NBA Rumors: Rounding Up Buzz on Kemba Walker, RJ Barrett and More
One short year ago, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were gearing up for the NBA Finals. Kawhi Leonard was a member of the San Antonio Spurs, and Luka Doncic was an international prospect that most casual fans had not heard of.
Now, it's Leonard and the Toronto Raptors getting ready for the Finals. Doncic has been named to the NBA All-Rookie team, and both James—now with the Los Angeles Lakers—and the Cavaliers missed out on the postseason.
The point is that a lot can change over the course of the NBA offseason. This year is going to be no different. With players like Leonard, Kevin Durant and Kemba Walker slated for free agency—and some intriguing prospects like Zion Williamson and Ja Morant in the draft pool—plenty of league-altering moves are on the horizon.
Kemba Walker
Thanks to some stellar performances in the playoffs, Leonard is going to be a hot ticket in free agency—though he obviously has more pressing concerns right now.
"We're not thinking about free agency," Leonard's uncle and career strategist Dennis Robertson said, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Though he hasn't led his team to a title series, Walker may be equally coveted in free agency. According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, at least four teams are already interested in Walker:
The Lakers and the New York Knicks are particularly interesting here. Los Angeles wants a star or two to pair with James in order to maximize his remaining years. The Knicks are hoping to form a superteam of their own by convincing players like Walker and Durant to come play in New York. Though they missed out on the first overall pick in the draft, the Knicks could still add a premier prospect to that mix with the third selection.
RJ Barrett
While New York may not have a chance at either Williamson or Morant at three, Duke's RJ Barrett would be a nice consolation prize. He averaged 22.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this past season, and he has the tools to be a future NBA star.
In fact, the Cavaliers believe Barrett has as much superstar potential as Morant.
"The Cavs think highly of RJ Barrett," Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com wrote. "That's not a secret. One member of the front office thinks he's on the same level as Ja Morant when it comes to ranking this draft class and Barrett will lead the class in scoring."
While the Cavaliers are clearly convinced of Barrett's upside, there's likely no way they can land him without trading up—unless, of course, both the Knicks and the Lakers pass on him and he slides all the way to five.
This doesn't appear likely, but it isn't entirely out of the question. The Knicks, for their part, may not be completely sold on Barrett as the right pick at three.
Jarrett Culver
According to Sean Deveney of Sporting News, the Knicks may actually like Texas Tech's Jarrett Culver more than Barrett—and they're not the only ones.
"Before the unveiling of the lottery results, some scouts and personnel execs said that if the Hawks had won the No. 2 pick, they would focus on wing Jarrett Culver—and that the Cavaliers might have done the same," Deveney wrote.
Culver was a strong player in his two seasons at Texas Tech. Last year, he averaged 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
If this report is to be believed, Cleveland is actually sitting in a pretty strong draft position. The Cavs will only need Los Angeles to pass on either Barrett or Culver to land one of their top guys in the draft.
Bradley Beal
The Lakers are a bit of a wild card in the draft because there's no telling if they'll actually use the No. 4 pick or if they'll leverage it to bring in a veteran. Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal is one potential target who makes a lot of sense.
Beal averaged 25.6 points and 5.5 assists per game this past season while shooting 47.5 percent from the floor. He has two years remaining on his current contract and would be a powerful bargaining chip for the Wizards if they're willing to move him.
The problem for the Lakers is that it would likely require both the No. 4 pick and one of the team's young players in order to secure Beal. According to Hoop Central, Lonzo Ball is the young player the Wizards want:
This is a sizable price tag for Beal, especially if a player like Barrett drops to four, so Los Angeles may not be willing to pull the trigger on such a deal. The possibility, though, makes them a must-watch team heading into the draft.
