BS Meter for Latest NBA Trade and Offseason Rumors
If the early activity is any indication, the 2025 NBA offseason will be wild.
The Orlando Magic paid a figurative fortune to pry Desmond Bane away from the Memphis Grizzlies. Then, Mark Walter and TWG Global paid a literal fortune to gain majority ownership of the Los Angeles Lakers.
And while trade talks involving Giannis Antetokounmpo have seemingly fizzled, those surrounding Kevin Durant feel like they could materialize into an actual transaction at any moment.
It's still the middle of June, folks. The NBA Finals aren't even finished yet.
Given this potentially wild ride ahead, there is all kinds of chatter bouncing around the rumor mill right now. And since we all know not all of these talks will amount to anything, we'll lean our reliable BS meter to determine which have substance and which don't pass the smell test.
Bucks Aggressively Adding Around Antetokounmpo?
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It feels like forever ago that ESPN's Shams Charania reported Giannis Antetokounmpo being "open-minded" about a possible trade away from the Milwaukee Bucks.
In reality, barely a month has passed since that report, but it might as well be ages as nothing else has come out about the 30-year-old's possible exit.
Instead, the latest comes from ESPN's Bobby Marks who wrote: "Milwaukee will be aggressively exploring options in free agency and trades to complement Antetokounmpo."
That surely sounds great to Bucks fans, or at least a lot more enjoyable than the doomsday declarations that accompanied the early report about Antetokounmpo's potentially wandering eye.
Does Milwaukee actually have enough flexibility to make meaningful upgrades this offseason, though?
That seems...optimistic, or maybe just doubtful.
The Bucks can use the non-taxpayer midlevel exception and the biannual exception, but those might just be used to re-sign or replace some combination of Gary Trent Jr., Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez. Their trade options seem even less attractive since they don't control their own first-rounder until 2031 and lack the kind of young, ascending talent that could sweeten a trade offer.
The Bucks might aggressively explore their options, but fans expecting difference-making additions are setting themselves up for disappointment.
BS Meter: Moderate amount detected. The Bucks will surely push for impact additions, it's just hard to see how they'll bring any onboard.
Three Teams in Durant Sweepstakes?
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There was a time in the not-so-distant past when Kevin Durant's availability would have made the whole basketball world go berserk. That's no longer the case. Not when he will be 37 years old in September, is unsigned past next season and seemingly encountering availability issues every year.
It's worth noting that trade markets are fluid until a deal is finalized, but the latest dispatch from ESPN's Shams Charania has the Phoenix Suns negotiating with three teams—the Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves—and hoping one eventually blinks during this high-stakes staredown.
"The Suns...clearly have a price threshold they want met," Charania said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. "I had one team tell me today it's kinda a game of chicken at this point. From the Houston Rockets to the Miami Heat to the Minnesota Timberwolves, it's literally one or two pieces away, either which way, that can get a deal done. ... My understanding is they are in talks with those three teams specifically."
This does create one question, though: Where are the San Antonio Spurs? They're said to be atop his wish list, although they're not playing their strongest hand yet. Maybe they never will. They might reasonably conclude he's just not the right timeline fit for their core. Or maybe they just think his market doesn't demand such an aggressive offer.
It does seem like the Spurs have lost a little steam as a possible landing spot, but it also feels premature to rule them out of this race.
BS Meter: Less than you might think. San Antonio probably hasn't tapped out, and there's always a chance a wild card gets really aggressive (Toronto maybe?), but Houston, Miami and Minnesota seem the most determined to add Durant.
Nic Claxton, Walker Kessler Among Lakers' Trade Targets?
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The Los Angeles Lakers carried win-now intentions into their latest playoff run. They also brought along Jaxson Hayes as their starting center. To the surprise of absolutely no one, that combination proved disastrous.
The Lakers were routinely torched around the tin and managed just a single win in five tries against the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves.
