NBA Rumors: Rounding Up Buzz on Chris Paul, Nerlens Noel and More
The slow march to June's draft counter weighted by the NBA Finals could be a laborious affair.
But the rumor mill won't allow it.
Outside of the draft itself, free agency boasts a class with names such as Kyle Lowry and perhaps Chris Paul and others, meaning a major reshuffling of familiar faces around the league could go down.
It's the same story on the trade market, where it's fair to freely speculate about the futures of guys like Carmelo Anthony and other big names.
The latest rumors making the rounds deal with some big names, but also lesser ones capable of having bigger impacts than expected down the road. While the Finals wait to tipoff, here's a look at the important rumors to know.
Celtics on the Hunt for a Splash?
It must be the offseason because the Boston Celtics are once again a hot commodity on the rumors market.
A year ago, speculation ran rampant that president Danny Ainge would gun for major trades with so many first-round assets at his disposal, not to mention perhaps throwing a bunch of cash at a free agent.
Ainge at least did the latter, inking Al Horford to a big deal. His offensive ways paired with a breakout year from Isaiah Thomas took the Celtics to an earlier-than-expected trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Now Ainge might be back at it again.
According to CSNNE.com's A. Sherrod Blakely, the Celtics are on the hunt for another big move: "Multiple league sources have told CSNNE.com in recent weeks that the Celtics are focused on landing an All-Star caliber talent in the frontcourt."
A focus on the frontcourt seems plausible given the depth of the backcourt. Joining Thomas is a quality rotation of names such as Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. It could be better—but blowing huge cap space on the area doesn't make sense.
This will open up all sorts of speculation. The report mentions Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin, but he's aging and his lack of defense next to Horford might create problems. It also hints at breakout star Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz. While more preferable from a fit standpoint, convincing him to leave his current contending team for another isn't the easiest feat to execute.
Alas, it's clear Boston will once again command headlines. This time the big-money focus will go toward forwards, while everything likely remains open at No. 1 overall.
The Nerlens Noel Sweepstakes
What, you didn't think Nerlens Noel could have a sweepstakes?
Noel, still all of 23 years old, did well for himself after joining the Dallas Mavericks last year. Over 22 minutes per game, he averaged 8.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and shot 57.5 percent from the floor while emerging as a possible center of the future for Dallas.
Two things to keep in mind about those numbers, too—Dallas didn't go crazy with Noel's minutes as he worked back from a knee injury and the Mavericks didn't exactly have anything to play for.
But it sounds like the rest of the NBA noticed the flashes.
Scout.com's Mike Fisher provided quite the interesting insight when it comes to Noel's status as a restricted free agent: "A source from another NBA team (not the Mavs) tells me that there will be 'multiple' clubs willing to pay Noel his max once he hits the restricted-free-agent market on July 1."
It's hard to imagine the Mavericks want to let Noel walk, meaning they'd match any offer for him that rolls in—though if it's a max deal it might be a tougher pill to swallow.
Dallas has a good thing on its hands here with Noel. Dirk Nowitzki doesn't sound like he's going anywhere just yet, but Noel is a nice rotational guy to have and the eventual successor, provided they don't take the court together. For a rebuilding team like the Mavericks, even a restricted guarantee is a small price to pay for a guy the front office went out, identified and traded for in the first place.
Interest from other teams might just reaffirm what a good move it was.
Chris Paul Linked to Western Conference Contender
After the Celtics morphed into major players, the idea the Clippers are about to blow up is another staple of each offseason as of late, which makes sense.
The trio of Paul, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan hasn't made significant headway in the deep Western Conference and the dollars necessary to keep all in town handicap what the front office can do with the rest of the roster.
With a few major names perhaps headed to the open market, ESPN's Marc Stein dropped quite the interesting nugget recently:
Some context—the San Antonio Spurs indeed have a messy cap situation, but with Tony Parker's future looking limited and Patty Mills headed to free agency, the idea the Spurs would try to make a splash after going down hard in the playoffs this year isn't so outlandish.
There's little doubt Paul has a handful of elite years left at the age of 32 coming off a season in which he averaged 18.1 points, 9.2 assists and 5.0 rebounds whiling bumping his shooting from downtown to 41.1 percent, the best mark of his career.
Slap Paul next to Kawhi Leonard while letting him mentor Dejounte Murray and things look pretty interesting in San Antonio. But it would take the Spurs being willing to make some major payroll changes. Paul himself would need to sacrifice an extension from the Clippers that would come in north of $200 million and all the endorsements power of the Los Angeles area.
It doesn't seem like Paul would sacrifice so much financially for a shot at rings, but if he's tired of the same old song and dance with the Clippers, the Spurs are an organization he's quite familiar with, and there are few better places for him to go to chase rings.
No matter how it plays out, it's clear Paul will dominate the headlines this summer until he makes a decision.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
