The NBA trade rumor mill is starting to churn this time of year as disgruntled and underutilized talent around the NBA is being targeted by teams around the league looking for fill specific needs or dump salary.
One name that has popped up in recent days is sixth man extraordinaire Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets.
Wizards, Pelicans Interested in Will Barton – https://t.co/zX6bE3so5D
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 21, 2016
Barton has rounded back into form in the last couple weeks after missing 11 games due to an ankle injury. He provides a good amount of scoring and energy off the bench for a Nuggets team in the thick of the playoff race.
When you consider how much talent the Nuggets have at the two through four position with Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Gary Harris, Jamal Murray, Kenneth Faried and others, you can see why they would at least entertain inquiries if the price is right and the Wizards and Pelicans apparently hope they have an enticing enough offer to land Barton.
Barton only makes $3.5 million per season so either team would have to trade a young, lower salary player in order to make a deal work.
I really don’t see what the Wizards would deal of interest besides a first round pick as Kelly Oubre is still unproven and wouldn’t help the Nuggets in a potential playoff push. The Pelicans could maybe intrigue the Nuggets with Tim Frazier, but the cupboard is pretty bare after that as well.
Let’s see if the Barton trade talk heats up, or the Nuggets opt to keep their useful and cheap bench extraordinaire for their run at the postseason.
