20 best NBA players who are available for trade right now
15. Royce O’Neale Brooklyn Nets
Royce O’Neale is a 6-foot-4 small forward who is the ultimate role player. He’s a good defender, even if he has lost a step, hits his open 3s, and has shown a bit more ball handling and playmaking since getting to Brooklyn. He can start or come off the bench, and as a bonus, he only has $9.5 million left on his deal.
O’Neil’s lack of size hurts his defensive versatility, but this is a cheap option to soak up minutes on the wing. He won’t win you a playoff series, but he can definitely help the cause, and you won’t have to part with any players in your rotation to get him.
14. Alec Burks, Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons just traded two second-round picks, Marvin Bagley III, and Isiah Livers for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to be sellers. That trade was mostly about dumping Bagley’s contract, and with that out of the way, they should look to find Alec Burks a new home.
The appeal of Burks is that he can really shoot it. Over the past four seasons, he has hit 40.5 percent of his 3s on 7.1 attempts per 100 possessions. That’s impact efficiency on sizeable volume, and at 6-foot-6, he has the size to fake it on defense. In the final year of his deal, Burks is owed $10.5 million, a relative pittance by modern NBA standards.
Every team in need of shooting should kick the tires on Burks, and the Pistons should listen to offers, especially since it took them two second-round picks to trade for Marvin Bagley and then two more to be rid of him.
13. Luke Kennard, Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies season isn’t over, but the part where they pretend they can make a play-in run is. With Ja Morant and Steven Adams done for the year and Desmond Bane suffering a significant sprained ankle, the Grizzlies will shift their focus to 2024-25.
Luke Kennard has a troublesome left knee, but when healthy, he’s as dangerous of a shooter as they come. He’s a career 43.5 percent 3-point shooter and has twice led the league in 3-point shooting efficiency. Unlike many 3-point snipers, Kennard can handle the ball in small spurts, but his defense is poor. Every team could use more shooting, but Kennard’s defensive concerns make him a target in the playoffs.
Kennard has a very team-friendly contract as well. He’s owed $14.7 million this season and has a team option for the same amount next season. Beyond the player, Kennard’s contract is a useful asset. He can be viewed as an expiring contract, or a team can exercise their option to either keep him or trade him again.
12. Clint Capela, Atlanta Hawks
Clint Capela is a solid starting NBA center, but he’s owed $20.6 million this season and $22.2 next season. The market for non-elite centers is usually frigid, and most teams can get 90 percent of Capela’s production for less than half the price.
Even though Capela’s contract isn’t a plus, he is a legitimately good player. He leads the NBA in offensive rebound percent at 19.3 percent and total rebound percent at 21.8 percent. He has had stretches where he’s an impact defender and remains an excellent rim runner. While there aren’t many teams in need of his particular set of skills, any team that is, would be dramatically improved by his presence.
11. Bojan Bogdanovic, Detroit Pistons
Bojan Bogdanovic, not to be confused with Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Atlanta Hawks, is the best pure 3-point shooter available. Over the past two seasons, he has shot 41 percent from 3 on 6.3 attempts per game, and for his career, he’s at 39.5 percent on 5.3 attempts. Bogdanovic is a limited defender, but at 6-foot-7, he has enough size to not be a complete liability.
What’s pushing Bogdanovic down is he’s owed $20 million this season, which would require a significant outlay of talent to land him, but he has an unguaranteed salary of $19 million for 2024-25. The ability to treat Bogdanovic as an expiring contract should make him more appealing to teams from a financial standpoint.