NBA Rumors: Latest Gossip on Jahlil Okafor and More Ahead of 2017 Trade Deadline

It's rare the NBA trade deadline lives up to the hype, but fans should be enjoying the drama of 2017's edition.

First the Sacramento Kings had a sudden change of heart and shipped DeMarcus Cousins away. Then the Los Angeles Lakers shuffled some seats in the front office and committed even further to the youthful rebuild, trading away Lou Williams, as reported by ESPN.com's Calvin Watkins.

Good luck figuring out what comes next.

In an ordinary year, everything would halt, with the quota of great moves met. But this isn't a normal year, not with Jahlil Okafor and some of the other biggest names in the Association on the trade block.

As the mill keeps churning ahead of Thursday's 3 p.m. deadline, here is a look at the latest.

Andre Drummond Enters the Mill

Here is a name many probably didn't think they would see.

After all, why would a rather young Detroit Pistons team flirting with the playoffs let go of a 23-year-old center like Andre Drummond? He's averaging 14.6 points, 13.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the floor.

Numbers aren't everything, but Drummond seems like a big part of the future in Detroit.

Unless he isn't, because according to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Pistons aren't exactly telling teams Drummond is a no-fly zone:

Maybe this is just a case of the Pistons doing their due diligence and making sure a can't-miss offer doesn't work through the pipes. But usually a player of Drummond's importance to a team's plan sits under a rather strict no-trade order.

If one looks deep for a reason, the Pistons might believe Drummond has already hit a ceiling. Now in his fifth year, the Connecticut star's points-per-40-minutes rating has dropped three years and running, according to ESPN.com.

Alas, one has to think the Pistons have a huge asking price here. Drummond isn't just a young productive center and a foundational piece, but a guy under an affordable contract through 2020-21, per Spotrac.

A team ripping such a commodity away from the rebuilding Pistons (27-30) will have to offer quite the package. 

The Brook Lopez Saga Finally Changes

Speaking of centers on the block, Brook Lopez could offer Drummond some advice—don't wait with bated breath. 

Lopez has been on the block for what seems like years, though no team has wanted to meet the apparent silly asking price by the Brooklyn Nets. To the stubborn credit of the front office, the Nets still haven't budged on the price of their best player.

Until now.

Stein revealed the mood in Brooklyn just changed:

It's not hard to see why—the Kings didn't exactly get a great return for Cousins, the best center in the game.

Lopez was never going to land the Nets a pair of first-round picks, and he certainly won't now with the market set. The smart move probably would have been to lower the asking price as far as a year ago to make sure something of quality comes to Brooklyn in exchange for the veteran's departure.

Alas, Brooklyn will keep trying. Lopez is now 28 years old and averaging 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game. He has one more year on his deal after this one, per Spotrac, which means would-be suitors might wait until the offseason to see if the price lowers on a 7'0" center flirting with a career-worst rebounds average that has never climbed past 8.6 during a season.

The Nets might find it easy to blame the Kings for setting the market here. Misguided, yes, and the new asking price might also be too high.

A New Scenario for Jahlil Okafor

Though he entered the league in 2015, Philadelphia 76ers big man Jahlil Okafor is a veteran of the trade block and rumor mill as well.

Okafor has somewhat odd decisions made by the front office in Philadelphia to thank. The roster is lopsided, as he sits on a clogged depth chart alongside Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel.

A guy who has seemed like a quality target for many teams basically since his arrival, Okafor has been connected to a new team—the Indiana Pacers.

ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne teamed with some colleagues to drop the rumor: "Indiana seems to be one of the more active teams right now as they try to get Paul George some help. One name Jeff Goodman, Chris Haynes and I have all heard they're pursuing: Jahlil Okafor."

The first makes perfect sense, even if one could just as easily think the Pacers were getting ready to ship Paul George off to the highest bidder.

Instead, the Pacers might look to add the 21-year-old center. The former Duke standout has seen a serious minutes' dip during his sophomore campaign while Embiid continues to break out. He averages 23 minutes per night compared to 30 as a rookie, averaging just 11.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game as a result.

Grabbing Okafor might be the last piece the Pacers need to convince George to stick around, as he would pair with Thaddeus Young down low and play well with a point like Jeff Teague.

The only question is whether the Pacers have enough in the way of assets to do a deal. If they do, the Okafor rumors might come to a merciful end.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.