NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Post-Draft Rumblings from Across the League
In case you haven't heard, the NBA's trade season got off to a massive bang during the 2013 NBA draft on Thursday night.
The Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics consummated what will almost certainly be the most talked-about trade of the summer. As first reported by Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will scamper their way to Brooklyn next season, attempting to carry out owner Mikhail Prokhorov's win-now vision. They will team up with Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez to make for a formidable Eastern Conference foe.
But that was just one of the many trades that went down on a crazy draft night. Expected to be one of the more unpredictable nights in recent NBA history, the league's 30 teams did everything in their power to make it happen. There were trades that included multiple draft picks, multiple All-Stars and a burgeoning young star who just made his first trip to the mid-February classic.
As one would expect, the ripple from those deals looked more like a tidal wave. With everyone reacting to the constant swapping of assets in a fashion that made video games seem more realistic, it was nearly impossible to keep up with everything that was going on.
And with that confusion came just one thing—more trade rumors, of course. If we learned anything on Thursday night, it's that player movement only begets more player movement. The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement has sent teams into scramble mode, either by making them cobble assets or push to rid themselves of bad contracts, meaning they're in a constant state of negotiation.
Of course, that's all good for the fans, who are probably going through their first stages of withdrawal following the conclusion of the finals.
With that in mind, here is a complete breakdown of all of the latest rumblings going on in the hours following the draft.
Kris Humphries' Stay in Boston to be Short-Lived; Charlotte a Potential Destination?
As discussed in the intro, the Celtics and Nets broke ESPN's Trade Machine late Thursday evening. The consummated deal between Boston and Brooklyn sends the principles Garnett and Pierce to the New York City borough but also includes other things—like players. Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries and Kris Joseph along with three first-round picks and the option to swap in 2017.
From the Celtics' perspective, Wallace was essentially a necessary evil to get the job done. His contact has three years and $30 million remaining, making it an albatross deal for a player whose skills have been well on the decline for the past couple of seasons. Joseph is the definition of cap filler.
Humphries, on the other hand, may have tangible value. His contract expires after next season, and at $12 million, Danny Ainge could look to find a longer-term deal or simple cap space in return for Humphries' rights.
According to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, rival executives think that's exactly what the Celtics team president will do—and Charlotte might be Humphries' final destination:
Logistically, there are only a few scenarios in which trading Humphries makes sense. If a team like the Bobcats—equipped with enough cap space to take on the 28-year-old forward's deal—offers a second-round pick or something minimal in exchange, then Boston would be smart to pull the trigger. Ainge has completely begun the rebuilding process, and even second-round picks in today's NBA are considered commodities. Getting ownership out from paying Humphries' salary and acquiring a pick would be a smart move.
The other scenario would have to involve a team taking one of the Celtics' bad contracts back in return. Wallace, Courtney Lee and (to a lesser extent) Brandon Bass fall into that overpaid category, and the former and latter are under contract through 2015-16. Packaging Humphries and one of those bad assets—even if it involves taking on someone like a Tyrus Thomas, could work out.
However, it would be borderline insane for Ainge to trade Humphries along if he's taking a contract that goes past 2013-14. Humphries is still a very good rebounder and underrated post scorer, a guy who could go back to putting up nightly double-doubles in Boston. He's also coming off the team's cap in 12 months, a key for a rebuilding team that will undoubtedly start hoarding cap space.
Bringing Humphries' celebrity lifestyle and the baggage that comes along with it might give Ainge a little pause. But it's well worth the 12 months of a semi-headache if it means dropping his money next July. Expect the Celtics to shop Humphries and see what they can get, but he could find that cap space down the line is far more important.
Bledsoe-for-Afflalo Not a Done Deal?
In the lead up to Thursday night's draft, one of the more buzzed-about trades of the entire night involved Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler going to the Magic in exchange for Arron Afflalo. The deal had been oft-rumored almost since the season ended, especially because Doc Rivers' arrival with the Clippers likely clinched Chris Paul's re-signing with the club.
Mark Heisler of SportsCity.com reported that Orlando and Los Angeles were "expected" to consummate the deal on draft night. It would land the Magic the point guard they desperately desired, while filling a weakness at the 2 for the Clippers.
