NBA Trade Rumors: Early Buzz on Week of 2015 NBA Draft
The 2015 NBA draft arrives Thursday, and three of the four teams at the top of the draft are making headlines for some potential high-profile trades.
Rumor has it that the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks are in talks to either deal away or acquire big-time players. It makes sense that those teams are looking for a shot in the arm, which isn't always guaranteed, even from a high-end draft pick.
As this breakdown of the buzz suggests below, Minnesota knows all about that in its apparent efforts to shop a former No. 1 overall pick. But first up are two of the NBA's most exciting youngsters who happen to hail from the same Kentucky team in college.
Lakers Reportedly Making Play for DeMarcus Cousins
The Sacramento Kings' star center could be on his way to play for another California team. ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported Monday that the Los Angeles Lakers are coming after Cousins ahead of the draft.
Stein writes that the Orlando Magic would get in on the act to help facilitate the move, sending their own promising young big in Nikola Vucevic to Sacramento. The problem is the Lakers don't have much to offer in a potential deal, other than the scarce young assets they currently have in last year's draft picks Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson.
Plus, Kings vice president of basketball operations Vlade Divac has stated he isn't willing to trade Cousins, contrary to Stein's report.
"That is not happening," said Divac of a Cousins trade, per The Sacramento Bee's Ailene Voisin, "but I would love to do something, a smaller move, before the draft. We have a lot of changes to make."
Another factor to consider is the following intel from ESPN.com's Chad Ford, suggesting Duke center Jahlil Okafor is the prospect the Lakers have their sights set on with the second pick:
Intriguing as the attitudinal dynamic would be between Cousins and Kobe Bryant, The Black Mamba is on his last legs. Injuries have inhibited Bryant's ability to slither around the hardwood and defy the odds to carry L.A. teams of years past.
So the compensation involved isn't exactly crystal-clear in Stein's piece, which fogs the forecast for how feasible this massive trade actually is.
Cousins has been sort of stuck in NBA purgatory on a Kings team that just can't get going in the right direction. The Lakers could present a refreshing change of scenery, but L.A. should also have the chance to snag Okafor with the No. 2 overall pick and may be intent on doing so anyway.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article25093420.html#storylink=cpy
Suns Shopping Eric Bledsoe to Knicks, Other Teams
Sean Deveney of Sporting News reports that the New York Knicks have been offered Eric Bledsoe and the 13th overall pick by the Phoenix Suns in exchange for the fourth overall pick.
Holy blockbuster trade, Batman! Albeit not on the level of the rumored Cousins three-team proposition.
What's more, though—Phoenix has engaged with other teams about Bledsoe, per Deveney. The Suns are keen to trade Bledsoe even if a deal can't be done during the draft.
Arizona Cardinals safety Tony Jefferson had some insightful thoughts on the matter:
"Very smart move by Suns. Get rid of Eric bledsoe's max contract, create a ton of cap space, and be active in free agency. And have #4 pick
— Tony Jefferson (@tonyjefferson1) June 22, 2015"
Bledsoe is still young and coming off a magnificent season with averages of 17.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals. The roster that once had the NBA's most enviable surplus of point guards is suddenly dwindling its personnel at the vital position.
After Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas were traded at last season's deadline, Brandon Knight was brought in to join Bledsoe in the backcourt. It created the same dilemma-inducing dynamic, and it appears Suns management likes Knight better based on the Bledsoe buzz.
New York team president Phil Jackson seems to believe his squad is solid at the point with Jose Calderon and Shane Larkin, along with Carmelo Anthony at the 3, per Newsday's Al Iannazzone:
"The positions we're kind of covered is lead guard and small forward. But that doesn't matter. We can still take the best player that comes along at that position at No. 4 if we have an extraordinary pick. We think that there's enough talent to have somebody that's going to be really good and be a starter hopefully on our roster.
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The Knicks are rumored to be heavily interested in Wisconsin big man Frank Kaminsky, according to Deveney, and could conceivably get him with the 13th pick. Kaminsky is a bit of a wild card in the draft, and Deveney reports New York would even consider him with its current selection because of his fit in the triangle offense.
A cannonball type of splash is bound to make waves around the NBA from either Phoenix or the Big Apple if any of these rumors have traction and ultimately materialize.
Timberwolves Place Anthony Bennett on Trade Block
The chain of events that led to LeBron James' return to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Kevin Love being traded from Minnesota had a lot to do with some horrendous decisions made by ex-Cavs GM Chris Grant.
One of those was choosing Bennett atop what was a quite weak 2013 draft class, to be somewhat fair to him. Bennett didn't show much of anything when he was shipped to the Wolves in the Love deal, and ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports he could be on his way to a third team in as many years:
Scouring through Twitter in the later hours of Monday, the following gem from Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the 27th pick in that 2013 draft, came flying in:
"Yep...draft is a poker game but when we turn the cards we see who is real. https://t.co/OHenRqC78L
— rudy gobert (@rudygobert27) June 23, 2015"
It is depressingly applicable to Bennett's current, reported circumstances.
Bennett hasn't been able to cloud the fact that he might indeed be one of the biggest busts in draft history. Although his shooting percentage bumped from 35.6 percent to 42.1 this last season, the 22-year-old still couldn't log more than 15.7 minutes on average for the NBA's worst team.
There were plenty of opportunities for Bennett to contribute and show he could be part of Minnesota's exciting young core that's about to add another huge piece in the draft. He failed to do that, and the Wolves can't expect too much in return for Bennett as a result.
Here's bonus buzz to tie in with this forward-looking analysis—especially with the rumor from ZagsBlog.com's Adam Zagoria that Minnesota will take Karl-Anthony Towns No. 1 overall, Bennett's hopes of starting at the power forward position appear dashed.
The selection of Towns would almost ensure Bennett's departure from Minneapolis. Cutting ties with a key piece from the Love trade will hurt the Wolves' pride, but it's for the best.
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