NBA Rumors: Latest Trade Whispers from Around the League
Who says NBA front offices have to wait for the trade deadline in February to start exploring potential moves? After all, wins in December and January count as much in the standings as wins in March and April, so it is worth improving your roster at any point during the year.
While there have not been any league-altering swaps yet this season, there are plenty of trade rumors circulating around the Association.
With that in mind, here is a look at the latest whispers from the NBA.
Wesley Matthews
Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com provided an update on Wesley Matthews: “Barring an unexpected plummet, the Trail Blazers are dismissing all overtures for Matthews. He is a free agent at the end of the season and they have every intention of re-signing him next summer, a league source said.”
The majority of Haynes’ report revolves around the possibility of the Cleveland Cavaliers adding Matthews, and that would make perfect sense from their perspective. Shawn Marion is playing out of position at the shooting guard spot, while Dion Waiters has transitioned to a role off the bench, so there is a need for another shooting guard.
Matthews would greatly improve Cleveland’s perimeter defense and take some of the pressure off of LeBron James on that end of the floor.
Per NBA.com, Matthews holds opponents to a shooting percentage of 7.2 percent less than their normal shooting percentage. That number is even more impressive when the opponent is behind the three-point line, where Matthews holds opponents to a shooting percentage that is 10.9 percent worse than their normal long-range shooting percentage.
Throw in Matthews’ 38.8 percent mark from behind the three-point line, and he would be the perfect player alongside James in Cleveland considering James’ ability to set up his teammates by drawing extra defenders.
Alas, Matthews seems like a pipe dream for Cleveland fans for now because the Portland Trail Blazers are an impressive 19-6 on the season and on the short list of Western Conference contenders. They likely aren’t looking to trade one of their main contributors at this point.
Speaking of solid perimeter defenders, Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN.com provided an update on Corey Brewer:
The Houston Rockets are likely all in for an NBA title run this season at 18-5 and could use Brewer’s versatility and defense. He leads the NBA in steals per game at 2.3 a night and would allow Houston to hide James Harden on that side of the floor. Brewer could guard the opponent’s best perimeter player on a nightly basis.
What’s more, Brewer would give the Rockets another option at shooting guard and small forward outside of Harden and Trevor Ariza. Ariza leads the team in minutes per game at 38.1, and Harden is not that far behind at 37.5. Brewer could provide some meaningful time off the bench and keep Ariza and Harden fresh come playoff time.
Wolfson noted that nothing is imminent, but Brewer’s recent quotes regarding the Timberwolves' rebuilding efforts made it seem like he wouldn’t necessarily hate a trade, via Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “It’s tough for me, I’m not going to lie. When I came back here, I wasn’t expecting this, to rebuild again. It comes with the territory. It’s business. It’s basketball. It’s what I love to do. So I wake up every day and I come to work.”
Jamal Crawford
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio passed along an interesting update on Jamal Crawford:
The Los Angeles Clippers are 17-7 and largely considered one of the favorites to compete for a title from the Western Conference, so any talk of trading a marquee player like Crawford is certainly interesting and perhaps premature.
Amico notes that the talks are simply exploratory, but it is difficult to envision the Clippers trading a streaky scorer like Crawford to a fellow Western Conference contender like the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder could use another perimeter scorer alongside Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, and adding the sharp-shooting Crawford would make their offense all the more formidable.
For now, though, it appears as if Crawford will stay in Los Angeles. This will still be an interesting situation to monitor before the trade deadline.
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