NBA Rumors: Kevin Durant, Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel Trade and More Buzz
While the NBA buzz will begin to heat up after the Finals are complete, the rumor mill is already working. A slew of big names are already being mentioned as trade chips or free-agent targets for teams looking to put together championship rosters.
We'll break down a few of the juicier rumors making the rounds.
Kevin Durant, F, Oklahoma City Thunder
If Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant hits free agency this summer, no player will be more coveted, and most NBA teams will at least inquire about his services.
The Houston Rockets are one of them, per Marc Stein of ESPN:
Stein previously reported that the Rockets "are not a team Durant plans to consider when he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1, despite [James] Harden's presence there and the Rockets' long-known intent to chase him."
Stein added that "a return for Durant to the Thunder on a two-year max contract, with a player option to return to free agency in the summer of 2017, is widely regarded as the most likely scenario for him in his first foray into free agency."
Stein also noted that rival executives believe the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs have the best chance of luring Durant away from Oklahoma City.
Meanwhile, Durant's hometown team, the Washington Wizards, have long been linked as a potential destination for Durant this summer, according to Chris Mannix of The Vertical. Superstar John Wall isn't going to put the full-court press on Durant just yet, however.
"If he comes, he comes, if not, got to make other plans," Wall told Michael Lee of The Vertical. "But that’s something I haven’t talked to him about. I’m not willing to right now. He just came off a tough series. I’m trying to give him a couple of weeks, a month off, to think about what he wants to do."
Durant, 27, averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in 72 games this season. He led the Thunder to the Western Conference Finals, where the team held a 3-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors before losing three straight games.
He remains one of the league's most dominant players, and much of the free-agency period this summer will be determined by his decision. For the time being, however, the most likely scenario seems to be a return to Oklahoma City, at least in the short term.
Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel, C, Philadelphia 76ers
Joel Embiid should be returning from injury. The Philadelphia 76ers almost assuredly will be drafting LSU phenom Ben Simmons with the top overall pick at June 23's NBA draft. Dario Saric could finally be coming over from Europe to join the team.
Suffice it to say that the Sixers have a glut of big men and limited places to put them.
So it was hardly surprising when Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times wrote that "it’s no secret the Philadelphia 76ers covet another high pick and are shopping Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel."
The rumors of the Sixers shopping both Okafor and Noel have been making the rounds since late May, after all, per ESPN.com's Stein and Chad Ford. And it only makes sense. Okafor and Noel don't really work as a duo, for one thing, and Embiid's return will only make things more cluttered at center.
And with so many other needs—namely at guard—moving one of the Sixers' young big men seems logical.
As Woelfel noted, "If successful, the Sixers appear to have their sights on drafting either combo guard Jamal Murray of Kentucky or point guard Kris Dunn of Providence."
Murray would likely pair better with Simmons, who prefers to inhabit a playmaking role from his forward position and is an excellent passer. Murray would give the Sixers the ability to stretch the floor with his perimeter shooting and give the team a true scorer, something Philly lacks.
Dunn, on the other hand, would perhaps make more sense if the Sixers decide to take Brandon Ingram, a true scorer himself. Dunn, then, would run the team's offense, and his upside as a defensive stopper will be intriguing to consider as well.
Of course, all of this is contingent on the team's ability to move Okafor (20) or Noel (22). Okafor seems to have slightly more value, given that he is younger and has a polished offensive game. And it's easier to imagine a role for Noel in the team's rotation as a defensive stopper than it is to find one for Okafor, who will struggle to coexist on the court with Embiid much as he has alongside Noel.
Of course, just because trading either Okafor or Noel is logical doesn't mean it's imminent.
"I don't know that there's a likelihood," Philly's president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo told Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com when asked about trading one of the young centers. "I can't put a number on it. I would just simply tell you that there's been conversations and there's been a lot of interest expressed in some of the players that we have, but nothing that's made enough sense to pull the trigger on. We've talked about the 5 position in particular."
What a tangled web the process has weaved. The Sixers will undergo more serious changes before the 2016-17 season—that much seems assured. It still seems quite likely that such a process will involve moving either Okafor or Noel.
Harrison Barnes, F, Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors aren't going to keep everyone from the core that won a title last season, went 73-9 this year and is a game away from repeating as champions.
And the first player who may migrate to richer pastures is forward Harrison Barnes, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News:
Certainly, the Warriors are built around Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Keeping those three players in the Bay Area for years to come will be the team's focus, which means that a player like Barnes—who will demand a lot of interest and a lot of money on the market—simply may not be as highly valued.
That will make this summer interesting. Deveney broke down the possibilities for Barnes as free agency looms:
"Several teams with significant cap space this summer—the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks among them—have the intention of pursuing Barnes, especially as a fallback option for Durant. Barnes is expected to receive an offer of at least $20 million per year or perhaps as much as a max offer starting at about $23 million.
The Warriors have the right to match any offer, though, because Barnes is a restricted free agent. One source within the organization pointed out that [Joe] Lacob and the Warriors owners have, indeed, said all along that he will pay to keep a winning team together, and that has not changed. As an outsider NBA general manager told Sporting News, “I think that all along that they were not going to let him go unless they fell down and didn’t win it all. It might just be that they’re trying to push down offers, but that’s the message.”
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So this situation remains a bit muddled. Barnes could decide to continue pursuing championships and re-sign with the Warriors at a hometown discount. But for now, he seems likely to at least court offers elsewhere. It's the smart business decision.
At that point, it will be up to Golden State to decide if matching those offers represents a smart business decision.
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