The Hoopnotions Trade Value List: Christmas Edition

This Christmas, I will rank the 80 most valuable players in the league. Bill Simmons has done this for years, so I thought I’d give it a try. The important thing for everybody to remember is that this isn’t a ranking of true talent but of value. And, I stand by every assessment I make until I can either scream vindication at something being correct or wiggle my way out of something being wrong. You have been warned.

Without further ado, let’s get to ranking.

!!Disclaimer!!

Again, this is not a ranking of talent. For instance, Lebron James is 30th on my list. Does that mean that Lebron James is the 30th-best player in the league? Heavens no. But would the Cavaliers trade Darius Garland for Lebron? Absolutely not! As great as Lebron is, he’s a 37-year-old diva on an expiring contract who seems hellbent on staying in Los Angeles. Not the most trade value in the world, ya know?

Going even further than just pure logic, here were some of the rules I followed when making this list;

Rule #1: Age + Salary Matter

Would you rather pay Bradley Beal $50+ million or Jaylen Brown half of that? Or would you rather have Chris Paul for two (that may be pushing it) more seasons or Darius Garland for the next decade? Most of a player’s trade value comes from their age and salary.

Young players get the benefit on this list if they’re talented. Rookie contracts are the most valuable thing in the entire legue. Older players making $30 and $40+ million will be harder to find on this list.

Rule #2: Happiness Factor

In the age of player empowerment, mood matters more than anything. Front offices have to ask themselves, “is this player going to be happy here?” A good example is the James Harden fiasco. He quit on the Rockets and bullied his way to the Nets in early 2021. Then, just over a year later, he quit on the Nets and forced his way to the 76ers.

In return, the Nets got Ben Simmons, a player just now returning to the court after a year of holdouts, mental health issues, back pain, and a bruised ego. It was such a headache. One that teams are sure to be wearier of in the future.

Think about it like this. Would the Raptors have traded for an unhappy Kawhi Leonard in 2019 if the James Harden fiasco had happened before? Maybe, maybe not. But, I’m sure they’d probably think about it a little longer.

Rule #3: Weird Trades Will Affect This List

Remember when the Timberwolves paid 560 cents on the dollar for Rudy Gobert and then bragged about keeping Jaden McDaniels in the deal? Yeah, that effects this list. Rudy Gobert used to be on this list, but, considering what was given up for him, I didn’t put him on this list (sorry for the spoiler).

Jaden McDaniels’ stock raised a little bit when it was clear that the Timberwolves didn’t want to move him. Now, should we take Minnesota’s front office methods at face value? No. But, this trade definitely shifted the way we think about a lot of players.

FYI: If the Blazers ever made a move like this, I would hide myself in the “Pine Barrens” forest for eternity. Hell, I would let Valery kill me with that shovel at that point.

Rule #4: Tiers + Reverse Order

Don’t get too caught up on the 64th and 65th-ranked players. I could have very easily interchanged those two players. But I did put players into 16 distinct tiers – with smart-alek names to match. Focus on those instead.

And what do I mean by reverse order? Think about it like this. Put yourself in the front office of the team who has the 25th-ranked player on this list. If players 1-24 become available, the front office of player 25 would say, “We hate giving up player 25, but let’s have a meeting ASAP,” or, “Done! Call this deal in!”

Players 26-80 wouldn’t be able to get player 25 straight up. That team would need a lot more sweetners.

Dishonorable Mentions

Calling these guys honorable mentions would be a disgrace to the word honorable. No explanation is needed.

James Harden
Kyrie Irving
Ben Simmons
Rudy Gobert

Honorable Mentions

These players just missed my list. You could make a case that some of them deserved to be here. Some hard decisions had to be made. But, a good season could lead these guys to make the list come summer time.

