NBA Trade Deadline 2018: The 20 best players available

7. Lou Williams, Los Angeles Clippers

Fresh off Lou Williams’ career-high 50-point outing against the depleted Golden State Warriors on Jan. 10, Shams Charania of The Vertical reported he and the Los Angeles Clippers had “recently engaged in contract extension discussions.” The two sides have yet to reach a deal, however, opening the door for him to be a trade-deadline casualty.

As Dan Feldman of NBC Sports noted, the most Sweet Lou can make on a four-year extension is $37.632 million, which may not be enough to entice him to bypass free agency this summer. While cap space across the league will be sparse, a microwave scorer like Williams potentially could score one last big payday before he begins his decline.

When the injury-ravaged Clippers were sitting at 8-15 in early December, they looked like obvious sellers once the trade deadline rolled around. However, Williams has helped spark a furious rally even as notable rotation members continue to drop like flies—from Patrick Beverley and Blake Griffin to Austin Rivers and Milos Teodosic—which has the Clippers right back in the mix for one of the final Western Conference playoff spots.

Will this recent surge convince the Clippers not to detonate their roster ahead of a major summer during which Rivers, Teodosic, DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Johnson all could join Williams in unrestricted free agency? How they fare over the next few weeks likely will determine which direction they pursue at the deadline, but expect suitors to come calling for Williams either way.

Next: 6. Nikola Vucevic