NBA Rumors: Highlighting Trade Chatter Surrounding Arron Afflalo, Brook Lopez
It's January, which means the NBA rumor mill sees trades involving Tayshaun Prince coming to life.
How exciting, right? Prince just joined the Boston Celtics in a convoluted mess of a transaction, but it is proof enough that whispers on the mill can and will come to life at any given moment.
To be blunt, it is better than the incessant speculation that surrounds the future decisions of players like Kevin Love, or the similar reaction every time LeBron James looks at someone with the wrong expression.
At least some chatter breeds action this time of year. Whether it is a pretender selling away talent in the hopes of a better future or a contender bringing on what it can only hope is a missing piece, the current market has plenty of talk that will actually result in something.
A Brooklyn Gamble
What a situation the Brooklyn Nets find themselves in right now.
The good: Lionel Hollins' team holds the eighth seed in the miserable Eastern Conference.
The bad: the team is 16-22, losers of six in a row and without veteran leader Deron Williams for an unknown amount of time.
About a month removed from the deadline, does this make the Nets buyers or sellers?
With Brook Lopez on the roster, the Nets seem like sellers. Per Alex Raskin of The Wall Street Journal, the 26-year-old center's departure could provide the team some financial relief if they can find a partner:
"They might be motivated sellers, but the Nets still think Lopez could fetch valuable players in a trade, according to one league source.
The Nets, according to multiple sources, are willing to deal Lopez, but they are against taking on expensive or lengthy deals in order to do so.
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Lopez averages 14.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, the middle number downright inexcusable for a guy who comes in at 7'0" and 275 pounds.
Just a few days prior to the trade rumblings, Lopez hit the bench for the final 10 minutes of a contest against the Boston Celtics for issues on the defensive side of the court.
“Of course (it’s frustrating),” Hollins said, per Stefan Bondy of New York's Daily News. “I told him he was being lazy.”
Lopez's struggles, paired with the emergence of Mason Plumlee, still pale in comparison to what the Nets would gain from a health and money standpoint if they ship away the veteran center.
Not only has Lopez missed the majority of two of the last four seasons with injury, he represents a $16.7 million cap hit in 2015, per Spotrac.
The Nets seem to want to trend toward a rebuild, which is a good idea, given the fact the team is also still in the hunt for the postseason at the moment. Lopez is certainly a tradeable asset more than a few contenders should have an interest in, which means the front office can flip him in order to build for the future.
The Denver Fire Sale, Highlighted by Arron Afflalo
A few games below .500, the rest of the NBA seems ready to pick at the corpse of the Denver Nuggets.
Apparently, Denver's willingness to ship away center Timofey Mozgov for draft picks is a sign to the rest of the league that the front office is ready to build for the future rather than compete now.
Welcome to the rumor mill, Arron Afflalo.
According to ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne, a bevy of teams want a shot at the veteran guard:
This makes sense, as other teams understand that the 29-year-old UCLA product has a $7.5 million player option in 2015, per Spotrac. The thought is that the Nuggets understand Afflalo will turn this down in order to test free agency, creating an environment where the front office wants to unload him to get something out of his departure.
Afflalo remains an attractive piece for contenders due to his explosiveness on the offensive end of the court and a 15.5/1.8/3.5 slash line. If a new team can coerce him into a more consistent defensive effort, said new team has quite the bargain on its hands.
The Miami Heat, in a push to hang onto the seventh or eighth seed, could use Afflalo's defense and deep range. So too could the Clippers and Hornets.
Regardless, Afflalo moving before February makes a ton of sense. Expect a team in the hunt to take on whatever the Nuggets desire in return.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
