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Wow, this guy completely called the Hermann to the Pistons thing. By the way, this was written on Thursday.Richard Jefferson's face was contorted in anger, his voice seething with rage as he stood in front of his locker following yet another inexplicable home loss and let himself vent.
"It's a joke, really. The fact that we even have nine wins right now is amazing to me," Jefferson said, searching for an explanation for the Nets' league-leading proclivity to fall behind by double digits. "It's the starters. You can't say anything about the bench. You can't say anything about poor production from this person or that person. It's the starters' fault."
Later that evening, Jason Kidd stood in the hallway outside the locker room tunnel and held out four fingers to emphasize his point as he spoke to a confidant -- the four extended fingers representing the four long, long years it has been since the Nets lost Kenyon Martin. Word around the Nets' clubhouse is that New Jersey, which was previously known to have dangled Jefferson in an offer for Jermaine O'Neal last June, had also tried to ship Jefferson to the Charlotte Bobcats in a three-team deal that would have brought Lamar Odom to the Nets.
It is now six weeks into the season, there is a growing belief around the NBA that the rumor mill will be focused on New Jersey between now and the Feb. 21 trade deadline.
Teams already have been calling the Nets to gauge the availability of Kidd, who is seeking a one-year contract extension from New Jersey but would welcome a trade to a contending team that would be willing to tack an extra year and an extra $15 million onto the end of a contract currently due to expire in June 2009.
It is debatable whether the Nets should be more willing to trade Kidd or Jefferson, but the word ESPN.com was hearing Wednesday in conversations with front-office executives and agents around the league was that Kidd had surpassed Jefferson on the likelihood front.
But unlike last December when everyone knew Allen Iverson was the big fish on the market (or two years ago when that spot was occupied by Ron Artest), there is no clear consensus who will be the next player to get the call that Trevor Ariza, Brian Cook and Maurice Evans got last month. But that lack of a clear-cut favorite will not stop us from winnowing down a field whose numbers will increase this Saturday -- the day most players who signed free-agent contracts over the summer become trade eligible.
So without further ado, our list of the Top 10 NBA Players Most Likely To Be Traded:
1. Jason Williams, Heat
Now coming off the bench behind Chris Quinn, it is simply a matter of when, not if, the Heat will trade him.
Unless the Heat decide that Udonis Haslem is expendable -- or if they decide to sell high on Dorell Wright -- Williams' contract represents one of the few true trade assets they'll have either this season or next. The Heat expected better from Williams after he came to camp in his best physical condition in years, but he has continued to be plagued by poor shot selection and an inability to finish in the lane, which has hampered him throughout his career.
2. Andre Miller, 76ers
Asked last weekend whether the Sixers were getting a lot of trade calls, new general manager Ed Stefanski said: "No, we're the ones making the calls."
It's hard to see why Philadelphia wouldn't be willing to ship Miller to Miami for Williams if the Heat were willing to give up an unprotected No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, but there is talk that Miller is not Riley's kind of player. Of course, they said that about Ricky Davis, too.
3. Smush Parker, Heat
He was kept away from the team at Riley's behest after getting into an altercation nearly two weeks ago with a valet parking attendant, and he wasn't exactly making Riles feel all warm and fuzzy prior to that.
His track record with Riley and coaches Phil Jackson and Bob Hill will scare away a majority of teams, and his $2.5 million player option for next season is a deterrent, too. But he did have 230 3-pointers and 259 steals over the past two seasons, and at some point -- especially if Miller is traded sooner rather than later -- there is going to be a secondary trade market for point guards in which he will be a major player.
4. Hakim Warrick, Grizzlies
After a five-game stretch in which he played very little, the Grizzlies have been showcasing him to a degree in their past two games as word has circulated around the league that the third-year forward does not fit into the Grizzlies' long-term plans.
There are still plenty of teams willing to take a shot on Warrick's upside, which means Memphis can get true value in return.
5. Jason Kidd, Nets
If you look over the course of his career, the triple-double machine has worn out his welcome at every stop. That may now be the case in New Jersey, too, if Kidd's alleged boycott of a game last week against the Knicks has become the proverbial tipping point.
Much of the speculation has focused on Dallas as Kidd's likeliest next destination, but the Lakers (for Lamar Odom and Javaris Crittenton?) might be willing to give up more talent, and the Chicago Bulls could get into the mix if they ever bailed on coach Scott Skiles, who does not get along with Kidd. A deal sending Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah and Chris Duhon to New Jersey makes more sense than any of the speculated Dallas deals, especially because the Nets want a young big man back. Denver is a long shot.
6. Flip Murray, Pistons
The Denver Nuggets were among a handful of teams taking a hard look at the veteran earlier this season, and Murray helped his stock when he filled in for Chauncey Billups as the starter for two games and totaled 30 points and 18 assists.
Detroit still wants to clear a roster spot to sign Chris Webber, and Murray has more value than the two other players the Pistons are most willing to trade -- Ronald Dupree and Nazr Mohammed.
7. Mickael Pietrus, Warriors
He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer after taking the Warriors' qualifying offer a few months back, and he has become little more than a bit player in coach Don Nelson's ever-changing rotation.
Pietrus has the right to veto any trade because he would lose his Bird rights (which allows teams to exceed the salary cap to re-sign their own veteran free agents) if dealt, but he'd accept a deal if it sent him to a franchise that would let him get enough playing time to enhance his value -- much like Vladimir Radmanovic did two seasons ago when he accepted a trade from the Sonics to the Clippers.
8. Walter Herrmann, Bobcats
One of Herrmann's colleagues from Argentina was opining earlier this month that Herrmann seems to have lost the will to play hard, but it certainly didn't look that way during the fourth quarter Sunday night when "Fabio" had a brief spurt against Detroit in which he lived up to his billing as the second coming of Andres Nocioni.
The Pistons are among the contending teams that would be willing to take a flyer on the forward who many remember as the difference-maker when Argentina defeated the U.S. in the semifinals of the Athens Olympics.
9. Theo Ratliff, Timberwolves
Players with huge, expiring contracts always have value for teams looking to clear cap space, and Ratliff will stand head and shoulders above all others in February because his expiring deal pays $11.6 million.
The rub here, however, is that Minnesota is not going to take any bad contracts back, because the Timberwolves, too, would be happy to simply let Ratliff come off their books at the end of June. But if they could combine Ratliff in a trade that would rid them of Marko Jaric's contract -- even if it was for a player or players who come off the cap in 2009 -- they'll strongly consider it.
10. Ira Newble, Cavaliers
We really, really wanted to give this spot to Dan Dickau of the Clippers, and when we approached Dickau on Tuesday night to ask whether he thought he merited inclusion, he conceded that his track record (traded seven times in five-plus seasons) would seem to have earned him a permanent spot on this list.
But we're going to opt instead to go with Newble, whose expiring $3.4 million contract is certain to make him a key piece of whatever trade the Cavs eventually make to bring in a point guard. Newble has actually been playing well, too, and can be used as an effective defender at the 4-spot against teams playing small ball.
