10 NBA players in need of a trade in 2017-18

Heading into the 2017-18 NBA season, there are several prominent players who are in need of a change of scenery. Here are 10 players that could use a trade.

The NBA has become a never-ending cycle of player movement. Player X has joined Team Y in free agency. Superstar Z is unhappy and wants a trade. As the Golden State Warriors wage their holy war on league parity and any hopes of a competitive postseason, the rest of the remaining contenders are jumping into the arms race by stockpiling star talent.

In a bizarre offseason that saw stars like Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, Chris Paul, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and even the No. 1 draft pick all trade hands, the dust hasn’t even settled from the summer’s NBA trade season yet.

However, that’s not to say everyone’s happy in their current situation, or that no one will need to make additional moves in 2017-18. As we see every year as the February trade deadline approaches, sometimes a change of scenery is best for both parties.

As we eagerly wait for the new season of NBA basketball, there’s no better time to look at the lay of the land and examine a few players who are in need of a trade sometime during the 2017-18 campaign.

Honorable Mentions

Brandon Knight — Knight needs a change of scenery more than anyone on this list, but it’s not going to happen this season since he’ll miss the entire 2017-18 campaign recovering from an ACL tear.

Cole Aldrich — Aldrich only averaged 8.6 minutes per game last season as a backup center, and now the Minnesota Timberwolves have rookie Justin Patton to play with.

Luol Deng — A veteran who has little to contribute to a rebuild outside of the locker room, and whose ugly contract needs to be shed for the Los Angeles Lakers to reach for their lofty free agency goals next summer.

Kosta Koufos — Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, Georgios Papagiannis, Harry Giles…unless Koufos is some kind of otherworldly mentor, the Sacramento Kings have enough players to feed minutes to in that frontcourt.

Kyle Singler — Singler’s minutes have steadily declined over the past three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and with Doug McDermott in town, they’re going to slip again, this time from a career-low 12.0 minutes per game.

Tyson Chandler — Chandler loves his young brothers on the team, but said he’d like to see the Phoenix Suns add some established veterans in free agency. That didn’t happen, so perhaps the guy who asked not to be traded at last year’s deadline and still has plenty left in the tank is approaching a change of heart.

10. Stanley Johnson

Stanley Johnson is only 21 years old, and has only played in the league for two years. For a fiery competitor who once declared he’d be the best player in the 2015 NBA Draft class, it feels like it’s far too early to give up on him.

With that being said, Johnson’s development doesn’t seem to be too high on Stan Van Gundy’s priority list. That’s probably more of a problem with the coach than the actual player, but given where the Detroit Pistons are right now, Johnson’s lack of NBA-readiness has been a problem.

After all the money the front office dished out, last year’s non-playoff squad was a massive disappointment — especially since Johnson somehow saw his numbers plummet from 8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds in 23.1 minutes per game as a rookie to 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game last year.

Maybe he’s just not good, as his career .367/.301/.748 shooting splits seem to indicate. Maybe he just needs a new environment more conducive to developing young talent. Maybe trading away Marcus Morris will be the catalyst for getting his NBA career back on the right track.

With that being said, his time in Motown has not gone according to plan so far, and if 2017-18 doesn’t go according to plan, a trade might be in the best interest of both parties. After all, if the Pistons aren’t enthused with his progress, they’d probably be better off trying to sell high while he’s still young before he’s exposed as a potential bust.

9. Courtney Lee

Courtney Lee was one of the few defensible signings the New York Knicks made in 2016, inking the veteran 2-guard to a four-year, $50 million deal. Unfortunately, he was unable to make much of an impact on the team’s win-loss total, even with respectable averages of 10.8 points per game on .456/.401/.867 shooting splits.

