NBA Rumors: Latest Predraft Trade Buzz on Celtics, Knicks and More
With the NBA draft fast approaching and trade season officially underway following the Los Angeles Clippers' acquisition of Lance Stephenson, the Association's rumor mill is starting to churn a bit faster.
And as is generally the case this time of year, it's the big-market powers that are generating the most compelling noise.
From an up-and-coming squad like the Boston Celtics to a couple of reclamation projects in New York City, hopeful Eastern Conference clubs and Atlantic Division foes have their eyes on moves that could accelerate developmental timetables.
Before we get started, here's a look at Bleacher Report NBA draft guru Jonathan Wasserman's latest big board:
Knicks Toying with Trading Down?
Perhaps the New York Knicks are only interested in nabbing a more established collegiate commodity in this year's selection process.
According to ESPN.com's Chad Ford, the Knicks could be persuaded to trade out of their perch at No. 4 overall should the draft's most coveted names get snatched up ahead of them:
"Sources say the Knicks are entertaining trading down in the draft if Towns, Okafor and Russell are all taken in the top three picks. It sounds as if they remain on the fence about both Emmanuel Mudiay and Porzingis. That's why they've been looking at players such as Cameron Payne and Frank Kaminsky in recent workouts. If the Knicks can get a valuable veteran and still land somewhere in the back end of the lottery, it might make more sense for them than taking a player they aren't sold on at No. 4. We know several teams, including the Nuggets and Pacers, are trying to move up in the draft.
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That's certainly one way to shake things up.
While Emmanuel Mudiay and Kristaps Porzingis are both intriguing prospects in their own right, they're shrouded in mystery to a degree, which is apparently forcing the Knicks to hesitate.
Since New York doesn't own a first-round pick in 2016, team president Phil Jackson and Co. need to make the savviest move that benefits the franchise's long-term outlook. And if that means dealing out of the No. 4 spot to grab a veteran building block to pair with a later lottery prospect, that could be the safest way to ensure present gains without taking a serious long-term risk.
Sinking countless hours into the development of raw players such as Mudiay and Porzingis could ultimately hinder the team's anticipated climb up the Eastern Conference standings, whereas a more complete prospect such as Cameron Payne, Frank Kaminsky or even Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein would offer a higher floor and lower ceiling.
Boston Eyeing a Move Up
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge isn't a stranger to aggressive draft-day decision-making, so it's no surprise his squad's name has cropped up in rumors with a week to go until commissioner Adam Silver takes the podium.
According to the Journal Times' Gery Woelfel, "one team that is making a concerted effort to move into the lottery, league sources claim, is Boston. The Celtics are dangling their two No. 1 picks: No. 16 and 28."
Ainge has stockpiled an innumerable number of future picks over the next few seasons, and it's not possible for Boston to use all of them. Thus, a potential move up makes sense.
Should Boston shoot for the stars, it would be wise to target three-point shooting and shot-blocking. Last season, the Celtics ranked 27th in three-point shooting (32.7 percent) and dead last in blocks (3.6 per game).
"I feel we need to have a busy summer," Ainge told reporters after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs, according to Boston.com's Brian Robb. "We will have a busy summer. Hopefully we can get some things accomplished that we need to."
After rounding out the regular season with a 20-11 post-All-Star break record, the Celtics' stock is surging in a positive direction. That's a good start. But if they can pull off a stunner and snag a top-flight prospect when the draft rolls around, things will be looking positively bright in Beantown again.
Brooklyn's Dangling Plumlee
What would an NBA offseason be if the Brooklyn Nets weren't actively involved in trade discussions?
As the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy tweeted, the team has been working the phones, dangling promising big man Mason Plumlee in hopes of obtaining a higher draft pick:
And as Bleacher Report's Fred Katz noted, dealing Plumlee now may actually be the in the team's best interest:
"Plumlee is more dispensable now than the Nets believed he was when he was playing his best basketball. But selling low on someone isn't always a negative, even if the connotation is rarely a good one.
Remember this: Things can always get worse. And re-signing Lopez could kill Plumlee's trade value even more.
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Even if Brook Lopez opts out of his $16.7 million player option for next season, the team could feasibly re-sign him to a long-term deal. And if that's the case, the Nets may not be inclined to allocate starter's minutes to the 25-year-old Plumlee. Last season, the former Duke Blue Devil attempted 74.4 percent of his total shots within three feet of the rim, which isn't ideal distribution given Lopez's preference to play down on the blocks.
During the 2014-15 campaign, opposing teams outscored Brooklyn by 13.7 points per 100 possessions with both Plumlee and Lopez on the floor, according to NBA.com. Conversely, pairing Lopez with a stretch 4 like Mirza Teletovic yielded a net point differential of only minus-0.4 points per 100 possessions.
Although the Nets were bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks, the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed retained—and exercised—the right to swap first-round picks as a byproduct of the 2012 Joe Johnson blockbuster. So while Brooklyn could have picked at No. 15 overall, it slid 14 spots into the first round's second-to-last selection (No. 29).
Since the team's cap sheet is loaded with hefty payments owed to Johnson and Deron Williams, it makes sense for the Nets to eye young, cost-controlled talent that can help modernize their plodding offense in a move up the draft.
All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise. All salary information retrieved from BasketballInsiders.com.
