NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Paul Pierce, Possible Rudy Gay Trade and More
The majority of the NBA offseason's significant free-agent signings have already happened. Most teams have submitted their offers to the biggest fish on the market, and a lot of them have bit on the bait.
Now, it's time for trades and smaller moves to take center stage. Rosters are not set in stone yet for training camp, so squads will be paying careful attention to players at the NBA Summer League as well as which guys on the free-agent and trade markets are worth pursuing.
Let's break down some recent buzz on a couple of veterans and a young team looking to add some pieces.
It was not pretty watching 38-year-old Paul Pierce play basketball for the Los Angeles Clippers last season. The 18-year veteran is a surefire future Hall of Famer, but he had the worst campaign of his career in 2015-16, shooting 36.3 percent from the field and 31.0 percent from three-point range. He couldn’t move well enough on defense to make a positive impact on that end of the floor, either.
However, Pierce likely isn’t done with the NBA, according to the Los Angeles Times' Ben Bolch:
The Clippers forward has two years left on his contract, the first of which guarantees him $3.5 million. He’s still worth something as a mentor and steady veteran presence, but Los Angeles would be wise to keep him out of the regular rotation.
The team is thin on the wing, but Luc Mbah a Moute and Wesley Johnson are better options than Pierce. Both players bring a lot more energy on defense and mostly stay out of the way on offense, which is what the Clippers need with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, J.J. Redick and DeAndre Jordan already doing most of the heavy lifting on that side of the court.
Rudy Gay
Is it too late for Rudy Gay to salvage his NBA reputation? Maybe, but those efforts will likely come on a team other than the Sacramento Kings. According to ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, Sacramento has made Gay available on the trade market and is actively seeking a trade partner.
Gay has long been one of the most talented swingmen in the league but one who doesn’t do many things to make his team better. He's a talented scorer who doesn't put points on the board efficiently, he doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in helping his teammates and his defensive effort is on and off.
Any trade partner Sacramento finds for Gay will likely be a team out of title contention that needs offensive firepower (think of the Miami Heat or Phoenix Suns). In the right environment, the 29-year-old forward can help his squad by taking away offensive responsibility.
Stein also reported the Kings are looking to move Ben McLemore and Kosta Koufos. McLemore has underachieved in his first three NBA seasons, and his market value has never been lower. Koufos, meanwhile, has proved to be a valuable contributor on the interior and could net a decent package for a Sacramento squad that's already loaded with big men.
Minnesota Timberwolves
It’s a wonderful time to be a Minnesota Timberwolves fan. Karl-Anthony Towns is the future of the center position in the NBA, and Andrew Wiggins should become one of the best wings in the league. The team has a wealth of young supporting players to work with in Kris Dunn, Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng. New head coach Tom Thibodeau also has a winning reputation.
The squad’s depth could stand to be stronger, though. The Star Tribune’s Jerry Zgoda noted the franchise wants to add a couple of pieces to its promising young core:
According to Spotrac, the Timberwolves have 14 players under guaranteed contracts for 2016-17, one fewer than the maximum. However, the team could use the trade market to get rid of guys like Nikola Pekovic or Adreian Payne to free up space.
One of the Wolves’ biggest needs is a versatile big man with some shooting ability, since a lot of the interior players they have are larger bodies who operate closer to the basket. In the backcourt, they could use spot-up shooting to open driving lanes for Dunn, Rubio, LaVine and Wiggins.
