I don’t think I can recall a winter in which so many players have openly asked out or so many teams have made noise that they’re ready to make moves.  It’s getting to the point where GM’s need to just throw a 70s-styled swing party to swap their undesirables.  Throw your keys into the fishbowl!  I’ll briefly run down the two dozen or so names I’ve seen in various papers, along with their salary for this season:

Pau Gasol ($12.3) and Eddie Jones ($15.7) of Memphis.   Gasol’s picked up plenty of press recently, but Jones also let slip that he would appreciate a buyout or trade to a contender.  Jerry West knows that when it’s time to rebuild, it’s best to completely rework the roster.  With Oden or Durant potentially joining the team in June, the timing is good and there won’t be pressure to receive talent for talent.

Vince Carter ($15.1) and Jason Kidd ($18.1) of the Nets.  Carter has a player option this summer, and has apparently not left team officials with the idea that he’ll be sticking around.  With the team’s time among the East elite at the tail end, Rod Thorn would prefer to move Carter now before he has to face the possibility of VC going (to Disneyworld) without compensation.  They’d like to also move Jason Kidd’s massive contract to facilitate rebuilding, but few teams can take on a deal that size and the team has backed off recently; reportedly out of (PR) sensitivity to his pending divorce.  Expect Kidd to threaten off (a la Iverson) any non-contending trade partners.

Corey Maggette ($7) of the Clippers.   Despite the good face he put on it early in the season, Maggette is not okay with being a 6th man and has his agent pestering Elgin Baylor to move him out.  Unfortunately, Baylor is notoriously conservative on the trade market.

Andrei Kirilenko ($12.3) of the Jazz.  I’m not sure if there is much validity to talk about AK47 being available.  Sloan and Larry Miller have vented about Andrei’s increasingly pouty behavior, and teams have leapt at the possibility to #### Mr. Versatility from Salt Lake.  However, that doesn’t mean the Jazz want to move him.  Sloan is not a coach that simply wants talent – he values blue collar types far more than All-Stars.  There aren’t many hard-nosed players out there to entice him into swapping away his phenomenal defensive talent.

Jermaine O’Neal ($18.1) of the Pacers.  Another guy I can’t get a good read on.  O’Neal inferred a few weeks ago that he’d rather be dealt if a contending roster can’t be built around him, but I haven’t seen much beyond that.  I’ve come across an O’Neal-for-Gasol rumor, but that wouldn’t make much sense if Memphis is looking to rebuild and O’Neal wants to contend.  Jermaine’s salary would also make a midseason trade difficult.

Ron Artest ($7.2) and Mike Bibby ($12.5) of the Kings.  An Artest-Maggette swap nearly took place in December, and it’s safe to say that Ron is not untouchable by any means.  The Kings are still trying to find their next era, and at least considered moving Bibby for Iverson.  How actively they’re looking to make a move is uncertain, but it would seem that they would not be afraid to go after big names with their own.

Jason Richardson ($10) of the Warriors.  This may not hold much water, but at least one anonymous league source told the media that he expects Richardson to be moved this year.  Could be that they view Stephan Jackson as a cheaper alternative and Richardson has been struggling heavily this year.

Some minor names:

Bonzi Wells of the Rockets; Nazr Mohammed and Flip Murray of the Pistons; Morris Peterson of the Raptors; Andre Miller of the Sixers; Brent Barry and Jackie Butler of the Spurs; Drew Gooden of the Cavs; Darko Milic of the Magic; Marko Jaric of the Wolves; Jamaal Magloire of the Blazers.

Some teams that are very likely to be buyers:

The Heat are sensitive to their total fall from grace and are fed up with the lazy efforts of Antoine Walker.  They’re hoping to either move his toxic contract (good luck) or swap James Posey’s expiring deal for some desperately needed help.  The Shaq they want won’t be returning anytime soon.

The Bulls have let it be known that they’d like to make a deal and they have the pieces.  They have PJ Brown’s expiring deal, a crowded room of young talent, and the right to the Knick’s pick in this draft.  Paxson would like to switch out some of his youth for an established star that would carry them into contender status but wants to be sure he’s getting the right guy.  The worst thing he could do would be exchange his blue chips for another Ben Wallace. 

The Celtics have been waiting for a star to pair with Pierce, and have a decent package at the ready if anyone will take it.  They may hold off on the trigger if only because a potentially greater superstar might await them if they finish with a terrible record and get lucky in the lottery.

The Bucks may feel pressure to make a move, given their underwhelming place in the standings: just out of the playoff picture but not in the Oden sweepstakes.  They do have a couple of expiring deals on the books, but aren’t likely to be big movers and shakers in February.

One team that everyone still expects to see in this section but won’t is the Knicks.  Not enough attention has been given to the fact that Isiah hasn’t made one peep about going after any of the available talent, where in years passed he leaped at any inkling that a player was on the market.  James Dolan is forcing him to ride out the season with the cards he assembled and disconnected Isiah’s phone.

Moving off the trade talk, the Suns and the Mavericks are very obviously running away with the league and it’s tough to picture anyone stopping them at this point.  The Spurs are the only team close, both in the standings and in point differential, and they don’t look as strong as they have in years past.  The performance drop off behind the big three has been alarming this year, with Finley, Bowen, and Barry looking like they aged several years over the summer.  Dallas is allowing the third-fewest points per game in the league (behind the Spurs and Houston), and the Suns are famously making the rest of the league their playpen.  Houston has the most home-friendly schedule (23) in the West for the rest of the season, but the news on Yao Ming’s rehab has not been encouraging.

It’s getting tougher and tougher to see anyone in the East making a relevant trip to the Finals.  Cleveland looks more and more like a one-man show and got torn apart on their recent west coast swing, Orlando is tumbling its way out of the playoff standings after an eye-popping start to the season, and Washington’s porous defense very nearly leads the league in points allowed  (0.4 points off from GSW).  The best candidate is Detroit, especially if they capture lightning in a bottle twice with the Webber trade.  Chris may be a shadow of his former self and unable to bend his knees anymore, but never underestimate the desire players have to stick it to their former teams.  No one else in the East has fewer holes in their starting lineup, and only Chicago has a better point differential.