Feb 22, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) reacts to a call in action against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA trade deadline came and went and no big names were traded. The Oklahoma City Thunder made a few minor trades of their own sending Eric Maynor to the Portland Trail Blazers for a trade exception and a second round pick to the New York Knicks for Ronnie Brewer.

Days leading up to the deadline, there were rumors and speculation about the Thunder trading their starting center Kendrick Perkins.

This has been the case with Perkins the past few seasons. He is described as an intangibles guy who does the little things that keeps this Thunder team together. He is vocal on defense, sets hard screens and a leader in the locker room.

It’s hard to give Perkins much credit for his intangibles when you can’t really measure them. The Thunder are consistently better with him off the floor in all areas over the past few seasons.

After losing in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat last season and to the Heat twice this season, it started to feel like the team with the second best record in the NBA should deal their starting center.

Perkins was one of the biggest reasons why the Thunder did not win the NBA Finals. The Thunder were simply in too tough of a matchup situation vs. the Heat whenever he was on the floor. Perkins was only decent at defending Chris Bosh and the smaller starting lineup for Miami featuring LeBron James and Shane Battier at the forward spots got out to big leads in almost every game.

Perkins was acquired by the Thunder two years ago so that OKC would be better able to match up with the size of the Los Angeles Lakers. With the decline of the Lakers and other teams in the Western Conference that have size, it’s starting to feel like Perkins’ value has also gone down.

The Thunder could survive against the Lakers, Spurs, Grizzlies or Clippers this season without Perkins, no one is disputing that.

And if the Thunder could have acquired Phoenix Suns center Marcin Gortat for Perkins a few days ago, which was a rumor, how much better would the Thunder be now?

A stagnant offense with their starting five would cease to exist for the Thunder. It would no longer be four-on-five with teams spelling Perkins at all costs. The defense would maybe take a slight hit but the improvement offensively would have more than made up for it.

The real question is if that deal would have even been possible for the Thunder. Would the Suns have even wanted to do it or was it the Thunder that would have said no first?

We don’t know the answer to that right now. All we will find out is if still having Perkins on the roster as the starting center will once again come back to hurt the Thunder in the long run.

Nov 8, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Eric Maynor (6) drives past Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) during the second half at the United Center. The Thunder beat the Bulls 97-91. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been reportedly active in shopping third string point guard Eric Maynor.

It is now being reported that the Thunder are looking to acquire a first-round pick for Maynor.

Oklahoma City has been seeking first-rounder for PG Eric Maynor, but no takers so far.

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 21, 2013

It’s hard to imagine a team willing to send a first-round pick to the Thunder for only Maynor. Maynor has been dreadful this season shooting just over 30 percent from the field and does not look like the player he was before tearing his ACL a year ago.

There are a few teams out there interested in getting a backup point guard. The Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz are a few of them.

The Raptors reportedly called about Maynor and a deal was discussed that would have brought Alan Anderson and John Lucas to OKC for Maynor. That deal is now dead.

The Jazz still seem like a possible destination for Maynor. They drafted him and are reportedly interested in him. They have a lot of young talent on their roster so they may not mind giving up a first-round pick for him.

The Thunder already have at least two first-round picks this coming draft. Getting another would obviously be to a plan to gain assets as opposed to drafting a bunch of rookies.

The deadline is at 3 p.m. EST. We will keep you up to date here with the latest rumors and news about the Thunder and the rest of the league.

Feb 6, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) handles the ball against Golden State Warriors center Andris Biedrins (15) during the second half at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder starting center Kendrick Perkins has often been thought of as the weak link on the Thunder roster.

Perkins came to OKC with the reputation of being some kind of defensive anchor. He could defend Dwight Howard one-on-one better than anyone in the league and he was going to be the missing piece for the Thunder in their quest for an NBA title.

Then last year happened and the Thunder made it to the NBA Finals and Perkins was one of – if not the – reasons the Thunder lost in five games to the Miami Heat.

Yesterday, Perkins was linked to a trade rumor with the Phoenix Suns. The potential deal would have sent Perkins, Eric Maynor, Jeremy Lamb and a first-round pick to the Suns for Marcin Gortat and P.J. Tucker.

Shortly after the rumor, it was announced that Perkins would miss the game against the Houston Rockets with a sprained right knee. After being off for the last five days mind you.

The rumor felt like it would come true if you were reading between the lines, and everyone was. Then a source came out saying it was nothing more than a rumor and the original source that started the whole thing said it was a “league rumor” and that the Thunder and Suns actually hadn’t discussed this trade.

Too bad for the Thunder.

Ridding themselves of Perkins and gaining Gortat to replace him would have been monumental. Gortat isn’t anywhere near the defender that Perkins is but offensively he is far superior. Gortat can actually score from the post too and is great at rolling to the rim in the pick-and-roll. He would have been something the Thunder offense – which is the best in the league – has never had.

The loss of Perkins defensively would not be a big deal either. With the decline of the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, Perkins has less value as a great defender of post-up players. The Thunder don’t really need that so much anymore and can easily survive without it.

What OKC needs the most is more scoring in the paint. Whenever they lose, it’s usually because they are shooting too many jumpers and not getting enough easy looks. There is not a ton of balance in where the Thunder offense can hurt you as it is mostly from the outside.

Gortat would change that overnight.

So the question isn’t just “Should the Thunder trade Perkins?” It depends on what they can get. If acquiring Gortat to replace him is possible, they need to do it. If Kevin Garnett is a possibility, do that too.

The Thunder know this and they would never let him go for nothing. They probably value him more than any other team in the league.

The trade deadline is later today at 3 p.m. EST. We will know soon enough of Perkins is on the way out or not.

Feb. 10, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins reacts after being called for a technical foul in the second quarter against the Phoenix Suns at the US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t expected to be very active at the trade deadline this year. They have the second best record in the NBA and there aren’t many holes in their roster.

Reports have surfaced today that the Thunder are considering a trade with the Phoenix Suns that would send starting center Kendrick Perkins to Phoenix in exchange for Marcin Gortat, according to the Arizona Republic.

The Thunder would also send Eric Maynor, rookie Jeremy Lamb and a first-round pick to the Suns and receive P.J. Tucker in return as well.

The Thunder would owe Perkins over $17 million the next two seasons if they keep him. Gortat has another year left on his contract worth $7.72 million.

It would be a pretty big surprise if the Thunder part ways with Perkins this season because they’ve never said before they are looking to trade him.

With the decline of the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference the Thunder may not see Perkins as such a big need anymore.

Receiving Tucker as part of the deal would be sneaky good too. Tucker is one of the premiere hustle guys in the league right now as a defender and offensive rebounder. He would actually be a decent option for the Thunder to have defend LeBron James too.

We’ve already heard Maynor’s name linked to a few trade rumors and there have been reports that the Thunder are aggressively shopping him.

Lamb seems like a trade chip at best in the Thunder’s eyes since he has hardly played at all this season.

This is just the beginning hearing about this trade. The Thunder and the rest of the league have until tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm EST to make any deals.

Update: It looks like this was nothing more than a rumor…

I mentioned All-Star break talk of a Perkins/Lamb/pick-Gortat/Tucker swap. Apparently, that was a league rumor but not actual team talks.

— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) February 20, 2013

Feb 19, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett (5) reacts during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

There have been a lot of trade rumors involving Kevin Garnett recently which is interesting since he has a no-trade clause in his contract.

The Boston Celtics have been linked to the Los Angeles Clippers involving a Garnett trade but now it looks like that deal may be dead.

The Oklahoma City Thunder is a destination that many would like to see for Garnett.

Garnett in OKC makes almost too much sense on the court. Something tells me Garnett wants to win a title above all else and Boston probably can’t do that for him anymore, not with Rondo out of the picture. Now that the Lakers and Grizzlies have fallen out of the title-contention circle, Perkins doesn’t make sense on the roster. Garnett, as a defensive maestro and leader, does.

Of course, Boston doesn’t even think about this deal unless they’ve committed to rebuild, rebuild, rebuild. That Toronto pick could easily end up in the top seven once Rudy Gay decides to stop making every do-or-die shot at the buzzer. And if healthy, Perry Jones has about as high of a ceiling as any player in the draft (to reiterate: if healthy). Boston probably balks at this deal even with the young, high-upside pieces, but it’s too tantalizing from OKC’s standpoint not to mention.

Via Tom Haberstroh/ESPN

This potential trade would send Garnett, Chris Wilcox and Jason Collins to OKC for Kendrick Perkins, Eric Maynor, Perry Jones and Toronto’s first-round pick.

This would be of course very interesting and overall, pretty unrealistic. The Celtics would have to be committed to rebuilding which they may not be at the moment. They are currently the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference and have a history with this team of believing they can turn it on once the playoffs start.

The Celtics would also probably be more interested in this if they could get a few more draft picks and possibly Jeremy Lamb instead of Jones. Not every team sees Jones for his potential and rather a big risk that probably won’t amount to much in this league.

Garnett in OKC sounds nice but how much better could he even make the Thunder? You have to imagine they get better defensively despite Garnett’s age getting up there.

