NBA Rumors: Latest on J.R. Smith, Chris Copeland Trade Buzz and More
It was no secret when Phil Jackson took over as president of the New York Knicks that he was going to make some moves, but there are already rumors flying around the Big Apple a week into the season.
While most rumors never develop into actual transactions, there will be plenty of smoke surrounding the Knicks roster this year. If New York struggles to string together wins, Jackson could look toward the future sooner rather than later and pull the trigger on some trades.
With that in mind, here is a look at the latest whispers from New York—and Oklahoma City.
J.R. Smith for Chris Copeland?
Marc Berman of the New York Post filled fans in on the latest regarding a potential trade between the Knicks and Indiana Pacers:
"One of president Phil Jackson’s big decisions this season is whether to trade J.R. Smith, and the club had recent conversations with the Pacers regarding ex-Knick Chris Copeland, according to a league source.
According to a source, Jackson has no plans to make any deals until Dec. 15 — a key NBA date as 2014 free-agent signees and 2014 draft picks are eligible to be traded.
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Chris Copeland was a Knick before joining Indiana, and he is a valuable asset because of his expiring contract. If New York managed to make this trade, Copeland wouldn’t influence its 2015 cap space, which is important for a team in the rebuilding process.
As for J.R. Smith, he could hold off on free agency all the way until 2016, where he will likely reap the benefits of a higher salary cap and new television deal. Bottom line: Copeland would be much better for the Knicks financially in the long term than Smith if Smith does not opt out of his contract.
As for the actual basketball involved in this rumor, Copeland has the opportunity to make his mark for the Pacers this season. Paul George broke his leg in a USA Basketball scrimmage in the summer, Lance Stephenson bolted for Charlotte and David West and George Hill are dealing with nagging injuries.
On the other side, Smith is a known commodity.
Every once in a while, teams will get a monster game from him, but he is an inconsistent guard who takes too may ill-advised shots. He shot only 41.5 percent from the field last year and shot 40 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range in the first three games this season.
If you are a Pacers fan who prescribes to the logic that Smith wouldn’t really help a Pacers team that prides itself on defense, this update from Bob Kravitz of WTHR.com should come as a relief:
It is also natural to wonder how Smith would fit in the Pacers' locker room, especially given Jackson’s comments, via Berman:
"'I don’t know if that’s possible or not,' Jackson said when asked how to cure Smith’s off-the-court immature antics. 'He might be one of those guys that’s a little bit like Dennis Rodman, that has an outlier kind of side to him. But I’m going to get to know him as we go along, and we’ll find a way to either make him a very useful player in our organization, or whatever.'
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If Smith was a better player, dealing with that may be worth it. From a financial and basketball standpoint, the Pacers are better off with Copeland.
Thunder Looking at Gal Mekel?
David Pick of Eurobasket.com passed along an update on the Oklahoma City Thunder:
"I noted yesterday that the OKC Thunder express interest in Gal Mekel. Wonder if deal could materialize with Russell Westbrook out.
— David Pick (@IAmDPick) October 31, 2014"
It is really no wonder why the Thunder are interested in point guard Gal Mekel.
Oklahoma City is currently waiting on the NBA’s approval to add a 16th player with a special hardship provision. The team had a measly eight healthy players available for its recent game against the Denver Nuggets, as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb, Mitch McGary, Anthony Morrow and Grant Jerrett all missed the contest with injury.
To make matters worse, all those physical setbacks except Lamb’s and Jackson’s will last for at least a couple weeks.
This team needs healthy bodies and depth, and Mekel would provide just that. He played in 31 games for the Dallas Mavericks last season and averaged 2.4 points a game. However, it was his passing that turned the most heads, even though he only averaged two assists a night.
If those numbers were stretched into per-36-minute totals, his assists would jump to 7.8 a game.
The Thunder could certainly use someone like Mekel to jump-start the offense with crisp passing while Durant and Westbrook nurse their injuries. When the stars come back, Mekel could still spell Westbrook for a couple minutes at a time and boost those assist totals with passes to Durant.
Oklahoma City could find some value in Mekel.
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