NBA Trade Rumors: Examining Top Gossip on 2017 Deadline Day

We are at the point in the NBA trading season where fans are either (a) refreshing Twitter every five seconds, (b) trying to understand the meaning of emojis that NBA players tweet out or (c) recording which NBA player follows or unfollows other NBA players and teams and what those moves mean.

It's a confusing time to be an NBA fan, but the smoke will clear by the trade deadline on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.

Here's some of the latest news around the league.

Jimmy Butler

The Chicago Bulls small forward has been connected to the Boston Celtics on and off in recent days. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported the latest on Wednesday evening.

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The Bulls have told teams that have inquired about Butler — including, according to a source, the 76ers — that they have no plans to trade him.

Of course, one blockbuster offer could change that stance. And the Celtics are loaded with assets. Most league observers expect the teams to at least have dialogue Thursday after engaging in serious talks centered on Butler last June.

At that time, the Bulls exchanged proposals seeking four assets: Jae Crowder, either Marcus Smart or Avery Bradley and the Nos. 3 and 16 picks in the 2016 draft. It would take a similarly large haul for the Bulls to reconsider their current stance on Butler.

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Butler is seventh in the NBA in win shares, per Basketball Reference, and 12th in player efficiency rating among qualified players. He's one of the best two-way players in the league and will make an immediate impact on a Boston Celtics team that sits a mediocre 18th in defensive efficiency, per ESPN.

On the flipside, the Celtics would be giving up a truckload of assets for one player who still wouldn't make the Celtics the clear favorite to usurp the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Eastern Conference champion (provided Cavs power forward Kevin Love, who is out with a left knee injury for at least five more weeks, is healthy for the playoffs).

Furthermore, the 2017 NBA draft class has the potential to be one of the best in league history. Players being projected to get picked around eighth to 10th (such as Malik Monk) would go first in other drafts.

Boston currently owns the first-round pick the Brooklyn Nets, who are all but guaranteed to have the worst record in the NBA this season. They have only nine wins, and the next closest team has 18.

Therefore, Boston would have, at worst, the fourth pick in the NBA draft and a 25 percent chance at the first pick depending on how the NBA lottery ping pong balls bounce. 

Thursday should prove to be interesting in Boston and Chicago.

Paul George

The Indiana Pacers are in a bad spot right now. At 29-28 and losers of six straight, their chances of going deep into the Eastern Conference playoffs with their current core seem remote.

They do have a proven star (Paul George) and some talent to roll with him (Jeff Teague, Myles Turner), but it's not good enough to compete with the East's best.

Therefore, Indiana must decide whether to do its best to reload around George or start all over again and hope a revamped team can prove to have more success in a few years.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports the Pacers are debating that thought at the moment, although nothing seems to be imminent at this time:

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The Indiana Pacers are gauging the trade market on All-Star forward Paul George, league sources told The Vertical.

The Pacers are working the trade deadline on parallel fronts: Pursuing deals that will bring talent into Indiana to sell George on signing a long-term extension – and soliciting deal offers on George that would signal a rebuild around center Myles Turner, league sources told The Vertical.

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Wojnarowski also mentions that the Pacers could have an incentive to trade George before they potentially lose him for nothing. PG-13 is a free agent in the summer of 2018, and he could be open to returning home to Los Angeles and playing for the Lakers. George grew up in Palmdale, which is just north of LA.

David Aldridge of TNT also reported on George Wednesday:

Ultimately, George is likely staying put for now. He should be mentioned frequently next year, though, either at the trade deadline or in free agency.

Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari

Wojnawroski also reported in The Vertical's Facebook Live trade deadline video that the prices for Denver Nuggets forwards Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari are steep. Here's a note from that talk with a hat tip to Michael Gallagher of Rotoworld for the relay:

At first glance, the asking price seems far-fetched, but both Chandler (15.1 PER, per Basketball Reference) and Gallo (15.9 PER) are better players than Bojan Bogdanovic (13.1 PER), who just got traded to the Washington Wizards for a lottery-protected first-round pick, per Wojnarowski.

Granted, that pick will most likely fall somewhere in the lower part of the first round (perhaps the low-to-mid 20s) depending on where the Wizards finish their season, so that wouldn't qualify as a "good" first-round pick, but one has to imagine the Nuggets are looking at that deal and thinking they could get more in return with more talented players.

Of course, the catch-22 is that Chandler or Gallo would presumably improve their new team's season, thereby making the pick fall further down the draft order as their new team goes up in the standings.

Chandler would provide versatility to a team looking for someone to fill gaps at small forward or power forward, and Gallo can fit with a team looking for more outside shooting help. He is making 43 percent of his field goals and 38 percent of his three-pointers this year.

Looking at the current NBA draft order, the Nuggets' best bet might be to strike a deal with Oklahoma City. The Thunder need more scoring depth: Only four of their players are averaging more than seven points per game. Furthermore, Enes Kanter is the only player on the Thunder bench who can provide a consistent scoring output every game, but he's out after breaking his arm punching a chair. Chandler and Gallo would easily fit on the Thunder roster.

Also, OKC is picking 19th right now. That may not qualify as a "good" first-round pick for Denver, but it's not too shabby either.

Denver is looking to wheel and deal, so expect some action out of Colorado on Thursday.