NBA Rumors: Latest Rumblings From Around the League

The NBA rumor mill is busy.

Offseason speculation surrounds once again Dwight Howard. He’s able to leave the Los Angeles Lakers this summer as an unrestricted free agent. Also in the City of Angels, the Clippers have been linked to the Boston Celtics in a trade scenario which would produce a shift of power in the league.

Here are each rumor’s latest rumblings.

LA-Boston Blockbuster

Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported that trade talks which would send Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers to the Clippers hit a snag on Saturday. Los Angeles is willing to surrender DeAndre Jordan and a first-round pick for the Celtics duo. Sheridan Hoops’ Mark Heisler reported, however, that Boston GM Danny Ainge wants Jordan, Eric Bledsoe and two first-round selections.

Los Angeles refused.

Wojnarowski tweeted that both sides did not resume talks on Father’s Day.

Despite the difference in demands between the two clubs, ESPN’s Bill Simmons still believes a deal will go down.

D12 Sign-and-Trade

ESPN’s Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne reported that the potential remains for the Lakers to complete a sign-and-trade of Howard if he’s determined to sign elsewhere. According to sources, the Houston Rockets will offer Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik for the center’s services if unable to lure him in free agency. Another potential trade partner for the purple and gold is the Clippers.

The Los Angeles Times’ Broderick Turner reported that league executives said a swap of Howard for Blake Griffin and Eric Bledsoe won’t happen. An executive instead predicted that if the Lakers can’t re-sign Howard, they’ll settle for freeing up cap space.

With Howard off the books and Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and nearly the entire roster scheduled to become free agents by the summer of 2014, Los Angeles would possess enough cap space to sign stars like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony who have early termination options in their contracts.

David Daniels is a breaking news writer at Bleacher Report and news editor at Wade-O Radio.