NBA Trade Rumors: Debunking Chatter Around the League

The NBA trade rumor mill is awfully quiet for this time of year.

Except that it isn't.

As the Association's teams prepare to tip off the regular season, the trade rumor mill takes a backseat to opening night and all it will have to offer.

However, hidden beneath the roster cuts, preseason bouts and lengthy docket of injuries, there are a plethora of rumblings, moves that are reportedly being explored and considered.

But in the age of anonymous sources and throwing-rumors-at-a-wall-and-hoping-they-stick, it can be difficult to discern between which sentiments hold any validity and which are just whimsical musings.

Are the Indiana Pacers moving on from Danny Granger? Is Kevin Martin pining for an escape from the Houston Rockets? Will the Toronto Raptors deal DeMar DeRozan if he continues to underachieve?

And that's just a small dose of the chatter currently swirling around; there's plenty more where that came from.

Leaving us to sift through the details, consider the logic and determine if what we're hearing is real or fake, fact or faction, senseless or sensible. 

Toronto Raptors Prepared to Move DeMar DeRozan?

This isn't just a contract year for DeMar DeRozan, it's a make or a break one as well.

At least, that's how the Toronto Raptors are approaching it.

According to Steve Kyler of HOOPSWORLD, the Raptors are not only prepared to hold off on an extension for DeRozan, but would be willing to move him if he doesn't give them a reason not to:

"

The Raptors like DeMar and believe in him, but sources say the idea of overpaying DeMar isn’t something the team is willing to do and that letting the market set his price as a restricted free agent is more likely. The Raptors are looking for a big leap from DeRozan this season before they are willing to really engage on what his future value really is. If DeRozan plateaus or worse yet regresses, it’s likely the Raptors explore his trade value rather than sink $9 to $10 million a season into DeMar.

"

Though the shooting guard is an athletic freak who can score in bunches, it's tough to fault Toronto here.

DeRozan averaged 16.7 points per contest last season, but he shot a career-worst 42.2 percent from the field. He also boasts a paltry 20.6 percent clip from beyond the arc for his career and at 6'7", his poor rebounding abilities are of major concern.

Simply put, in DeRozan, the Raptors have a volume scoring, yet inefficient, swingman who can neither shoot from the outside or crash the glass.

And if that doesn't change, the uniform he's wearing just might.

Verdict: Fact

Steve Blake and Chris Duhon Collateral Damage in Los Angeles?

A lot has been made of the Los Angeles Lakers wanting Derek Fisher back.

Why?

Because they do.

Before that can become a reality, the Lakers must find a taker for either Steve Blake or Chris Duhon, or both.

Which is something Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports Los Angeles is actively trying to do.

Is that difficult to believe?

Not at all. Both Blake and Duhon are underwhelming floor generals due almost $16 million combined over the next two years. Why wouldn't the Lakers want to get rid of one or both of them?

That said, just because the team is definitely shopping the duo, doesn't mean they'll find either one of them a new home.

In fact, believing that they will is the real work of fiction.

Verdict: Fact

Brandon Jennings on the Block in Milwaukee?

Maybe it's not meant to be.

Brandon Jennings has been the Milwaukee Bucks' prized possession for over three years, so with him approaching restricted free agency, the team is obviously a lock to retain the point guard, right?

Wrong.

Not only has Milwaukee not worked out an extension with Jennings, despite his desire to stay, but according to Steve Kyler over at HOOPSWORLD, the Bucks have actually entertained offers for their supposed pillar:

"

It seems ownership has drawn the line for this group that making the playoffs has to happen or major change is coming. Sources close to the process say that Jennings is far from secure in Milwaukee and that trading him has come up a number of times but the team has yet to find an offer they’d do. With talks all but non-existent on an extension its more likely that Jennings is headed for restricted free agency if he isn’t traded before the Feb. 21 trade deadline. A lot of that will be based on how consistent he can be this season and whether he can be part of a team headed to the post-season. If it’s the same up and down Bucks squad that struggles to be consistent, trading Jennings could be very likely.

"

Impossible, correct?

Except that it's not. If Milwaukee isn't headed for the playoffs, don't be surprised to see the team deal Jennings.

Another lottery-bound season constitutes both another underachievement and perhaps inability for a Monta Ellis-Brandon Jennings pairing to function.

Not to mention, the Bucks wallets are considerably lighter after shelling out $45 million to Ersan Ilyasova this past summer. Subsequently, they may very well balk at the prospect of paying both Ellis and Jennings in 2013.

Verdict: Fact

Jose Calderon Finally on His Way out of Toronto?

Kyle Lowry and John Lucas have rendered Jose Calderon expendable.

But that's been the case since July when Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported that he and the Raptors were attempting to find a new home.

Nothing panned out, though. Naturally, in came the Calderon to Los Angeles Lakers rumors, which Stein himself immediately squashed.

"

For those asking about Calderon-to-Lakers Twitter talk today, Calderon's agent Mark Bartelstein says: "There's absolutely nothing to it."