With the Knicks’ new emphasis on youth and a dedication to trading away Carmelo Anthony, a look at their offseason indicates the 31-year-old Lee could be the next expendable piece. In fact, this is nothing new:

In addition to re-signing Ron Baker, New York invested a whopping $71 million over four years in Tim Hardaway Jr., while also drafting Frank Ntilikina and Damyean Dotson. Ntilikina is a combo guard whose exact position hasn’t been established yet, and Dotson is only a second round pick, but they both could play the 2, and it’s pretty clear Lee will become trade bait very soon.

That’s probably the best for the nine-year veteran, who could skip town before the Knicks enter rebuild mode and lend his 3-and-D skill-set to a more competitive squad — even with the heftier price tag attached.

8. Alec Burks

Derrick Favors seems like the most likely Utah Jazz player to be moved, but as an expiring contract, he might not wind up fetching much on the open market. Alec Burks, however, is one name who once was included with the team’s future nucleus, only to be undone time and time again by nagging injuries.

Since his breakout season in 2013-14, Burks has missed 55, 51 and 40 games in each of the following three seasons. Even when he’s posted respectable 3-point shooting numbers, his field goal percentage has hovered around 40 percent and he’s never been able to stay on the court long enough to have an impact as a go-to sixth man.

Now 26, Burks still has two years left on his contract. The Jazz shouldn’t feel pressured to move him, since Dante Exum has yet to pan out, but with him, Burks, Rodney Hood, rookie Donovan Mitchell and even Thabo Sefolosha capable of logging minutes at the 2, they should at least consider it.

He probably won’t warrant much of a return on the trade market, but perhaps a change of scenery would allow Burks to finally reach his ceiling as a fringe starter/super sixth man, because so far in Utah, it’s been nothing but rotten luck and never-ending setbacks.

7. Eric Bledsoe

Eric Bledsoe has said time and time again that he loves playing for the Phoenix Suns, and his offseason workouts and charity work in the community reaffirm that. Likewise, general manager Ryan McDonough has repeatedly stated Bledsoe is this team’s point guard, despite his name frequently popping up in trade rumors.

If Phoenix kept Bledsoe for the 2017-18 season, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. He’s a star from a lost era of Suns basketball, he’s got a nice rapport with Devin Booker in the backcourt and he’s not good enough to disrupt this team’s fate as a leading tanker for the top-heavy 2018 NBA Draft class.

However, given Bledsoe’s history with knee injuries and his age (he’ll turn 28 in December), the Suns are playing with fire if they don’t move him now, while his value is as high as it’s ever going to be. Bled just put up 21.1 points, 6.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds last season and stayed on the court until he was a healthy scratch for the last 15 games.

Bledsoe is an All-Star caliber guard who plays both ends of the floor. A contender in need of backcourt depth or a team in need of a franchise point guard would be willing to give Phoenix’s best player a look, and he’s probably the team’s most valuable piece among those that are currently expendable.

The Suns and Bledsoe are perfectly content with each other, but everyone on the outside would like to see him play for a more competitive team before his prime is over. That outcome would probably be best for Phoenix’s youth movement if he can net them another draft pick or young talent.

6. LaMarcus Aldridge

The LaMarcus Aldridge signing was a coup for the San Antonio Spurs when it happened, and no one on planet earth should sneer at the 67- and 61-win totals the team has posted since adding the former Portland Trail Blazers superstar.

However, that immense success was more about Kawhi Leonard and Gregg Popovich doing what they do than Aldridge being a seamless fit. It’s also not a coincidence the Spurs were ousted in the conference semifinals and conference finals in disappointing fashion, with Aldridge notably struggling in San Antonio’s losses.

In 2016, when that mighty 67-win team pounded the Oklahoma City Thunder by 32 in Game 1 of their playoff series, Aldridge led the way with 38 points on 18-of-23 shooting and Spurs fans were as confident in the signing as ever.

Fast forward five games, with Aldridge struggling from Game 3 on, and the Spurs had been stunned by a younger, more athletic Thunder team. Last year, when Kawhi Leonard went down, the 32-year-old Aldridge looked a step slow and was nowhere to be found as San Antonio’s next-in-command.

