Top 50 Trade Value

[lukeyrid13]

There are a number of factors that come in to play in deciding how to evaluate the trade value of certain players
- Age
- Contract length
- Salary
- Potential

At the end of the day, this is all so subjective. I am sure that I missed a player or two as well and this list was way harder than I had originally thought. From about 6-20 is pretty interchangeable IMO depending on what factors are most important (production, potential etc). That said, here we go....

Honorable mention

Just missed the cut for various reasons. Some are expiring, some are getting older and some have cap hits larger than their production.

51. Alton Lister - Sonics
52. Otis Thorpe – Lakers
53. Clyde Drexler - Nuggets
54. Mike Gminski – Pacers
55. Vlad - Nuggets
56. Otis Birdsong – Grizzlies
57. Mark McNamara – Twolves


Good….but that contract

These guys can all still produce, but their cap hits are a bit hard to stomach

50. Bill Cartwright - Blazers
49. Kenny Carr – Warriors
48. Jack Sikma – Knicks
47. Kevin McHale - Warriors
46. Tom Chambers - Rockets
45. Trent Tucker – Hawks

Expiring
44. Larry Smith – Lakers

They should be good down the road

Most of these guys have only played sparingly, but they still hold a good amount of trade value

43. Xavier McDaniel - Pistons
42. Kevin Duckworth – Knicks
41. Ken Barlow - Grizzlies
40. Roy Tarpley - Raptors
39. William Bedford - Mavs
38. Terry Porter - Heat
37. Len Bias - Clippers
36. Dennis Rodman - Bucks
35. Johnny Dawkins - Celtics
34. Wayman Tisdale - Sonics
33. Arvydas Sabonis - Nuggets

Old(er) but still have it

Sure they may be past 30, or have decreasing potential (Ransey), but all of these guys are still All-Stars or all league performers. Had this list been 5 years ago, most of these guys would have been in the top 10.

32. Dennis Johnson - Cavs
31. Kelvin Ransey - Raptors
30. Adrian Dantley - Rockets
29. Robert Parish - Rockets
28. Larry Bird - Heat
27. Bill Laimbeer - Grizzlies
26. Joe Barry Carroll - Heat

All Stars

All of these guys are in their prime and are producing at a high level. While not superstars, they are cornerstones of their franchises.

25b. Fat Lever - Mavs (accidentally left him off the list at first)
25. Clark Kellogg - Knicks
24. Steve Johnson - Cavs
23. Nique - Lakers
22. Roberto Brunamonti - Jazz
21. James Worthy - Spurs

Expiring but All-Star talent

20. Danny Young - Knicks

He puts up amazing per minute figures and shooting percentages. He will likely be seeing a massive pay bump after being an amazing 2nd round steal 3 years ago

19. Ralph Sampson - Blazers

Arguably the hardest player to place. He hasn't lived up to his drafty hype of the 'next Moses' but just had a great TC and is putting up fantastic per minute stats this season while finally becoming a top 10 shot blocker. If he was locked in to a longer contract, he may be pushing top 10-15.

18. Oscar Schmidt - Kings

Poor Oscar. All of his teammates and his GM left him 2 years ago and he's been a Lone Ranger in Sacramento ever since. He's an all 1st team level of SF, but on an expiring deal is dropped down this list

Top PGs


These guys just produce at a very high level. Both are turnover prone, but are all league performers otherwise

17. Isiah Thomas - Bulls

16. Magic Johnson - Pistons

Rookie scale studs

These guys are fairly interchangeable as far as value is concerned. They are all on great contracts still and hold a ton of potential, while still producing top results for their clubs. Bowie is playing like an all league center right now and still has more potential to grow. Malone and Ewing are expected to take big leaps in production in the next year or two, otherwise they could see a slide down this list.

15. Melvin Turpin - Pistons
14. Benoit Benjamin - Celtics
13. Karl Malone - Pisons
12. Sam Perkins - Celtics
11. John Stockton - Grizzlies
10. Patrick Ewing - Mavs
9. Sam Bowie - Hawks

Straight up studs

8. Byron Scott - Celtics

He has blossomed into a superstar at SG and is the top outside scorer in a league that may be transitioning to that type of offense sooner than later

7. Brad Daugherty - Bullets

20 and 10 as a rookie is amazing....combine that with his A potential and the Bullets have an absolute stud in the making on their roster who is locked in for 4 years.

