Trades I would do right now.

The key word here is "possible", in that these are trades that I could actually see happening before the deadline as certain teams realize they won't make the playoffs and would instead prefer to set themselves up salary-wise for the future. Therefore most of these trades have us taking on salary in the long term in order to fill immediate needs. And since I don't see us being successful if we trade Miller at this point, most of these trades have us dealing Joel to teams looking to reduce their cap numbers in the immediate future and beyond. Lastly, these aren't the "big name" trades that you may have seen elsewhere. We aren't getting back any stars because let's be honest, the only way this team will reach a contender status at this point is a healthy Roy and Oden, and no trade will fix that. See the trades after the jump. As always, interested in your feedback.

1. Joel P. + cash to Houston for Brad Miller + either Jordan Hill/Patrick Patterson. (Rationale: Houston realizes it won't make the playoffs and would like to dump the three years remaining on Miller's salary. The salary in the trade is a wash, but we send cash to help their bottom line this year. We get a true center to help out this season, and a valuable trade chip in the future as Miller's career winds down. We finally get a true PF to back up Aldridge in either Hill or Patterson. I'd take either one, and I doubt Houston wants to pay both of them going forward. In the end, we fill some holes on our team, and Houston reduces its cap number for next season to a cool 35mil. Of these proposals, this is the one I like the most.)

2. Joel P. to Detroit for Ben Wallace + Jason Maxiell. (Rationale: Again, Detroit gets out of the remaining years for both players, one more for Wallace and several for Maxiell. Again, Maxiell provides some PF pop off the bench that this team has sorely needed. Wallace still rebounds and defends, at least better than Joel at this point. This is probably my least favorite proposal.)

3. Joel P. to Minnesota for Darko Milicic + Luke Ridnour. (Rationale: Hear me out before you kill me. Look at Darko's stats (9 pts, 5 reb, 2.3 blk in 24 min) and he is absolutely worth 4mil+ per year at the center position, and provides what we need most which is a big defensive presence. What's more (which is why most people knock him), like Camby he won't clog the middle so Aldridge can continue to produce in the post. Ridnour isn't the best PG in the world, but he is proven and he can shoot. Minny likely won't want to pay him if they can bring Rubio over, and if Miller suddenly gets old Ridnour can fill in while we look for a long-term starter. In any case he's a better backup at this point than Mills. Scoff if you will, I actually really like this trade for the needs it fills for our team long-term.)

4. Joel P. + Miller + picks to Philly for Elton Brand + Jrue Holiday. (Rationale: This is probably the least likely to happen because I'm sure Philly wants to hold onto Holiday, but if I'm Cho I at least gauge their interest. This would be a pure salary dump for Philly. They made a horrible mistake paying Brand all that money, and their team is financially strapped for several more years while he hangs around. If they want a new start, it'll cost them a young player like Holiday. Otherwise they're stuck with early playoff exits and middling draft picks (and therefore no real improvement) for the foreseeable future. Fact is, Brand can still do what our team needs the most, which is rebound and score down low. Furthermore, the biggest reason he hasn't played well in Philly is a mismatched style. They like to run out there, and he likes to play slow and steady. Enter the slowest paced team in the league and could be a match made in heaven. Probably the longest shot of these proposals with Philly in the playoffs for now, but also probably the biggest payoff in the future for our team as it nabs its mythical PGOTF.)

5. Joel P. + picks + cash to Phoenix for either Robin Lopez + Hakim Warrick/Jared Dudley OR Marcin Gortat + Dudley. (Rationale: We all know the Phoenix owner is the biggest penny pincher in the league. They made some horrible deals last offseason and will want out of some of them real fast. To boot, the absolutely lucked into Gortat as he is currently playing very well for them. I doubt they'd give him up, but I also doubt they'll want to pay 2 centers big money going forward, especially when like to go small anyway (and Frye plays lots of C for them too). Long of the short is we steal Lopez or Gortat in exchange for helping them out of a bad contract and also giving them some future picks (I'd give up more than one first rounder as long as they were spaced out). Either one would be a huge boon for our perenially injured C position going forward, and Dudley/Warrick would both provide solid PF minutes off the bench (Dudley can go SF too). Cash once again entices the Suns owner into making a deal. This is another trade that would pay off nicely down the road, but we have to eat some salary to do it.)

Okay, let me have it. These aren't the typically proposals you see thrown around here. I'm not bringing back Danny Granger or the like, but I think all of these trades improve our team in the short term and potentially the long term as well (except for maybe the Detroit trade, but that's my least favorite anyway). What do you think?