Well, Thursday came and went with nothing happening on that front. The Clippers and Magic were both quiet on the trade front, both consummating their draft picks (Victor Oladipo and Romero Osby for Orlando and Reggie Bullock for Los Angeles) and quietly going along their way.
Nothing from either side suggested the deal was dead. The Magic pulled the trigger on Oladipo, a 2-guard who leaves their spot at point guard wide open. The Clippers' night was nondescript, adding a bench piece in Bullock who will give them some much-needed spot-up shooting. With the teams having to wait until the league-wide moratorium on transactions ends to consummate the deal anyway, it's possible they merely have a few kinks to sort out.
Not so fast.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that it isn't a foregone conclusion that Afflalo and Bledsoe wind up switching addresses. He goes on to note the widespread interest in Bledsoe—naming the Pistons, Pelicans and Raptors as interested parties—putting a hold on the current discussions.
New Orleans can probably be scratched from that running. The team acquired Jrue Holiday on Thursday night in a deal that sent a future first-round pick and the rights to No. 6 pick Nerlens Noel to the 76ers, per USA Today's Sam Amick.
What's more, the Clippers moving Bledsoe might not even be a foregone conclusion. Rivers was given a ton of personnel sway when he took over in Los Angeles and is said to be keen on coaching the young guard, seemingly on the precipice of blossoming. ESPN's Marc Stein, Ramona Shelburne and Chad Ford contributed on a report that stated the situation will likely linger into the beginning of the new league year, if not longer.
The odds remain in favor of Bledsoe being dealt. He can hit restricted free agency next summer, at which point he'll be due a massive raise—possibly upwards of $10 million per season when factoring in recent contracts given to similar players. With Paul likely signing a five-year maximum deal, Blake Griffin already under a max contract and the rest of the team's money tied up, Bledsoe and Butler are the team's two best assets.
Bledsoe will play elsewhere next season. We just may not find out where for a little while longer than we expected.
Rockets Trying to "Dump" Jeremy Lin?
For the most part, the Rockets got exactly what they paid for in Year 1 of their Jeremy Lin experiment. The 24-year-old guard settled below his Linsane averages during his magical run with the Knicks but was still very close to a league-average point guard. His averages of 13.4 points and 6.1 assists per game were acceptable, falling in line with the most reasonable expectations.
Daryl Morey is a smart guy; he knew he wasn't getting a superstar from a statistical standpoint. Sure, the Rockets were a better team with Lin on the bench than when he was on the floor. And Patrick Beverley's emergence made that all the more glaring in the playoffs. It's still hard to call it a failure of an experiment, because Lin is still an effective player for what he is.
That said, Morey already seems ready to cash out on his investment. According to Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com, Houston is shopping Lin hard on the open market—so much so that it is looking merely for a cap dump:
This could be a reactive move from the Rockets. ESPN's Marc Stein had reported before the draft that the Cavaliers and Bulls had both offered their mid-first-round picks in exchange for Thomas Robinson—No. 19 for Cleveland and No. 20 for Chicago. Robinson was expected to be a salary cap scapegoat for the Rockets, who are trying to clear enough space to make Dwight Howard a maximum contract offer this summer.
However, those picks came and went without word of a Robinson deal. The Bulls selected Tony Snell while Sergey Karasev went to the Cavaliers; both picks seem locked into their current destinations. While Robinson could eventually be dealt for a second-round choice or a future protected first-rounder, it's at least noteworthy that Houston failed to pull the trigger if those offers were truly on the table.
The Lin side of the equation makes sense from a basketball and financial perspective. Lin signed a three-year, $25.12 million deal last offseason, one that comes with a yearly cap hit of a little under $8.4 million every season. In an actual money, though, the deal will cost Houston $5 million for the first two years and $15 million in the third year.
That's not an attractive price to pay for a guy who might have lost his starting job to Beverley coming into camp next season. And especially considering Lin's overarching strengths—pick-and-roll creation and getting to the rim—are a bit redundant with James Harden, it's understandable that Morey would look into making a move.
If the motivation is merely finding a couple million dollars in cap space, the Rockets should find a willing partner. Lin, even if he's a third guard, is an absolute marketing gem. He's popular enough that he narrowly missed an All-Star selection despite the aforementioned middling numbers. For a team that's looking to make a splash and might not be going anywhere in 2013-14, landing Lin would be an inherently low-risk proposition.
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