NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook and More
Almost all of the NBA’s biggest free agents have found homes for at least next season. That means trade-rumor season is upon us.
Three of the league’s bigger names have made some headlines for their trade possibilities (or lack thereof) in the past few days, and there’s no question the outcomes of their situations will affect the league’s balance of power.
Let’s round up some recent buzz on Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook and Jimmy Butler.
Blake Griffin
The Sporting News' Sean Deveney set the NBA Twitter world ablaze Thursday morning with reported rumors of the Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics discussing a trade for star power forward Blake Griffin. Deveney said the following about the situation:
"The Clippers have been weighing trading Griffin all season, and the possibility of a three-team package involving Sacramento sending Rudy Gay to the Clippers has emerged. The Celtics would give up some number of their upcoming draft picks, but opposing front-office members say they don't want to give up either Brooklyn pick Boston can own in the next two years.
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However, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register said we shouldn’t quite jump to conclusions just yet.
The idea of Blake Griffin on the Celtics is scary for the rest of the Eastern Conference. Hollinger's NBA Team Statistics shows Boston’s defense was elite last season, and the additions of both Al Horford and Griffin would make the offense pretty dangerous this season, as well.
Woike’s report doesn’t necessarily mean the Clippers aren’t actively shopping Griffin, though. Moving the power forward (whom the team has done pretty well without during his various injury-related absences) for a solid starting wing and other smaller pieces could be a smart move that may inch the team a little bit closer to the stacked Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.
Russell Westbrook
The Oklahoma City Thunder are no longer a legitimate title contender without Kevin Durant, but the presence of Russell Westbrook and several impactful role players ensures the team won’t fall too far. However, Oklahoma City is getting increasingly worried about Westbrook leaving in unrestricted free agency next summer and seem to be looking for ways to cut its losses.
Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck reported: “What I’m hearing here in Las Vegas from some GMs is that not only do they think that Westbrook will get traded, that it will be sooner rather than later, probably before the season starts, and that the most likely destination right now will be the Boston Celtics.”
Oh look, there’s the Celtics again. They’ve appeared in countless trade rumors over the past year or so and will continue to appear in them as long as their pool of assets stays so deep. Not only do they have a deep roster of young talent, they also have unprotected first-round picks coming the next two seasons from the Brooklyn Nets, who could be the NBA’s worst team in 2016-17.
Westbrook’s fit isn’t quite as obvious as Griffin’s. Boston’s best player and heart and soul of the team, Isaiah Thomas, is already a point guard, and the Celtics have him locked up for two more seasons on an extremely affordable deal. While Westbrook has the size and athleticism to play off the ball, having him share facilitating duties with Thomas isn’t ideal for either floor general.
Even so, the Celtics have more than enough pieces to make a move for a guy like Westbrook worth it, despite the fact that the fit doesn’t make perfect sense. There's also the risk that the superstar point guard leaves in 2017.
Jimmy Butler
The Chicago Bulls offseason has taken a different turn than many may have expected. The front office stated their commitment to get younger and more athletic immediately preceding the free-agency period, per ESPN.com’s Nick Friedell. Yet the team’s biggest acquisitions have been point guard Rajon Rondo (30 years old) and shooting guard Dwyane Wade (34 years old).
Add in the fact that head coach Fred Hoiberg’s preferred offensive style is predicated on having plenty of capable three-point shooters, and the moves made even less sense. Rondo is a career 28.9 percent shooter from downtown, and Wade has only made 28.4 percent of his long-range attempts since entering the NBA.
One priority Chicago does seem to be sticking to, however, is building around star wing Jimmy Butler. According to ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe, “Butler is off the market for now, per league sources, and it's tempting to read Chicago's all-in splash as an effort to maintain a winner around him.”
The Bulls’ sudden shift in strategy is confusing. They were listening to trade offers for Butler at June’s NBA draft, presumably to kick-start a total rebuild, but now they’re planning to keep the all-star wing and put two fading stars next to him in an effort to win now.
Butler is a great two-way player, but placing a non-shooting backcourt next to him is not the way to get the most value out of his talents and the Bulls roster as a whole.