Garnett could help space the floor a lot better than Perkins too. He has a great midrange game still and would probably be able to take advantage and score in the post a lot in OKC as well.

Garnett said earlier this week that this past All-Star Game would be his last. That might mean the Thunder would only be getting Garnett for one season.

The Thunder aren’t risking too much in this potential deal though. Parting ways with Perkins is something they really should do sometime soon. Maybe they could even get Garnett to play another season.

The trade deadline is tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. EST. We’ll find out what happens with Garnett then.

January 25, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Eric Maynor (6) dribbles the ball next to Sacramento Kings guard Jimmer Fredette (7) in the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Thunder defeated the Kings 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

It was reported yesterday that the Oklahoma City Thunder were aggressively shopping third-string point guard Eric Maynor.

Maynor lost his backup point job to Reggie Jackson in mid-December. Maynor is going to become a restricted free agent in the summer and the Thunder likely won’t want to match an offer sheet for him.

The asking price for Maynor is high according to reports. Maynor has not been very good this season but before his ACL injury last season was considered one of the best backup point guards in the league.

The Thunder couldn’t get much back from Maynor alone. They’d definitely need to involve draft picks, Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones, III if they want to get something substantial back in a trade.

The Utah Jazz is a team that is in need of a backup point guard. It has been rumored that they are trying to trade away Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap, who are both in the final years of their contracts.

Jefferson could only ever be a rental for the Thunder so he doesn’t really make sense. Millsap could have a future with OKC beyond this season if he were to be acquired. The Thunder would have to include Kendrick Perkins in a trade for Millsap though which wouldn’t exactly have the Jazz jumping up and down to do the move.

There is another player on the Utah roster that would be interesting for the Thunder and that is DeMarre Carroll. He is making just $885K this season so the Jazz would have to throw in someone like Jamaal Tinsley to make the trade work. The Thunder would have to probably throw in a draft pick in this deal too.

Carroll is a great athlete who can play the three and four positions. He would be an ideal guy for the Thunder to throw on LeBron James if they end up making it to the NBA Finals again.

The Philadelphia 76ers are another team interested in a backup point guard for Jrue Holiday. A trade sending Maynor and Lamb to Philly for Evan Turner or Dorell Wright would work. The Thunder would get more depth at the wing position either with a creator or spot-up shooter.

The Toronto Raptors are also interested in a backup point guard but they really don’t have anything to offer the Thunder.

Then there is always the chance OKC would trade Maynor simply for a draft pick. That doesn’t sound like a high asking price and they would be sacrificing their backup point guard insurance as well if Jackson ever got injured.

It looks like there is a good chance Maynor will be dealt at the deadline. The Thunder probably won’t make any blockbuster deals tomorrow but there are potential moves out there involving Maynor that could make the Thunder more of a contender this season.

January 25, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Martin (23) tries to regain control of the ball next to Sacramento Kings forward Travis Outlaw (25) in the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Thunder defeated the Kings 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA trade deadline is just three days away. Teams will have until Thursday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. EST to make any moves.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have not been linked to many rumors involving trades but that doesn’t mean they can’t be players this week.

One of the biggest reasons the Thunder made the James Harden trade before the start of the season was to acquire a lot of assets and become flexible in forming their roster in the future.

The Thunder have a lot of valuable pieces that could be used in a trade by the deadline in a few days starting with…

Kevin Martin

Martin is an expiring contract making $12.4 million this season which makes him a very valuable trade piece. Martin has admirably tried to fill the Harden void this year and done a pretty good job averaging 15.0 points per game off the bench. The Thunder could use Martin in a trade for a big time player like Josh Smith or Al Jefferson. Since it is unlikely the Thunder are in the market for someone like that, it is most likely Martin will stay.

Eric Maynor

Maynor lost his spot in the Thunder’s rotation in mid-December. He will be a restricted free agent this coming summer and with the emergence of Reggie Jackson, the Thunder probably won’t try and re-sign him. That means OKC would want to get something in return for him if possible unless they just plan to keep him for insurance reasons. There are many teams like the Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers that could be interested in a backup point guard and Maynor would be a good fit.

Jeremy Lamb

The No. 12 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft has hardly played at all for the Thunder this season. Lamb has spent most of his time in the D-League with the Tulsa 66ers and it doesn’t look like he’ll be cracking the Thunder rotation anytime soon. It is unclear if the Thunder see him as part of their future or someone they can use in a trade. Many teams would be interested in acquiring Lamb. If the Thunder are targeting a veteran wing defender or outside shooter, they would like be involving Lamb in that trade.

Kendrick Perkins

Perkins gets thrown into the ESPN Trade Machine more than any other Thunder player. The Thunder value Perkins probably more than any other team in the league and when you think about it that way, you understand why it would be so hard to trade him. The Thunder’s commitment is to becoming an elite defensive team and they see Perkins as their anchor. Perkins is set to make around $9 million per season after this year and it would make sense for a lot of reasons to trade him but it is very unlikely at this point.

Perry Jones, III

The Thunder’s first round draft pick is the definition of potential and upside. Jones hasn’t gotten a lot of run this season and if the Thunder are pursuing any kind of trade, his name will surely be asked about to be included in a trade. The likelihood of dealing Jones – who is a project and someone the Thunder surely feel like they can develop into a very good player – is less than that of Lamb. His value isn’t as high and unless the Thunder were trading for a big time player, Jones isn’t going anywhere.

Reggie Jackson

Jackson has stepped up as the Thunder’s new backup point guard. He is an incredible athlete and rebounder for his position and improving as a scorer and distributor. Teams have to be taking notice and if the Thunder would plan on going after a big name or even someone like Paul Millsap, Jackson may be a perfect player to be included in that trade. The Thunder have Maynor who could step right back in to the backup point guard role as well.

Draft picks

The Thunder have three first round draft picks for next year’s draft. They have the Toronto Raptors’ if it falls between 4-14, they have the Dallas Mavericks’ if they make the playoffs (the probably won’t), and they have their own. They also have the Charlotte Bobcats’ second round pick which will be early in that round. This year’s draft is being described as a weak one so the Thunder would probably be more interested in trading some of these picks for proven talent in the league rather than waiting until the draft. If the Thunder make any deal at all, it is almost certain that a draft pick or two will be involved.

Feb 14, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the first half at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Thursday night was quite the demoralizing loss for the Oklahoma City Thunder as the Miami Heat beat them on their home floor 110-100.

The Thunder had the same old problems that caused them to lose in the NBA Finals a season ago vs. the Heat. They fell behind early, couldn’t defend LeBron James or the spot-up shooters and couldn’t get any rhythm going on offense.

If these problems are something that cannot be fixed internally, the NBA trade deadline is coming up in less than a week.

What are the biggest issues for the Thunder when playing the Heat?

Matching up with LeBron and defending the spot-up shooters

Right now, the Thunder only have two players who can guard LeBron: Kevin Durant and Thabo Sefolosha. Neither does a spectacular job either. OKC could definitely try and find another body to throw on him.

They’d want someone versatile who can play the three and four positions. The Thunder need to be able to play more small lineups vs. the Heat because keeping up with all of the spot-up shooters is as big of a problem as any.

The Heat role players know they are going to get open looks all game long. If the Thunder can change this mindset by being able to match up better with them, it would go a long way.

Slow starts

The Thunder have consistently gotten out to very slow starts against the Heat over the past year. While the Thunder have one of the most efficient offenses in the NBA, it is mostly because of superior talent and the ability to overwhelm their opponents. They aren’t able to do that as much against the Heat and the predictability of their offense leaves them relying on third and fourth options more often or taking bad shots.

The starting unit of the Thunder is not their best offensive unit. They start those five for defensive purposes but against the Heat, they aren’t even able to be a force defensively because of the matchup problems.

The biggest problem is Kendrick Perkins. The Thunder essentially play four on five (or three on five if Thabo Sefolosha isn’t making shots) with their starters. This allows the Heat to double Durant on every catch and swarm Russell Westbrook.

Trading Perkins wouldn’t be easy and probably isn’t something the Thunder are planning to do but in this matchup with the Heat it would be very beneficial to try and find a different starting five.

Getting better shots

The Thunder are a team that generally knows what shots they are going to get every night. They’ve really improved in this area this year. A lot of the players have been together for awhile now and their chemistry has resulted in OKC having one of the bets offenses in the league.

The Heat take the Thunder out of their rhythm offensively. By doubling Durant and sometimes Westbrook, they force those two to try and become playmakers instead of scorers. They’ve gotten better at that this year but against the Heat have both failed to be effective getting their teammates involved.

This goes back to the weak starting five where Perkins and Sefolosha can essentially be ignored. If the Thunder could find some more offensive-minded players to surround Durant and Westbrook at the start of the game, it would go a very long way in keeping up with the Heat.

What trades are out there to fix these things?

The Thunder have not made any kind of impression that they are looking to make a trade at the deadline. The second loss to the Heat may change this mindset though.

The pieces the Thunder have most available to trade are Eric Maynor, Jeremy Lamb and draft picks. The other pieces the Thunder have that they should consider trading are Perkins, Sefolosha and Kevin Martin.