Couple all of this with reports that Aldridge was unhappy playing in a winning culture like the Spurs’ and it’s no surprise his name has already popped up in trade rumors. San Antonio could easily run it back for another 55- or 60-win season, but Kawhi can only carry this aging team so far. At some point, more losses will lead to an unhappier Aldridge, and at that point — likely in 2017-18 — all bets will be off where he might end up.

5. Mirza Teletovic

In 2015-16, Mirza Teletovic was one of the most delightful bench players in the NBA. Aside from his entertaining shoot, shoot again, keep shooting and then ask questions WAY later approach, Teletovic was actually good too, averaging a career-high 12.2 points in just 21.3 minutes per game. He even set the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a single season off the bench.

However, in his first season since leaving the Suns, Teletovic was unable to carve out the same niche on a more competitive team like the Milwaukee Bucks. His numbers dropped to 6.4 points in just 16.2 minutes per game, shooting only 37.3 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from deep.

Even worse, it appears as though his off shooting year isn’t even the worst of his problems. On a team favoring length and defense, Teletovic will never be ahead of guys like Khris Middleton, Tony Snell, Jabari Parker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, John Henson or D.J. Wilson on Jason Kidd‘s depth chart.

With all of those players capable of logging minutes at the 3 or the 4, Teletovic has little value to the Bucks if he’s not hitting. In fact, he completely disappeared from the team’s rotation in the playoffs because he was such a defensive liability.

However, he’s only a season removed from the best season of his career, and it’s no secret he just doesn’t fit in Milwaukee. With 3-point shooting being placed at a premium these days, someone should come calling to put his trademark skill to good use.

4. Jonas Valanciunas

In just his second season in the league, Jonas Valanciunas put up 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game and the future seemed bright. Little did we know that over the next four seasons, his production would plateau…or that he had already reached his career-high in minutes:

• 2013-14:  11.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 28.2 MPG
• 2014-15:  12.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 26.2 MPG
• 2015-16:  12.8 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 26.0 MPG
• 2016-17:  12.0 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 25.8 MPG

Two things can explain the phenomenon of this young player never really getting better. The first is the emergence of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, who still dominate the Toronto Raptors‘ offense. Despite being pegged as a future cornerstone at the time, JV’s field goal attempts only rose from 8.3 per game in 2013-14 to a career-high 8.9 per game in 2015-16.

The other is the direction the NBA game is heading in general. Valanciunas is an efficient scorer around the basket, but he’s never added an effective mid-range jumper to his repertoire, let alone a 3-point shot. That limits his offensive upside in a league that’s going smaller and smaller.

More from NBA

• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• Constructing the NBA’s perfect all-under-25 starting five
• Grading every NBA team’s highest draft pick in the last five years

On the defensive end, JV has always been a plodding, old school big who offers very little rim protection, but with teams putting stretch-4s and stretch-5s on the floor now, there’s often no place for him during a playoff series. His status as a defensive liability is worse now than it’s ever been.

It’s no surprise the Raptors have already tried to move Valanciunas, since he doesn’t seem motivated to improve and his upside has become limited at age 25. Would there be interest from another team in a bruising center without range whose role in this league is slipping away? Perhaps. Greg Monroe has reinvented himself as a sixth man in Milwaukee, but Monroe also operates from the elbow as a passer — skills JV doesn’t possess.

After watching JV come off the bench for stretches in the playoffs, it’s clear that as long as Lowry and DeRozan are in town, and as long as the Raptors have playoff aspirations in a pace-and-space league, Valanciunas might be better off somewhere else.

3. Kenneth Faried

The Denver Nuggets‘ need to trade Kenneth Faried has been one of the league’s worst-kept secrets for years now. Ever since they signed him to that four-year, $50 million extension following a successful summer with Team USA Basketball, his production has tapered off.

