NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Outlook on Lance Stephenson, Deron Williams and More
The Rajon Rondo trade isn't a blockbuster we'll someday tell our grandchildren about—I'm on record not loving it for either Dallas or Boston—but it nonetheless ignited what's sure to be a rumor-filled couple of months before the deadline.
As the last couple years have shown, the new collective bargaining agreement does not lend itself to many high-profile, in-season trades. Contracts are shorter, teams are more hesitant to add salary and the expiring contract has gone from a desirable asset to near worthlessness.
Rondo is an exception who proves the rule, but the Celtics in an ideal scenario would have moved him this offseason. Only when Danny Ainge's price shrunk and Rondo proved himself healthy did an amenable deal come to pass.
It's likely Rondo will be the 2014-15 version of Rudy Gay.
He's one of the few truly useful players who are both available and attractive. Other available players come with onerous long-term contracts, a first-round pick as a price tag or an overpaid teammate who must be thrown in to make a deal work.
That said, the Rondo deal has at least given the appearance of an active market. Teams with buyer's remorse on long-term contracts have floated names in the most public of ways (Internet rumors, of course), hoping to drum up a market for their unwanted parts.
Will it work? Probably not. Is it worth discussing? Well, I don't know. You clicked this, not me.
Hornets Want Something of "Value" in Return for Stephenson
To say I was wrong about Charlotte's Lance Stephenson signing is akin to saying things are a little unstable right now at Sony Pictures.
Stephenson at $27.4 million over three years (with an option for the third) was my favorite contract of the summer not inked by a former MVP. The Hornets were getting a wildly talented then-23-year-old as an unrestricted free agent who, to some, deserved to be an All-Star last season.
The only issue was his "attitude," which as a 24-year-old myself, is a problem for quite a few men in this general age range—but people, even early 20s malcontents, grow up.
Or, well, at least most people do.
Stephenson has been abysmal on the court and off, a near-toxic presence pretty much whenever he's within 100 yards of teammates. Zach Lowe of Grantland reported earlier this month that the Hornets planned to begin shopping Stephenson on Dec. 15, the date players who signed new contracts over the summer can first be moved.
Well, that date has come and it appears the Hornets are doing just that.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported last week the Hornets were targeting Indiana and Brooklyn as two potential destinations, both for obvious reasons. He's also noted His Airness' minions have had a little trouble making such a move happen—again for pretty obvious reasons.
Attitude aside, though, it would stand to reason a Stephenson market would materialize. Dudes at his age with his skill set in this NBA market are still valuable commodities regardless of their personal shortcomings.
Rasheed Wallace became a veteran leader; there's still time for Born Ready.
It appears the reason the Hornets haven't traded Stephenson has more to do with asking price than attitude. In pointing out Stephenson's clashing with teammates, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe wrote Charlotte wants "value" in return for their enigmatic guard.
It's unclear what "value" means, but there's roughly a negative 11 billion shot anyone parts with a first-round pick for Stephenson. Most teams that might be interested are playoff-bound squads looking for a push and are equally unlikely to part with a vital rotation player.
Stephenson's name has become so poisonous that perhaps only Indiana, which knows his particular brand of eccentricity, makes a ton of sense as a fit.
Regardless, when Stephenson is traded (and it'll happen), don't be surprised if the word "steal" gets thrown around again.
Deron Williams-to-Sacramento Far From a Done Deal?
The Kings are weird. The Nets, also weird.
Their respective front offices are a confounding bunch, firing perfectly good coaches, making future-mortgaging trades that backfire spectacularly and acting at the behest of their green, impatient owners. One could quibble about any of those characterizations, but we played a Blind Item game and pretended a blockbuster trade was on the horizon, Sacramento and Brooklyn might be the two most-guessed participants.
So it should come as a surprise to exactly zero human beings that the Kings and Nets have discussed such a blockbuster.
Wojnarowski came through over the weekend with a report saying the two sides have looked into a Deron Williams trade, but nothing was imminent.
The Nets, who seem ready to punt on their high-priced core less than two seasons in, are looking to find someone willing to take on the two-plus years remaining on Williams' max deal. The Kings, who seem determined to lock in a high-priced core of their own, had success rolling the dice on Rudy Gay and might think lightning will strike twice.
Williams is in the midst of a frustrating season, shooting a career-low 40.3 percent while averaging 15.6 points and 6.8 assists per game—roughly two per night in each category below his career numbers. Factor in his near-constant ankle issues, and the 30-year-old Williams doesn't appear bound for a return to All-Star status.
The Kings know this. Or, it appears they do. If not, they're all kinds of crazy.
CSN Bay Area's Bill Herenda reported Sacramento has requested second-year center Mason Plumlee in addition to Williams in discussions with the Nets, which would arguably give the Kings the trade's two most valuable pieces. As currently constituted, Darren Collison, Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams would be headed to Brooklyn in the deal.
Collison has had a nice season, but Plumlee is a 24-year-old center who has been red hot of late. The Kings are requesting a cost-of-business piece in exchange for taking on Williams' long-term cash, a smart move that nonetheless makes this deal unlikely.
Brooklyn isn't moving Plumlee. He's the franchise's best young asset, and with Boston owning the Nets' draft picks from here until the end of time, perhaps the team's only untradeable player.
This will only happen if Sacramento moves away from its Plumlee infatuation.
Lightning Round
Pistons Making Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith Available (via Bleacher Report's Howard Beck)
Because duh. The Pistons were 5-22 heading into Sunday and starting to look like a team that knows exactly what it's doing, if you catch my drift.
Stan Van Gundy did not acquire Brandon Jennings or Josh Smith. Van Gundy appears committed to taking a wrecking ball to the final years of Joe Dumars' tenure, which is probably the highest compliment you can say about his basketball-operations skills. (The jury is still very much out elsewhere.)
Smith and Jennings are known for their ability to frustrate fans and coaches as much as their talent tantalizes.
Smith has played more power forward this season but is shooting a career-low 39.5 percent and is starting to show signs of slipping defensively at age 29. Jennings should not be an NBA starter—not in this league filled to the brim with elite point-guard talent.
Smith has two years and $27 million remaining on his deal after this season. Jennings has a year at $8.3 million. If Van Gundy can get rid of both without taking on another bad contract, we'll have nicer things to say about his basketball-operations skills.
Teams Calling Suns About Goran Dragic (via CBS Sports' Ken Berger)
Again, because duh. The Suns are committed to their three-headed point-guard monster, but of course teams are going to test the level of that commitment.
Dragic was an All-NBA player last season at the league's most loaded position while playing on a non-playoff team. There might be no better one-sentence description of his peak skill level.
Dragic's numbers are down from last season, but he's been working his way back into form in December and has an expiring contract. Point guard-needy teams are going to keep calling Phoenix, and talks might intensify if Dragic indicates he's leaving this summer.
The Suns in all likelihood are headed for their second straight late-lottery campaign. They're not listening much to Dragic offers at the moment, per Berger, but they might want to if things start going south.
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