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) October 14, 2012"

With an expiring contract valued over at $10.5 million, there is certainly no rush on Toronto's part here. 

Calderon is fresh off a season that saw him average 10.5 points and 8.8 assists per contest, and he has immediately become one of the best backup point guards in the NBA.

At this point, unless the Raptors receive a star-caliber talent in return—which they won't—it's far more likely they hold onto the floor general.

For now.

Verdict: Fiction

Sacramento Kings Saying Goodbye to Tyreke Evans?

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

According to HOOPSWORLD's Steve Kyler, Tyreke Evans' future with the Sacramento Kings is anything but certain:

"

It’s also not out of the question that the Kings try and trade Evans before the Feb. 21 deadline. Sources close to the process say that either way could play out; it is all about what the Kings are offered for Evans. The belief around the team is that management does not view Evans as a franchise guy for them, and while they like him and hope for big things this year from him, they are not sold he’s someone they will invest major money in, meaning an extension, unless its heavily in Sacramento’s favor is unlikely.

"

Though an extension is not yet out of the question, the Kings were attempting to trade Evans before this year's draft, Kyler notes.

With an abundance of perimeter scorers and the reality that Evans has not yet established himself as a point guard, shooting guard or small forward, there's no reason to believe Sacramento would hesitate to pull the trigger on a deal.

It's all about the Kings getting adequate value in return.

Which at this juncture, given Evans' natural scoring abilities and versatility, and the state of Sacramento's roster, it seems inevitable.

Verdict: Fact

Kevin Martin Plotting His Escape out of Houston?

Since the Chris Paul and Pau Gasol debacle, the situation between Kevin Martin and the Houston Rockets has been anything but stable.

It became even more unsettling once the Rockets drafted Jeremy Lamb, and ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported that the team was looking to move Martin once again.

But they ultimately didn't, so things are good.

Or are they?

When asked if he had requested a trade from Houston this past offseason, Jonathan Feigan of UltimateRockets.com wrote that Martin was noncommittal in his answer:

"

Martin said he was more anxious about where he would be traded this offseason than hoping to be moved. But when asked if he had requested a trade after the season, he would not be specific.

“You always go through mixed emotions,” Martin said. “The organization goes through mixed emotions. Things like that we’ll keep behind closed doors. I’m happy now. We’re good.”

"

Maybe Martin didn't request a trade, but maybe he did. Or maybe the Rockets were the ones seeking to move him after all.

Either way, while things may be "good now," an expiring deal on a roster laden with young wings ensures it won't stay that way.

One of these parties is bound to force the other's hand.

Verdict: Fact

Danny Granger Falling out of Favor in Indiana?

You've probably read that Danny Granger is overrated, that his value to the Pacers is overstated.

Yet just because you've read it, doesn't mean it's true.

With Paul George set to become a superstar, the need for Granger in Indiana is supposedly diminishing, meaning that the small forward has meandered his way into the trade rumor mill.

But as Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard told HOOPSWORLD, Granger isn't the problem:

"

Have the Pacers gone as far as they can go with Danny Granger as their star?

“I don’t believe that,” Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard told HOOPSWORLD. “I don’t buy that at all.”

"

As such, no one should expect Granger to be headed anywhere else, because he won't be:

"

There is still plenty of room for the Pacers to grow, despite their success last season. Most of that growth will come internally, but don’t expect Granger to be used to add another significant piece down the road. He is still very much at the heart of what the Pacers are looking to do.

"

Last time I checked, the odds of a player still "very much at the heart" of what a team is trying to build getting traded are slimmer than Kevin Durant.

Verdict: Fiction

Rudy Gay's Future in Memphis Still in Doubt?

Rudy Gay is no stranger to trade rumors.

Shortly after the Memphis Grizzlies were ousted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs, Alex Kennedy of HOOPSWORLD reported that Gay was likely to become the subject of trade rumors once again.

Nothing ever materialized, though, because it never does with Gay.

Yet with Memphis' payroll ticketed at around $80 million the next two years, something is bound to change. And as Kennedy's colleague Steve Kyler recently noted, that something could involve Gay:

"

...and who knows with Rudy Gay… the Grizz will likely have a new owner officially later today and they have a payroll of $77,098,154 this year and $80,275,349 next year.

At some point, the economics will have to change in Memphis, especially if they are not a top 4 team in the West. You can’t be that much into the luxury tax in Memphis and be the 7th seed.

"

There's no denying the financial implications the Grizzlies are about to incur. As a small-market team, it's difficult to keep pace with the luxury tax. Just look at the Oklahoma City Thunder and their ongoing, gut-wrenching James Harden escapade.

Yet at the same time, Gay is borderline invaluable to Memphis. He is the team's only true superstar because let's face it, neither Marc Gasol or Zach Randolph are truly superstars.

So yes, the Grizzlies have a new owner and the financial outlook dictates that something needs to change.

But for the sake of Memphis' competitive future, that something cannot be the market Gay calls home.

Verdict: Fiction

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