NBA Trade Rumors: Buzz Surrounding Deron Williams and Cavaliers' Big-Man Search
The holiday season is one of gift giving, although NBA franchises try to take care of most of their player acquisitions—presents for the fans, of course—in the summer, via the draft and free agency. When someone doesn't like their gift, they can always surreptitiously return it from where it came. NBA teams, unfortunately, don't always have that option.
Sure, the Detroit Pistons waived Josh Smith after a little over a season of him taking ill-advised shots in Motor City, but it's not like they get their money back.
However, exchanges are always welcome at the NBA trade market.
Most NBA teams tend to have a general sense of their prospects for the season by the end of the calendar year, making short- and long-term strategies much clearer than they were than at the beginning of the season, when hope is abundant for all but the most forlorn of franchises.
Here is a roundup of the latest trade rumor buzz circulating during the holidays.
The Nets are currently eighth in the Easter Conference, but that isn't really saying much considering it's taken just a 12-15 record up to this point to get them there.
This team needs to rebuild and unload some of its aging stars. It appeared the Sacramento Kings were a possible trade partner and willing to trade for point guard Deron Williams, but those talks have come to a standstill, per Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski:
"The Sacramento Kings' insistence on a trade package for Brooklyn Nets guard Deron Williams that includes center Mason Plumlee has pushed talks into a hiatus, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
After the teams' front office officials again talked on Wednesday, both sides insisted they weren't budging on Plumlee's inclusion into a proposed trade and agreed there was no use discussing the deal further in the near future, league sources said.
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While it seems at first glance that Williams is the above-the-fold name here, potentially teaming up with DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay to form a trio of stars in Northern California, it's possible he may not be the true centerpiece of the deal.
ESPN's Chris Broussard characterized the situation a bit differently, reporting that it was Mason Plumlee who was the Kings' main target, not Williams:
While that statement may have sounded absurd a season ago, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Plumlee is in his second year in the league, averaging 8.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. He tops the Nets in player efficiency rating at 19.4, per ESPN.com, despite the fact his shooting percentage is down approximately 13 percent from his rookie season.
If Plumlee can steady his offensive game, he could develop into a dangerous all-around center with the potential to cover for Cousins' lapses on the defensive end. The Kings likely covet him for these reasons, but they also explain why the Nets are reluctant to give him up for role players—as they should be.
Coach Lionel Hollins noted his young center's recent improvements, per the New York Post's Tim Bontemps:
Plumlee is one of the few young players with any promise on the Nets. As it stands, the team is built around Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez and Bojan Bogdanovic, with Kevin Garnett, Jarrett Jack and Plumlee as the core complementary players. Of that group, only Plumlee is under the age of 25 (Lopez and Bogdanovic are 26 and 25 years old, respectively).
Lopez is reportedly available via trade, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Ohm Youngmisuk, along with Johnson and Williams. This makes Plumlee and Bogdanovic the likeliest players to build around and stick through a rebuilding process.
Giving up one of those two would be too much of a gamble for the Nets. It would alleviate the short-term pain of Williams' contract—two years and approximately $43 million remaining—but perhaps stifle Brooklyn's long-term future.
This isn't to say Plumlee is a player to necessarily build around himself, but he could be a key role player on an above-average team, with upside due to his age. CBSSports.com's Matt Moore appears to be skeptical of Plumlee's recent strong production:
"/looks at teams Mason Plumlee has been putting up big numbers against /raises one eyebrow /kermit teacup
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) December 22, 2014"
According to Wojnarowski, Darren Collison, Derrick Williams and Jason Thompson were possible trade pieces. Collison isn't a dynamic point guard, but he's extremely quick, works hard on defense (always a plus) and is putting up comparable numbers to Williams this season.
| Williams | 25 | 15.6 | .403 | .382 | 6.8 | 1.1 |
| Collison | 25 | 15.8 | .442 | .325 | 6.8 | 1.7 |
Williams provides a greater threat from long range, which could help the Kings with spacing, but injuries in recent years and his slowing with age make him a greater liability than Collison. The 27-year-old UCLA product is also much cheaper than Williams; his contract is worth approximately $5 million per season.
He doesn't have the All-Star pedigree, but giving up Collison for Williams—even if Plumlee were to have been included—has all the makings of a team treading water, especially when the Western Conference is so loaded.
Furthermore, it really doesn't make much sense to take on Williams considering Collison was the ostensible replacement for Isaiah Thomas, who is only 25 years old and was putting up much better numbers than either of the two aforementioned guards last season. It's tough to create stability when there is a revolving door at point guard.
It would take a much bigger trade for the Kings to have any impact this season. Searching for players like Plumlee is a great start, but taking on a player like Williams doesn't quite create a three-headed monster in Sacramento.
Gay and Cousins need either better young players around them or a bona fide superstar to compete, and the window of opportunity isn't closing any time soon if they can keep those two happy through a lean year or two.
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers' championship aspirations took a fairly significant blow on Christmas Even, when it was revealed starting center Anderson Varejao would miss the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles tendon, per Wojnarowski:
For a team with a leaky interior defense and a noted desire/need for a rim protector, Varejao's injury is especially painful. Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix noted this could be the inciting factor for a big trade push from Cleveland:
According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst, the Cavaliers have been eyeing a couple of big men for some time and lately attempting to gain trade traction with another NBA franchise:
"The team has been seeking additional help for its front line going back to the summer, having specifically targeted Timofey Mozgov of the Denver Nuggets and Kosta Koufos of the Memphis Grizzlies.
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Sources say the Cavs, in recent days, have been in contact with the Boston Celtics about working as a facilitator in three-team trade scenarios. The Celtics, blessed with frontcourt depth in the wake of their recent acquisition of Brandan Wright in the Rajon Rondo deal, have been aggressive recently in their attempts to acquire future draft picks.
The Cavs rank 23rd in defensive efficiency, per ESPN.com, and are allowing opponents to shoot 63.3 percent from within five feet of the basket, per NBA.com, although they are in the middle of the pack in terms of opponents' attempts per game from that range.
Forwards Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson are ineffective interior defenders. They are excellent rebounders, to be sure, but Thompson does his best work on the offensive glass, and Love is allowing players to shoot 62.6 percent at the rim, per NBA.com.
This is a hole in the lineup that needs to be plugged quickly. The team has already struggled this season with a weak second unit and ineffective play from shooting guard Dion Waiters.
The East is weak enough that the Cavs could easily make the playoffs without properly replacing Varejao, but being just good enough isn't how the front office assembled this squad.
Cleveland wants a championship, and it isn't going to get it without a strong presence in the paint.
Both Timofey Mozgov and Kosta Koufos would be excellent fits for Cleveland. Brandan Wright would also be a strong possibility; he's averaging 2.9 blocks per 36 minutes, via Basketball-Reference.com. However, at 27 years old, Wright might be worth keeping around in Boston for a rebuilding effort.
Unless otherwise noted, contract info courtesy of Spotrac.
