NBA Draft 2015: Latest News and Notes Surrounding Possible Trades
With the NBA draft on Thursday, teams are jockeying for draft position, salary relief ahead of free agency and just trying to make their rosters better. Rumors have been swirling around some players for weeks, while others are just having their names thrown into the hat.
Here’s a roundup of what we know about the latest rumors.
Just as important as who is in line to acquire the Sacramento Kings big man is whether or not the Kings are willing to actually trade him. On the outside looking in, it would seem like a foregone conclusion that Sacramento should trade Cousins. However, the organization's stance is often very different.
Assuming Cousins is in play, the teams rumored to be pursuing his services are the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and the Denver Nuggets.
Other teams could obviously be in play as well, but those are the primary options for a deal right now.
The Lakers' connection to Cousins has been the most publicized.
ESPN's Marc Stein reported a rumor of a possible three-way deal between the Kings, Lakers and Orlando Magic, but those talks seem to be dead on arrival, as Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel suggested Orlando has zero interest in trading Nikola Vucevic.
The Knicks' connection is less obvious. Even Phil Jackson doesn’t know if New York has enough ammo to land Cousins.
“We don’t know if we have enough stuff to even be in the talk,” Jackson told reporters. “But we’re aware of what’s going on.”
The Celtics have multiple pieces they could move for Cousins. According to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (h/t CelticsBlog), they recently discussed a potential deal with the Philadelphia 76ers that would have sent Marcus Smart and two first-round picks to Philly for Nerlens Noel and the No. 3 pick on Thursday. However, the 76ers weren't interested.
Celtics point guard Isiah Thomas also did a little recruiting of Cousins via social media (h/t CSNNE.com's James Toscano):
"I love Isaiah Thomas' hustle on and off the court. pic.twitter.com/arm5e9OOwv
— James Toscano (@Jimmy_Toscano) June 24, 2015"
This situation has become very messy, and Sacramento has nobody to blame but itself. The Kings hired a coach knowing his relationship with the star player was fractured, yet they are reportedly still blocking his trade.
It would seem that when they hired George Karl to coach the team and make certain personnel decisions, they would have handed over the latter privilege. That's apparently not the case.
A deal has to be done soon or the Kings are going to look more foolish than they already do.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have been very active since winning their title just a few days ago. The most obvious trade candidate for Golden State would be David Lee with his massive contract.
But the Warriors are not exactly desperate to move him, as Conrad Chow of Golden State of Mind wrote:
"Despite the ambiguity on Lee's future, there is clarity in the Warriors' thought processes. If the Warriors were to trade Lee, a package would not center beyond the team's 2015 first round pick.
...
With all being said, Golden State is smart to avoid attaching another pick in a desperation move to trade Lee this summer.
"
Chow also quoted Zach Lowe of Grantland in his article, saying that if the Warriors were to continue as is, their salary would reach roughly $150 million. That’s more than double their salary number from this year’s title-winning season.
Adding to the uncertainty surrounding the Warriors is this tidbit from NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper:
"Interesting development heading toward Thursday night: I’m hearing the Warriors are exploring the possibility of trading UP. Target unknown.
— Scott Howard-Cooper (@SHowardCooper) June 23, 2015"
Boston Celtics
The Celtics have been one of the more active teams in the trade arena recently. Aside from their interest in Boogie and the proposed deal to Philadelphia, the Celtics have also recently been tied to a former No. 1 overall pick in what would be a clear buy-low deal.
Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated tweeted the proposed details:
"Per a league source, Minnesota Timberwolves have discussed trading Anthony Bennett, Nos. 31 and 38 to the Boston Celtics for pick No. 28.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 24, 2015"
"Correction: The discussed Wolves-Celtics is Anthony Bennett, Nos. 31 and 36 for No. 28, not Nos. 31 and 38.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 24, 2015"
A former No. 1 overall pick and the 36th pick in the draft seems like an awful lot to give up for the Minnesota Timberwolves to move up three spots in the draft—especially considering they don’t even know who’s going to be there by the time that pick rolls around.
There are plenty of other rumors surrounding the league with just over 24 hours to go until draft time.
Other smaller deals, such as the Magic trading Luke Ridnour to the Memphis Grizzlies, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, will likely be consummated in the coming hours.
Follow Aaron Brand on Twitter @AaronBrand47.
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