While it took a little while to develop, the last few hours of the NBA trade deadline were eventful to say the least.
One major outcome of most of the deals that occurred on Thursday is that the destination of many veterans in trades will lead to a very busy buy out market, possibly the busiest one we have ever seen.
Here is a list of veteran players who could become available in the next 24 to 48 hours:
Derrick Rose
Joe Johnson
Boris Diaw
Tony Allen
Marco Belinelli
Ersan Illyasova
Channing Frye
You can expect all of the league’s contenders to be in hot pursuit of a guys like Joe Johnson, Channing Frye and Marco Bellineli.
Johnson if bought out by Sacramento, which seems like a certainty at this point, is already garnering rumored interest from Golden State, Boston and Houston.
The Warriors would take a long, hard look at Channing Frye if the Lakers decided to part ways with him in the coming days, which seems less likely.
Derrick Rose will likely have a new home in the next week as well, one not too far from his previous home that would reunite him with his former head coach Tom Thibodeau: the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves will try to sign Derrick Rose if he clears waivers after his looming release by Utah, according to league sources
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 8, 2018
There is one more guy who could potentially be on the buyout market which seems absolutely insane considering his All-NBA status last season: Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas is excited about playing for the Los Angeles Lakers but apparently under one condition according to reports: he is a starter.
Isaiah Thomas’ agent: “He’s not coming off the bench.”
They’d rather have a buyout if he’s not starting. (via @Rachel__Nichols on ESPN’s The Jump)
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 8, 2018
Would the rebuilding Lakers really just stop starting their point guard of the future in Lonzo Ball when he returns from injury just to pacify a player they may not even have next season? I doubt it. If Thomas is coming off the bench he could end up being the most interesting buyout candidate the NBA has possibly ever seen.
While the NBA Trade Deadline fun is officially over, the player movement is far from over and things will stay very interesting in the buyout market over the coming week.