If the Thunder would consider trading those last three mentioned, then a player like Josh Smith could be acquired from the Atlanta Hawks.

Smith would perfectly fit in alongside Durant at forward and you could move Serge Ibaka to start at center. The Thunder could send draft picks, Lamb and Perkins/Martin to Atlanta to make this deal work.

The Hawks are looking to move Smith most likely because he wants a max contract after this season and Atlanta isn’t interested in giving him one.

The Thunder probably wouldn’t be able to give Smith max money either but a trade for Smith would immediately make the Thunder title favorites this year.

Paul Millsap is another player that would help the Thunder a lot. Starting him instead of Perkins would give OKC a lot more fire power on offense and they probably wouldn’t take much of a step back defensively either. Millsap is versatile enough to match up with the smaller Heat lineups better as well.

The Utah Jazz are looking for a backup point guard and the Thunder could send Maynor to them as part of this trade. The Thunder would probably have to include Perkins in a deal but could still make it worth Utah’s while by also including Lamb and draft picks.

J.J. Redick is another player that could help the Thunder tremendously. He’s not a great defender but his ability to spread the floor as a spot-up shooter would be very valuable for the Thunder. He would immediately help make the Thunder offense more effective against Miami.

The Thunder could close out games Westbrook-Redick-Martin-Durant-Ibaka. Offensively that lineup would be insane but it could be a big problem defensively.

There’s the idea of acquiring more athletic wing players to try and make the Thunder roster more versatile. We already went into depth about those kinds of players that may be out there who the Thunder could acquire.

Most likely scenario?

The Thunder probably aren’t going to make any big trade at the deadline. But after watching them against the Heat on Thursday night, it feels like they need to if they want to win it all this season.

By trading James Harden before the season, they gave themselves the ability to be more flexible in constructing their roster. It may already be time to take advantage of that by searching for a deal before Feb. 21.

Feb 13, 2013; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward/center Kevin Garnett (5) drives against Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng (9) during the fourth quarter at TD Banknorth Garden. The Boston Celtics won 71-69. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly discussing a trade involving All-Star Kevin Garnett, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The potential trade would involve the Clippers sending Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan to Boston for Garnett. Garnett would have to waive his no-trade clause for the deal to go through as well.

Garnett has a home in Malibu and is a close friend to Chauncey Billups, which is believed to make his approval a distinct possibility should a deal be reached.

The Clippers are increasingly confident that they will sign Chris Paul in the offseason, which has increased the odds of dealing Bledsoe.

ESPN reports that Vinny Del Negro is pushing for the trade, but that the Clippers’ front office is against moving Bledsoe and Jordan for Garnett.

Via Yahoo! Sports

There was a rumored trade for Garnett and the Clippers a few weeks ago that would have sent Bledsoe and Caron Butler to Boston for KG. That rumor was shot down shortly after coming out.

This would be a better haul for the Celtics if they can get Jordan instead of Butler in the deal.

The real question is whether the Celtics really want to part ways with Garnett right now. He is in his 18th season in the NBA and will be starting in the NBA All-Star Game tomorrow night.

The Celtics are 28-24 entering the All-Star Break which is good for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They’ve won eight of their last nine games which have all come since Rajon Rondo was injured and lost for the year.

Garnett said earlier this week that this All-Star Game would be his last. That might mean that he plans to retire after this season and if that is the case, then why would the Clippers consider dealing two of their most promising young players just to rent him?

Adding KG wouldn’t necessarily make the Clippers an immediate NBA title favorite either. They have something good going right now that involves Jordan and Bledsoe quite a bit.

Throw in the fact that Chris Paul is going to be a free agent after this season and if you deal two young players to rent Garnett and it doesn’t work out, maybe Paul will decide to jump ship.

The trade deadline is next Thursday, Feb. 21.

Feb 11, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith (5) during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The most popular big name being linked to trade rumors these days has been Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks.

We’ve heard Smith’s name mentioned with the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets and now the San Antonio Spurs are reportedly interested in him.

The Spurs are among the teams with interest in Hawks forward Josh Smith, a source told Yahoo! Sports. Keep in mind, Hawks general manager Danny Ferry was previously with the Spurs.

Via Yahoo! Sports

Smith is in the final year of his contract making $13.2 million this season. He has come out and said he expects to be signed to a max contract this coming summer and the Hawks are likely not interested in committing that kind of cash to him.

That’s why there is a good chance Smith will be moved by the Feb. 21 trade deadline and the Hawks will try and get something back in return for him.

The Spurs currently have a very value trade piece in Stephen Jackson who is an expiring contract making $10.1 million this season. They could package him along with Tiago Splitter and Nando De Colo or Patty Mills for Smith.

This trade is an interesting prospect because Smith isn’t exactly the efficient type of offensive player that we see the Spurs filling their roster with. He’s not a great outside shooter but would be very good in an up-tempo offense like the one in San Antonio.

Smith is a versatile defender too that would undoubtedly take the Spurs up a notch defensively which is something they need to do to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Smith would be a solid player to have try and defend Kevin Durant, something the Spurs failed miserably at last year in the Western Conference Finals.

The Spurs have also been linked with the Utah Jazz in a rumored trade for Al Jefferson. It seems like they may see their window closing somewhat and want to try and go all-in this season for a title.

Dec 14, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Eric Maynor (6) drives the ball past Sacramento Kings point guard Isaiah Thomas (22) during the game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder defeated the Kings 113-103. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

When you look at potential trades involving the Oklahoma City Thunder, it’s hard not to include the backup point guard that lost his job, Eric Maynor.

Reggie Jackson took over the backup point guard duties in mid-December and Maynor has vanished from the rotation.

Maynor only played nine games last season before injuring his knee and missing the rest of the season. His return this season was supposed to be a bigger deal. Especially with James Harden leaving town, Maynor was going to be a very valuable player on this team.

It hasn’t exactly gone as planned. Maynor has played in 37 games this season averaging 10.6 minutes, 2.8 points and 2.0 assists per game. He’s shooting 31.3 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from downtown.

While he’s not making an impact on the Thunder, he could be viewed as a buy-low option by other teams around the league.

After Maynor struggled with his comeback from a torn ACL, Scott Brooks moved Reggie Jackson ahead of him in the rotation during mid-December. Since then, Maynor has barely played 60 minutes in nearly two months. While players do tend to shoot worse after tearing their ACL, Maynor is sure to make more than 30.3 percent of his 2-point attempts going forward. A team adding him at the deadline could evaluate Maynor’s progress before he becomes a restricted free agent this summer and gain an experienced backup point guard in the process.

Via Kevin Pelton/ESPN

The big reason why the Thunder would be interested in trading Maynor now is to get some value for him and not just see him walk this summer. Maynor will be a restricted free agent then and with Jackson’s emergence, the Thunder are unlikely to match any offer sheet Maynor signs.

Maynor was one of the best backup point guards in the league a few years ago and some teams probably still remember that and could use that player.

Maynor is essentially just insurance for the Thunder right now if someone gets hurt or starts playing badly.

But the Thunder might want to stay put and not mess with team chemistry with another trade writes John Rohde of The Oklahoman.

Doubtful. Who could the Thunder get who’s better for the price ($2.34 million)? The Thunder has zero space under the tax level. To me, the biggest downfall of making a trade is OKC already made a major move before the season, so why mess with team chemistry again 4 1/2 months later? The team is 39-12, fercryinoutloud. Other teams are trying to catch OKC, it’s not the other way around. I say ‘stand pat.’

There are a lot of players for $2.34 million or less who could help the Thunder that we looked at yesterday.

The trade deadline is right around the corner now, Feb. 21. If the Thunder do make a trade, there’s a good chance Maynor will be part of it.

July 18, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lamb (1) handles the ball during the first half of the game against the Chicago Bulls at Cox Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

One of the valuable pieces the Oklahoma City Thunder received from the Houston Rockets in the James Harden trade was the No. 12 overall pick from the 2012 NBA Draft, Jeremy Lamb.

Lamb has not gotten a chance with the Thunder this season yet playing just 64 minutes for them while spending most of his time with their D-League affiliate Tulsa 66ers.

Are the Thunder planning to trade Lamb?

The question is whether that will happen with the Thunder, which may be better off resigning the efficient Martin after the season and using Lamb in a deal for a center. Phoenix could be a good trade partner, since it has the prized big man to offer — Marcin Gortat — and a big need at the shooting guard position.

Via Joe Kaiser/ESPN (Insider)

It will be hard for the Thunder to tell this early if they are going to be able to sign Martin after the season. He is in the last year of his contract making $12 million this season and would have to take a significant pay-cut to stay in OKC.

If the Thunder decide that they cannot keep Martin then Lamb becomes a nice backup plan. Lamb is showing that he can score in his time in the D-League and he could blossom into a more versatile version of Martin in a few years.

The Thunder are in the business of winning now. Waiting on Lamb to develop over sticking with the proven Martin could cost them a chance at winning a title.

If the Thunder were to trade Lamb Phoenix’s way for Gortat, they would be taking on some money. Gortat is due $15 million this year and the next. The Thunder would basically have to choose between Martin, Gortat and Kendrick Perkins.

