem is they are one of those franchises that are stuck. They are not bad enough to land top overall picks, but not nearly good enough to compete.

The Pistons have a lot of guys they’d like to trade – Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva for instance but their deals are so out of line to their production they are almost unmovable.

The Pistons have some guys they could trade tomorrow, but do not want to part with them – Rodney Stuckey and Will Bynum for instance.

Somewhere in the middle is where they will end up at the trade deadline.

Jason Maxiell has been shopped for most of the season and Will Bynum could be moved if it returned a high level draft pick.

To get Rodney Stuckey, a team is going to have to offer a real trade asset and that’s not been the case to this point.

The Pistons would deal if the situation was right, but they are not one of the teams aggressively searching for change.

Golden State Warriors:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: David Lee, Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins

The Warrior have a choice to make… keep trying with the core they have or start facing the inevitable conclusion that they need to blow this up.

The Warriors are one of the teams willing to rent Dwight Howard for the balance of the season because they know if they can land him one or two of their hefty contracts go out the door to obtain him.

League sources say that Monta Ellis was offered to the 76ers in exchange for Andre Iguodala at the start of the season, so it’s clear the team would trade their leading scorer for the right player.

Sources close to the situation point out that any deal involving Monta would have to include either Andris Biedrins or David Lee – the two worst contracts on the books.

There is a real sense that Golden State will try and make a major deal in the run up to the trade deadline, but if taking on a boat anchor contract is the cost, they may want a deal but may not get one.

Houston Rockets:

Who Is Likely On The Move?: Hasheem Thabeet, Jonny Flynn, Jordan Hill, Terrence Williams, Chase Budinger, Courtney Lee, Luis Scola

The Rockets have a ton of small pieces that they would love to combine into one big piece. The problem is Houston really over values their players and most teams are not seriously considering them just yet.

As the trade deadline approaches the asking price on guys will normalize and that’s when Houston will get in the mix especially if a major player surfaces.

Luis Scola is their biggest chip to cash, but league sources say his decline this year is directly related to problematic knees and that’s going to make him hard to move.

The Rockets want to make a trade – they covet a serious front court player or an impact small forward and if any combination of guys listed above can return that, expect Houston to pounce.

So there you have the first ten teams… look for the next ten teams on Friday.

No Buyout For Odom:  There had been a rumor making its way around suggesting that the Dallas Mavericks would be open to a contract buyout of Lamar Odom, who has been struggling since being traded from the Lakers to the Dallas Mavericks.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban told Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas that buying out Odom was not in the works and it was not something the team was open to doing.

“We haven’t discussed a buyout and we wouldn’t do a buyout. No chance that happens at all. We want to help Lamar work through any personal issues and expect him to be a valuable contributor to the Mavs this season. Players go through challenges from time to time and we try to be (an) organization that fully supports our players when things are challenging for them. We will do the same for Lamar.”

Odom was not with the team on Monday according to head coach Rick Carlisle who labeled the absence as “dealing with a family matter”.

Odom is averaging 7.7 points on 35.7% shooting and grabbing 4.5 rebounds per game, which are all career lows.

The Mavericks have ruled Odom out of tonight’s game versus the Nets.

P-Geesy Not Happy:  Paul George wasn’t happy on Saturday night when he lost the Dunk Contest and that displeasure hasn’t changed now that he’s back in Indianapolis.

“(Not to) take nothing away from the dunk contest, (but) it was a joke,” George said to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star . “I guess whoever had the biggest celebrity involved in their dunk was going to be the winner. I guess I should have tried to reach out to some people.

“If you leave it up to fans, they probably wouldn’t have known who Larry was. I think I was destined to lose it.”

More than a few NBA executives commented privately that the product produced on Saturday night was not good, and that the league would be looking into further changes to the process for next year’s event in Houston.

Miami’s LeBron James joked on Friday that if there was a million dollars on the line, he’d consider competing so maybe it’s up to the league to up the ante to get the real stars dunking again.

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