NBA Trade Rumors: Rounding Up Buzz on Ricky Rubio, Eric Bledsoe and More
The NBA trade market wound up as a bigger disappointment than Stephen Curry in the NBA Finals based on the few deals that went down around the draft.
Sure, the Oklahoma City Thunder gave Kevin Durant a strong reason to stick around by acquiring Victor Oladipo in a trade with the Orlando Magic. The Indiana Pacers also quietly improved almost more than any other team by getting Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young in separate deals.
Overall, though, there wasn't some gigantic, Association-altering move involving top-three picks and superstars and on and on like the rumors market might have led some to believe.
The rumor mill remains alive and well, though, with plenty to suggest NBA teams aren't done wheeling and dealing with free agency on the horizon. Here's a look at the latest buzz.
Next on Chicago's Chopping Block?
Let's get this out of the way first—the Chicago Bulls aren't throwing in the proverbial towel and starting a major rebuild. If that were the case, Jimmy Butler would be on a different team right now.
It's fun to overreact to the team dealing Derrick Rose to the New York Knicks. But while Rose was a big name, he hasn't played in 70 or more games since 2010. Folks should actually call what's happening in the Windy City a trimming of the fat.
As a result, it's not shocking that Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times hinted the team has power forward Taj Gibson on the block: "To add some further clouds to the Bulls frontcourt rotation, a league source said that the Bulls have been talking to several teams about the possibility of moving Taj Gibson."
Gibson just turned 31 years old and has one year left on a deal in which he's a cap hit of $8.95 million, according to Spotrac. He averaged just 8.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks last year on 26.5 minutes per game, his lowest since 2013.
Chicago, in theory, wants to get younger and run the court more like other contenders do, so giving the nod to Nikola Mirotic or Bobby Portis next to Robin Lopez down low makes sense. Trading Gibson would also clear a nice chunk of cap space and get something in return for a guy the front office likely wouldn't bring back anyway.
The Bulls might be down Rose, Gibson and Pau Gasol by the time free agency opens, but with Butler still on board and Chicago being Chicago, the team seems to have a goal of making a major splash on the market, which isn't so outlandish. Gibson is a nice depth rental for cheap, so expect would-be contenders to come calling.
The Ricky Rubio Situation
The NBA realm seemed to get some confirmation of the Ricky Rubio-Minnesota Timberwolves pairing coming to an end at the draft.
The Timberwolves selected Providence's Kris Dunn with the No. 5 pick; he's a pro-ready court general who can get others involved while not hogging much in the way of shots for himself.
This notion gained even more steam when The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski noted the following:
In addition, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune suggested the Timberwolves dangled Rubio in trade talks for Butler.
Rubio has now spent five years with the Timberwolves, and while he averaged 10.1 points and 8.6 assists last year, those numbers aren't far off from his career averages of 10.1 and 8.3, respectively.
The concern isn't that Rubio is not living up to his outlandish hype—it's that he's not progressing much at all. This is a red flag given the way the roster around him continues to improve, with Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns giving him a superb supporting cast.
To be fair, folks within the organization such as head coach Tom Thibodeau have hinted a Rubio-Dunn pairing will work, according to the Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda:
And it probably could. But this gets tricky for Minnesota when other teams see the situation and begin to send offers because they like the upside of a 25-year-old point guard who might fit better in a different system. It gets tricky when Minny could get away from a $56 million extension it signed him to in late 2014.
So yes, Rubio could stick around and mentor Dunn. But if the price is right, it doesn't seem like Minnesota will think long about shipping him away.
Suns Shopping Eric Bledsoe?
It's hard to have a better offseason than the Phoenix Suns have had so far.
Off a 23-win season, few seemed to care that the Suns clutched a trio of first-round picks entering the draft.
Except the Suns pulled off some savvy moves and not only wound up with international sensation Dragan Bender at No. 4 but high-upside forward Marquese Chriss at No. 8, which made the team one of the draft's biggest winners.
Now the front office continues to work the phones, according to ESPN's Marc Stein:
Eric Bledsoe is the more interesting name here. He and Brandon Knight have traded hobbled seasons as of late, but it's Bledsoe who looked unstoppable last year over 31 games, posting averages of 20.4 points, 6.1 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Considering Bledsoe represents a cap hit of $14 million or more in each of the next three seasons, according to Spotrac, it's no wonder the Suns might have him on the block.
I say "might" because Suns head coach Earl Watson recently said on NBA Today that the team didn't offer Bledsoe in deals during the draft, according to SiriusXM NBA Radio. Sports Illustrated's Jake Fischer followed with more reinforcement of the idea:
That's interesting but not shocking. A team won't give up its position in public, so the only route is denial.
It seems the Suns shopping guards is a staple of every offseason, so it's hard to ignore the rumblings here. Given the cash committed and the shaky injury history, not to mention that there's only so much playing time to go around after Devin Booker exploded in his rookie season (13.8 points per game), the Suns unloading Bledsoe seems a strong possibility.
Just don't expect the Suns to cop to it until something, if anything, becomes official.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
