NBA Rumors: Buzz on Tristan Thompson, Larry Sanders and Kristaps Porzingis
With one week left until the start of the NBA's regular season, a resilient handful of rumors await conclusions after managing to survive the summer.
The league's most significant remaining storyline is also perhaps its most ambiguous, with Tristan Thompson and the Cleveland Cavaliers as distant as ever in regard to their contract negotiations.
But while Thompson's fate is anyone's guess at this point, Larry Sanders could have a basketball future of his own, which seemed unlikely just months ago. And the future of the New York Knicks could be arriving sooner than we anticipated, according to head coach Derek Fisher's stance on rookie Kristaps Porzingis.
We'll consult the rumor mill to determine which moves might come to fruition in the NBA preseason's numbered days.
Tristan Thompson
Ever since ESPN's Chris Broussard jumped the gun last month and declared the issue resolved, updates regarding Thompson's struggle with the Cavaliers front office have been largely discouraging.
The enduring truth from Broussard's report was Thompson's willingness to take a deal worth less than the max:
But that price is still too steep for Cleveland. Although Larry Coon of Basketball Insiders reported that the Cavaliers had rescinded their offer after Thompson failed to accept the qualifying offer (via Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk), Cleveland's proposal remains around $80 million over five years, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
With Thompson and the Cavs roughly two years and $27 million apart, some extensive discussions are necessary to bring the two sides closer together. But as Haynes reported, those discussions are not happening.
"There's no communication ongoing between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Thompson's agents, Rich Paul and Mark Termini, Northeast Ohio Media Group has learned," Haynes wrote. "In fact, there doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency from either side in reaching an agreement."
A situation that didn't seem like an overwhelming threat to Thompson and Cleveland's relationship has devolved into what could be a full-on holdout. The language in Haynes' article suggests both sides will need to take some drastic steps to get the 24-year-old on the court for the start of the Cavaliers season.
And ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst took the same ominous tone on Grantland's The Lowe Post podcast earlier this month (h/t Sports Illustrated).
"I actually believe it will probably go months," Windhorst told Zach Lowe. "This will go well into the regular season."
The overwhelming sentiment is that owner Dan Gilbert's presence will be required to resolve the situation. But as of now, there are no indications that he's involved.
Thompson played in all 102 regular-season and playoff games for the Cavaliers last year. But his chances of repeating the iron man performance that helped Cleveland reach the NBA Finals are shrinking by the day.
Larry Sanders
When Sanders parted ways with the Milwaukee Bucks—and the NBA altogether—after a tumultuous year and a half, he did leave the door open for a return.
"If I get to a point where I feel I'm capable of playing basketball again, I will," Sanders said in a video on the Players' Tribune.
After nearly eight months away from the game, it's a long shot that he's suddenly ready to pick up where he left off. But there is some speculation that a return could be in the works. Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times reported that at least one team has interest in the former Bucks shot-blocker:
While Tim Cato of SB Nation noted the Dallas Mavericks have shown some interest in Sanders, a signing does not appear to be imminent:
While we're all aboard the speculation express, the Mavericks' inclusion in this storyline is an interesting coincidence. In his Players' Tribune announcement, Sanders did mention Dallas during his nearly five-minute explanation for leaving the NBA.
"There will be the Twitter that's like, 'Hey, I hope you go die.' And then the next one will be like, 'Yo. I love you. Come to my team. Go play for the Mavs,'" Sanders said.
The likelihood that Sanders suits up for an NBA team anytime soon is marginal. But if he does eventually decide to return to the court, we know of one team that may throw its 10-gallon hat in the ring to sign him.
Kristaps Porzingis
Porzingis was loudly booed when the New York Knicks selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. And if their voices aren't still hoarse from that performance, the good people of New York might get a chance to shout further obscenities at him as soon as the Knicks tip off their season.
Struggling with injuries and inconsistency, the Latvian rookie has played in only three preseason games thus far. But according to a report from the New York Post's Marc Berman, none of that has been enough to knock Porzingis out of Fisher's projected starting five for the first game of the season:
"The Knicks look deep in the frontcourt, and have had excellent preseasons from forwards Kyle O’Quinn, Derrick Williams, last season's rookie bust Cleanthony Early and, of course, a supremely healthy and defensive-minded Carmelo Anthony.
Nevertheless, Fisher wants Porzingis to be the starting power forward opening night, even if he was shaky Saturday at Charlotte.
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Berman indicated that Jose Calderon, Arron Afflalo, Carmelo Anthony and Robin Lopez should join Porzingis in the starting lineup. Only two of those players—Calderon and Anthony—were Knicks last year, so inserting the rookie into the starting five could be part of Fisher's plan to breathe new life into a team that finished last in the Eastern Conference a season ago.
As a member of the widely disparaged fraternity of European prospects, Porzingis will often be the most scrutinized player on the court this season. And if Fisher sticks to his guns, Porzingis will be on the court early and often in 2015-16.