Many people will scream to let Perkins go and whether or not that would be the right move, it just doesn’t seem like the Thunder would. They value Perkins so much with what he brings them on the defensive end.

One of the reasons the Thunder made the James Harden trade was to become more flexible with their roster forming for the future. It wasn’t to acquire Lamb and right now Lamb resembles a trade chip than anything else.

The trade deadline is Feb. 21, expect Lamb’s name to come up a few more times.

February 9, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Utah Jazz power forward Paul Millsap (24) and center Al Jefferson (25) react after being called for a foul as Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) looks on during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the Jazz 120-109. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns have not had a very good season at all and are looking to be major players at the trade deadline.

The Arizona Republic is reporting that the Suns have engaged in trade talks with the Utah Jazz and New York Knicks regarding Al Jefferson, Gordon Hayward and Iman Shumpert.

Jefferson has had his name linked with trade rumors all season and most recently with the San Antonio Spurs when it was rumored they may be targeting him. The Jazz have plenty of big man and are looking to unload at least one of them whether it be Jefferson or Paul Millsap.

The Suns have been interested in Shumpert for awhile too as they tried to trade for him last summer in a deal that would have sent Steve Nash to the New York Knicks.

Phoenix would look to include Jared Dudley and Marcin Gortat in trades for any of these players.

If the Suns can acquire Jefferson or Shumpert they will still more than likely miss the playoffs and the affect in the Western Conference balance of power will be minimal. The Suns currently have the worst record in the conference.

Carmelo Anthony came out today and said he hopes that the Knicks don’t make any trades.

The real news here is that if the Suns are the team that acquires Jefferson, then the Spurs are not.

If the Spurs were to get Big Al it would surely give them a boost this season and possibly make them the favorites to be the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, the Thunder just wrapped up their season series with the Suns beating them all four times.

Utah is currently the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and would play the Thunder in the first round if the playoffs started today. You can’t imagine them getting any better by losing Jefferson and replacing him with a Gortat or Dudley.

The Jazz were very unlikely to have any kind of chance on the road in the first round of the playoffs this year anyway.

These potential trades are a good deal away from going down. What we know for sure is that the Suns are really interested in making a trade by the deadline and the Jazz are too.

The trade deadline is Feb. 21.

Dec. 25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) dribbles in front of Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder have played about as well as any team in the NBA this season. They are only a half game behind the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the league and have the best offense in the league despite trading James Harden before the start of the season.

There aren’t many holes when you break down the Thunder roster. But for Thunder fans that still remember the 2012 NBA Finals, there is one thing still missing from this team.

The Thunder aren’t deep when it comes to matching up with LeBron James. Not many teams are if any but it really could be the Thunder’s Achilles heel in their matchup with the Miami Heat.

LeBron averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game against the Thunder in last year’s NBA Finals. He easily was the MVP of that series and the biggest reason why the Thunder weren’t able to beat the Heat.

The Heat went small in that series playing LeBron at the four which was a major mismatch for the Thunder and especially their starting five. Miami consistently got out to better starts in every one of those Finals games and the Thunder could not figure out what to do with the game’s best player.

For all of the Thunder’s growth as a team this season, they haven’t made any progression in this area. They still will have an incredibly tough time matching up with LeBron.

Right now, the best defender OKC has to put on LeBron is Kevin Durant. The Thunder would rather not put Durant in a situation where he has to guard LeBron and score 30-plus points on the other end.

Thabo Sefolosha is the only other solid option to guard LeBron. But LeBron has shown he can easily take Sefolosha into the post and make plays whether it be scoring or finding open shooters.

The Thunder really need another option for defending LeBron. In the Finals last year they got stuck putting Harden on him and that really put the Thunder at a huge disadvantage.

You’re always going to be at some kind of disadvantage defending LeBron but the Thunder can still become much better at matching up with him.

Look at the team that has done the best job defending LeBron since he came to Miami: the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. They were perfectly constructed to stop LeBron with Shawn Marion and DeShawn Stevenson and Tyson Chandler patrolling the paint.

With the trade deadline coming up Feb. 21, the Thunder really need to take a look at acquiring an athletic wing defender that they can at least throw on to LeBron for 10-12 minutes per game.

The Thunder aren’t looking to make a trade that will overhaul their roster right now so don’t expect anyone big to join the team this season. The best bet is finding someone who isn’t getting a lot of run at their current team that might be interested in one of the Thunder’s draft picks or a Jeremy Lamb or Eric Maynor.

Here’s a few potential players the Thunder could look at: DeShawn Stevenson, Atlanta Hawks; Damion James, Brooklyn Nets; Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls; Alonzo Gee, Cleveland Cavaliers; Dahntay Jones, Dallas Mavericks; P.J. Tucker, Phoenix Suns; Jared Jeffries, Portland Trail Blazers; James Johnson, Sacramento Kings; DeMarre Carroll, Utah Jazz; Martell Webster and Cartier Martin, Utah Jazz

As you can see, none of these players will be able to shut down LeBron. The goal would be just finding someone who is athletic and could slow him down. Someone who could use all of his energy in 10-12 minutes to make LeBron work harder than he would like to.

It would be nice if one of these guys could bring a little something on offense too like be able to make spot-up three-pointers or cut well off the ball.

The Thunder won’t necessarily be able to acquire any of these players for Maynor or Lamb straight up. They’d have to include one of their draft picks for sure. These would be valuable assets to give up simply to hopefully match up better with LeBron but it would be worth it for the Thunder.

The argument against a trade for one of these guys would be that the Thunder already have this type of player in DeAndre Liggins. Liggins will likely get a shot against LeBron if the Thunder play the Heat in the Finals but he really isn’t big enough to do much against him. LeBron would easily be able to take Liggins into the post where he is most effective in hurting the Thunder.

Jeffries, Johnson or Carroll are among the best athletes from this list and would likely cause LeBron to work more on the perimeter where the Thunder would have the best chance of slowing him down.

The Thunder have been quiet about any trade talks and there’s probably a better chance than any that they don’t make any moves at all. But don’t underestimate the importance of bringing in a player like this if the Thunder do pull the trigger on Feb. 21.

January 25, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Eric Maynor (6) dribbles the ball next to Sacramento Kings guard Jimmer Fredette (7) in the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Thunder defeated the Kings 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Midway through the month of December, Reggie Jackson took over the backup point guard role from Eric Maynor for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Maynor played just nine games last season before injuring his knee and missing the rest of the season. He was one of the best backup point guards in the league before his injury and his return to the Thunder rotation was highly anticipated and expected to be a big impact.

Maynor has struggled this season averaging 10.6 minutes per game in 36 games. He’s averaging 2.8 points, 2.0 assists and shooting 30.6 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from three.

With the trade deadline approaching Feb. 21and Maynor essentially scratched from the Thunder rotation, teams have begun expressing interest in him.

Thunder has been getting numerous inquiries about guard Eric Maynor, sources tell Y! Sports. OKC inclined to keep Maynor but is open-minded.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 10, 2013

Any team that would want Maynor is a team with a need for a backup point guard. The Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers are three teams with that need and rumored to be possibly active at the deadline.

The Thunder don’t want to give up Maynor for nothing. He will be a restricted free agent this coming summer and likely won’t be signed by OKC but you never now. He’s a good insurance policy to have just in case someone gets injured.

The Thunder are always in the market for another shooter to help spread the floor and allow more space for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. J.J. Redick is one name that has been floated out there that the Thunder could be interested in. But OKC would have to give up more than they would like to bring in Redick.

What the Thunder really need is another athletic wing player who can play the 3-4 positions and be another body the Thunder could use on LeBron James in a potential NBA Finals rematch.

The Suns have a guy like that in P.J. Tucker that the Thunder could use. The Utah Jazz also have a player that fits that mold in fourth year pro DeMarre Carroll.

Both Tucker and Carroll are making less than $1 million this season and the Thunder could always throw in a draft pick to sweeten the deal for either team.

The Thunder probably don’t see an addition of Tucker or Carroll as a gigantic need at the moment and again, hanging on to Maynor just in case is still the most likely scenario.

Dec. 12, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA: Phoenix Suns center Jermaine O

The Oklahoma City Thunder don’t have many holes in their roster. They currently have the second best record in the NBA with the most efficient offense and seventh best defense.

The NBA trade deadline is coming up right after the All-Star Break on Feb. 21. The Thunder don’t have to make any moves but one Thunder beat writer suggests they go after a big man in Phoenix.

[Jermaine] O’Neal, 34, is at the tail end of his career. But he still could be a fantastic fit for the rest of the year. Now in his 17th season, O’Neal is averaging 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots in 16 minutes per game. He could slide right in behind Kendrick Perkins as the backup center and be an immediate upgrade over the incumbent Hasheem Thabeet, who’s averaging just 4 1/2 minutes fewer than O’Neal.

