NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on Russell Westbrook Trade, Fred VanVleet, Jrue Holiday
The 2020 NBA draft is set for Wednesday. NBA free agency opens Friday. And fortunately for increasingly anxious basketball fans everywhere, the NBA rumor mill has already started churning out trade and free-agent rumors on the daily.
Among trades, Russell Westbrook and Jrue Holiday are two of the more prominent names out there. The former because he's widely considered to be disgruntled after what many believe was a disappointing campaign for the Houston Rockets. The latter because he's a consummate modern guard every team should be interested in should the New Orleans Pelicans fail to solidify an extension.
Atop this year's free-agent class, Fred VanVleet sits as the most coveted. Following an appearance on JJ Redick's podcast, it's become apparent that FVV's top interest in free agency runs akin to Scrooge McDuck's: ducats.
Here we will go through the most recent rumors surrounding all three players and the destinations most closely linked to them.
Will Rose Get Russ?
1 of 3
The Westbrook situation is puzzling. The nine-time All Star seemed happy to go to Houston, made it to the Western Conference semifinals in his one year there and then seems to have requested a trade in the months since.
It's unclear what happened, but the Rockets' relatively disappointing season resulted in offseason turmoil and, now, other teams are swooping in. Among them, the New York Knicks have been the most notable party at play. With ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski describing Westbrook's market as "slow-developing," New York insiders suggest that the Knicks are waiting at the table.
Westbrook embodies the New York mindset in his unflinching confidence, but his shooting inefficiency goes precisely against what the basketball team is in need of.
Still, the New York Times' Marc Stein reports that the Knicks have "weighed" a move to acquire Westbrook, and the New York Post's Marc Berman echoed that notion but with a cost caveat: "If Russell Westbrook is on the discount rack, Knicks president Leon Rose is all-in, according to NBA sources."
New York can likely afford Westbrook's contract and do have some pieces to offer, like Julius Randle, to offset his salary impact. But a deal is contingent upon Rose's ability negotiate away from sacrificing New York's younger pieces or their more valuable draft picks.
VanVleet: Phoenix's (Better) Back-Up Plan
2 of 3
VanVleet has been widely tied to the Knicks ahead of free agency, but that may be better attributed to New York's media buzz than anything else. While FVV's interest in money as his top priority suggests a rebuilding team like New York is in play for his talents, other teams fit the same bill—possibly with better surrounding pieces.
The Phoenix Suns are one such team after causing a stir in the NBA bubble and eliciting forward-looking hype. Understandably, HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reports that FVV is of serious interest to a Suns team in need of a secondary playmaker should their efforts to acquire Chris Paul fall through.
Building around a core of Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, Phoenix has a promising future but needs pieces and time to coalesce into true contention. As such, Paul is an excellent leader and short-term playmaker, but may not quite fit their window.
If their presumed deal for the veteran star fall apart, Scotto expresses that "VanVleet is a guy Phoenix has interest in." While FVV is a more ball-dominant guard and thus less ideal of a fit alongside a gunner like Booker, he's just 26 and boasts the playmaking upside to jell as a third piece if the money is right.
Nuggets Could Resume Holiday Pursuit
3 of 3
Holiday is the type of player every NBA team would love to have at its disposal. A lanky guard who can handle, pass and shoot with decent acumen, Holiday also boasts his peers' confidence as one of the best defenders at his position in the league.
And, topping it all off, he is widely considered to be a class act.
But New Orleans, who are not in win-now mode, can't seem to negotiate an extension with the 11-year veteran, and it appears that he could find himself traded by next season. It's uncertain what teams are willing to part with for a player they believe they can acquire as a free agent two summers from now, but Scotto links the Denver Nuggets as a key candidate.
Around this past season's trade deadline, Scotto reports that Denver was open to moving players like Will Barton and Gary Harris in order to secure Holiday's services. Now, after an incredible run in the NBA playoffs, one has to imagine those conversations are reopening.
The Nuggets made it to the Western Conference Finals thanks to miraculous efforts from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. But if the team truly wants to contend, it needs consistency outside of its big two, which is precisely what Holiday brings to the table. His defense makes up for Murray's ineptitude on that side of the floor, while his selflessness on offense would enhance Murray's talents there.
The market for Holiday should be hot, and fellow Western Conference teams will likely hope that he ends up out East. Still, if New Orleans is confident in Lonzo Ball's future as its point guard, then quality complementary wings like Barton and Harris could fill the void to help youngsters like Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes develop.
