NBA Rumors: Latest on Seattle SuperSonics, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and More
We're still in the honeymoon phase of the 2016-17 NBA season, so the relationships between a lot of teams and their star players seem stable.
To wit, the rumor mill isn't churning out a whole lot on trades, player movement and other fun that comes as the result of discord.
Don't worry, though. That doesn't mean the mill is dry. Something is always happening in the league, and the rumors this week might actually be bigger than player movement.
The Return of the Seattle SuperSonics?
Expansion anyone?
Even as many write the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers into the 2017 Finals, there's little debate over the abundance of stars around the league.
If you think all the talent is pooled in Cleveland and the Bay Area, just peruse the opening-night box scores from Wednesday.
The league is flush with great players, its basking in the glow of a lucrative new TV deal and it reportedly wants to cash in on all of the above with expansion.
"The NBA appears more determined than ever to return a franchise to Seattle, multiple league sources have indicated," per Sam Amico of Amico Hoops.
Add to that the news that entrepreneur Chris Hansen has pledged fully private financing for a Seattle-area arena, per Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, and it certainly seems like something is brewing.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Hoping to Cash in on New Salary Cap
The summer of 2016 produced a number of NBA contracts that led to public sticker shock, and that phenomenon may continue for a bit longer.
The Detroit Pistons' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope—he of the career scoring average of 11 points per game and career shooting splits of 40.7/32.6/76.5—is reportedly in the market for a deal that will pay him in the neighborhood of $20 million per year.
"There was gossip over the summer that it would take a deal worth north of $20 million per year to get Caldwell-Pope’s signature," Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press wrote. "But the Pistons’ payroll is burgeoning, and owner Tom Gores likely will face a luxury-tax bill for being over the NBA’s tax line."
Even if Detroit doesn't pay that much, recent history suggests someone else will. Allen Crabbe, who's been much more efficient but played less than Caldwell-Pope, was inked to a four-year, $75 million deal this summer by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Detroit Pistons Looking to Move Back Downtown
After spending decades at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan, the Pistons may be headed back downtown, according to Louis Aguilar of the Detroit News:
"Downtown Detroit could be welcoming an old friend home after almost 40 years.
The ownership groups of the Red Wings and Pistons are in advanced talks to move the Pistons back downtown to play in the new Little Caesars Arena, according to sources familiar with the talks.
No deal is pending and a number of details still need to be worked out, but some of initial issues have been agreed upon. The sources caution, however, that the deal still could fall through if both sides cannot agree on those remaining issues, including revenue splits.
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Shout out to Dave Bing, Bob Lanier and the Pistons of earlier eras.