Most importantly, O’Neal wouldn’t ruin the future financial state of the franchise, or force the Thunder to part with one or more of its promising young players — two things OKC refuses to even entertain. O’Neal is making the veteran minimum, or roughly $1.35 million. But only about $850,000 of that is paid for by the Suns and therefore used for trading purposes (the league reimburses a fixed amount to teams signing veterans like O’Neal to one-year deals). It all leads to the perfect proposition for OKC. O’Neal is making minimal money, on an expiring contract and still has talent in the tank.

Via Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman

At first glance, O’Neal doesn’t jump out as someone who would dramatically make the Thunder better. Thabeet has had some good moments this season and upgrading him to O’Neal won’t account for much.

Head coach Scott Brooks loves Kendrick Perkins too so acquiring O’Neal wouldn’t mean something like having a new crunch time center. The Thunder go small a lot at the end of games anyway with Kevin Durant at the four and either Perkins, Serge Ibaka or Nick Collison at the five.

The Thunder would have to trade Eric Maynor to the Suns to make this deal possible. Whether or not the Suns would accept, would the Thunder really want to get rid of Maynor to upgrade their backup center position?

Maynor will become a restricted free agent this summer and likely this is his last season with the Thunder. He lost the backup point guard job to second-year man Reggie Jackson in December too.

But Maynor still could have some value to this team. It’s a valuable thing to have good depth at the backup point guard position and Maynor still remains the best passer on this Thunder roster. The Thunder would probably rather be deeper at point guard than center right now.

The best thing that Mayberry suggests in this hypothetical trade is the Thunder trying to get P.J. Tucker in this trade as well.

The real lack of depth on the Thunder roster right now is with defensive-minded wings. If OKC gets to the NBA Finals again and finds the Miami Heat waiting for them, only Kevin Durant and Thabo Sefolosha can even try to defend LeBron James.

Tucker is someone the Thunder could throw on him. He’s one of the best energy guys in the league right now and actually makes it pretty unlikely that the Suns would unload him for basically nothing.

The Thunder will take on the Suns tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena at 8 p.m. EST.

Feb 6, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson (25) controls the ball while defended by Milwaukee Bucks center Samuel Dalembert (21) during the second half at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won 100-86. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Utah Jazz have a lot of big men on their roster and rumors about them trading one of them have been going on for awhile.

The San Antonio Spurs have emerged as the frontrunner to land Jazz center Al Jefferson, according to Sheridan Hoops.

The San Antonio Spurs are the front-runners to land Al Jefferson in a trade with the Utah Jazz – and they are frontrunners like Secretariat was in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.

Here’s why, followed by a how.

“Those teams are practically incestuous, they are on such good terms internally,” one NBA source told me Wednesday.

Indeed, Spurs assistant general manager Scott Layden left Utah prior to this season after spending several seasons as an assistant coach for the Jazz and joined R.C. Buford’s staff in San Antonio’s secrecy vault front office. Also, former Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey is now doing the legwork for Utah’s grand pooh-bah, Kevin O’Connor.

The Jazz currently have Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter on their roster. Jefferson is in the last year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Jazz don’t want to see him walk without getting anything in return.

The Spurs can make this work because they have a few things Utah needs. The Jazz need a point guard and the Spurs have both Patty Mills and Nando De Colo to include in a deal. The Spurs can also include Tiago Splitter and Stephen Jackson to match up the salaries.

The Spurs currently have the best record in the NBA and have essentially the same exact roster as a season ago. They made less moves this offseason than any team in the NBA.

Acquiring Jefferson would be huge for the Spurs. Jefferson is one of the few players in the league that demands a double-team from the post. With Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili getting up there in years, Jefferson could take a little pressure off them as another scoring option.

Jefferson is averaging 17.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this season while shooting a career-low 47.8 percent from the field.

Size is also one of the few weaknesses of the Spurs. They make up for it in other ways like great ball movement and perimeter shooting which is why they still have the best record in the NBA. When it comes playoff time, San Antonio may be overmatched on the interior with their current roster.

Some of the other top teams in the Western Conference clearly have more size than the Spurs like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers. Jefferson would immediately change that.

The Spurs would likely be straying away somewhat from the kind of basketball that has made them so successful over the past few seasons. Jefferson is going to isolate a lot and hold the ball longer when the Spurs are used to quick, crisp ball movement. But if there’s one team and organization that can make this work and figure it out, it’s San Antonio.

We know that the Jazz are going to move one of their bigs. Do they really want to send their best one to the best team in the league? Maybe not but it will likely yield them the greatest return.

The trade deadline is right around the corner now Feb. 21 which is right after the All-Star break. Expect any big moves like this one to happen right at the deadline.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The big story yesterday around the league was that the Los Angeles Clippers were pursuing Boston Celtics All-Star forward Kevin Garnett.

The Clippers wanted to put together a package involving Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler to trade for Garnett.

The Los Angeles Times reported later in the day that rumor was not true and the Clippers had not contacted Boston about a trade.

The news about Garnett possibly being on the market is interesting though and there are some destinations for him this season that might make sense for the Celtics.

One place that Garnett could go would be the Oklahoma City Thunder writes ESPN’s Kevin Pelton.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the most intriguing destination. Upgrading from Kendrick Perkins in the middle would make the Thunder the overwhelming favorite to win the title, and Oklahoma City has enough young assets (including rookies Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb and the rights to Toronto’s protected first-round pick) to make a deal like this without overhauling its rotation.

The Thunder definitely do have assets to make a trade this season. Lamb, Jones and the draft picks along with an expiring contract like Kevin Martin mean that the Thunder can do a lot of things if they want to.

Acquiring Garnett and essentially replacing Kendrick Perkins with him would be a definite upgrade for the Thunder. They would surely be thought of as the NBA title favorites if they could pull something like this off.

You have to remember why the Thunder traded James Harden at the beginning of the season. It wasn’t to try and win a title now but to become competitive for the next decade. Getting rid of most of the young assets they have now for a player in his 18th season in the league isn’t exactly parallel with Thunder GM Sam Presti’s vision.

Garnett is without question a much better player than Perkins, both defensively and offensively. He could give the Thunder another option as a midrange spot-up shooter but they already have that in Serge Ibaka. Garnett scores in the post occasionally but it’s unlikely the Thunder would try to feature him too much with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook still getting most of the touches.

Garnett is still an elite defender of the pick-and-roll but how much better is he really than Perkins when it comes to that?

This trade is not going to happen because the Thunder wouldn’t even want to do it even if it technically makes them a little better on paper.

Don’t be surprised if the Celtics come out soon and say that Garnett is not on the market too. It would cripple their team to lose him at this point and it’s not like their season is over. They are 4-0 since Rajon Rondo tore his ACL.

Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Clippers are reportedly interested in Boston Celtics All-Star forward Kevin Garnett, according to Sporting News.

The Clippers have been in contact with the Celtics about a potential trade. The Clippers put together a package featuring Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler for Garnett.

If the Clippers want to make this move then it means they think they can win a championship this season. Right now they are third in the Western Conference with a 34-12 record.

Bledsoe has had a breakout year for the Clippers this season averaging 9.3 points per game off the bench. He has been a lockdown defender as well and someone that can totally change a game when he comes in.

Bledsoe is just in his third NBA season and the Clippers know they would have to pay him soon if they want to keep him. He won’t demand a max contract by any means but with the Clippers’ plans to lock up Paul along with Blake Griffin, they may want to just capitalize on a high trade value of Bledsoe now.

The Celtics may be looking to blow up their roster to some degree following the torn ACL of Rajon Rondo. The Celtics are currently in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and have won their last four games without Rondo.

Garnett signed a 3-year, $36 million deal with Boston at the start of this season. He is now 36 years old and in his 18th season in the NBA.

If the Clippers could somehow acquire Garnett this way, they would immediately look like they have a better chance to challenge the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder.

Garnett is still one of the premiere post and pick-and-roll defenders in the league and he would improve the Clippers’ defense, which has been great this season anyway.

Having more size in Garnett and being able to contest the likes of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook better would make it very difficult for the Thunder in a potential playoff matchup. The Thunder already have trouble with the Clippers because of the Paul-Westbrook matchup and this would make it that much more difficult.

This trade is far from happening right now and if the Celtics keep winning, it’s hard to imagine they would trade Garnett even if they could acquire a young stud in Bledsoe for him.

Kevin Liles-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns are the latest team tied to Josh Smith trade rumors, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.

The Suns were considering making a trade for Rudy Gay until the Memphis Grizzlies dealt him to the Toronto Raptors in a three-team deal a few days ago.

Now the Suns are targeting the Atlanta Hawks forward and looking to put together a package highlighted by Marcin Gortat.

Phoenix has attractive assets, particularly Marcin Gortat, who could play alongside Al Horford and give the Hawks one of the best frontcourts in the Eastern Conference. They also have Jared Dudley and Michael Beasley as well as the expiring contracts of Wes Johnson, Shannon Brown (whose 2013-14 salary is non-guaranteed), Sebastian Telfair and Jermaine O’Neal. Phoenix also has several first-round picks – their own pick and two additional first-round picks that they acquired in the Nash trade with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Johnson trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Luis Scola could also be involved in the trade, but only if the deal is a sign-and-trade since he can’t be traded until July 1 due to the fact that he was signed by the Suns after being amnestied by the Houston Rockets.

