Time to Trade: Northwest Division
One season ago the Northwest Division was the most competitive division in the NBA with four teams - the Portland Trail Blazers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets – all winning at least 50 games. With only two teams (OKC and Utah) currently on pace repeat the success shared throughout the Northwest a year ago, as well as the on-going "Melo-drama" and other extenuating circumstances, this figures to be one of the more active divisions in basketball as the trade deadline (which is just 42 days away) approaches.
Denver Nuggets – (21-16)
Coming into this season there was speculation of change in Denver with star Carmelo Anthony’s contract set to expire in July and rumors rampant that the three-time All-Star would be fleeing the Rocky Mountains for the bright lights of New York City. Considering the collective fate of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors (the teams have combined to win 21 games this season; 13 teams have reached 21 wins individually), both of whom lost their marquee players to free agency last summer, the Nuggets have been rumored to be shopping Anthony since last July.
Denver is currently sitting in seventh place in the Western Conference and third in the Northwest Division and have slipped from contender (the Nuggets lost in the Western Conference Finals in 2009) to also-ran, even with Melo in the lineup. Considering the Nuggets fall from contention in the Western Conference, and the seemingly guaranteed departure of Anthony, the Nuggets figure to be active in the trade market. At this point, Nuggets General Manager Masai Ujiri and President Josh Kroenke are simply trying to maximize their return on any deal in which Anthony is shipped out. With several expiring contracts on the books (most notably Kenyon Martin’s $16.5M and J.R. Smith’s $6M) and a team option on Chauncey Billups remaining $14.2M, the Nuggets find themselves in a reasonable position to begin the re-building process.
Notable Trade Chips: Kenyon Martin (1 year/$16.5M), J.R. Smith (1 year/$6M), Arron Afflalo (1 year/$1.9M), Anthony Carter (1 year/$1.3M), Gary Forbes (1 year/$473k)
Salary Cap Situation: $6.3 million over the salary cap and $6.8 million under the luxury tax
Trade Exceptions: $2,080,000
Minnesota Timberwolves – (9-30)
Minnesota came into the season with hopes of moving from bottom-feeder to competitive organization after a major roster overhaul over the course of the last year and a half. While the roster is much improved (the Timberwolves have 11 former first-round picks on the roster) from a talent standpoint, the wins have remained hard to come by. Kevin Love and Michael Beasley have blossomed into one of the more talented young forward duos in the NBA and rookie Wesley Johnson has been solid, if not spectacular.
President of Basketball Operations David Kahn has been working to phone lines to make a deal, hoping to bolster the lineup and add a veteran star player to a talented, but young and unproven roster. The Timberwolves have attempted to involve themselves in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes to no avail, but have several tradable assets including expiring deals, players in their rookie contracts and a sizable Traded Player Exception in their pocket. Foremost on the Timberwolves list of needs is a stable veteran to help lead this inexperienced squad and bring a winning mentality to the Twin Cities.
NotableTrade Chips: Corey Brewer (1 year/$3.7M), Sebastian Telfair (1 year/$2.7M)
Salary Cap Situation: $12.4 million under the cap and $24.6 million under the luxury tax
Trade Exceptions: None
{AUTHOR_BOX}Oklahoma City Thunder – (26-13)
The Oklahoma City Thunder has been viewed as one of the up and coming teams in the NBA for a couple of years now. With a superstar in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, one of the best young point guards in the NBA, OKC won 50 games last year and pushed the eventual and defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to six games in the first round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs. The Thunder is, once again, on pace to crack the 50-win plateau and sit tied atop the Northwest Division with the Utah Jazz.
Since the onset of his time at the helm in Oklahoma City General Manager Sam Presti has preached patience and has built the Thunder through the draft, rather than using a free-spending approach in the free agent market, keeping the organization in a position of financial flexibility. Presti wisely front-loaded a contract extension for big man Nick Collison, utilizing the team’s remaining cap space this year while maintaining the ability to add salary, and talent, in the coming years. Oklahoma City is still in search of a low-post scoring option and would have to seriously consider any deal that would land them such a player.
Notable Trade Chips: Morris Peterson (1 year, $6.6M), Nenad Krstic (1 year, $5.8M), Jeff Green (1 year, $4.4M), Daquean Cook (1 year, $2.1M), Future first round draft pick from Utah, Future first round draft pick from Memphis
Salary Cap Situation: $7,736 under the cap and $12.3 million under the luxury tax
Trade Exceptions: None
Portland Trail Blazers – (20-19)
Much like the Thunder, the Portland Trail Blazers have been perceived as a potential threat to the Lakers throne as Western Conference champions and possible title contenders. With a duo of stars in Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge and the addition of center Greg Oden with the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Portland appeared to be on the rise. This season, after back-to-back 50-win seasons, Portland has limped (almost literally) to 20-19 start with Roy suffering through knee troubles, missing 16 games so far and averaging career-lows in field-goal percentage (.399), rebounds (3.0), assists (3.3) and points (16.6).
The Blazers have been rumored to be involved in trade talks for much of the last couple of months. With new leadership in the front office after Rich Cho replaced Kevin Pritchard by in July and injuries derailing, at least immediately, the lofty goals and expectations placed upon the Blazers both internally and externally, this is a time in which the Trail Blazers brass must decide whether to make major changes to a once promising roster or hold out hope that Roy’s knee issues will not sidetrack the three-time All-Star’s career. Forward Nicolas Batum has been a target of several teams in the trade market and could yield the Blazers a young point guard; perhaps Devin Harris of the New Jersey Nets.
Notable Trade Chips: Joel Przybilla (1 year, $7.4M), Andre Miller (1 year, $7.2M), Greg Oden (1 year, $6.8M), Rudy Fernandez (2 years, $3.4M), Nicolas Batum (2 years, $3.3M), future first-round draft pick from New Orleans, future first-round draft pick from Denver
Salary Cap Situation: $15.8 million over the salary cap and $2.7 million over the luxury tax
Trade Exceptions: $4,824,100
Utah Jazz – (26-13)
For years now, the Utah Jazz have been one of the top teams in the Western Conference, advancing to the post-season in 24 of the last 27 seasons. That trend has continued this season, with Utah tied with Oklahoma City for the fourth-best record in the Western Conference and the lead in the Northwest Division. Behind the strong play of point guard Deron Williams, forward Paul Millsap and forward/center Al Jefferson, Utah is on pace for 54 wins and home court advantage in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
Utah isn’t expected to be overly active in the trade market this winter, but has some viable trade assets and while competitive still trails the elite teams in the Western Conference, like the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. If the right deal shows its face, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin O’Connor will have to pull the trigger to elevate the Jazz into the upper echelon of the Western Conference.
Notable Trade Chips: Andrei Kirilenko (1 year, $17.8M), C.J.Miles (1 year, $3.7M), Earl Watson (1 year, $1.2M), Kyrylo Fesenko (1 year, $1M)
Salary Cap Situation: $27.9 million over the cap and $6.7 million over the luxury tax
Trade Exceptions: $6,197,161
The Northwest Division remains one of the best in the league with four teams currently in the top eight of the Western Conference standings. While the Nuggets are the one team that seems sure to make a deal, the rest of the division has less pressure to make a move, but rather waiting for the right deal to improve the roster moving forward. The Northwest has the potential to make so major moves, but could remain dormant outside of Denver.
Be sure to follow our Time to Trade series which began with the Central Division and continued with the Southeast Division. Don’t forget to check out my chat wrap from Tuesday and be sure to keep track of the Rookie of the Year watch and our ongoing coverage of the 2011 NBA Draft.
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