NBA Rumors: Latest Trade and Free-Agency Buzz Floating Around the Association

Welp, it was fun while it lasted.

For about the first three-plus weeks of the 2013-14 NBA season, it looked like the campaign would go off without a hitch. There were surprisingly good teams and surprisingly bad teams, but with Russell Westbrook returning and Kobe Bryant being cleared, everything was coming up roses.

And then things came crashing down.

On one fateful Friday night, Derrick Rose, Marc Gasol and Andre Iguodala all went down with injuries, and the hierarchy of the league instantly shifted. While the Grizzlies, Bulls and Warriors are assessing their options and what their respective superstar's injury means for their future, the rest of the NBA could be sensing opportunity.

Knowing the NBA, you all should know what that means: rumors, and lots of them. Contending teams across the Association have had ample opportunity to assess their talents and see where their deficiencies lie—or don't lie, in the case of some teams. (I'm looking at you, Utah.)

With Rose's injury whittling the number of contenders to exactly two in the East (Indiana and Miami) and nearly every member of the Western Conference at least one piece away, it is perhaps more important than ever to pay attention to every rumbling. There's no questioning that there will be paradigm-shifting trades this season. The only question is when the first domino will topple.

With that in mind, here's a complete breakdown of all the rumors from across the league.

Blazers Knocking on the Omer Asik Door?

The Rockets and Omer Asik have seemingly reached a middle ground in their ongoing impasse. Asik has returned to Kevin McHale's rotation after missing almost three entire games following his latest trade request. He has played his trademark hard defense and been a steadying presence in the middle when Dwight Howard is off the floor.

The "trade me" stamp he seemingly had tattooed on his forehead is gone. He's interacting with teammates a bit more on the bench, and the constant sourpuss expression has been replaced with one of, well, mostly apathy. But it's progress!

Nonetheless, other teams understandably smell blood in the water. It's not an issue of if Asik gets traded this season, but when. Other teams are going to want to recoup some value from the 7-footer and his cheap salary this season before the $15 million balloon payment kicks in for the start of next. The Rockets know this and know they have to move him sooner rather than later if they hope to get usable talent in return.

Enter the Portland Trail Blazers. Others previously floated the possibility of Portland entering the Asik sweepstakes, but Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News added some sparks to that smoke by indicating Neil Olshey has contacted Daryl Morey about a possible match.

Blazers starting center Robin Lopez works as a starting point, but it'll be interesting to see what the Rockets ask for beyond that. It's assumed by most that Morey will target a stretch 4—a Ryan Anderson type—to pair with Howard and allow for an Orlando-esque four-out, one-in system. But Terrence Jones has slid into the starting lineup for Asik, and the Rockets are blitzing opposing teams when Howard and Jones share the floor. 

Could Morey be amenable to fixing Houston's other deficiency in perimeter defense? Wesley Matthews is a solid guy who could fit right into the Rockets rotation. He's an elite three-point shooter and solid defender, though Portland would likely balk at a Matthews-Lopez combo for Asik. A Matthews-Asik trade works under the league's collective bargaining agreement, and Portland has wing assets—C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe—who could eventually work into Matthews' minutes.

For now, though, it seems like an unlikely fit. The Blazers are unlikely to make a major shift in their lineup after starting the season red hot, and Houston won't be accepting of a Lopez-Asik swap. It may take a third team to get this done, even if Asik is a perfect fit on paper for Portland.

Lamar Odom, Clippers Taking Courtship Slow?

When Odom met with Clippers head coach Doc Rivers and visited team facilities last week, all signs pointed to the 34-year-old forward joining the team sooner than later. Everyone who spoke about the meeting characterized it as going well, and many Clippers spoke out in support of bringing him into the fold.

"Shoot, I love Lamar man," DeAndre Jordan said, as reported by Sam Amick of USA Today. "He helped me out a lot, on and off the court last year, especially with the mental aspect of the game. He's a champion, so he knows what it takes to win and what is not something that we need in the locker room and on the floor."

Odom has been working out in Rhode Island, trying to get back into shape after probably the most tumultuous offseason of his life. Numerous reports over the summer surfaced that Odom was fighting an ongoing battle with substance abuse, specifically crack cocaine. As recently as September, Odom was supposedly holed up away from the limelight in the midst of a "crack binge."

While he has supposedly been clean and sober since about the beginning of October, TMZ posted a video on Friday of Odom freestyle rapping while allegedly high. None of this, of course, has been confirmed by anyone in Odom's camp, but TMZ claims the video was recorded this month. That's not exactly the best look for someone trying to get an NBA job.

Upon the video's release, ESPN's Ramona Shelburne updated the Clippers-Odom talk and indicated we're at least a "few weeks" from resolution:

As I wrote previously, the basketball reasons behind the Clippers' interest are sound. The DeAndre Jordan-Blake Griffin frontcourt has been a defensive nightmare for much of the season, and neither can be relied upon to hit free throws down the stretch. With Odom on the floor last year, the Clips allowed 95.5 points per 100 possessions, better than even Memphis' league-best rate. He's a heady, versatile player on both ends of the floor—even if he's become a pretty large offensive liability because he can't shoot.

But the personal problems might be too much to overcome. It's an internal decision the Clippers have to make, though, so perhaps waiting these next few weeks might be the best thing for all involved.

Kenneth Faried Not Being Shopped?

So...about the supposed decline of the Nuggets. Sorry about that.

After a 1-4 start resulted in bemoaning from the top of the Rocky Mountains about the team's stylistic switch and the acumen of coach Brian Shaw, Denver has ripped off five wins in its past seven games. Those two losses came on the road against Oklahoma City and Houston—not exactly the worst teams to go down to.

Playing a massive role in the Good Times Theatre has been Kenneth Faried, who opened the season with an uncertain role. Some believed he was more of a fit for George Karl's uptempo style than the more traditional approach of Shaw, and many wondered whether he would be the odd man out.

Instead, he's basically been Kenneth Faried. His 11.1 points per game are exactly in line with his career averages, and he is actually averaging a career-high 9.6 rebounds per contest. The differences everywhere are negligible. He is who he is. Denver is a far better offensive team with him on the floor and a borderline train wreck defensively.

So...yay! Things remain the same.

But no matter how things are going, perception means everything. It should come as no surprise, then, that Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post has reported teams are continuing to call about Faried only to be rebuffed every step of the way.

On the surface, it makes sense. Faried is a unique talent, the type of player whose energy is infectious and can fit with almost any team alignment. He's always going to be who he is, which is what made all of the handwringing early in the season a little odd. High-energy players have roles in more traditional lineups.

Looking forward, though, one has to wonder whether Denver is doing itself a disservice by not exploring the possibility more thoroughly.

I used the "Faried is who Faried is" talkpoint as a framing device to prove that talk of his downfall within the Nuggets rotation was overzealous. But what if this current iteration of Faried is all that he'll ever be? High-energy athletes don't typically age well, and they are sometimes overvalued early in their careers for what they could become.

Three years in for Faried, and we're starting to see a plateau. Are the Nuggets really willing to invest six figures per season on him? That's probably the starting point on extension. I'm not saying I think that Faried is done growing, but I do think the Nuggets would be doing themselves a disservice by not exploring all possibilities.

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