NBA Rumors: Breaking Down Buzz on Deron Williams Trade, Goran Dragic and More
A number of teams would like to ring in the new year with some new talent, and the rumors around the NBA have continued apace as teams jockey for position and try to line up deals before the frenzy that is bound to take place at the February trade deadline.
There is still plenty of time for organizations to assess their current situations. In this latest roundup of trade rumors from across the league, philosophical as well as man-management questions plague the teams involved. For some teams, a sense of direction is needed before they make a move, while others have to deal with issues of youth versus age or doing away with existing strategies.
It may only be December, but the Sacramento Kings have already managed to squander their excellent start to the season with a run of terrible form and dysfunctional overall play. They are currently 11-15 (2-8 in their last 10 games) and fired head coach Mike Malone on December 15.
Despite the turmoil, this team isn't too far off from becoming a legitimate, consistent threat, although that doesn't mean it will have any success in the West this season. Rumors concerning a potential trade for Brooklyn Nets point guard Deron Williams have cropped up, but it appears there is a major roadblock to a deal taking place, per CSN Bay Area's Bill Herenda:
"According to league sources, CSN Bay Area is learning that a proposed trade sending Darren Collison, Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams from the Kings to the Nets for Deron Williams may not fly.
The deal was first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
A hiccup in the trade is Sacramento coveting Mason Plumlee, who is not part of the deal as currently proposed.
"
The Kings clearly want to form a nucleus of talent around DeMarcus Cousins, a superstar in the making, and Rudy Gay. Cousins is signed through the 2017-18 season, while Gay inked a three-year contract extension with the team in November, per NBA.com.
Williams would be an expensive addition to the roster, as he is due approximately $43 million over the next two seasons. He's averaging 15.6 points and 6.8 assists this season. Those numbers don't quite measure up to the money owed to him and are only slightly better than those of current Kings point guard Darren Collison.
| Williams | 34.5 | 15.6 | .403 | .382 | 3.1 | 6.8 | 17.0 |
| Collison | 34.7 | 15.6 | .434 | .304 | 3.6 | 6.1 | 18.0 |
Sacramento is smart to be asking for the 24-year-old Mason Plumlee, who has the second-best player efficiency rating on the team, despite playing just 18.2 minutes per game, via ESPN.com. If Williams isn't the third star in Sacramento, Plumlee could very well grow into that role.
However, it's that potential that will likely kill this deal. Plumlee is too valuable to a team that could blow up an aging consortium of stars that includes Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and Kevin Garnett. The Kings need to find a way to complement the likes of Gay and Cousins, which could mean they will have to seek trade options elsewhere or hope to land a big free agent in the summer of 2015.
Goran Dragic
The Phoenix Suns finished with 48 wins last season but just missed out on the playoffs. They added point guard Isaiah Thomas in the offseason to a backcourt that featured the likes of Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic, hoping that teams would find it difficult to cope with a rotating corps of speedy, pass-happy guards for 48 minutes every night.
Unfortunately, the team is at 14-14 and could be on the outside looking in once again come playoff time. CBSSports.com's Ken Berger has noted the Suns could be facing a difficult decision when it comes to the future of Dragic:
"The Phoenix Suns, who beat the lowly Knicks 99-90 on Saturday, are in a bit of a quagmire with free agent-to-be Goran Dragic, rival executives say. Multiple teams already are inquiring as to what it would take to break up the Suns' three-guard rotation of Dragic, Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas -- with Dragic, a prospective free agent, garnering the most attention. Coincidentally, executives have gotten the impression that Dragic is the one Phoenix would most like to keep if they do, indeed, decide to make a move.
"
Indeed, Dragic has once again been a very reliable player for the Suns, although he has dealt with back issues this season. Still, with Thomas playing quite well coming off the bench, the Suns might be better off trading him instead of hoping that he re-signs with the team in the offseason. Grantland's Andrew Sharp came up with an interesting analogy for the team's situation this season:
"Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe are Harry and Hermione, and Isaiah Thomas is the horcrux
— Andrew Sharp (@andrewsharp) December 16, 2014"
His presence does seem to make either Dragic or Bledsoe expendable. However, Bledsoe's injury history might explain why they are more interested in holding onto Dragic. Still, the team could use more depth and balance in the frontcourt behind Markieff and Marcus Morris. Trading Dragic might be the best option since there is no guarantee he returns to the Suns at the conclusion of this season.
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are treading water in the 2014-15 season without a bona fide start to carry their litany of fine role players. Apparently, several teams around the league could be interested in trying to pick up spare parts from this roster, per The Denver Post's Christopher Dempsey:
"The Nuggets have made and fielded calls about trades from across the league. With a roster full of players with tradeable contracts — outside of JaVale McGee's two years at $24 million (including this season) left — it's not difficult to find trade partners. Pretty much every player on the roster has been inquired about multiple times, except McGee, who is now injured.
"
There is little chance of the Denver Nuggets making any headway in the Western Conference with this current roster. They are currently 12-15 in a conference with nine teams over .500. There is also little chance of them keeping pace with the 13-14 Oklahoma City Thunder, who are 8-2 in their last 10 games and look destined to secure a spot in the postseason should Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook stay healthy.
A low-seed playoff appearance might not be enough to satisfy fans who've seen the team fall from grace in the past year or so, going 36-46 in 2013-14 after winning 57 games the year prior.
The Nuggets have a number of movable pieces on this team, including players like Timofey Mozgov, a rim protector type averaging 1.4 blocks per game, and veterans Arron Afflalo and Wilson Chandler, who can provide depth for a team at both the guard and small forward positions.
It appears the team has to decide on how it will handle the next couple of years. In fact, head coach Brian Shaw hinted that the team could see big changes in the next couple of weeks if it doesn't start stringing together wins, via Dempsey:
"I've seen some of the comments and some of the clips in terms of should the team be blown up and start planning for the future. You have to start considering a lot of different things — changes being made. That's just the reality of the situation. That's why these moments are so precious and these games are so valuable. When we have an opportunity to win them, we have to win them. And with each game that we don't, we just slide further and further out of the picture.
"
Winning games will be that much tougher should Danilo Gallinari miss a significant amount of time. The 26-year-old forward, who is averaging 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game this season, is expected to have surgery after tearing the meniscus in his right knee, per NBA on ESPN:
Adding a big-name player to the current roster might not be enough to make a significant change in the Nuggets' short-term prospects considering the talent overload in the West, which perhaps makes clearing cap room and focusing on rebuilding the better option for this team.
Contract information courtesy of Spotrac unless otherwise noted.