The new direction of the NBA hasn’t helped his case, since Faried has no mid-range jumper to speak of. That hustle guy and aggressive offensive rebounder trademark can only get you so far, especially as the freak athleticism of this 27-year-old begins to wane.

Between Faried, Paul Millsap, Trey Lyles, Darrell Arthur, Juan Hernangomez, rookie Tyler Lydon and even Wilson Chandler, the Nuggets are overloaded with players who can log minutes at the 4. At this point, feeding minutes to the Manimal would simply be fan service.

Last season, Faried saw his role shrink and posted career-lows across the board with 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per game. It’s abundantly clear he’s no longer a part of this young team’s nucleus, unless it’s as a locker room mentor.

Unfortunately, it’s far too early in Faried’s career to be embracing that kind of role, which is typically reserved for guys who are over the hill at age 30 and above.

The Manimal could still be useful coming off the bench for a playoff team. It just needs to be one that doesn’t already have 12 power forwards.

2. Jahlil Okafor

Speaking of blatantly obvious trade candidates, Jahlil Okafor is the one part of the Philadelphia 76ers‘ tantalizing young nucleus that doesn’t quite fit in, especially with the emergence of Joel Embiid. At this point, it feels like the Sixers would only keep him if A) They couldn’t find anyone who wants him or B) They want him as insurance for the injury-prone Embiid.

With that being said, the 76ers already plopped the former third overall pick on the trade block last year. His own injury problems didn’t help his market value, nor did his numbers shriveling up from 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in 30 minutes per game as a rookie to 11.8 points and 4.8 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game in his sophomore year.

Okafor has missed 29 and 32 games in his first two years in the league, but in a frontcourt that includes Embiid, Richaun Holmes, Amir Johnson, Ben Simmons and Dario Saric, there isn’t much opportunity to be found, especially if Brett Brown opts to go small for stretches.

For all his defensive flaws, Okafor still has plenty of upside. He’s only 21 years old, has a tremendous back-to-the-basket game and could eventually embrace a sixth man role a la Greg Monroe — especially in a league that’s going small and expects its bigs to spread the floor.

Finding a proper landing spot for Okafor may prove to be difficult, but for the right price, it’d be best for both parties to move on from a much-maligned situation featuring a youngster who’s been hammered for all his shortcomings and rarely praised for what he might actually bring to the NBA level.

1. Carmelo Anthony

I mean, duh. Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks are one union in desperate need of a divorce. They may have decided to stay together for the kids, but at this point, even the kids are old enough to understand their parents would be better off on their own.

Even with Phil Jackson no longer around to run him out of town, a Melo trade has felt inevitable all summer. The damage has been done, and Anthony is reportedly open to waiving his no-trade clause to join the Houston Rockets.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

The problem is finding a third party to take on Ryan Anderson‘s contract, since the Knicks don’t want it. RyNo actually had a very good year last year, but the size and length of his contract is giving teams pause.

The problem is Melo’s no-trade clause and his understandable selectivity in waiving it. With only one guaranteed year left on his contract, it’s possible whatever team trades for him would be giving up assets for a one-year rental of a 33-year-old scorer whose best years are clearly behind him.

In any case, it’s time for both parties to move on however they can. The Knicks are trying to build around Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina, and tanking for a top-five pick in this year’s draft class would be a good idea. They don’t need Melo dominating the team’s field goal attempts or all the off-the-court drama that follows him ever since Jackson ignited the fuse when he started publicly talking about moving the team’s star.

For Melo, it’s clear he’s never going to bring New York a championship. Now it’s about enjoying his twilight years, possibly in a reduced role for an established playoff team. This would allow him to pick and choose his spots, and on a successful team, perhaps he’d be more efficient and try a little harder on the defensive end.

Next: Ranking the 10 NBA teams who have 'next' after the Warriors

After averaging 22.4 points per game last year, Melo still has plenty to offer. Now it’s just a matter of finding the right trade scenario that allows both sides to finally move on.