20 best NBA players who are available for trade right now

1. Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors

Pascal Siakam, even in the final year of his deal, is the best player available by a significant margin. This is a two-time All-NBA player in the prime of their career. He can score, pass, and defend at an above-average clip and was an integral part of a championship team. No player thought to be available comes close to approaching his resume. 

Even with a reduced offensive role to accommodate Scottie Barnes, there are only seven players who average more than Siakam’s 22.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game this season. Those players are Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Paolo Banchero, and Kevin Durant, and Siakam has a better effective field goal percentage than Embiid and Banchero. While he isn’t a superstar player, Siakam is in the tier right below. 

The only concern over Siakam is his inconsistent 3-point shooting. He’s at 33.1 percent this season but was at 24.1 percent through his first 30 games. And for his career, he’s a 32.8 percent 3-point shooter, but that misses the point with a player like Siakam. He’s great with the ball in his hands. He’s a two-way top-50 offensive player who has thrived despite some of the worst spacing in the NBA the past few seasons in Toronto. 

You know a player is great when the only concern when trading for them isn’t the cost. It’s will they stay. Siakam is owed $37.9 million this season before he hits free agency, and any team that has to give up the assets and salary to land him will want his stay to last far beyond this summer. However, if Siakam gives a team the thumbs up, they should absolutely make the move. He is a high-end impact player that moves your title odds, those are the guys going all in for.