NBA Rumors: Trade Reports and Rumblings from Around the League
The countdown to the summer free-for-all in NBA free agency and the trade market is close to ending, as the postseason heads toward its conclusion.
While the on-court action in the NBA playoffs is heating up, the trade market has been tepid with a few juicy rumors occasionally thrown out there.
Currently most of the news surrounding the teams preparing for next season involves the franchises still in search of a new head coach.
Detroit, Orlando and Toronto remain in the interview process, while Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, Milwaukee, New York and Phoenix have already made their hires.
Of the teams in search of a new coach, the Raptors are the most intriguing, as they let Coach of the Year Dwane Casey go after their second-round postseason exit.
Toronto general manager Masai Ujiri has plenty to go over in the offseason, and if the price is right, a trade for one of his star players could be in the works.
According to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, the Raptors will explore all options when it comes to DeMar DeRozan.
Wolstat's report also mentioned the possibility of Kyle Lowry and Jonas Valanciunas garnering attention on the market, but if the Raptors make a deal, they'd have to get a sizable haul in return.
Before any players can be moved, the Raptors need to find Casey's replacement, and Ujiri is hard at work trying to find the best candidate for the position.
San Antonio Spurs assistants Ime Udoka and Ettore Messina interviewed for Toronto's coaching vacancy Thursday and Friday, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Both members of Gregg Popovich's staff interviewed elsewhere, but those teams decided to go in different directions.
As for Casey, he is one of the top commodities on the coaching market because of the success he achieved in Toronto.
Although the failure to get past the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs hangs over him and the Raptors organization, the 61-year-old has a coaching resume any team in need of a reboot would love to have.
Casey's next landing spot could be Detroit, where he's emerged as the top candidate for the head coach vacancy, per Wojnarowski:
Detroit hired Ed Stefanski as a senior adviser to oversee to the hiring of a general manager and head coach, with the latter replacing Stan Van Gundy.
Orlando's coaching search has remained a bit of mystery, but the quest to replace Frank Vogel popped up in the news before Memorial Day weekend, as Michael Scotto of The Athletic reported the team had interest in Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo:
That report was shot down almost immediately, as Graham Couch of the Lansing State Journal reported Izzo won't be taking the job:
Outside of the rumors mentioning the Raptors stars and the coaching vacancies, there hasn't been much in terms of speculation recently since the conclusion of the NBA season is right around the corner.
Once the NBA Finals come to an end in about two weeks, speculation will run rampant, as LeBron James, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and many others could switch teams this summer.
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