NBA Rumors: Rounding Up Latest Rumblings on Free Agents and Team Draft Plans
Right now, the NBA rumors market is akin to a melting pot, a crazy chef with the ladle.
The march to the 2015 NBA draft continues, but so too does the push toward a critical free-agency period and veteran option decisions, both by teams and individuals. Oh, there are possible trades too.
It makes for a wild time, especially when each team takes to its roster-building strategy in different ways. Some, like the shocking approach by the Los Angeles Lakers, continue to get younger and wait for a big splash. Others, like the Philadelphia 76ers, are just confusing.
To keep up, here's a look at the latest.
Royce White's Comeback
Some may remember Royce White, the No. 16 pick in the 2012 NBA draft.
The Iowa State product bounced around with teams such as the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings before ducking out of the league, in part due to an anxiety disorder, per USA Today's Sam Amick.
He's ready for another chance.
According to Shams Charania at RealGM.com, White's in the middle of a comeback, and teams such as the Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Pelicans have an interest.
"As Royce White attempts his NBA comeback through the July Summer League," Charania writes, "the Chicago Bulls and New Orleans Pelicans are emerging as suitors for the former 16th overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, league sources told RealGM."
All of which, of course, makes sense. White is still just 24 years old with plenty of upside. He appeared in just three games with the Kings while bouncing around, but the talent for a solid all-around contributor remains.
Playing time doesn't figure to be the biggest factor for White, who needs to ease his way back in as a depth piece on a good team. Keep an eye on a team like the Bulls to stash White and help him along.
Thunder Making Promises?
Right now, the Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the more difficult teams to figure out
The same goes for Murray State point guard Cameron Payne, whose stock continues to fluctuate all over the place, sometimes ballooning as high as the lottery.
Sounds like the perfect fit, right?
Per ESPN.com's Chad Ford, some in-the-know minds seem to think so:
"As for the Thunder, since late last week there's been a lot of buzz among rival GMs that the Thunder promised Cameron Payne they'd take him at 14. I don't know how much of that is smoke, but he is a great fit at 14 and talent wise he may be the best pure point guard in the draft.
"
Payne didn't capture the attention of the globe as he should have thanks to the Racers missing the NCAA tournament, but he's one of the top point guards in the class after averaging 20.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists as a sophomore.
It's not just an inflated line, either, as Payne's a natural floor general who can also play off the ball if necessary, freeing himself and knocking down shots within an offense.
Payne makes for an obvious fit with the Thunder if he falls, where he'll land in a rotation with Russell Westbrook and D.J. Augustin, perhaps seeing time off the ball and boosting the depth of a contender.
Of course, it all depends on if the teams in front of the Thunder allow it with this information now public.
Updating Knicks' Plans
Ask 10 different people what the New York Knicks might do on draft day and there's bound to be just about as many differing answers.
It's never easy to read the mind of president Phil Jackson, especially on a team like the Knicks, which wants to build well through the draft and explode in free agency, riding the wave to contending status.
Ford has heard of at least one potential course of action for the team: "And two different sources today told me the Knicks are also looking strongly at Willie Cauley-Stein. They want a strong defender in New York which explains the Winslow and Cauley-Stein interest."
Wow, right?
For those who keep up with the draft process, Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein is one of the more polarizing players in the class after averaging 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds as a junior. He's a beast on the defensive end but a non-factor on the opposite.
Is a defender worth the No. 4 pick? It seems to depend on who gets asked, as one NBA general manager says, "He could be the best defender the league someday. He has abilities, both physically and the way he reads the defense, that I've never seen in a prospect," per Ford.
It's no secret the Knicks need an enforcer down low, as Andrea Bargnani and Louis Amundson won't cut it. Pair Cauley-Stein with Carmelo Anthony and an offensive-minded free agent, perhaps in the backcourt, and Jackson's plan might just work.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
