Buying or Selling Latest NBA Opening-Week Rumors and Buzz
The 2022-23 NBA season is nearly upon us, with plenty of rumors and buzz already hitting our timelines.
It's time to set the record straight before we get into real basketball, however, figuring out which reports are truly accurate and which are just players and teams telling us what they want us to hear.
After a summer full of sifting through rumors, it's time to buy or sell the latest opening-week news.
Cam Johnson Was 'Off Limits' in Kevin Durant Trade Talks
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The Phoenix Suns and Kevin Durant were immediately linked this summer after the 12-time All-Star requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, as Phoenix seemed like one of the few franchises that could offer a competitive package while also maintaining enough talent to pursue a championship with.
Among the players likely to go to Brooklyn in a deal was Cameron Johnson, the Suns' sweet-shooting power forward who's projected to become a full-time starter for the first time this season.
According to Yahoo's Jake Fischer, Suns officials "remained steadfast that Johnson was off limits" during a trade pursuit for Durant, although one source told Fischer that Johnson was ultimately included in an offer.
This is simply a ridiculous stance for anyone from Phoenix to take now.
While Devin Booker and Chris Paul were likely never brought up in any serious dialogue, players like Deandre Ayton (then a restricted free agent), Mikal Bridges and Johnson were the Suns' best trade chips, even with all of the team's future first-rounders available to be dealt.
This is Kevin-freakin'-Durant we're talking about here, someone who averaged 29.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists and shot 51.8 percent overall last season and still projects to be a top-five player in the NBA even at the end of next year.
Refusing to include Johnson, a 26-year-old who's ceiling appears to be that of a solid NBA starter, in a deal for Durant is preposterous.
This is the Suns trying to save face with their new starting power forward, someone who's eligible to sign an extension before the 2022-23 season begins.
Buy or Sell: Sell the Suns seriously keeping Johnson out of Durant trade talks.
Kyrie Irving Not Retiring Anytime Soon
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Now at age 30 and heading into unrestricted free agency next summer, Kyrie Irving has an unpredictable future of basketball ahead of him.
He hasn't always put the NBA first and has taken interest in a number of non-basketball topics, leading to speculation that an early retirement may be in the cards, especially with $230.5 million in career earnings and a championship already to his name.
When asked by ESPN's Nick Friedell how much longer he wanted to play, however, Irving stated that: "I'm never going to stop playing [basketball]. You hear me? Get that—I am never going to stop playing. This is not even a debate. It's not a consideration."
While it's nearly impossible to pick Irving's brain, there could be two trains of thought here.
A., either Irving does truly miss playing after suiting up just 29 games or fewer in two of the past three years,
or
B., Irving is trying to project confidence in his commitment to the game before he enters free agency next summer.
Both could be true as well.
Irving will be 31 by the time free agency opens next summer and is eligible for a five-year deal from the Nets or a four-year contract from any other team. Naturally, committing to Irving on a long-term deal comes with concern and is something Brooklyn was "outright unwilling" to do this past offseason, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News.
For now, we'll believe Irving, who has to show he can be reliable for the first time in years in order to secure his next big contract. Don't expect him to want to make any Tom Brady-esque runs into his mid-40s, however.
Buy or Sell: We'll buy this from Irving for now, who's saying all the right things before he hits free agency. The 30-year-old has a lot of elite basketball left, assuming he wants to keep playing.
Warriors' Ring Night Had Impact on Choosing Not to Suspend Draymond Green
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The Warriors made the controversial decision to not suspend Draymond Green after he punched teammate Jordan Poole in the face at practice, choosing to simply fine the veteran forward instead.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, part of the decision to not administer a suspension was so that Green wouldn't miss the team's opening night ring ceremony.
Wojnarowski mentioned that had the punch come during the regular season or if the Warriors weren't coming off a championship, there probably would have been a suspension for Green.
It's easy to buy this explanation, which is also what makes it the wrong decision.
Assaulting a player (teammate or not) should come with serious consequences, ones that don't cater to whatever events may be going on. Yes, it would be unfortunate for Green to miss what's sure to be a special night in San Francisco. It's also something he should have thought about before decking his own teammate.
