NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Rumblings on Team Plans as 2019 Draft Approaches
With 27 teams officially into the 2019 NBA offseason, whispers of potential summer plans are growing louder and more frequent.
The Association is often just as entertaining off the court as on it, and it sounds like the next few months will be no exception.
From a small-market club hoping against hope to convince a superstar to stay put to a major-market franchise making Plan B preparations, we'll dive into the juiciest rumblings below.
Pelicans Not Taking Anthony Davis Offers?
Anthony Davis requested a trade away from the New Orleans Pelicans in January, but so far his franchise hasn't budged.
Don't expect that change in the immediate future.
New executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin is not taking new trade offers "because he is still adamant about changing Davis' mind about wanting out of New Orleans," an NBA source told Marc Berman of the New York Post.
After winning the No. 1 pick at the draft lottery, the Pelicans can put an interesting collection of talent around Davis, starting with Jrue Holiday and presumed top selection Zion Williamson. The source told Berman that Griffin believes a Davis-Holiday-Williamson Big Three could be "as good...as any team in the NBA next season," especially if Kevin Durant leaves the Golden State Warriors in free agency.
Even after the lottery jackpot, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium that Davis still wanted out. But Griffin plans to meet with the player next month for a face-to-face that could decide the next chapter of this massive story.
"We'll probably sit together in Los Angeles at some point around the draft workouts that take place there," Griffin told reporters. "... Really, it's to look at each other in the eye and talk about what's important to us. We're very optimistic from previous conversations with Rich Paul, his agent, and with all of the people here that know what he's about."
While a Davis deal still seems the likeliest outcome, the Pelicans don't appear close to accepting that fate.
Bradley Beal Is Lakers' Plan B?
While the ideal offseason for the Los Angeles Lakers involves completing a blockbuster deal for the Brow, that's true of many teams. So, even if the franchise has all its eggs in that basket now, it must prepare for the possibility that someone else wins the Davis sweepstakes (assuming there's even a Davis sweepstakes at all).
The Lakers are already ahead on that front, according to Sporting News' Sean Deveney:
"The Lakers have other players they're targeting in trades, according to league sources. Chief among them is Wizards guard Bradley Beal, though with the Wizards not yet hiring a front office honcho, no decision has been made whether to trade Beal. But LA will be in position to make an attractive offer if Beal is put on the block."
Deveney hears the Lakers also have interest in Kyle Lowry and Derrick Favors. Given their respective ages and abilities, it's no surprise Beal is at the top.
The 25-year-old booked his second consecutive All-Star trip this season, while averaging 25.6 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 assists. He's also under contract for the next two seasons for the relatively reasonable total of $55.8 million, per Basketball Insiders.
While not quite a tier-one superstar, Beal checks a lot of boxes as a potential LeBron James sidekick. He is a knockdown shooter from distance, a defender who can handle various assignments and a secondary playmaker.
It's unclear how seriously Washington will entertain trading him, and if it does, it will look to maximize the return given its lack of assets. But with L.A. needing more win-now assistance for the 34-year-old James, it's presumably more willing than most to part with prospects and/or draft picks.
Bulls Eyeing Lonzo Ball?
The Chicago Bulls have one point guard with a guaranteed contract for next season. It's Kris Dunn, who has failed to impress since being selected as the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft.
Needless to say, Chicago is in the market for a new floor general (or at least competition at the position).
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reported that Lonzo Ball "intrigues the Bulls as a pass-first, defensive-minded point guard with positional size who can best maximize the talents of Lauri Markkanen, Zach LaVine and Wendell Carter Jr."
The one snag—multiple executives told Johnson that Dunn's trade value is "low to nonexistent." In other words, even packaging Dunn with the No. 7 pick might not be enough to appease the Purple and Gold.
A possible workaround, though, would be Chicago's involvement in a three-team swap with the Lakers acquiring Davis from the Pelicans. Maybe New Orleans covets Dunn and that pick. Maybe Chicago would rent some of its cap space to take back one of the Pelicans' overpriced contracts.
If the Lakers included the fourth overall pick, the Pelicans would have three top-seven selections in this draft. If New Orleans opts for a future-focused post-AD rebuild, it could dramatically reshape the roster with blue-chip rookies-to-be.
