NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Possible Kent Bazemore Trade, Joakim Noah and More
Kent Bazemore is the highest-paid player on a team that lost 58 games last season and largely avoided win-now moves this summer.
The 29-year-old is as logical a trade candidate as they come.
Kelly Iko of USA Today's Rockets Wire tweeted that while Bazemore loves the Atlanta Hawks, he would open to joining the Houston Rockets or Milwaukee Bucks "since he knows both coaches well and would be joining a contender."
Iko previously relayed Houston's interest in finding one more wing defender. It lost both Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute to free agency this summer and only added one stopper in James Ennis III.
Bazemore, once named the nation's top defender in college, would seem to fit that bill, but USA Today's Sam Amick hears the Rockets are "not pursuing or interested" in Bazemore.
If it's a matter of cost, maybe he's too pricey for Houston's taste. This was, after all, a 65-win powerhouse last season that earned three victories in the Western Conference Finals. Ariza and Mbah a Moute played a part in that success, but they weren't central figures.
The Bucks, meanwhile, could use more reliable two-way wings alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. They're also headed by former Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer, who not only gave Bazemore 26-plus minutes per night each of the last two seasons but also ran the front office that signed him to a $70 million deal in 2016.
Bazemore averaged career highs in points (12.9), assists (3.5), three-pointers (1.7) and steals (1.5) in 2017-18.
Six months apart haven't solved everything for the New York Knicks and exiled center Joakim Noah.
As ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ian Begley report, the 'Bockers still plan to cut ties with Noah ahead of training camp.
Unless they can find a trade (very unlikely), they'll jettison the 33-year-old sometime after September 1. The timing will help maintain some flexibility regarding the two years and $37.8 million left on his deal.
While a number of major-money deals signed in 2016 haven't aged well, Noah's has appeared one of the worst. He's barely been healthy for any part of it (53 games in two seasons, 20 lost to suspension), and when his body hasn't failed him, his game has (17.7 player efficiency rating before joining the Knicks, 15.2 since).
Noah's exile stemmed from a heated argument with former coach Jeff Hornacek. While New York has since switched skippers to David Fizdale, that apparently changes nothing for Noah.
Assuming Noah's Knicks career is finished, he'll leave the blue and orange having contributed only 7.9 rebounds, 4.6 points and 2.0 assists per game over two seasons.
The LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers have looked precariously thin at point guard. Their current depth chart only goes two deep at the position, and one is rookie lottery pick Collin Sexton.
They'll be slightly deeper soon.
Isaiah Taylor, who spent last season with the Hawks and played sparingly for the 2016-17 Rockets, has agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with the Cavs, per Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor. The 24-year-old will reportedly come to Cleveland's training camp and compete for the third point guard gig.
Taylor, who played his college ball at Texas, went undrafted in 2016 before spending some times during his rookie season with Houston. But he played 67 games with Atlanta this past year, averaging 6.6 points and 3.1 assists in only 17.4 minutes—numbers he pushed to 11.2 and 5.3 in 26.2 minutes over his final 16 outings.
Shooting is not a strength (career 41.3/24.4/69.9 slash), but he's a good athlete who can help with his decision-making and on-ball defense.
Statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
