NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on John Wall, Buddy Hield and Los Angeles Clippers
With the biggest free agents in the 2020 class all but signed, the focus of the offseason can now fully shift to trades.
Across the league, there are several players to keep an eye on, and the rumor mill continues to churn out buzz about who could be shopped. From John Wall and Russell Westbrook to James Harden, there are big names who could be dealt in the not-so-distant future that would send shockwaves throughout the league.
Wall has reportedly made it known that he no longer wants to be in Washington. The franchise seems to have moved on with Bradley Beal as the centerpiece while Wall dealt with an Achilles injury that kept him out all season.
James Harden and Russell Westbrook are reportedly dissatisfied in Houston. Daryl Morey's exit from the Rockets organization makes them a bit of a wild card, and the former Thunder teammates are apparently looking for a way out.
Long story short, this offseason could still get much wilder or at least set the stage for a momentous trade deadline next season.
Here's the latest buzz surrounding some of the bigger names who could be dealt.
Teams Want to See Wall Play Before Trade
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Shams Charania of the Stadium and The Athletic reported that Wall has made it known to the Wizards that he wants a trade. However, whether they can make that happen may largely depend on him.
If Wall wants out of Washington he's first going to need to succeed there.
There are several reasons why the 30-year-old guard is nearly untradeable. The first being his massive contract, which has him making $41 million in 2020 followed by $44 million in 2021 and a $47 million player option in 2022.
The second is the fact that Wall hasn't played an NBA game in nearly two years, which makes the first point even more untenable.
If the Wizards have any hope of getting something in return for Wall or simply get him off the books, he's going to have to show something on the floor. Fred Katz of The Athletic published a piece on teams that could be interested in trading for Wall and had this to say:
"Trading him before he plays in another game could be more difficult than waiting until he steps on the court again with the hopes he'll impress other teams. People who have watched him play in offseason scrimmages say he looks good, but teams will want to see him in competition that matters before they put any stock into adding him."
It certainly makes sense that teams are going to want to see Wall play before any deal can happen. No front office could sell taking his contract on to fans with a chance that he is completely shot after a serious injury.
Even before the injury, Wall's numbers were not becoming of his salary. He was averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 assists per game while shooting just 30 percent from three-point range. With much of his game based on his elite speed and athleticism, it's going to be dicey whether he will come close to salvaging his trade value with his play.
No Viable Trade Market for Buddy Hield
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The Sacramento Kings face an important decision on Bogdan Bogdanovic. The wing signed a four-year, $72 million offer sheet with the Atlanta Hawks, and the Kings have until Tuesday to decide whether to match.
That decision doesn't come in a vacuum for the Kings. One thing they'll need to consider is what that means for Buddy Hield and his future with the organization. The guard was relegated to sixth-man duties last season and was the subject of trade speculation, but nothing has come of it so far.
Sam Amick of The Athletic that Hield "clearly wants to move on" but there is "no real, viable market for a Buddy Hield trade".
That could leave the Kings saddled with a disappointed Hield, who has four years left on his deal with cap hits of around $20 million in each season after 2020 when he is owed $24.9 million.
It's a long-term commitment in today's climate where two- and three-year deals tend to be the norm. However, Hield does bring a lot to the table as a scoring option. He put up 19.2 points per game and is a career 41.1 percent three-point shooter.
There may be no market for Hield right now when everyone feels good about their free-agent signings and chances to compete, but if/when a team's season gets off to a slow start, it's hard to imagine a market for the guard wouldn't materialize.
Do the Clippers Have 'Something Up Their Sleeves'?
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The Los Angeles Lakers have made strong moves to retool their championship roster. Gone are Danny Green, Javale McGee, Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo. In their place are Dennis Schroder, Montrezl Harrell, Wesley Matthews and Marc Gasol.
The moves have not just been impressive, they've set the bar high for anyone else who wants to be considered a contender. That distinction especially applies to their intercity rival Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers obviously lost Harrell, which is a big blow. But signing Serge Ibaka takes some of the sting out of that. Their other major move this offseason was the trade that sent away Landry Shamet and brought back Luke Kennard, which is an upgrade and gives them more play-making.
But given what the Lakers have done, they appear to be out-manned by the Lakers at this point.
There's belief around the league that could change, though.
Writing about the disparity between the Lakers and Clippers' offseason Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times dropped an interesting nugget from his talk with front offices.
"If you ask around the NBA, people expect the Clippers to have something special up their sleeves," Woike wrote."'They’ve got to, right?' one Eastern Conference executive said."
Maybe that special something was the Ibaka signing, but that seems unlikely if the goal is to compete for an NBA title while they still have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George committed to the team. With little flexibility via the cap one has to think there's a trade out there the Clippers could be mulling.
It might not be during the offseason, but as the trade deadline approaches in 2021, the Clippers are definitely a team to keep an eye on to make a bold move.