The center position has been a sore spot since they swapped out Anthony Davis in the Luka Dončić megadeal. General manager Rob Pelinka has said that adding size at the position is a "primary goal" for the offseason.
L.A. is apparently keeping plenty busy with its search. As Anthony Irwin of Clutch Points relayed, the Lakers' "internal plan is to trade for their starting center" and added they've "held conversations with other teams about Nic Claxton, Robert Williams, Walker Kessler and others."
Claxton, Williams and Kessler are among the most popular post players connected to the Purple and Gold by trade-machine enthusiasts. All three are plug-and-play options on teams that missed this past postseason and don't appear particularly close to joining the playoff race.
It would hardly be shocking if L.A.'s next starting center was one of those three—Kessler might be the least likely if only because he'll cost the most in a trade—but the Lakers have other trade targets and free agents to consider, too.
BS Meter: None detected. With the Lakers having both an obvious need and a general shortage of assets, this has to be a no-stone-unturned kind of search.
DeMar DeRozan a Backup Plan for the Durant Sweepstakes Losers?
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The pool of Durant suitors—however deep it may be—will eventually drain down to a single winner. So, what happens with the rest?
According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, attention could turn toward Sacramento Kings swingman DeMar DeRozan as a "fallback" option. And in case that report didn't make it clear, the scribes added that the six-time All-Star is "widely perceived" to be available in a trade.
Some of this makes sense. DeRozan's availability seems logical, since the Kings appear in need of another retool and he's always felt like a curious fit with star center Domantas Sabonis.
DeRozan's desirability among scoring-starved squads checks out, too. Even without an outside jumper, the 35-year-old (36 in August) continues piling up the offensive production. He averaged 22.2 on 47.7 percent shooting this past season and averaged over three times as many assists (4.4) as turnovers (1.4).
All of that said, he is hardly a carbon copy of Durant, so having genuine interest in one doesn't guarantee the same for the other. DeRozan might supply a roughly similar amount of scoring, but he can't match KD's shooting or defensive disruption.
DeRozan also isn't the same caliber of star, so those determined to add an elite may not give him much consideration.
BS Meter: Varying amounts detected. DeRozan could be a fallback option for desperate buyers with limited asset collections (Miami or Minnesota perhaps), but those with bigger trade budgets will aim higher (Houston, San Antonio).
76ers Standing Pat at No. 3?
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In a lot of ways, the Philadelphia 76ers did well to collect the No. 3 pick at this year's lottery.
There was a near-40 percent chance of them falling out of the top six, in which case they would have sent the pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder. There was also a less than 35 percent chance they'd wind up as high as they did.
And yet, the draft board doesn't figure to break perfectly for them. At least, not among the many evaluators who believe Ace Bailey is the third-best prospect in this draft. While he's overloaded with long-term potential—he's a big-wing shotmaker with bounce—he needs serious seasoning to iron out everything from his decision-making, shot selection, shooting consistency and defensive impact.
If Philly still believes in the win-now ability of the Joel Embiid-Paul George-Tyrese Maxey trio, it can't afford to wait on Bailey's development. It's also perhaps worth noting the Rutgers product just nixed his planned visit with the Sixers, per ESPN's Jonathan Givony.
Philly has long loomed as a logical candidate to trade down the board or even out of the draft for more immediate help. For now, though, NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported the team is expected to hold onto this pick. Givony's report added that a trade down is considered unlikely.
It's possible the Sixers are fully comfortable staying in this spot and selecting a top prospect (perhaps Bailey himself). It also wouldn't be helpful for leverage purposes if word leaked that Philly was eager to get out of this spot, so maybe this is an attempt to guard against the perception that it might not be the best fit for Bailey.
BS Meter: Medium amount detected. The Sixers might really like a certain prospect at No. 3 (be that Bailey, VJ Edgecombe or someone else in that tier), but it feels closer to a coin flip over whether they'll keep the pick or not.
