NBA Rumors: Trade Buzz on Ty Lawson, Goran Dragic and More
The modern NBA boasts an incredible crop of talent at the point guard position, and the impact of that phenomenon is revealing itself ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
Goran Dragic has been instrumental to the Phoenix Suns' recent resurgence, yet an uncertain future in the desert could see him changing teams soon. The Denver Nuggets are in full overhaul mode amid a failing, flailing era under coach Brian Shaw. Even dynamic floor general Ty Lawson isn't immune to trade speculation.
Another promising youngster in the headlines amid the latest trade buzz is Utah Jazz big man Enes Kanter. The price to pay for the former lottery pick is reportedly quite considerable, though.
Now let's examine each of these situations a bit more closely and analyze the feasibility of a trade going down in any instance.
Sources: Ty Lawson Being Shopped
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com cites multiple sources in reporting that the Nuggets are attempting to trade Lawson prior to the deadline.
It may not seem like a savvy move on the surface, but Lawson has considerable value and could net Denver multiple quality assets as it embarks on a rebuilding process.
Fox Sports' Jimmy Spencer is among those who believe Lawson is indispensable:
To counter, although Lawson is an exceptional player, he isn't among the Association's elite point guards. That has more to do with the unique skills of his contemporaries. The risk is that the Nuggets can't find a better solution at a position where they'll need a quality option.
Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy notes how ties to George Karl could see Lawson wind up in Sacramento:
Grantland's Zach Lowe reports that the Boston Celtics have mulled the possibility of bringing Lawson in:
"The more interesting questions surround Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried. Denver isn't shopping those guys, but Jusuf Nurkic is the only true untouchable on the roster, per several league sources who have dealt with the Nuggets. The sense around the league is that you could land Lawson or Faried with a Godfather offer. They are gettable. Boston and Denver have had exploratory talks about Lawson, per several sources.
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A team in the hunt for the playoffs would also love to have Lawson come in as a spark—if he could be had. He is extremely speedy, a reliable scorer and a proficient distributor who averages 10.1 assists to just 2.6 turnovers per contest.
Lawson may want to see through the situation in Denver with two years left on his deal. The team will likely get a new coach soon enough, and he still has two years left on a four-year, $48 million contract, per Spotrac.com.
The Nuggets should be exploring all their options at this point. Losing Lawson would be tough to take, because he creates so much offense for himself and others. Per NBA.com, Lawson ranks tied fourth with Chris Paul among PG starters in assisting on 41.9 percent of his team's baskets.
It's a bit scary to fathom how much worse off Denver might be without Lawson in the fold. Given the production he's put forth amid a difficult present situation, perhaps the Nuggets will reconsider their reported desire to shop him.
Suns' Asking Asking Price Is High for Goran Dragic
A convoluted backcourt in Phoenix and Dragic's expiring contract make for quite a kerfuffle.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports provided an update on what the trade market looks like for Dragic on Tuesday:
This falls in line with a report from ESPN.com's Marc Stein, which indicates that the Suns are more open to trading PG Isaiah Thomas than Dragic prior to the deadline.
Dragic prefers to have the ball in his hands to create offense. It's harder for Dragic to get touches when Thomas and Eric Bledsoe are also capable point guards in their own right.
The king's ransom Phoenix is seeking in return for Dragic means he'll probably stay put. Dragic is headed for unrestricted free agency this summer, where he's bound to test his options. It doesn't do the Suns any good to trade him now if they genuinely hope to retain him for the future.
Stein reports that both Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers are keen to trade for Dragic. The Rockets are better served to stick with their current chemistry amid a heated Western Conference playoff race, while the Lakers should want to lose instead of risking a lot on Dragic, when he may only stay for 29 games.
More buzz should surface when Dragic hits the open market this offseason, when teams will have his end-year tape to evaluate and gauge his value. Any assets the Suns land now aren't worth letting Dragic wiggle free.
Enes Kanter Unlikely to Move from Utah
The Jazz have to be feeling quite groovy about their frontcourt these days. Derrick Favors is coming into his own, and Rudy Gobert has flashed huge potential and is already an excellent shot-blocker, averaging 2.2 per contest.
Does that leave Kanter as the odd man out on Utah's front line?
Wojnarowski's latest on the Kanter chatter projects a daunting task similar to what suitors interested in Dragic have to land him before the deadline:
Sheridan Hoops' Michael Scotto fortified the notion that Kanter won't exit Salt Lake City:
At least not yet. Kanter does have talent, yet he hasn't lived up to his billing as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft.
Not helping Kanter's cause is his agent, Max Ergul, publicly expressing his client's reservations about his current role on the young Jazz squad. Ergul's testimony was recorded by The Salt Lake Tribune's Aaron Falk.
"I don't think it's a one-game, one-postgame-interview outburst," said Ergul in an interview with 1280 The Zone. "I think there's a sensitivity to Enes related to his first couple years and how little he's been used. ... Him and his family, and, in some respects, I, do believe there was definitely some lack of investment in his development."
If the following anecdote from the Deseret News' Jody Genessy is any indication, there may be a sense of delusion between Kanter and his agent:
Kanter seems out of step in Utah, and the team has a rather firm grip on him this offseason when he's a restricted free agent. The 2014-15 campaign hasn't seen Kanter take any big leap forward, so he can't command the type of money he reportedly wants.
But the Jazz seem to recognize the upside Kanter still has to explore. He is still only 22 years old. They should make the effort to sit down with him in the offseason and discuss their vision of where he fits in with the franchise's future plans.
It therefore makes sense that the asking price for Kanter is so high, despite his modest numbers and the reported public and private conflict at the center of his role in Utah.
Big men with Kanter's athleticism and ceiling don't come along often. The onus is on him to develop into the player he has the potential to be if the Jazz aren't purportedly focused on his progress.
This will either be his ticket out of Salt Lake City or his key to unlock a greater, steadier role with the team that invested so much in him through the draft in the first place.
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