You will hear a lot of names thrown about before next month's trading deadline.

The vast majority of them will stay put.

We know that's no fun. But it's reality. We also know that won't stop people from speculating.

As a public service, we offer a trade primer. We won't list every name you will hear over the next five weeks. That would be irresponsible. But we will take a look at some of the players who actually have a chance to move, based on conversations with general managers and personnel directors in recent weeks.

• Pau Gasol: A good player on a bad team in a city that doesn't draw.

The perception that he doesn't fit into the up-tempo style coach Marc Iavaroni has imported to Memphis is overblown. But there's some validity to the idea he's at his best in a more methodical, half-court system. Chicago has long been interested. He also makes sense in Cleveland and New Jersey.

Come to think of it, he makes sense for almost any team in the East that has realistic aspirations of advancing past the first round.

• Mike Bibby: Beno Udrih has been good at the point, good enough that Sacramento should move Bibby before the deadline.

Bibby has one-year left on his contract at $14.5 million. What the Kings can get for him this summer will only go down. Move him now and maximize his value.

Sacramento is trying to tack Kenny Thomas onto the deal and get out from under the $17.3 million it owes him over the next two seasons. The club may have to alter that approach. But Cleveland's interest is strong in Bibby.

• Andre Miller: You hear him going to the Cavaliers if they can't get Bibby. You hear him going to Miami. You hear his name a lot.

But know this: Miller is a solid player but one who doesn't shoot well enough to fit into a motion offense. That limits his attractiveness.

• Jason Williams: Is there any way Miami can bring this same group back for the second half of the season? No.

Williams has said players are nothing more than high-paid prostitutes the way teams throw their names around in trade discussions. Well, Williams is in the final year of a contract that pays him $8.9 million, which is why his name has been thrown around. Teammate Ricky Davis is in the final year of a deal that pays him $6.8 million.

The Heat can combine both salaries to get a pretty good player. But if this player isn't part of the future, Pat Riley could decide to let these contracts expire. Still, you have to think one or both of these players will be gone.

• Mickael Pietrus: Golden State has loads of players it needs to re-sign going into next season. Pietrus is far down the list.

Pietrus is athletic, inexpensive ($3.4 million) and would be a nice addition to the rotation of any team looking to make a playoff run. Besides, when have you known Warriors coach Don Nelson not to do something before the trade deadline?

• Sam Cassell: The LA Clippers aren't going anywhere, and Cassell is a veteran who has come up big in the clutch. The guard has said "the jury is out" when asked if he'll be traded.

We disagree. We think the jury's in and Cassell ($6.1 million) will be gone. Detroit veteran Flip Murray ($1.8 million) and Minnesota's Theo Ratliff ($11.6 million) could fall in the same category.

dmoore@dallasnews.com

David Harrison's suspension under the league's drug and alcohol policy once again pits a player's privacy against an employer's right to know.

The line on this issue will always be drawn in the sand. Events and changing social mores conspire at different points to nudge this line one way or the other. Indiana will argue it found itself on the wrong side of this line.

Harrison's five-game suspension came as a total surprise to the Pacers. Why? The club had no idea the center failed two previous drug tests.

The system is designed to get the player the help he needs and protect him from possible retribution from the club. But it also prevents a responsible, compassionate response from the club if it knows a player has a problem.

And what if a club trades for a player with two strikes? Shouldn't it have the right to know?

It may be time to redraw the line.