Grading 12 trade deadline targets from no-brainer to palpably awful

Dorian Finney-Smith, Brooklyn Nets and Dejounte Murray, Atlanta Hawks
Dorian Finney-Smith, Brooklyn Nets and Dejounte Murray, Atlanta Hawks | Kevin C. Cox/GettyImages
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No. 5: Bojan Bogdanovic is a complicated trade target

The Detroit Pistons are peculiarly reluctant to trade their veteran players, but Bojan Bogdanovic seems likely to be available for the right price given his age (34). The 6'7" combo forward is one of the better offensive players likely to be available on the trade market, a career 39.5 percent 3-point shooter hitting 41.5 percent of his long-range shots this season.

He's also a porous defender who has lost even more of a step at his age, he is constantly missing games due to injury at this point in his career, and the Pistons are driving up the price given the number of teams interested. The Thunder don't want to add a soft spot to their defense, so Bogdanovic is likely a player they should pass on.

No. 4: Keldon Johnson is a questionable trade target

The San Antonio Spurs have a collection of young players and they are figuring out how they fit around their superstar rookie center Victor Wembanyama. The player who currently looks like the odd man out is Keldon Johnson, the first member of the core drafted and a player who is both outperforming his late-first draft slot and underperforming expectations for his career after an exciting first few seasons in the league.

Johnson is only 24 years old and on a reasonable contract, but he's also just 6'5" and is not the plus defender he once profiled to be. On offense, his 3-point shot has fizzled over the past two seasons, and while he can put up points in a high-volume role, his scaleability in a smaller role on a better team is much more of an unknown. There are too many questions with Johnson for the Thunder to pursue him.

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