NBA Trade Rumors: Analyzing Buzz on Brook Lopez, Nerlens Noel and More
The NBA season is not yet two weeks old, yet it's never too soon to start thinking about potential trades that could have an impact on the postseason picture.
Most teams are still in the process of evaluating their roster, hoping everything will come together for a playoff push over the long 82-game season, but there are outliers ready and willing to engage in discussions for marquee players so they can get salary relief and future assets to play with.
Nets Open Brook Lopez Market
The Brooklyn Nets have seemingly wanted to trade Brook Lopez forever, yet they continue to hang onto him for reasons that aren't entirely clear.
Now, per ESPN's Marc Stein, the Nets are not wasting time opening up the Lopez market for teams that want help in the frontcourt.
Stein reported executives around the NBA are "increasingly convinced" the Nets are open to trading Lopez before February's deadline. As is always the case in trades, it all comes down to cost. The Nets were shopping Lopez before the trade deadline last year only to hang onto him.
This does seem like an opportune time for the Nets to finally pull the trigger on getting rid of Lopez. He's one of the few watchable players on the team, but the roughly $44 million he's still owed through next season is a problem for a franchise that is trending in the wrong direction and has been for years.
There's also the matter of Lopez's questionable health making him a prime trade candidate. He hasn't played all 82 games since his third NBA season in 2010-11 and missed 77 games in 2011-12 and 65 in 2013-14.
With two full years of mostly good health under his belt, the Nets need to take advantage of this opportunity to avoid the risk of him getting hurt and making it impossible to deal him.
Raptors Looking at Nerlens Noel
With the Toronto Raptors' frontcourt made thinner following Jared Sullinger's surgery to repair a problem in his left foot, they desperately need to find size from somewhere.
In the same report from Stein about Lopez, he noted the Raptors are one of the teams that have shown interest in Philadelphia 76ers center Nerlens Noel.
Nothing is imminent, and Stein even noted Toronto's first preference is to see what rookies Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl can do in an expanded role before trying to make a rash decision.
Sullinger's official timetable to return is not yet known, though foot injuries tend to be tricky on big men anyway. Kevin Durant missed all but 27 games two years ago with various foot ailments that didn't go away until the 2015-16 season started.
Noel has yet to play this season after having arthroscopic surgery to repair an issue in his left knee, which is the same knee he tore the ACL in during his one season at Kentucky and caused him to sit out the 2013-14 season after the Sixers drafted him.
Until Noel returns and it's 100 percent certain his latest knee surgery is just a minor setback, not a sign of something that will cause long-term issues, no team should be actively seeking to trade for him.
There are always going to be teams that get so desperate they don't care about the risk as long as they feel comfortable enough with a player's medicals to sign off on a deal.
Noel did show last year when he averaged 11.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game he can be an effective player. There's just too much present injury risk to make any sort of offer for the 76ers to really think about entertaining right now.
Iman Shumpert Sort Of/Not Really Available
It's rare to see the defending NBA champions with a roster still loaded and able to compete for another title willing to move lots of pieces in a trade the following season.
This is why the Cleveland Cavaliers are kinda/not really seeing what the market has for guard Iman Shumpert.
ESPN's Zach Lowe reported on October 21 the Minnesota Timberwolves were among several teams to inquire about Shumpert's availability and that those teams were under the impression the Cavs were ready to talk about a deal.
One week later, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reported even though the Cavs are answering their phone when calls come in about Shumpert, "they are not actively looking to deal him."
This sounds like one of those trade scenarios in which the team just sends up a smoke signal looking for a particular item, with no one ponying up that item at this time.
Shumpert, who is only 26 and signed through the 2018-19 season, is off to a terrific start. He's averaging 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per 36 minutes, per Basketball-Reference.com.
Injuries are a problem for Shumpert and will hurt his trade value, especially this early in the season. He only played in 116 of a possible 164 games the previous two seasons, and his shooting has never been particularly strong with a 39.4 percent mark.
The Cavaliers are in a good position to keep Shumpert's minutes down if they want to keep him healthy for a full season. J.R. Smith has established himself as the team's starting shooting guard. Jordan McRae and DeAndre Liggins are capable backups for when Shumpert needs a night off.
At some point, the Cavs will have to think about their payroll. Stein reported in July they had to pay $54 million in luxury tax for going over the NBA salary cap last season and started this season with an NBA-high $131.3 million payroll, per HoopsHype.com.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is not afraid to spend money if it ensures success, but even the most free-wheeling businessmen need to have their limits. That could end up leading to a player like Shumpert getting dealt as the season moves on, but the Cavs are not under any pressure to mess with something that's working right now.
