NBA Trade Rumors: Examining Top Reports Entering 2016 Combine

With NBA draft season nearly underway, beginning with the start of the combine in Chicago on May 11, consider it NBA trade rumor season as well.

Even before the lottery, this is the time of year when rumors start to kick up in a hurry as rebuilding teams flirt with the idea of reeling in a superstar and would-be contenders begin looking for missing pieces after missing the playoffs or suffering an early exit from the bracket.

The impending free-agency decision of Kevin Durant amplifies the situation. With Durant, Rajon Rondo, perhaps Dwight Howard and so many more heading to the market, there's a window available during the year's hottest months for teams to forgo building through the draft and get immediate boosts.

With such themes in mind, it's only right to take an early look at some of the top rumblings making the rounds before the spectacle in Chicago gets underway.

Lakers Dangling Top Pick?

Did anyone really think the Los Angeles Lakers were going to stick with a traditional rebuild?

Presumably, Los Angeles got what it wanted out of this past season—Kobe Bryant's farewell tour being a momentous occasion while the team tanked—grabbed another top pick and gave coach Byron Scott the boot.

But this summer has always been the target date for the Lakers.

Getting a young core of D'Angelo Russell and Julius Randle is nice, but few had to believe the Lakers were going to add another top-five talent and then wait for the core to develop.

Please. This is Los Angeles, and sooner or later, jobs will be on the line. As if on cue, The Ringer's Bill Simmons provided one possibility for the franchise:

These sorts of things will continue to pop up with Bryant out of the way.

Whether it's Paul George, Durant with Russell Westbrook wanting to join him a year later or somebody else, superstars can now go to Los Angeles and own it, should they want to battle the expectations set by one of the game's greats.

George makes perfect sense, as implausible as it sounds. It's easy to forget he's just 26 years old and even easier to forget about his gruesome leg injury after his averages of 23.1 points, 4.1 assists and 7.0 rebounds per game over 81 contests.

The problem with this scenario is Larry Bird and the Indiana Pacers. The franchise has a playoff roster on its hands already, and while some spots need upgrading, giving away one of the game's best doesn't make a ton of sense.

And this is the problem with the Lakers pursuing any superstar via trade—the top-three selection is pretty much all they have to trade.

There's nothing else, unless the organization really wants to surrender Russell or Randle. Even then, that's going to attract rebuilding teams—not partners willing to give up a superstar.

If the Lakers are going to get a superstar to round out a core and hit win-now mode, it's going to happen in free agency. The important note here is the team even considering trading the top pick and what it would mean if the front office settled for a savvy veteran or great fit—and then landed a superstar on the market.

Jimmy Butler's Future in Chicago

All is not well with the Chicago Bulls.

It starts right at the top with Jimmy Butler, too. The 26-year-old star agreed with the Bulls on a new deal but said the contract and how the team continues to perform—not to mention the actions of the front office—have the relationship looking rocky at best.

Not long ago, general manager Gar Forman talked about the future of the franchise and gave the typical speech about how everything is on the table.

Typical but not good in the eyes of Butler, according to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson:

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That comment didn't sit well with Butler, sources said, merely adding to his growing wariness regarding Forman that stems from Butler feeling slighted during failed negotiations on his rookie extension. Butler ultimately rejected the Bulls' four-year, $44 million offer, won Most Improved Player honors for 2014-15 and signed a five-year, $92.3 million deal with a player option for the final season last July.

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And it gets better—Johnson also revealed why the new contract has done nothing to put out the flames of trade speculation.

"Butler's contract has a 5 percent trade kicker, sources said. The norm for similarly lucrative contracts for high-profile players is 15 percent, which is one reason considerable chatter remains throughout the league that teams could make a run at Butler near the June 23 NBA draft," he wrote.

Most of this wouldn't be a major ordeal if the Bulls hadn't floundered away the season. The team finished just 42-40 and in ninth place in the Eastern Conference despite averages of 20.9 points and 4.8 assists from Butler, both career highs.

Add that to the fact that Joakim Noah's future with the franchise is an unknown and Pau Gasol might leave, and Butler looks like the lone player on a suddenly rebuilding team that doesn't even have a ringing endorsement from those in charge.

Butler, of course, would fetch a gigantic price on the trade market. Teams such as—go figure—the Lakers will have an interest. Johnson revealed the Boston Celtics made an offer as far back as in February.

Offers won't stop flowing now. Chicago seems like a team ready to blow things up, and the rest of the league will treat it as such until told otherwise. Maybe Chicago sits on its hands with Butler and chooses to keep building through the draft. Maybe the built-in stipulations in Butler's contract make it easier to wipe the slate clean with valuable assets.

There's really no telling which way this one goes, making the Bulls arguably the most interesting team going into the draft.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.