NBA Trade Rumors: Breaking Down League Buzz Ahead of 2016 Trade Deadline
When NBA teams return from a prolonged break, some players will have to acquaint themselves to new teammates. Thursday afternoon's trade deadline will pass before the season resumes later that evening.
Actual deals often struggle to wow everyone as much as speculated swaps. No team outside of the dominant top tier will jump to title contenders with one move. Instead, this deadline is about fringe playoff contenders adding a solid role player or rearranging seats for the offseason.
Even if the odds of witnessing a blockbuster deal are slim, it's still fun to imagine the possibilities. Although little is likely to materialize from the first of these three NBA trade rumors, its theoretical impact makes it a scenario worth dissecting.
Blake Griffin 'No Longer Untouchable'
A few months ago, no trade column would have dared type Blake Griffin's name unless discussing the Los Angeles Clippers' desire to add an insurance option behind the star forward. This is no longer the case after the 26-year-old franchise cornerstone injured his hand striking a member of the team's equipment staff.
On Tuesday, Griffin spoke to the media for the first time since the incident:
The Clippers have fallen behind the top-three Western Conference powerhouses, but not because of Griffin's absence. They have actually excelled without the dynamic scorer, as highlighted by ESPN Stats & Info:
These events have suddenly made Griffin a frequent hot-stove resident. While ESPN.com's Zach Lowe cautioned onlookers not to expect a departure this week, he also said the Clippers aren't entirely opposed to moving the All-Star:
"Conflicting noise is spouting from Clipperville, but the smart money is on L.A. waiting until the summer to really get busy on the Griffin front. Doc Rivers wants to give this core one last postseason shot, and the Clips need Griffin just in case Kevin Durant picks them, triggering a Griffin-for-Durant sign-and-trade.
But the Griffin noise is real. He's no longer untouchable. The Clips are listening, even right now, and they've rarely listened before. If they get wind over the next four days that they're out of the Durant sweepstakes, they could accelerate the Griffin trade timetable. It'd take a monster offer to pry him away before the draft, but the ground is trembling.
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Per the Orange County Register's Dan Woike, Clippers head coach and president of team operations Doc Rivers denied the notion of even entertaining offers for Griffin:
Any swift action should only stem from his behavior off the court. While the offense is clicking, playoff teams don't trade a young star averaging 23.2 points per game. Besides, 30-year-old point guard Chris Paul won't be around forever to keep the franchise afloat. Their success in the aftermath of Griffin's injury also remains an insignificant sample size to use for making an organization-altering decision.
Instead of receiving a juicy deal by Thursday, fans will instead see Griffin establish residency on the rumor mill leading up to and throughout the offseason.
Cavs Searching for Reinforcements
Although the Cleveland Cavaliers are underachieving for their standards, their 38-14 record still leads the Eastern Conference. They don't need any major maneuvers to secure their second straight NBA Finals appearance, but they might in order to overcome the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kevin Love chatter has dominated Cleveland gossip, but it appears to be a dead end. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst, the Cavs desire a star for Love rather than draft picks and spare pieces. Given their status as East's No. 1 seed even despite the big man's struggles, they have little motivation to move him otherwise.
Instead of wondering if a championship contender will sell a former All-Star, Stein and Windhorst pointed to Cleveland's quest to polish its bench.
"Sources say that the Cavs, though, have been more and more active in recent days in pursuing upgrades to their bench, with center Timofey Mozgov and swingman Iman Shumpert—both in the midst of down seasons after their midseason arrivals in 2014-15—said to be available. Players who interest Cleveland, sources say, include dream target Kyle Korver (who would naturally be very difficult to pry from Atlanta) and Kings reserves Ben McLemore and Kosta Koufos.
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Shumpert, whom Cleveland acquired with J.R. Smith from the New York Knicks last year, is averaging 6.2 points per game with a 38.8 field-goal percentage and 8.3 player efficiency rating, per Basketball-Reference.com. Despite his strong perimeter defense, the Cavs are unlikely to find an eager suitor to take for his recently signed four-year, $40 million contract, courtesy of Spotrac.
Adding a lethal shooter like Korver would make Cleveland's offense borderline unstoppable, but it'd also create a severe defensive deficiency if playing the Atlanta Hawks sharpshooter alongside Love and Kyrie Irving. Either way, the Cavaliers don't likely have the pieces to entice Atlanta anyway.
McLemore, on the other hand, is an intriguing and feasible option. The third-year shooting guard entered the break with a career-high 45.1 field-goal percentage, but the Sacramento Kings have relegated him to 21.0 minutes per game off the bench. Does it make sense for a lottery-bound team to trade a gradually progressing 23-year-old formerly taken with the No. 7 pick? No, but the Kings rarely make sense.
Suns Want More for Markieff Morris
The Phoenix Suns have every reason to trade Markieff Morris.
In addition to his dismal shooting on the court, the 26-year-old forward is creating problems off it. Last week, he shoved teammate Archie Goodwin in a sideline altercation, which he later downplayed to the Arizona Republic's Paul Coro.
“That’s nothing,” Morris said. “That’s part of being a leader, being a big brother. Sometimes, little brothers and big brothers get into it. That’s what happened. Wrong place, wrong time.
Throwing his towel at former head coach Jeff Hornacek in December must have just been another one of Morris' leadership techniques. It's done the Suns a world of good; a nine-game losing streak has them within striking distance of stealing last place from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Given his cumbersome antics, Morris seems like a prime candidate to sell for cents on the dollar just to alleviate the headache. Yet The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski paints a different portrait:
"Suns general manager Ryan McDonough has been pursuing a package that includes a younger player and a first-round pick, league executives said. The Suns are motivated to honor Morris' desire for a trade—and have no intention of bringing him back next season—but teams are starting to think the Suns could hold onto Morris past the Thursday trade deadline without a deal that brings back a player of value with a first-round pick.
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Even if Morris was a model citizen who actually led his teammates through constructive methods not involving physical violence, that's a steep price to pay. Citing his dreadful 42.2 effective field-goal percentage, NBA.com's John Schuhmann expressed dismay at the Suns' lofty asking price:
Before seeing those high demands, Morris would have topped the list of players poised to change uniforms this week. If McDonough doesn't budge, the two parties will instead maintain their dysfunctional pairing throughout what will be an ugly second half in Phoenix.
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