NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on LeBron James, DeAndre Jordan and Robin Lopez
For all those NBA teams hoping that LeBron James would waive his no-trade clause due to his frustrations with his Cleveland Cavaliers' team, think again.
League sources told Yahoo Sports' Shams Charania that James wants to see the season through with the Cavs despite their struggles and will not waive the clause before the trade deadline.
Any attempt to move James by Cleveland would signal a major rebuild, but that strategy would have to go through the four-time MVP first and James is adamant about staying put and playing the season out.
Still, teams around the league have made no secret about their hopes of James dropping the no-trade, per Charania.
James, though, wants to see if he can compete for a championship with Cleveland and is hoping they will be able to make a deadline deal that will improve the team's chances for another trip to the Finals.
The Cavs making it to a fourth-straight Finals may prove more difficult than in recent years because they are struggling mightily of late. They have lost nine of their last 14 games and are currently the third seed in the Eastern Conference heading into Tuesday night's game against the Orlando Magic.
James, 33, is averaging a team-high 26.3 points, 8.7 assists and eight rebounds per game this season. He signed a three-year, $100 million contract in 2016 after delivering Cleveland its first-ever championship.
DeAndre Jordan on the move?
With Blake Griffin now gone, all eyes are on the Los Angeles Clippers' DeAndre Jordan.
The Clippers are still listening to potential deals for Jordan and so far, they've been in talks with the Houston Rockets, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Washington Wizards and the Portland Trailblazers, reports ESPN's Zach Lowe.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Portland have since backed away from their pursuit of Jordan.
Wojnarowski went into further detail on the Lowe Post podcast (h/t The Oregonian's Sean Meagher):
"I think that for Portland, they checked in with the Clippers on DeAndre Jordan--obviously Neil Olshey drafted DeAndre Jordan when he was the GM of the Clippers--I'm told that Portland has backed away a bit from that. If you're Portland and you do DeAndre Jordan, hypothetically, you're locked in financially; that's your team, and you're giving DeAndre an extension at 30 years old for four years or five years or whatever it would be and you better be ready for that to be your team--and is that team good enough? as of this weekend I had been told that Portland was not--again, I wouldn't say they were ever aggressive, I think they have to make the calls, everyone is going to make the call--but that doesn't seem to be a road they're going to go down. That could always change before Thursday."
The Rockets were very close to landing Jordan last year, but the growth of Clint Capela cancels out their need for his services.
The Wizards put their hat in the ring, per Lowe, but haven't offered any packages that have gained traction. The smart money is on offering up Marcin Gortat, Jason Smith, Kelly Oubre and a first-round pick. Time will tell if that or any other package will be enough to land the former All-Star.
The only rub is the salary numbers may be difficult to line up. Washington is already over the luxury tax and Los Angeles is under it and trying to stay there.
More teams would have interest in Jordan if he opted into his deal for next year, but he hasn't done that yet, per Lowe.
Are the Bulls looking to move Robin Lopez?
The Chicago Bulls have opted to join the trade talks before the deadline and are seriously entertaining deals centered on Robin Lopez, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
They have also spoken with the Oklahoma City Thunder about Tony Allen's expiring contract. The Bulls acquired Allen, along with Jameer Nelson, Omer Asik and a first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in the trade that sent Nikola Mirotic to NOLA.
Allen has yet to join the team and could be waived if he's not traded by the deadline.
For his part, Lopez is aware that his name is involved in trade talks and understands that it's part of the job.
"Guys are used to it," Lopez told Johnson. "At the end of the day, it's just us and the other team and basketball. I don't think anybody is focused on anything else."
Chicago has also made Jerian Grant available and is expected to move Nelson's expiring contract as well.
Since the Bulls traded away perennial All-Star Jimmy Butler, they have been in rebuild mode. Now, they can focus on letting their young talent get more meaningful minutes.
"The way I look at it is it's a great opportunity for guys that have been out of the rotation to get the chance to go out there and play meaningful minutes," head coach Fred Hoiberg told Sam Smith of NBA.com. "Starting with Paul Zipser, and also Cris Felicio."
"These guys have been working extremely hard, and these are the moments when you're in that position that you live for, to get this opportunity and hopefully go out there and take advantage of some minutes that they haven't been given."
With an 18-35 record, Chicago is in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and will be in position to realize their lottery aspirations.
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