Via HoopsWorld

The Suns are hoping that if they get a player like Smith and re-sign him over the summer, it will help them to also sign another big name free agent like maybe even Dwight Howard.

The Suns aren’t the only team interested in Smith right now. The Houston Rockets, Charlotte Bobcats and Dallas Mavericks have also shown interest.

The rumors of Smith possibly going to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of a Pau Gasol swap are still out there as well. That’s the one trade that could really shake up the Western Conference if it happens and works out.

The Lakers could still make the playoffs this year and a trade for Smith might make them an actual threat even against a top-seeded team from the West in the first round.

If Smith goes elsewhere like Phoenix, it won’t have much impact on this season.

Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate all season long.

The trade deadline is Feb. 21 and it looks like there is a good chance to Hawks will trade Smith.

Expectations are growing that the Hawks will trade forward Josh Smith, a source said. Smith has averaged 17 points, 8.6 rebounds. 4.7 assists and 2.1 blocks this month despite the trade speculation.

Via Yahoo! Sports

The most popular Josh Smith trade rumors has sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Pau Gasol. Gasol has been coming off the bench recently for the Lakers and isn’t thrilled with that role.

The Hawks just lost Lou Williams for the year and GM Danny Ferry still has the future in mind when it comes to clearing cap space and hasn’t been the biggest Smith supporter either.

There has been some thought that the Oklahoma City Thunder should try and go after Smith too. They could maybe buy low on him at this point and Smith would be a great fit to the already versatile Thunder roster.

The Thunder could package Kendrick Perkins, Jeremy Lamb and Eric Maynor for Smith. Smith is making $13 million this season in the last year of his contract.

The big issue is that Smith recently said he believed he was a max player. It would be impossible for the Thunder to re-sign Smith to a max extension unless they included Serge Ibaka in the trade.

Renting Smith for the rest of the season for Perkins would be a decent deal for the Thunder too though. There is still a chance the Thunder will amnesty Perkins down the road and acquiring Smith would really improve the Thunder’s chances at an NBA title this season.

The reality is that the Thunder would have to absolutely be in love with Smith to consider trading for him. They would have to choose Smith over Ibaka and they would never do that so soon after signing Ibaka to an extension.

A Smith trade could still greatly affect the Thunder even if he isn’t traded to them. Smith on the Lakers with Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash could really improve that roster and turn the Lakers into a potential sleeper in the Western Conference.

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Memphis Grizzlies are still looking to trade former All-Star forward Rudy Gay, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The Toronto Raptors are most interested in acquiring Gay according to reports and are looking to send Memphis a package highlighted by Jose Calderon and Ed Davis to get him.

The Grizzlies – who have the fourth best record in the Western Conference – already made a trade this season to free up cap room in the future. Had they not made any moves, they would have been hit with some heavy luxury tax penalties down the road.

Gay is making $16.5 million this season and set to make $17.9 million next season and $19.3 million in 2014-15.

If the Grizzlies do trade Gay to the Raptors, it would affect the Oklahoma City Thunder in a few ways.

Memphis is currently one of only a handful of teams that can give the Thunder a real run for their money. They have great size in the frontcourt with Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol and it’s hard for the Thunder to match up with. OKC isn’t able to play as many small lineups with Kevin Durant at the four basically.

Trading away Gay would obviously hurt the Grizzlies somewhat this season. While he hasn’t had his best season this year, he is still the team’s leading scorer at 17.2 points per game.

The Grizzlies did take the Thunder to seven games two years ago in the playoffs without Gay. But remember how great Randolph was playing that year and how much deeper Memphis was that season.

There is a good chance this season that the Thunder and Grizzlies could meet again in the playoffs in the second round. Without Gay, Memphis would definitely be an easier out for OKC.

The other thing that could happen because of this trade is Toronto could make the playoffs. The Raptors are currently five and a half games back of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and adding Gay could boost them up into contention for the postseason.

This affects the Thunder because OKC owns Toronto’s upcoming 2013 first round pick in the NBA Draft, but only if that pick falls between four and 14.

The 2013 NBA Draft class is being called one of the weakest in years so postponing receiving that pick from Toronto could be a good thing for the Thunder in the long run.

This potential trade is just a rumor at this point. If it goes down, it would definitely shake up the landscape of the league pretty good.

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers are 18-25 on the season and currently out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference.

The Lakers have been unable to take advantage of their best four players under first year head coach Mike D’Antoni.

D’Antoni has made the decision to bring former perennial All-Star Pau Gasol off the bench because in his offense, Gasol and Dwight Howard aren’t playing well together. Howard has had one of his worst seasons in years too and Steve Nash is in the same boat.

The Lakers need to change something and that could come in the form of a trade. Amazingly, this season is not totally lost yet as they are only 4.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the 8th seed in the Western Conference.

ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that multiple teams are speculating that the Lakers could engage in a 3-team trade to bring Rudy Gay to LA. The potential 3-team deal would send Gasol to the Boston Celtics and Paul Pierce to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Gasol and Gay have been tied to trade rumors virtually all season. The Grizzlies thought they were going to need to save money to avoid future luxury tax implications by getting rid of Gay but in light of their most recent trade, now may not have to.

Pierce has been linked to only some trade rumors and with the Celtics starting to really struggle, we will see his name thrown out there more and more.

This would be a gigantic trade swapping three former alpha dogs of their teams midway through the season. Other names would likely be involved but these three would be the biggest part of the trade.

Bringing Gay in for Gasol isn’t something that will drastically help the Lakers over night. Gay would be a better fit under D’Antoni and allow for the small lineups to continue with Earl Clark at the four but it won’t make the Lakers title contenders again.

The trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 21.

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is known as a head case around the league. He’s in just his third NBA season and things like getting suspended by his own team are the kind of things that happen to him.

This was the work on Cousins even before he was drafted. He was going to need a good organization and league to reach his full potential in this league. The Kings have not been that for him thus far.

As the trade rumors are heating up, Cousins’ name is very much out there. The Kings said they aren’t planning to trade him but there are a lot of teams out there who are interested and making inquiries about him.

One team that should consider trading for Cousins is the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC is a perfect place for someone like Cousins to get his act together, playing with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Trading for Cousins wouldn’t be easy for the Thunder. They’d surely have to include Serge Ibaka, who they just signed to a 4-year extension this season, in a deal. But the potential of a Big 3 of Durant, Westbrook and Cousins would be so perfect.

Cousins has the talent to be one of the best big men in the league right now, no one denies that. He has a PER of 21.1 this season and is averaging 18.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game

When you watch him play, he jumps off the screen. He has incredible size and long arms and finesse for his position. In today’s NBA, there is really no one that can match him.

So if you were able to take Cousins, get him in shape and have him reach his potential, he could become one of the most dominant players in the league. Oklahoma City is a place where he could do that.

The biggest thing critics of the Thunder say is that they don’t score from the post enough. Durant and Westbrook are trying to do it more but they are still a perimeter based team. Ibaka is coming around as a solid third scoring option but he rarely scores from the post too.

Cousins would immediately fix this issue for the Thunder. The dynamic between Durant, Westbrook and Cousins could be pretty perfect.

At this moment, the Thunder have the best record in the NBA and aren’t looking to make any wholesale changes to their roster. Trading for Cousins would be doing that.

Buying low on a player is always a good decision in this league and teams may have a chance to do this on Cousins this year. The Thunder should consider it.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Dwight Howard before the start of this season, it was for the long-term.

The Lakers planned to re-sign Howard next summer and keep him to pair with Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol for a few more title runs.

Things haven’t gone as planned and the Lakers currently sit at 17-24 on the year with the playoffs looking very unrealistic.

The Los Angeles Lakers have consistently turned away trade inquiries in recent weeks for All-Star center Dwight Howard and still believe they have a strong chance of signing him to a new contract when Howard becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, according to sources close to the situation.

But sources told ESPN.com this week the Lakers might be forced to reconsider that position between now and the Feb. 21 trade deadline because of Howard’s growing unhappiness with his role under coach Mike D’Antoni and the potential that raises for Howard leaving them in July without compensation.

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, however, said that a trade is not imminent.

Via ESPN.com

This is interesting considering the news that came out yesterday that the Brooklyn Nets were planning to pursue trading for Howard again this season.

Between Howard and Gasol, the Lakers need to trade one of them. It is unknown what the Lakers could get for Howard at this point. Gasol has most often been linked with Josh Smith as a potential swap between the Lakers and Atlanta Hawks, something that would probably fit pretty well with the Lakers.

If the Lakers don’t trade Howard and he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer, there is a real chance he will decide to sign somewhere else considering his struggles in L.A. and the team’s struggles.

The Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks are a few teams who are planning to be in position to sign Howard next summer.

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Dwight Howard made it very clear last summer which team he wanted to play for this season. It wasn’t the Los Angeles Lakers where he is now but the Brooklyn Nets.

A deal could not be made between the Orlando Magic and Nets at that time and all hope of Howard going to Brooklyn faded. In stepped the Lakers and we all know that hasn’t worked out too well this season.