6. Michael Jordan - Blazers

His production is not at the same level of the other players in the top 10, but his trade value is still there. The Blazers have a lot of offensive firepower and Jordan averages only 13.8 shot attempts per game. He was 2nd in scoring in the preseason a year ago with a watered down roster. The Blazers are very bullish on his potential and may look to surround him with more defensive minded players to boost up his shot attempts

5. Drazen Petrovic - Grizzlies

The recent #1 pick is leading the league in 3p% as a rookie at a blistering 55%. He can play the 2 or the 3 and gives the Grizzlies a lot to hope for in the future

4. Charles Barkley - Nuggets

The do it all PF is already an all league defender and performer for the Nuggets. He can: steal, block, score, shoot some 3s and grab every rebound in sight. Barkley will be a mainstay as a top 5 rebounder and all league defender for the next decade

3. Darrell Griffith - Lakers

Still the most shocking superstar in this league. Griffith was a decent piece in Portland, but the move to LA inspired him to become the 2nd best player in the league for the past 3-4 seasons now. If not for another player, he may have multiple MVPs.

2. Hakeem - Cavs

Taken before Jordan, he has proven the Cavs right to this point. He led them to the Finals as a rookie and will likely see many more appearances in the Finals as the leader of a stacked Cavs roster.

GOAT

1. Moses - GOAT University

Nothing else needs to be said. He sees an MVP or scoring title, or rebounding title, and he takes it. A truly unparalleled player who finally got his ring.

[dd10snoop28]

46. Tom Chambers - Rockets
45. Trent Tucker – Hawks

Both guys that are worth their contract iMO and should be ranked higher.

[lukeyrid13]

46. Tom Chambers - Rockets
45. Trent Tucker – Hawks

Both guys that are worth their contract iMO and should be ranked higher.

Tucker has good PPG, but look how many shots he's taking each game.

[offtheheezy]

Thanks for the article! Very new.

Feel free to ship me MJ for Petro

[dd10snoop28]

Top 3 is spot on though.

[lukeyrid13]

Thanks for the article! Very new.

Feel free to ship me MJ for Petro

Ha, I tried to take a neutral stance of how most of the league would or should value the players. If their names were different, perhaps, but I still hold MJ in very high esteem and his % are also great just like Petrovic. If our team offense was more diluted, I don't doubt that he would be a top 10 scorer but I think most would look and see 16ppg every year and think he is not the GOAT or soon to be GOAT.

That's a long way of saying, no.

[dd10snoop28]

46. Tom Chambers - Rockets
45. Trent Tucker – Hawks

Both guys that are worth their contract iMO and should be ranked higher.

Tucker has good PPG, but look how many shots he's taking each game.

Don't see it as a fluke tho. He put up 22ppg on 47% shooting for one of the best team in the league 2 yrs ago. He is top 5 scorer in the right offense and only 24 yrs old.

[offtheheezy]

Thanks for the article! Very new.

Feel free to ship me MJ for Petro

Ha, I tried to take a neutral stance of how most of the league would or should value the players. If their names were different, perhaps, but I still hold MJ in very high esteem and his % are also great just like Petrovic. If our team offense was more diluted, I don't doubt that he would be a top 10 scorer but I think most would look and see 16ppg every year and think he is not the GOAT or soon to be GOAT.

That's a long way of saying, no.

fraud! down with the list! league mandated swap! -5 attributes to jordan!

[Cellar-door]

David Greenwood remains criminally underrated.

[Foxyg1396]

Solid article! And it’s new and fun!

[the goat]

Well it's always nice to see your own players on lists like this

[offtheheezy]

Just noticed my boy Ken Barlow made the list! Team Barlow!

[lukeyrid13]

David Greenwood remains criminally underrated.

29, D potential and owed 50 million over the next 3 years. Who on this list would you bump off in place of him?

Not trying to be snide btw (hard to convey on a computer) but genuinely curious.

[JayGreen]

Was hoping to see Salley in that 33-43 range. No Dailey either hmm.

[Cellar-door]

David Greenwood remains criminally underrated.

29, D potential and owed 50 million over the next 3 years. Who on this list would you bump off in place of him?

Not trying to be snide btw (hard to convey on a computer) but genuinely curious.

Considering he was first team all DASL last year, I'd certainly put him at the very least in the HMs ahead of guys like Lister. If he were being used as a #1 option like some of the other guys on the list he'd be putting up better numbers than them.