NBA Rumors: Top Trade Buzz on John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Lou Williams, More
The truncated 2020 NBA offseason has led to a slew of moves in terms of draft picks, free-agent signing and trades, but the roster moves are likely far from over.
Although the start of the 2020-21 season is less than one month away, there are several big names on the trading block who could still be potentially be on the move before then.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2019-20 season to end much later than usual, and due to the desire by the NBA and National Basketball Players Association to play as many games as possible during the upcoming season, a Dec. 22 start date was agreed upon, as it will allow for a 72-game season.
It remains far from clear what some teams will look like when action begins, but here is a closer look at a few significant players who could be wearing different colors when the 2020-21 campaign commences.
John Wall for Russell Westbrook?
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Two of the NBA's best point guards of the past decade reportedly could be the centerpiece of a trade between the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Wizards and Rockets have discussed a potential swap of John Wall for Russell Westbrook, and Wall has "made it clear" he wants out of Washington.
Bill Simmons of The Ringer (h/t Jeremy Chua of Clutch Points) followed that up by reporting that he heard Wizards All-Star guard Bradley Beal has been "driving" for the trade to be made.
Wall has been the face of the franchise in Washington ever since the Wizards took him No. 1 overall in the 2010 NBA draft. Washington took Beal third overall two years later, but he was always in Wall's shadow until recently.
With Wall being named an All-Star in five straight seasons from 2013-14 through 2017-18, Beal struggled to emerge as a star in his own right.
That changed when Beal was named an All-Star for the first time in 2017-18 during a season in which Wall was limited to 41 games due to injury.
Wall then missed all but 32 games in 2018-19 and missed the entire 2019-20 campaign. With Wall out for the entirety of last season with a torn Achilles, Beal averaged a career-high 30.5 points per game to go along with 6.1 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
While the 30-year-old Wall is a bit younger than the 32-year-old Westbrook, there are major question marks regarding whether Wall will be the same player he was prior to the injury.
Meanwhile, Westbrook is a one-time NBA MVP coming off a season in which he averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game as James Harden's running mate in Houston.
With Harden pushing for a trade to the Brooklyn Nets, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Westbrook's name has come up often in trade rumors.
Acquiring Westbrook would require a substantial financial commitment from Washington in the form of three years and more than $130 million, but a Beal-Westbrook duo could be enough to push the Wizards into the playoffs in Washington.
Meanwhile, Wall arguably complements Harden's skills better than Westbrook since he is primarily a playmaker, so perhaps the Rockets could convince Harden to sign on long-term if they land Wall.
Lou Williams
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As the Los Angeles Clippers continue to reshape their roster after a disappointing 2019-20 season, veteran guard Lou Williams could be the next one to go elsewhere.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, many rival teams expect the Clippers to trade Williams after they blew a 3-1 series lead over the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season.
The 34-year-old is set to enter his 16th NBA season, and he has spent the past three campaigns with the Clippers.
He is best known for winning the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award three times, including twice in a row as a member of the Clips in 2018 and 2019.
Williams averaged 20 points per game or better in each of those two seasons, and while he wasn't quite as good last season, he was still highly productive.
In 65 games during the 2019-20 regular season, Williams averaged 18.2 points, 5.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest, while shooting 41.8 percent from the field and 35.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Although Williams was beaten out by then-teammate Montrezl Harrell for Sixth Man of the Year honors, he remains one of the premier bench players in the NBA.
Harrell is no longer in the fold after signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency and guard Landry Shamet has also been traded away, but the Clippers have managed to replace them with power forward Serge Ibaka and guard Luke Kennard.
It can be argued that the Clippers have actually gotten better this offseason with a couple of new pieces surrounding the superstar duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Trading Williams and getting nothing of immediate worth in return would be a step in the wrong direction, but if L.A. can get something it needs like a true playmaker at point guard, dealing Williams may be worth exploring.
Myles Turner
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The Indiana Pacers reportedly offered up center Myles Turner to the Boston Celtics in a sign-and-trade for Gordon Hayward before Hayward signed with the Charlotte Hornets in free agency.
According to J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star, the Pacers also offered a first-round pick, but Boston held out for an additional starter.
Now, Boston may come away with nothing, although the Celtics are reportedly working on a sign-and-trade with the Hornets.
Per ESPN's Zach Lowe (h/t Joseph Cervantes of Clutch Points), the Celtics' refusal of Indiana's trade offer was due to a lack of interest in Turner. He noted that the Celtics may have been looking to flip Turner and didn't see enough leaguewide interest in him.
The 24-year-old has spent each of his five NBA seasons in Indiana. When he broke out in 2016-17 with 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, the assumption was that he would eventually become an All-Star.
Turner has never returned to those scoring and rebounding totals, although he did lead the NBA in blocks with 2.7 per game in 2018-19.
Last season, Turner averaged 12.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per contest while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 34.4 percent from beyond the arc. He also averaged a career-high 1.4 three-pointers made per game.
While Turner is a versatile player who is expanding his range on offense and protects the rim on defense, he has fallen behind the likes of Domantas Sabonis, Victor Oladipo and Malcolm Brogdon as the Pacers' key players.
Turner conceivably would have represented an upgrade at center for the Celtics, but they instead decided to sign defensive-minded veteran Tristan Thompson.
