Two names to watch before the NBA trade deadline passes are the Indiana Pacers' Roy Hibbert and David West. Both have the options to become free agents in July, and both could net Indiana valuable assets to use in the future.
Hibbert's already been linked to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and West is a productive veteran who could contribute valuable minutes off the bench for a playoff-bound team. They were both among my list of top five players most likely to be dealt before the Feb. 19 deadline, and on Monday Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders also named them as two players who could be on new teams before the deadline.
Per Kyler:
"The situation to watch in Indiana is Roy Hibbert - he has the option to be a free agent as does David West, at some point the Pacers have to entertain that both could be lost for nothing in July.
"As for buyers - maybe, but I don't get the sense that the Pacers are actively trying to add anything yet. I think it always comes down to cost to make a deal and the Pacers don't have a whole lot of attractive chips to offer at this point unless its West or Hibbert."
Indiana is 11-20 and sits 11th in the Eastern Conference, three games out from the eighth seed. While playoffs aren't out of the question in the weaker Eastern Conference, it's unlikely the Pacers will go far without star Paul George. This has a number of people speculating Indiana will be active before the trade deadline, in an effort to acquire assets to use for next season, when George is expected to be healthy.
Cleveland remains the top suitor for Hibbert, who would fill their need for a rim-protector. Cleveland's need became even direr last week with the loss of Anderson Varejao, whose season-ending Achilles tear could prompt general manager Dave Griffin to forfeit picks - they have two first-rounders in 2015 - and talent - Dion Waiters could fill Indiana's need at the 2-spot.
