NBA Rumors: Breaking Down Buzz on Draft Studs and Star Free Agents

Even with the playoffs hitting their stride, the NBA is like a high school hallway—rumors are flying everywhere.

For some fans, these stories and reports are all they can cling to. Their beloved team didn’t make it to the postseason, so all their eggs are in the future’s basket.

Others, however, can’t stand these rumblings. Their favorite franchise is currently duking it out in the playoffs, but there is talk of a star player leaving town over the summer.

Gulp.

Let’s check in on some of the league’s biggest gossip.

Rumor 1: Sixers want D’Angelo Russell

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According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia 76res have their sights set on Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell.

"He's the guy they want," an anonymous league executive told Pompey. "That's the word around the league. You know the Sixers. They won't come out and say it, but he's the guy they want."

Philadelphia has a 15.6 percent chance of winning the lottery, so it will be interesting to see if the team opts for Russell with Jahlil Okafor and/or Karl-Anthony Towns on the board.

But the Sixers already have a few behemoths down low in Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel and they traded their top point guard, Michael Carter-Williams, at the deadline.

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

Russell, an explosive combo guard, would be a wise choice and a good fit. Loaded with potential, the 19-year-old has already drawn some heavy comparisons:

“When he speaks, everyone listens. He is their leader,” an NBA scout told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. “He sees how a play is going to develop before it does. There are not many NBA point guards that can do that. It's a Chris Paul-type skill. And he has got it."

Russell averaged 19.3 points (44.9 field-goal percentage, 41.1 three-point percentage), five assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals this season for the Buckeyes. He carried them past VCU in the second round of the NCAA tournament and was also named as an AP First-Team All-American.

Translation: This kid is the real deal. Philly has made some questionable moves over the years, but this would be a slam dunk.

Rumor 2: Kevin Love is Done with Boston

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Hours after Kevin Love’s shoulder was contorted in such a way that he’s likely to miss at least two weeks of action, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski published a report on the power forward.

Woj didn’t write about when Love would return to the lineup, or anything along those lines. Instead, it was about his potential decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Boston Celtics this summer.

Love was rumored to have been intrigued by Boston, but after Saturday, the Celts' chance of landing him might have been hurt just as much as his shoulder. Here’s Wojnarowski:

"

It is only natural that if Love lost something significant in Boston – his season, for instance – embracing a free-agent move to the Celtics could be complicated, if not completely compromised. Love left the Garden with legitimate loathing of the Celtics on Sunday, and how that lasts could shape the future of the Cavaliers and Celtics.

"

Love insisted that Celtics center Kelly Olynyk injured him on purpose. Here's ESPN’s Dave McMenamin with more:

If Love—who had supposedly been attracted to the possibility of becoming “New England's next star,” to use Wojnarowski’s words—is truly turned away from Boston, the Celtics will have lost more than a playoff series this weekend.

Rumor 3: LaMarcus Aldridge to the Knicks

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For the longest time, it seemed like a done deal that free-agent-to-be LaMarcus Aldridge would re-up with the Portland Trail Blazers this summer.

Not anymore.

In a sideline segment during the Blazers’ Game 3 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, ESPN’s Chris Broussard dropped a bit of a bombshell (h/t CBS Sports' James Herbert).

“I asked him, 'Look, is Portland going to be your first choice?’” Broussard reported. “And he just smiled and said, 'We'll see.' It's not a ringing endorsement for the Blazers.”

Jason Quick of The Oregonian also reported that after Game 2, Blazers general manager Neil Olshey gave his team the option “to stay the night and fly home on the team charter, or return to Portland on their own.”

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

And Aldridge was the only player to fly solo.

Could the sweet-shooting big man be simply pulling a Carmelo Anthony? Perhaps he wants to be pursued and pined for, but in the back of his mind he knows he’ll return home.

Or maybe he could be joining Anthony in New York.

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

ESPN New York’s Ian Begley has the rundown: "But last month, two opposing executives said the belief in some league circles was that San Antonio and New York would be on Aldridge’s radar and that Aldridge wasn't as committed to re-signing in Portland as he'd been months earlier."

Aldridge would be in for a big payday wherever he goes, though as Begley goes on to say, Portland can offer him more money than any other suitor.

This will definitely be something to keep an eye on over the summer, as Alridge's behavior and comments indicate that he’s going to move on from the Blazers.

If the Memphis Grizzlies complete the sweep tonight, Aldridge's career with the Blazers could be over.