NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Possible Enes Kanter Trade, Patrick McCaw and More
Will we see an impactful trade made before the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 7?
There aren't any Jimmy Butler-level players rumored to be on the market, but there are certainly recognizable contributors who could be on the move.
New York Knicks center Enes Kanter's name has surfaced. The Turkish 26-year-old recently announced he would not travel with the Knicks to London for fear of retaliation for his public criticism of Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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In Cleveland, one player who was signed just a week ago has already been waived while the lone star player remaining with the Cavaliers may or may not be traded.
Get the latest on Kanter and three other players below.
Enes Kanter
Kanter has been moved to the bench, and he's not pleased with it, according to ESPN.
The move to a more reserved role may not be a personal slight on Kanter, who is averaging 14.4 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game, but rather the franchise's decision to "develop the youth," as The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov wrote:
"The franchise stocked the roster with rookies and young players and second-chance lottery picks, hoping to use this year to develop the youth, find a reclamation project that hits and set itself up for the future. It is, undoubtedly, a building-block season in which fans revel in defeats and tweet out Zion Williamson GIFs."
Vorkunov also noted that head coach David Fizdale informed 33-year-old Courtney Lee that he would see a reduction in playing time.
Kanter is only 26 years old. Does he not fit under the umbrella of "the youth" or "second-chance lottery picks" (Kanter was drafted No. 3 overall in 2011)? Apparently not.
Vorkunov reported that New York has "received inquiries about (Kanter) from other teams" but no deal is imminent and a buyout has not yet been considered.
Kanter is set to become an unrestricted free agent next season.
Patrick McCaw
It seems odd from the outside that anybody would willingly want to leave the Golden State Warriors, but McCaw did.
The 23-year-old forward who was drafted by the Warriors told Joe Vardon of The Athletic that he has "nothing against Golden State" and he "wanted a new opportunity to move on."
So, McCaw was presumably happy when the Cavaliers gave him an offer sheet that the Warriors didn't match at the end of December. McCaw signed a two-year, $6 million non-guaranteed deal only to be waived by Cleveland a week later on Sunday.
The timing of the waive is not a coincidence as McCaw's contract would have become guaranteed if he were on the Cavs' roster today.
Shams Charania of The Athletic has provided the next layer in a tweet, stating that the Cavaliers are actually interested in signing McCaw if he clears waivers.
Perhaps Cleveland is hoping to sign McCaw to an even cheaper deal?
Kevin Love
Kevin Love is the last remaining remnant of the 2016 NBA champions, unless you count an outcasted JR Smith.
Love has not played since October with a toe injury, but he has been an active member of the roster in the way of trade rumors.
The New York Times' Marc Stein wrote that "Denver has maintained a longstanding fondness for Love, which makes you wonder if the Nuggets will be tempted to make a win-now play for the All-Star forward amid their wholly unexpected rise to the top of the West."
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported to the contrary:
"Sources reiterated recently that trading Love is not high on the Cavaliers' list of priorities. The front office has not had deep discussions about that. Even in the midst of this losing season, dropping to the worst record in the NBA, the Cavs' vision hasn't changed."
Love will be trade-eligible beginning on Jan. 24 after signing his four-year contract extension in July.
A conflict has quietly been brewing in Memphis this season, and it reportedly came to an end on Sunday.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon reported that the Grizzlies and Parsons have agreed to a "separation" that will see the 30-year-old leave the organization while his agent tries to find a solution with the Grizzlies:
"The sides will work to find a trade for Parsons, sources said. The Grizzlies haven't shown a willingness to include a first-round draft pick to move Parsons' deal but have been open to accepting a longer-term contract for him, league sources said. The team still believes Parsons will have value as an expiring contract, even if it takes into the offseason to make a deal."
The 2019-20 season is the final year on Parsons' current contract, and he will be owed $25.1 million.
Wojnarowski and MacMahon also detailed that Parsons had become frustrated with Memphis, specifically general manager Chris Wallace, because of the team's handling of his injury status. Parsons has not played since the third game of the season because of knee soreness.
However, he has been medically cleared since Dec. 21 and has said he is healthy—to the point where Parsons yelled "Let me play!" at Wallace during a scrimmage, according to Wojnarowski and MacMahon.
While Parsons' contract may cause hesitancy for potential trade partners, his health should not if Parsons is to be believed.
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