NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz Surrounding Brendan Haywood, David Lee and More

NBA Summer League action has come to an end, and teams have already assessed the young talent and determined which players are worthy of roster spots. Meanwhile, all big-ticket free agents have been signed for the coming season. Still, rumors will continue to persist because of the potential for last-minute trades.

While most rosters across the Association have already been solidified, some teams are still looking to make adjustments. Whether that entails adding a player to improve depth in a particular area or offloading a player to avoid luxury-tax penalties, we should expect a handful of moves as the summer rolls along.

So, which teams are looking to strike deals, and which players are the focus of those potential moves? Here's the recent buzz from trusted sources around the Web.

Cavs Set to Move Haywood

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been looking to trade Brendan Haywood for quite some time now. Cleveland is in danger of some serious luxury-tax penalties after some big re-signings (LeBron James and Kevin Love) and the anticipated signing of Tristan Thompson—and probably J.R. Smith. Offloading Haywood's massive $10.5 million salary for this coming season has been a priority for the team, but it wasn't able to find a suitable deal.

Since the Cavaliers didn't get what they were looking for in a Haywood trade, they quickly moved to a plan B. That contingency plan involved a smaller trade with the Indiana Pacers to gain an asset that would help Cleveland move Haywood. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com reported the details:

"

The Cleveland Cavaliers executed a minor trade with the Indiana Pacers on Thursday, helping set up a larger deal that will involve Brendan Haywood, sources told ESPN.com.

The Cavs sent center Rakeem Christmas, the No. 36 overall pick in June's draft, to the Pacers for a 2019 second-round pick owed by the Los Angeles Lakers. The trade gives the Cavs roster flexibility and an asset they can use to move Haywood and create a large trade exception in the next week.

"

The second-round pick acquired by the Cavaliers will be the asset used to move Haywood to a team with enough cap space to absorb his contract. Currently there are two teams (the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers) with enough cap room to take on the center's salary. But, why would they do such a thing? Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweeted the answer to that question:

Basically, the team that takes Haywood would only have to keep his salary on the books for minutes before waiving him. Doing so would earn it a second-round pick from the Cavaliers. Once Haywood is waived, a team can then sign him at a much more reasonable cost.

David Lee Finally on the Move?

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

David Lee has had a rather productive NBA career. The 10-year veteran spent his first five seasons with the New York Knicks before moving out west to join the Golden State Warriors. Over that span, he's averaged 14.7 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 53.3 percent from the floor.

Although, the 6'9" power forward is coming off his most unproductive season since his rookie campaign. He was moved from a starting role to a reserve player and averaged just 18.4 minutes per game because of the Warriors' decision to play small ball. Lee became the odd man out and instantly expendable. After long negotiations with the Boston Celtics, ESPN's Marc Stein tweeted a deal was finally in place:

The Celtics have a talented young roster; however, they lack a veteran presence in the frontcourt. Lee will be a phenomenal fit and will be entering a situation in which he will see increased floor time while acting as a mentor for the team's younger players.

Young Staying Put in L.A.?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

There's been plenty of trade speculation surrounding Nick Young this summer. The swingman is coming off a very inconsistent and injury-plagued campaign in which he averaged 13.4 points per game while shooting 36.6 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from downtown. His lackluster defense didn't exactly make him a favorite of coach Byron Scott, either.

Well, the Los Angeles Lakers appear to be changing their tune, as a recent meeting between Young and general manager Mitch Kupchak resulted in this rumor, via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:

"

Lakers forward Nick Young recently met with general manager Mitch Kupchak, according to league sources familiar with the situation.

It is not entirely clear what Young and Kupchak addressed in their meeting. It is typical for Kupchak to meet with players to discuss both professional and private issues. But the conversation at least left Young feeling comfortable enough that he will enter the 2015-16 season on the Lakers’ roster, according to a source familiar with his thinking.

"

While we don't exactly know what was discussed during the meeting, we can always speculate. This earlier comment from Kupchak, via the Lakers' official Twitter account, was probably the basis for the conversation:

Young has always been a solid scoring threat off the bench for the Lakers, but this season, the team will be looking to see more contribution from him on the defensive end of the court. If Young was able to convince Kupchak that he's taking the necessary steps to improve in that area, there isn't much of a reason why the Lakers won't keep him around for at least another year.