This was a cowardly move by the Warriors franchise after the Chicago Bulls suspended Bobby Portis eight games for a similar event in 2017. Would Golden State have made the same exception for an end-of-the-rotation player, or was this simply getting on the good side of a player who the Warriors need to take a team-friendly discount after already extending Poole and Andrew Wiggins?
If this was truly "the biggest crisis that we've ever had" as head coach Steve Kerr referred to it as, is simply fining Green with no suspension an accurate repercussion?
The Warriors could have at least suspended Green from multiple contests while still allowing him to attend a pregame ring ceremony, but they took the easy way out by not causing him to miss any time at all.
For an organization that's otherwise been so good at everything else, this was a really bad look.
Buy or Sell: Buy the Warriors not suspending Green because of the team's ring ceremony; sell this actually being the right thing to do.
Deandre Ayton Says Everything Is 'Back to Normal' with Monty Williams, Suns
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From being benched in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals, to having to sign an offer sheet with the Indiana Pacers to get paid in free agency and then apparently not talking to his head coach all offseason, it's been a bizarre few months for Deandre Ayton.
No one seems entirely satisfied with how things currently stand, with Ayton ultimately getting the max deal the Suns refused to give him outright yet still acting like he wanted to be anywhere else on media day.
Despite the uneasiness between coach and player and player and organization, Ayton insists things are "back to normal."
"Yeah, most def. I mean, we talk, man. At the end of the day, it's like we're trying to contribute to a win. Everything is back to normal," Ayton said, according to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic. "Nothing has changed, to be honest. Yeah, I may have come to media day [Sept. 26] just bland, but I wasn't trying to give nobody no damn story or nothing, but it flipped on me. So, I can't really say nothing. Just let everybody run away with it. All I know is we've been in here working. We've been battling each other, beating up each other in training camp. Coach has been loving it."
Does anyone remember what "normal" is, exactly?
Has whatever Monty Williams deemed "internal" now been cleared up? Are the Suns truly comfortable paying Ayton an average of over $33 million the next four years? Does Ayton even want to be in Phoenix and sharing so many touches with Devin Booker, Chris Paul, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson?
Nothing about this feels normal, and nothing but time and winning can truly bring all these moving pieces back together.
Buy or Sell: Sell everything as being "normal." There's potential to get there if the Suns get off to a hot start and shake off a frustrating few months, but we're far from that point yet.
Russell Westbrook 'Receptive' to Coming Off the Bench for Lakers
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Not since November 28, 2008, has Russell Westbrook come off the bench to begin an NBA game, a streak that has now reached 1,115 total contests (counting the postseason).
Now, that streak may be in jeopardy, something the nine-time All-Star and 2017 MVP is apparently OK with.
As Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic wrote:
"But [Darvin] Ham’s connection with Westbrook made a bench role an easier pitch. The Lakers had already discussed the possibility over the summer during the offseason meetings between Ham, [Rob] Pelinka and Westbrook. Ham said Westbrook was receptive to the change when the head coach approached him about it on Thursday."
Getting Westbrook to agree to a lesser role as a sixth man would be the best thing for the Lakers, and likely the 33-year-old's career moving forward. Kevin Love made a similar change with the Cleveland Cavaliers last season, ultimately finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting while the Cavs won a surprising 44 games and made the play-in tournament.
If Westbrook can swallow his pride and truly be OK with this move, he can still have a long career as a backup point guard given his playmaking ability and knowledge of the game. He remains a terrible fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, however, so splitting their minutes as much as possible should be the goal.
Assuming Westbrook is truly open to the idea, will the Lakers' success (or lack thereof) have an effect on his happiness in this new role? It's one thing if Los Angeles looks like a playoff team with Westbrook off the bench, but what if the Lakers are still below .500 a few months into the season with Patrick Beverley as a starter instead?
A trade still seems like the best scenario for all parties involved here, as even Westbrook initially agreeing to a demotion doesn't mean he'll remain receptive to this new role, especially if the Lakers stumble out of the gate.
Buy or Sell: Buy Westbrook agreeing to a new role to begin the season; sell this demotion ultimately ending well.
