NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Possible Miles Plumlee Trade, Mike D'Antoni's Return

The NBA trade deadline is a little over two months away, and the rumors will continue to swirl until Feb. 19.

However, a big rumbling in the NBA right now doesn't involve a trade at all.

Former head coach Mike D'Antoni could be working his way back in to the league through an assistant coaching position.

On the trade front, one player who could land with a new team is Milwaukee Bucks center Miles Plumlee.

Let's take a deeper look at the player and coach who could be on the move.

76ers Have Interest in D'Antoni

D'Antoni has drawn interest from the Philadelphia 76ers for an associate head coach position, per Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

D'Antoni last coached in the 2013-14 season when he guided the Los Angeles Lakers to just 27 wins. In 12 seasons with the Lakers, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, he has compiled a 455-426 record.

D'Antoni took his teams to the playoffs six times, advancing to the Western Conference Finals twice with the Suns. The struggling 76ers are now looking to him for guidance with young head coach Brett Brown, who just signed a two-year extension, wrote Wojnarowski:

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The timing of Brown's two-year extension on Friday, a deal that extends through the end of the 2018-19 season, has apparently eased any concerns that D'Antoni would be brought to the Sixers as some kind of head coach in waiting. D'Antoni wants to be a head coach again, and his candidacy elsewhere could be enhanced if he's back on a bench in a coaching capacity.

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Although D'Antoni has never won a championship, he was named the 2005 NBA Coach of the Year and is well-respected around the NBA for running fast-paced, high-scoring offenses. He also is close with 76ers chairman Jerry Colangelo, per Wojnarowski:

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D'Antoni, 64, and Colangelo have a longstanding relationship that includes successful runs together with the Phoenix Suns and USA Basketball. D'Antoni has been the revolutionary offensive mind of the modern NBA era, clearing the path for faster, smaller offenses that thrive on the 3-point shot. 

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Brown was asked about D'Antoni joining his staff, and he seemed to be fine with the addition, per Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

There doesn't seem to be anything negative here for the Sixers, especially considering they are 1-24 and there is no threat of D'Antoni taking over as head coach.

At this point, it's worth a try.

Plumlee on the Trading Block

Milwaukee Bucks center Miles Plumlee, whose performance and playing time has dropped the past two seasons, is on the trading block, per Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The 27-year-old former Duke Blue Devil started 79 games during the 2013-14 season with the Phoenix Suns, averaging 8.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

He started just 28 games with the Suns and Bucks last year and has not started a game in 2015 while scoring just 1.7 points per contest.

The addition of Greg Monroe in Milwaukee has squeezed Plumlee out, as he's playing a team-low 6.3 minutes per game, and he has not seen the court in five games.

Nick Borges of ESPN.com said if Plumlee isn't traded, it could still be the end of the line for him in Milwaukee: "There is a good chance the Bucks will not make a qualifying offer in June to Plumlee should he stay for the duration of the season. If that happens, Plumlee will enter July as an unrestricted free agent."

Small ball has become the style of today's NBA, made even more popular from the success of the defending champion Golden State Warriors. It's not a good time to be a struggling big man in the NBA.