Jordan Poole (Golden State Warriors)

Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors)

RJ Barrett (New York Knicks)

Fred VanVleet (Toronto Raptors)

Gary Trent Jr. (Toronto Raptors)

Tier 16: Role Player Safe Haven

#80 – Cameron Johnson (Phoenix Suns)

#79 – Kevin Huerter (Sacramento Kings)

#78 – Jarred Vanderbilt (Utah Jazz)

#77 – Jaden McDaniels (Minnesota Timberwolves)

#76 – Keegan Murray (Sacramento Kings) (R)

#75 – Devin Vassell (San Antonio Spurs)

#74 – Keldon Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)

#73 – Robert Williams (Boston Celtics)

#72 – Alex Caruso (Chicago Bulls)

Tier 15: Supermax Entrapment

#71 – Zach Lavine (Chicago Bulls)

#70 – Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)

Tier 14: Quality Starters

#69 – CJ McCollum (New Orleans Pelicans)

#68 – Kyle Kuzma (Washington Wizards)

#67 – Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz)

#66 – DeMar DeRozan (Chicago Bulls)

#65 – Jerami Grant (Portland Trail Blazers)

#64 – Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers)

#63 – Tyler Herro (Miami Heat)

#62 – De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings)

#61 – Lauri Markkanen (Utah Jazz)

#60 – Deandre Ayton (Phoenix Suns)

#59 – Jarrett Allen (Cleveland Cavaliers)

#58 – Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks)

#57 – Andrew Wiggins (Golden State Warriors)

#56 – Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento Kings)

Tier 13: Aging Vets on Contending Teams

#55 – Chris Paul (Phoenix Suns)

#54 – Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers)

Tier 12: Whole Lotta Potential

#53 – Jabari Smith Jr. (Houston Rockets) (R)

#52 – Shaedon Sharpe (Portland Trail Blazers) (R)

#51 – Jaden Ivey (Detroit Pistons) (R)

#50 – Dyson Daniels (New Orleans Pelicans) (R)

#49 – Ben Mathurin (Indiana Pacers) (R)

#48 – Herb Jones (New Orleans Pelicans)

Tier 11: The Punch Category

#47 – Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)

Tier 10: Worth More to Me Than to You

#46 – Dejounte Murray (Atlanta Hawks)

#45 – OG Anunoby (Toronto Raptors)

#44 – Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies)

#43 – Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks)

#42 – Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets)

#41 – Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics)

Tier 9: Injured, Potential Superstars

#40 – Chet Holmgren (Oklahoma City Thunder)

#39 – Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons)

Tier 8: Potential Stars (ft. Lots of Stagnation??)

#38 – Scottie Barnes (Toronto Raptors)

#37 – Jalen Green (Houston Rockets)

#36 – Josh Giddey (Oklahoma City Thunder)

#35 – LaMelo Ball (Charlotte Hornets)

Tier 7: Poison Pill??

#34 – Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks)

#33 – Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Tier 6: Winning Players; Both Young and Old

#32 – Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks)

#31 – Anfernee Simons (Portland Trail Blazers)

#30 – Lebron James (Los Angeles Lakers)

#29 – Darius Garland (Cleveland Cavaliers)

#28 – Mikal Bridges (Phoenix Suns)

#27 – Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic)

#26 – Desmond Bane (Memphis Grizzlies)

Tier 5: The Wemby Pick

#25 – Any Top Five Lottery Pick (10%+ Chance at Wemby)

Tier 4: All-NBA Guys

#24 – Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers)

#23 – Paul George (LA Clippers)

#22 – Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat)

#21 – Brandon Ingram (New Orleans Pelicans)

#20 – Pascal Siakam (Toronto Raptors)

#19 – Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Tier 3: An Array of Superstars and Young Studs

#18 – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)

#17 – Jimmy Butler (Miami Heat)

#16 – Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)

#15 – Anthony Edwards (Minnesota Timberwolves)

#14 – Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers)

#13 – Paolo Banchero (Orlando Magic)

#12 – Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers)

#11 – Tyrese Haliburton (Indiana Pacers)

#10 – Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets)

Tier 2: The Untouchables

#9 – Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns)

#8 – Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)

#7 – Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans)

Tier 1: Hang up Laughing

#6 – Ja Morant (Memphis Grizzlies)

#5 – Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics)

#4 – Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets)

#3 – Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors)

#2 – Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks)

#1 – Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)

What are your thoughts on this list? What would you change? Leave a comment down below!

Follow My Instagram & Facebook To Never Miss A Post: @hoopnotions