[ocelot_ark]

Time for Davis, Wells to change addresses?
By Chad Ford NBA Insider
Updated: November 6
9:54 AM ET

Every year the Christmas season seems to begin a few weeks earlier. On Nov. 1, Wal-Mart replaced its Halloween section with a massive Christmas display.

The point? It's never too early to get your shopping face on. The NBA season is just a little over a week old and the trade deadline isn't until February, but that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from already churning.

Too early to panic, you say? It's a long season? Still believe in your team?

Sure, we buy into all of that. Still, five games into the season it's becoming pretty clear that some players need a serious change of scenery if they're going to break out of their shell. Is it time for some GMs to start thinking trade before a player's value plummets too far?

Insider made some phone calls on Wednesday, trying to get a feel for which players are out there in the NBA rumor mill. While keeping in mind that teams don't shop players (and players don't smoke pot) here's a look at guys who, according to several GMs, could already be heading to clearance.

Ricky Davis, G/F, Cavs -- Davis already complaining about LeBron? That's the rumbling around the league. We knew that Davis would have a tough time adjusting to being a distant second fiddle to LeBron, but four games and four losses into the season (albeit against Western Conference teams) and the patience already seems to be wearing thin. While a source in Cleveland denies that he's being shopped, several other GMs insist the Davis is available. Davis has five years, $27 million left on his deal. But for a 20-point-a-night scorer, that's a bargain.

Bonzi Wells, G/F, Blazers -- The good news is that Bonzi didn't spit on a fan. The bad news is that flipping off the home crowd isn't much better. Paul Allen and Steve Patterson promised they'd have zero tolerance for this type of nonsense. Wells' claim of a "blackout" is just ridiculous. Now's the perfect time for the Blazers to get their point across. Moving Wells makes basketball sense too. He's struggling at the two this year because he struggles from the perimeter. He's more comfortable playing the three, but with Zach Randolph looking great at the four and Rasheed Wallace moving to the three, Wells is stuck playing out of position. A trade of Wells to the Raptors for Mo Peterson, Michael Bradley and a retiring Eric Montross would give the Blazers the extra luxury-tax relief they've been looking for next summer and would send a strong message to the rest of the team about the importance of staying professional on and off the court.

Eddy Curry, C, Bulls -- In the preseason he appeared on the verge of a breakout season. Now? Wednesday night the Bulls played their best basketball of the season with Curry sitting on the bench. Curry still has a ton of promise and a ton of trade value. Will that hold true if he continues to struggle with the Bulls? Curry seems like a guy who needs a wake-up call. A trade and a serious change of scenery could do that. GM John Paxson is ready to check out of lottery land. The Bulls won't give any of their young players away, but could a combo of Curry, Jamal Crawford (word is he's always been available) and Jalen Rose bring the Bulls the veterans they need to compete? I'd pick up the phone and see if Mark Cuban (who's had a thing for Curry and Rose for years) would give up Steve Nash, Michael Finley and Antawn Jamison for a combo of Curry, Crawford, Rose and Eddie Robinson. Crawford and Rose could hold their own in the Mavs backcourt and Curry could be the answer the Mavs have been searching for in the middle. Meanwhile, the Bulls would get the veterans they've been looking for to surround Tyson Chandler. That's a big, pretty unrealistic in-season trade. But with Cuban, you never know.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim, F, Hawks -- The Hawks look like they're going to be as terrible as advertised. Keeping Rahim, they're one tradable asset, doesn't make a lot of sense. Rahim's career low 14.4 ppg average doesn't help things either. Would a team like the Nuggets or Jazz (who are clearly better than we thought they'd be) be willing to give up a young player or two (like Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Rodney White) for Rahim? The key for the Hawks is to get well under the cap next summer.

Jerome James, C, Sonics -- He's back in Nate McMillan's dog house. His game still intrigues plenty of GMs around the league. Would someone give up a legit power forward for James? The Sonics like what Vladimir Radmanovic has done so far offensively, but he's also the guy who gave up 21 points and 15 boards to a guy with a broken foot on opening night. Given the strong play of Ronald Murray, could the Sonics afford to give up Radmanovic, James and Brent Barry for Rahim? That trade could put the Sonics back on the map in the West and give the Hawks some serious cap room next season.