Wilson Chandler (Photo : Twitter)
The NBA trade rumors are now heating up as the biggest chip has fallen. Teams in the West that want to improve their playoff standing.
Teams with a need for a wing scorer have set their sights on a veteran who just recently recovered from injury. Wilson Chandler of the Denver Nuggets is one of the top 5 players most likely to be traded in the next few days by Matt Connolly of Forbes.
"With Denver looking to the future and Chandler unhappy with his role, it shouldn't take too much to pry the veteran forward from the Nuggets' grasp. It helps that he's owed roughly $25 million over the next two seasons, which is a bargain for a player with his talent under the new cap," Connolly wrote.
The Oklahoma City Thunder seems like a good fit since they have the huge length of Kevin Durant to fill at the small forward position. Chandler can't be expected to replace him, but he can seamlessly fit with Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo, Steven Adams and Domantas Sabonis in the starting lineup.
An offer from the Thunder could revolve around Andre Roberson or Cameron Payne and most likely, a first round pick. The Nuggets already traded for Mason Plumlee so they would not be interested in Enes Kanter if he is offered.
There are also other teams interested in Chandler, a solid scorer who can contribute 20 points a night. The Nuggets seem intent on building around Nikola Jokic and their younger shooters like Jamal Murray and Gary Harris. A veteran like Chandler does not fit the timeline.
Team site Denver Stiffs listed the Houston Rockets as another team interested in Chandler. The Rockets are an offensive-minded team to say the least and Coach Mike D'Antoni coached Chandler with the New York Knicks before he was part of the Carmelo Anthony trade. Chris Haynes of ESPN was the first to break the Rockets interest towards Chandler.
Another team to keep an eye on in pursuit of Denver forward Wilson Chandler: Houston.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 20, 2017
They identified the players possibly included in an offer for Chandler as orey Brewer, KJ McDaniels, Sam Dekker, a 1st and salary for Chandler and Malik Beasley makes sense. With this trade, the Rockets would not decimate their veteran rotation while Denver will get more young players and a first round pick for their future run.