According to Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM, the Nets are preparing to pursue Howard in a trade again.

According to sources, King was planning to contact the Minnesota Timberwolves in order to gauge their interest in a three-team trade that would send Kevin Love to the Lakers, Brook Lopez to the Timberwolves and Dwight Howard to the Nets. Other small pieces would need to be included, but the proposed trade was thought to be intriguing enough to start conversations in the Lakers front office that would force them to deal with Howard earlier than planned.

That idea, however, was shelved when Love was sidelined 8-10 weeks with a broken hand. The Nets believed the Lakers would be interested in Love, but not an injured Love, even if they’re facing missing the playoffs, according to sources.

King will still look around for an attractive piece for the Lakers, but won’t make getting Howard as big a priority as last season, according to sources. But he will continue to watch the Lakers and explore intriguing trade options, sources said.

The hypothetical 3-team trade with Minnesota seems pretty unlikely considering the Timberwolves would be giving up Kevin Love and only receiving Brook Lopez in return.

The Lakers are definitely very likely to trade someone before the deadline this season whether that be Howard or Pau Gasol. At 17-24 on the year, playoffs are extremely unlikely and the current makeup of the Lakers is clearly not working.

Gasol has been benched by Mike D’Antoni who claims the Lakers work better on both ends of the floor with a smaller lineup. He is essentially being wasted on the bench playing less than 30 minutes per game which makes him an ideal candidate to be traded.

There have been rumors linking possible Gasol trades with the Atlanta Hawks for Josh Smith, a move that could work for both teams. The Lakers are discussing trade possibilities involving Gasol but have said they do not want to take on a long-term contract in exchange for him because they want to have their books cleared in 2014 so they can chase after a big name free agent.

But maybe trading Howard would make more sense for the Lakers. The dynamic between Howard and Kobe Bryant has been awkward at best with Kobe most recently coming out and talking about how much he has tried to help Dwight. Kobe also doesn’t like the new situation of Gasol coming off the bench.

Howard doesn’t like the current set up saying that the Lakers need to play more inside-out on offense and that he needs more touches.

The only thing for certain right now is that the Lakers are a mess. The playoffs aren’t happening this season unless something drastically changes. Trading Howard or Gsaol would be drastic and at this time, probably a good move for the Lakers no matter what they get in return.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

After losing last night the Oklahoma City Thunder are now tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the best record in the NBA at 32-9.

The Thunder have the best offense in the league and a defense that is approaching the top five. There aren’t a lot of holes in the Thunder’s roster.

But when you are a contender that is so close like the Oklahoma City Thunder, you do everything you can to win a title right now (except re-sign James Harden of course).

Thunder GM Sam Presti has shown in the past that he is willing to pull the trigger on a trade that he likes. He did it with Jeff Green back in 2011 and he did it before this season with Harden.

While the Thunder have been so great this season, they could still become better with a trade. They could use someone who can score in the low post. They could upgrade their backup point guard position. They could add another wing defender who they could possibly use on LeBron James (right now just Thabo Sefolosha and Kevin Durant can match up with him).

The Thunder have a few players that they could use in a trade. Eric Maynor is going to be a restricted free agent this summer and has fallen out of the Thunder’s rotation. Kevin Martin is an expiring contract who the Thunder may not be able to keep after this season anyway. Kendrick Perkins is someone the Thunder might not want to pay $8-9 million over the next two seasons and a contract they would consider dumping.

OKC also has plenty of draft picks (at least four in the upcoming draft) and young talent like Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III that they could include in a trade to sweeten the deal for another team.

So what are the odds that the Thunder make another trade this season by the deadline? Well, it definitely depends on what is out there.

We know that part of the reason Presti made the Harden trade with Houston at that time was to gain the kind of assets that he did. He liked this because it made the Thunder have the ability to be flexible with constructing their roster down the road. That means making them able to pull off trades when they need to.

We’ve heard a lot of big names that are possibly going to be shopped around the deadline this year. Rajon Rondo, Pau Gasol, Josh Smith, Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Rudy Gay, Danny Granger and DeMarcus Cousins are a few of the names.

For the Thunder to acquire a big piece like one of the names mentioned above, they would have to include Perkins and/or Martin in a trade. The Thunder aren’t exactly unhappy with Perkins or Martin so we probably won’t hear any rumors about them.

We have just under a month until the trade deadline now. If Martin continues to struggle more and the Thunder fall out of first place, that will then give the Thunder a reason to consider dealing him.

Another thing to consider is that the Thunder will play the Miami Heat one more time before the trade deadline. Let’s say they lose again and it looks like they just can’t beat the Heat. Then that could become another reason to consider making a big trade and shaking up the roster.

But if the Thunder keep winning and have the best record in the league, a big-time trade is simply very unlikely for them. Pieces like Martin and Perkins probably aren’t going to get the Thunder a great deal at this time. Even the draft picks and Lamb or Jones probably won’t be huge pieces either.

If the Thunder end up making a trade, it probably will be on a smaller scale. Maynor seems like the most likely candidate to be dealt and even packaged with some draft picks won’t get the Thunder much back in return.

The NBA trade season is about to heat up but don’t expect the Thunder to be huge players at the deadline.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder nearly have the best record in the NBA this season and they have the No. 1 offense. But that won’t stop the trade ideas coming in on how to make this team better.

Yesterday, it was suggested by Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman that the Thunder attempt to trade for Minnesota Timberwolves point guard J.J. Barea.

Barea is averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 assists in 23.4 minutes per game this season. He’s shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from beyond the arc. Those numbers are all slightly down from the production he has given the past few seasons.

Right now, the Thunder are going with second-year guard Reggie Jackson as Russell Westbrook’s backup. OKC began the season using Eric Maynor in the role but because of Jackson’s defensive ability, he has gotten the nod of late.

Jackson has shown improvement from a season ago but he’s not exactly killing it either. The Thunder second unit has also had some games recently in which they can’t buy a basket, that is whenever Kevin Martin can’t find the range.

Barea is someone who can create for himself and others in a pretty unique way in this league. He is an odd matchup being so short and stocky and able to still get to the rim in a variety of ways.

Just about any team could use a player like this. The question is though: how bad could the Thunder use him?

Barea would certainly help the Thunder score more off the bench. That is for certain. Defensively, OKC may dip a little using Barea instead of Jackson but it wouldn’t be anything too dramatic.

There could even be instances where you could envision Barea closing out games next to Westbrook, Sefolosha, Durant and Ibaka.

Barea has a history of playing very well against the Thunder. This always makes a team take a closer look at a guy when they traditionally get torched by him. And everyone remembers Barea killing the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.

Barea signed a 4-year, $18 million contract with the Timberwolves back in Dec. 2011. He’s making around $4.5 million per season the next two years.

It wouldn’t be too easy for the Thunder to trade for Barea. OKC wouldn’t want to give up Sefolosha or Collison in a deal and would definitely involve Eric Maynor.

The Thunder could package Maynor and Jeremy Lamb for Barea and Chase Budinger. The best trade would be OKC dealing Maynor and Kendrick Perkins and picks for Barea and Derrick Williams but something like that would be super unlikely.

The other big issue is whether the Thunder would want to pay Barea around $4.5 million through 2014-15. Probably not.

Barea could definitely help the Thunder out. But for what OKC would have to give up, it just doesn’t seem like this could be a real possibility.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

When the season began, Eric Maynor was the backup point guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, Reggie Jackson has taken over the role and Maynor’s future in OKC may not be so bright.

Maynor played nine games last season then missed the rest of the year after injuring his knee. He was supposed to be 100 percent healthy returning this year but has looked anything but.

Maynor is shooting just 30.6 percent from the field this year and 31.7 percent from 3-point land. He was still doing a decent job averaging 6.6 assists per 36 minutes but with his weak defense playing a factor as well, Scott Brooks has decided Jackson is the better option.

A report surfaced yesterday that the Philadelphia 76ers were interested and tried to trade for Maynor. It obviously didn’t happen and now looks like that particular trade won’t.

The potential trade would have included the Thunder acquiring either Kwame Brown or Lavoy Allen straight up. Neither would be huge assets but either could have cracked the rotation playing ahead of Hasheem Thabeet.

The real news here is that teams are interested in Maynor and think the Thunder might be interested in dealing him. Maynor is in the last year of his contract and will become a restricted free agent this summer.

With the way Jackson has been playing, impressing the coaches and earning more playing time, it seems very unlikely the Thunder would be interested in keeping Maynor beyond this season. If that is the case then trading him and getting something in return this season would be a decent option.

The possible issue of doing so is that the Thunder would be losing their best assist man. Jackson is not a true point guard like Maynor and Maynor’s departure would essentially leave no point guards on the Thunder roster anymore. And if Jackson got hurt, the Thunder would be in real trouble.

Maynor still seems to have his spirits up too. He sits right next to the coaches on the bench and is always actively cheering for his teammates, coaching along the way.

As the trade deadline draws nearer, the rumors will keep popping up and considering Maynor’s situation, he will likely be involved in many fake Thunder trades.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest piece the Oklahoma City Thunder received when trading James Harden to the Houston Rockets was Kevin Martin.

