Jake Fischer Latest: Man in Demand this NBA Trade Season? It's probably a center

As the NBA's annual G League Showcase begins Thursday, Jake Fischer details the extensive array of big men leaguewide who are making front office phones ring

ORLANDO, Fla. — The big man ain't dead.

Far from it. Look around the NBA and center might actually be the league’s deepest position ... as well as a position of great intrigue this winter as the NBA Trade Market begins to take shape.

When your team is lacking inside, you can feel it. The Timberwolves were so dismantled on the glass during the 2022 playoffs, remember, that Minnesota went out and traded a haul for Rudy Gobert. If you lose your bigs to injury, as Indiana endured in October when multiple Pacers centers sustained season-ending Achilles' tears, you're inevitably going shopping for another. The very first deal of this NBA Trade Season, as witnessed last Sunday morning, indeed saw Indiana acquire backup center Thomas Bryant from Miami.

As representatives from 30 front offices now converge on Central Florida for the NBA's annual G League Showcase, centers potentially on the move figure to rank as one of the prime conversation starters among executives when they're not talking about the futures of this All-Star trio: Miami's Jimmy Butler, New Orleans' Brandon Ingram and Chicago's Zach LaVine.