NBA Trade Rumors: Examining Top Reports Entering 2018 Combine
Roster-building is a yearlong endeavor for NBA teams.
Even as the postseason field still features seven participants and young ballers embark on Chicago for the 2018 NBA Draft Combine on May 16-20, executives continue working all available avenues for improvement.
Scouring the trade market might be at the top of that list. Lest we forget, last summer featured multiple blockbuster deals with the Boston Celtics acquiring Kyrie Irving, the Houston Rockets landing Chris Paul and the Oklahoma City Thunder swinging for the fences with Paul George.
More heavyweights could soon be on the move, particularly with so many teams facing a tricky free-agency period due to cap-crunched budgets. Let's run through the latest entries to the always entertaining trade-rumor mill.
Miami Considering a Whiteside Deal?
The Miami Heat are on the hook for another two years and $52.5 million to Hassan Whiteside, assuming he picks up his $27 million player option for 2019-20.
They would reportedly like to wash their hands of that commitment, a predictable desire given how they slashed the big man's workload this season (from 32.6 minutes to 25.3) and cut deeper into it during the playoffs (15.4).
"There is strong support among numerous people inside the Heat to trade Hassan Whiteside," per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, "and the question this offseason becomes this: To what measures will Pat Riley go to dump...his contract."
As one can imagine, Whiteside's trade value isn't exactly overflowing at the moment.
Miami fared 4.4 points better per 100 possessions without him this season. Come playoff time, that figure ballooned to 10.8. Tack on Whiteside's obvious displeasure with his declining role and a leaguewide move away from interior-bound bigs, and you're probably looking at what the Heat have to give up to rid themselves of their high-priced center as opposed to what they'd fetch in return.
Is shedding that contract worth forgoing Justise Winslow's future? The Heat would have a hard time attaching other sweeteners, considering they're already down two first-round picks (this year and 2021) and presumably wouldn't want to cut bait already with 2017 lottery pick Bam Adebayo.
Then again, cutting costs should probably be atop this front office's to-do list. Miami already has $116.2 million on next season's books—with valuable floor-spacer Wayne Ellington unsigned—and no foreseeable path to championship contention.
Maybe there's a suitor who sees something more in Whiteside. After all, he paced the entire Association in a stat category each of the previous two campaigns (rebounding in 2016-17, shot-blocking the year prior).
But as it looks right now, a Whiteside swap is more likely a sacrifice than an immediate path to more talent.
Sixers, Lakers Circling Kawhi Trade Waters?
The strange saga of Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs seems far from its conclusion.
The 2015 and '16 Defensive Player of the Year and 2014 Finals MVP suited up just nine times this season due to a lingering quadriceps injury. Whether that spells the end of his tenure in the Alamo City is open to interpretation, but there are enough smoke clouds for potential trade partners to start surfacing.
"Over the last few weeks, league sources told the Express-News the Sixers could make a push for Leonard this offseason and include their highly coveted 2018 first-round pick," Jabari Young reported for MySanAntonio.com.
The Philadelphia 76ers own the Los Angeles Lakers' first-rounder, provided it doesn't land between Nos. 2-5 (in which case it will be conveyed to the Boston Celtics). Package that with some of Philly's top prospects—like Dario Saric and last summer's No. 1 pick, Markelle Fultz—and maybe that's enough to entice the Spurs.
San Antonio, of course, has other options. It could try patching things up with Leonard, perhaps by offering him a supermax contract extension. Or it could seek out other deals, as multiple executives told Sporting News' Sean Deveney last month they expect the Lakers to pursue a trade for the L.A. native.
If this seems like a lot of buzz for a player who barely logged any action this season, it shouldn't.
When healthy, Leonard might be the NBA's premier two-way player.
He's been selected to four All-Defensive teams (2014-17) and received All-NBA first team honors in 2016 and '17. He ranked fifth on ESPN.com's real-plus minus in 2016-17, when he posted personal bests in points per game (25.5), assists per game (3.5) and player efficiency rating (27.6) while finishing third in the MVP voting.
Vegas recently weighed in on Leonard's future and gave San Antonio the highest odds of employing him next season (minus-170; bet $170 to win $100), per OddsShark's Stephen Campbell. But the 76ers (plus-400), Los Angeles Clippers (plus-700) and Lakers (plus-900) weren't too far behind.
Leonard is expected to meet with the Spurs brass soon to discuss their partnership, per ESPN.com's Michael C. Wright. No date has been scheduled for that meeting yet, per ESPN.com's Chris Haynes.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball Reference or NBA.com.