Martin came to the Thunder as a former 20-plus point per game scorer to replace Harden in the sixth man role.

So far, Martin has done a pretty solid job averaging 15.4 points per game off the bench and shooting 45.0 percent from three and league-leading 92.7 percent from the free throw line.

But there have been signs of weakness from Martin too. He is a very one-dimensional player who does nothing but score for the Thunder. He rarely rebounds or assists and is a very poor defender.

Martin is also in the final year of his contract making $12.4 million this season meaning that he has good trade value. If the Thunder are to make a deal at the trade deadline this year for a big piece, Martin would almost certainly be involved.

As of right now, the Thunder have said they are not interested in making a trade this season. By the deadline which is Feb. 21, that could all change.

The Thunder are looked at as a possible suitor for trade candidates such as Anderson Varejao, Josh Smith and even DeMarcus Cousins. All of these potential deals are fairly unlikely at the moment but may be less so as the deadline approaches.

The biggest thing the Thunder need to analyze is if they are going to be able to keep Martin past this season. Martin has come out and said that he loves Oklahoma City and would be willing to take less money to stay there but we’ve heard that before and all know how that can turn out.

Martin would have to take about a 50 percent pay cut to stay in OKC and with a young talent like Jeremy Lamb waiting in the wings as the next backup 2-3 for the Thunder, OKC may rather let Martin go.

The Thunder wouldn’t want to let Martin leave for nothing as he is still just 29 years old and has some good years left in him. The only way it seems then to get any value for Martin would be to trade him next month.

Martin has fit in pretty well with the Thunder this season. He has been one of the elite spot-up shooters in the NBA and he doesn’t need to take the ball from Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook to be effective. The Thunder have the most efficient offense in the NBA this season and Martin has a lot to do with that.

But to reach a true championship level, it’s the defense of the Thunder that needs to improve. Before winning a title, OKC really needs to become a consistent, top five defense in this league. Otherwise, getting past Miami in the Finals or even San Antonio again will be extremely tough.

Martin hasn’t helped the Thunder defense this year and even though he has improved defensively individually, is still a liability most of the time. That’s why dealing him and landing a Varejao or Josh Smith would be a great move for the Thunder.

The Thunder might take a hit offensively if they end up trading Martin, but if they receive a better defender in return, it would probably be worth it in the end.

For now, don’t expect the Thunder to engage in any trade talks publicly. But as that deadline approaches and teams start reaching out to OKC, Martin’s name will come up more often than not. If the Thunder have any kind of hiccup between now and then, don’t be surprised if GM Sam Presti shakes up the team again.

Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA trade deadline is less than two months away now and a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder could be in position to make a deal right around then.

The Thunder are said to not be interested in making any trades as of right now but there’s always a chance that a deal Thunder GM Sam Presti can’t pass up will come along.

Anderson Varejao is the most common named linked to Oklahoma City trade rumors but Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio thinks OKC could make a play for Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks.

Thunder have no interest in trades right now, btw. If they make move at trade deadline, expect it to be more along lines of a Josh Smith.

— Sam Amico (@SamAmicoFSO) December 28, 2012

If Varejao seems like a stretch for Thunder fans, then Smith definitely does.

Smith is in the last year of his contract with the Hawks making $13.2 million this season. He’s having a great season with Atlanta but with his future uncertain with the team, Atlanta could elect to unload him instead of trying to keep him.

Like with a Varejao trade, the Thunder have assets that may attract a team like the Hawks. The value of Smith and Varejao isn’t that different either. Since Smith is in a contract year it will be harder for Atlanta to hang on to him past the trade deadline. Also, Varejao is having a career-year at the center position which gives him a little extra value over Smith.

The Thunder would definitely have to involve a few of their 2013 first round picks in a trade for Smith. Then they’d probably throw in Jeremy Lamb and/or Perry Jones III. For Smith, they’d probably have no problem including both.

The Thunder would have to use Kevin Martin for the salaries to match up. Then ideally, OKC would throw in Kendrick Perkins while Atlanta throws in Kyle Korver but that is extremely wishful thinking for Thunder fans.

The biggest issue for the Thunder would be the prospect of keeping Smith long-term. They definitely aren’t interested in renting Smith for this season unlike how they may end up doing that with Martin.

The Thunder would have to re-sign Smith after this season and he would have to take a pay cut to stay with the team. The Thunder would also definitely have to get rid of Perkins either by trade or amnestying after the season to have any kind of chance at keeping Smith.

It’s actually not that impossible of a situation for the Thunder who are already going to have to pay Perkins $8.4 and $9.1 million in the next two seasons. Then if the Thunder are hoping Martin re-signs and takes less money, the equivalent of Perkins and Martin would equal around the same amount it would take to keep Smith.

Acquiring Smith would make perfect sense for the Thunder. We already know just how deadly of a small ball team they are right now and throwing Smith into the mix would enhance that to the fullest.

The Thunder would be totally committed to small ball similar to the Miami Heat. Their centers would consist of Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison splitting minutes while Kevin Durant, Thabo Sefolosha and Smith make up the wing positions.

As we get closer to the trade deadline, the Thunder may turn from a team who isn’t interested in making a trade to one that is listening to offers. Every team has to at least listen. And when Smith’s name comes up, the Thunder definitely will be.

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Trade talks surrounding Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao have been gaining steam ever since he decided he was going to have a career year this season.

Varejao is leading the league in rebounding this year averaging 14.4 boards per game to go with 14.1 points and 3.4 assists.

The idea the Cavaliers have is trading the 30-year old veteran to a contender in need and capitalize on his sky rocketing trade value this season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have not come out and said anything about the possibilities of a Varejao trade but they are definitely the type of team that could be a major player with the assets they have.

The Thunder could package Kendrick Perkins along with Perry Jones III, Jeremy Lamb or Eric Maynor as well as a few of the three 2013 first round draft picks they possess.

As much as a Varejao trade makes sense for the Thunder, there is a very low chance of it happening.

If there is one thing we have learned about the Thunder, it’s that they stick to their guns. Right now, that means Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins basically shouldn’t be playing for the Thunder as far as statistics go. He’s one of the worst offensive big men in the league and defensively his impact is being lost as the Thunder’s small lineups perform just as well as when he’s on the floor.

But the impact Perkins makes as a leader and in the locker room is valued very much by the Thunder. That’s why he still plays so much and that’s why that’s not going to change any time soon.

The other part of this trade that makes it very unlikely is the Thunder’s hypothetical unloading of assets.

When the Thunder made the very tough decision to trade James Harden before the start of this season, it was partly made easier because they were now going to have all of these assets and be set for the next decade to form a contender year after year.

The Thunder didn’t trade Harden to get assets that they can flip into a 30-year old center having a career year this season. That’s just the truth and the Thunder aren’t going to abandon their plan anytime soon.

At the end of the day, Varejao just isn’t a big enough piece right now for the Thunder to pursue, especially when they are already happy with Perkins, as hard as that can be to believe.

There are newer rumors out there saying that if the Thunder are to consider making a trade this season, it would be for a bigger, younger name like Atlanta’s Josh Smith or even Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins. But both of those scenarios seem even more unlikely than Varejao right now since keeping either long-term would be near impossible for OKC.

It’s fun to think of trades that can help your team but the Thunder aren’t a team looking to overhaul anything right now. They have close to the best record in the league, the most efficient offense in the league and an improving defense nearing elite. That’s good enough for now and might even be good enough for a title this year.

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest trade targets this season is Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao. Varejao is playing the best basketball of his career, looking like an All-Star averaging 14.0 points and 14.9 rebounds per game so far this season.

But the Cavaliers aren’t winning and with Varejao playing this well, they may be interested in capitalizing on the high trade value Varejao now possesses and send him to a contender.

The Oklahoma City Thunder make sense as a possible destination for Varejao, although they haven’t come out and said they are interested or not yet.

The Cavs, sources say, want multiple young assets in return for the 30-year-old, who is averaging 14.3 points and 14.8 rebounds and possesses a very manageable contract that calls for Varejao to receive $9.1 million next season with a $9.8 million team option in 2014-15. The Thunder are the rare title contender also blessed with the sort of youth/stashed draft picks to appeal to Cleveland, but sources say OKC has shown little interest to date.

via ESPN.com

A potential trade between the Thunder and Cavaliers involving Varejao would have to include Thunder center Kendrick Perkins to match up the salaries. The Thunder then also have rookies Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III who the Cavs might be interested in as well as multiple first round draft picks next year.

It would be the kind of move that would really help the Thunder this year and the next few. Part of the plan in trading James Harden before the start of the season was to ensure the Thunder could be a contender for the next decade by stockpiling young talent and draft picks.

Trading for Varejao like this would go against that philosophy somewhat.

But it is an opportunity that the Thunder definitely need to think about. OKC has the best record in the league right now and would definitely be the NBA title favorite if they could essentially swap Perkins for Varejao. They wouldn’t have to worry about the Lakers (not that they are right now anyway) and they would be better suited to match up with the Spurs, Heat, Clippers and Grizzlies.