NBA Trade Rumors: Analyzing Buzz on Brook Lopez, Rudy Gay and More
The 2016-17 NBA trade deadline isn't until Feb. 23, but general managers are already looking at ways to upgrade their rosters.
The truly landscape-changing trades likely won't come before January or February—if they come at all. Teams won't abandon hope on this season before they have time to examine things.
Below are updates on three players who aren't quite stars but would nonetheless be interesting acquisitions.
With the exception of possibly the New Orleans Pelicans, no other NBA franchise's future is bleaker than the Brooklyn Nets. The Pelicans at least have Anthony Davis and draft picks to assemble more young talent.
The Nets, on the other hand, don't own their own first-round pick until 2019, and they lack the kind of promising core of talent to offer hope for the future. As a result, Brooklyn should consider cashing in its veteran assets.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported Saturday the Nets aren't actively shopping Brook Lopez to potential suitors, but they're at least listening to offers and keeping their options open.
Lopez is averaging 19.4 points and 5.2 rebounds this season. He's 28 and signed through next year, when he'll earn a little over $22.6 million per year. While Brooklyn may struggle to get what amounts to a lottery pick, other teams would be willing to part with at least one valuable asset in exchange for Lopez.
Although the Nets don't need to trade the nine-year veteran now, his history of foot problems adds a layer of unpredictability. His right foot has been so troublesome that The Vertical's Chris Mannix wrote in January that Brooklyn added language to his contract that would cut his salary by 50 percent in 2016-17 and 75 percent in 2017-18 if he suffers another major injury.
The longer the Nets wait to trade Lopez, the more they're risking an injury cratering his trade value.
So long as he's healthy, Brooklyn shouldn't hold onto Lopez beyond this year's trade deadline if it wants to maximize its return.
Rudy Gay
On Oct. 29, Stein wrote Rudy Gay was one of three veteran players he expected to be traded this season. One team may be out of the running to acquire Gay, though.
The Oklahoma City Thunder added Jerami Grant on Tuesday. In reporting on the deal, The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski wrote the Thunder had maintained strong interest in Gay and that the Grant trade all but ends that pursuit.
Gay has a player option for 2017 that he's almost certainly going to exercise in the summer. On the open market, the 30-year-old will likely command more than the roughly $14.2 million his contract will pay him next year.
The Kings have a strong incentive to trade Gay before the trade deadline.
He is at least doing his best to boost his trade value. He's averaging 22.5 points on 50.5 percent shooting, including 46.7 percent from three-point range.
"I just want to win. Plain and simple, I want to win," Gay said of his strong start, per CSN California's James Ham. "Coach has put me in a position to help the team."
Some regression is to be expected. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Gay's true shooting percentage (59.5 percent) in 2016-17 is a little over 6 percent higher than his career average (53.2).
Although offensive efficiency has rarely been a hallmark of Gay's game, he'd be a nice addition for a playoff contender this year. He's a proven scorer and would be a great third or fourth option—somewhat similar to the role J.R. Smith occupies for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ben McLemore
The Kings may or may not be looking to trade Ben McLemore.
Turner Sports analyst David Aldridge examined all of the 2013 first-round draft picks who were in line for potential extensions on Oct. 31. Regarding McLemore, he wrote Sacramento has been attempting to deal him for more than a year.
The day before, the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones reported the Kings still see McLemore as a piece for the future:
For the betterment of McLemore's NBA career, Sacramento should consider parting ways with the 23-year-old. Few players have suffered more from the general dysfunction around the organization than McLemore has.
It's doubtful he would have emerged as a star by now on another team, but he would have likely at least become a valuable role player. Instead, he has a 9.1 player efficiency rating and minus-2.2 box plus/minus through his three-plus years in the league, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
There's little reason to expect a turnaround on the horizon, either. He's playing 19.9 minutes per night—the lowest of his career—and is stuck in the depth chart behind Arron Afflalo, whom the team is paying $25 million over the next two years.
The sequence below from the Kings' Oct. 28 defeat to the San Antonio Spurs encapsulates how the 2016-17 season is unfolding for McLemore:
There's little reason to expect McLemore would want to re-sign with Sacramento at the end of the year, so the Kings are better off cutting their losses and taking whatever they could get in a trade.
