John Wall (Photo : Getty Images)
Andrew Wiggins (Photo : Kevin C. Cox | Getty Images Sport)
There are two big names on the NBA trade rumors circulating: Andrew Wiggins and John Wall.
Aside from the centers that have been on the trade market, the big names swirling around are John Wall and Andrew Wiggins, stars of this season's disappointing teams.
They both have the distinction of being cornerstones of their team but not quite being untouchable. Their teams' are not meeting expectations despite hype in the offseason due to their coaching changes.
The Minnesota Timberwolves in particular was on most pundits' radar as most improved team with Tom Thibodeau at the helm. As it is, they have been surpassed by the LA Lakers. This may not sit well with Thibs and considering that he is both the coach and team president, he can make a decision to make his coaching job easier.
Sporting News recently reported that Thibs is ready to trade a young player for a veteran in order to win (based on Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report's rumor).
"Thibodeau is looking for a player he already knows and trusts in his system. Bucher speculates The Wolves could be after Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler or Taj Gibson. The report says Thibs is doesn't know who he'd be willing to move in a potential trade but people close to him are convinced he will begin calling around soon, if he hasn't already," the report stated.
But the question is whether Thibs will trade Wiggins? Probably not since he has other assets to send out. Ricky Rubio, Zach Lavine, Shabazz Muhammad and even rookie Kris Dunn all have trade value for other teams and could net a veteran.
While the true untouchable in Minnesota's roster is Karl Anthony Towns, Wiggins is as close as you can get to that status. Thibs did not trade Wiggins for Jimmy Butler, it will take a superstar to pry him away from Minnesota.
John Wall of the Washington Wizards is another story. While he is the best player on the roster, he is not the highest paid. Trading Wall is also not an unthinkable concept.
If Wall is not untouchable, no one on the Wizards is. This is Wall's lament and he might not endure another season of frustration with the team anymore.
What should the Wizards do if Wall issues a trade demand-a possibility that is becoming closer to reality with each loss? Bill Simmons of The Ringer has the answer as he stated in his podcast (h/t The Washington Post).
"They're going to have to come to grips with whether they want to trade John Wall or not, and what they can get for him," Simmons said on his latest podcast. "If I'm running Washington, I would trade John Wall right now. I would just move him for picks and do a complete tankapalooza and try to rebuild and put myself in a much better spot. I think it's going to take years to put a decent team around [him], and I think the fact that Kevin Durant didn't even want to meet with them should've been a come-to-Jesus moment for that team, and apparently it wasn't."
Wiggins is unlikely to go anywhere. John Wall is more of a possibility. However, a Wiggins for Wall trade could also work-probably the only scenario where Wall is not traded ahead of Wiggins.
