NBA Rumors: Latest News on Reggie Jackson, Joe Ingles Trade Buzz & DeMar DeRozan

Matt York/Associated Press

The opening week of NBA free agency is an odd time of the offseason. Signings cannot become official until Friday, yet it feels as if the market is already cooling off.

The negotiation period began Monday evening, and most of the top free agents are already spoken for. Agreements—both of the free-agent and trade variety—poured in almost immediately. Sign-and-trades have also played a significant role, being utilized to move players like Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan and Spencer Dinwiddie.

While news breaks aren't coming in as rapidly as they did in the 24 hours after the market unofficially opened, things are far from finished. Here we will examine the latest buzz on a couple of deals that could still happen and one that might have been.

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The Los Angeles Clippers made an appearance in the Western Conference Finals before bowing out against the Phoenix Suns. They now face the tough challenge of reloading, possibly without star Kawhi Leonard.

Leonard opted out of his contract and became a free agent this offseason. He's recovering from surgery to repair a partially torn ACL, and his status for 2021-22 is uncertain. While the Clippers may contemplate trying to bring back Leonard, they already appear to have their sights set on bringing back a different key contributor.

According to ESPN's Jordan Schultz, Los Angeles wants to retain guard Reggie Jackson: "League sources say the Clips are hopeful about re-signing Jackson, who shot a career-best 43.3 percent from three this year and tallied nine 20-pt playoff games."

Schultz also noted that Jackson is drawing "plenty of interest" in free agency. According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, New Orleans Pelicans and Denver Nuggets are among the other teams that could have interest in Jackson.

According to Amick, the Clippers "have been operating as if they expected to have Leonard in the fold."

While Leonard may indeed be back in Los Angeles, re-signing Jackson appears to be the Clippers' priority.

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

The Golden State Warriors fell short of making the postseason proper in 2020-21, but they could be serious contenders in the West next term. Assuming that Klay Thompson returns at 100 percent, Golden State's core of Thompson, Stephen Curry, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and James Wiseman will be formidable.

According to The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II, the Warriors would like to add forward Joe Ingles to the mix if he is available—though he noted that a trade would be difficult to make work.

"Acquiring his $13 million expiring contract is difficult," Thompson wrote. "The Warriors would have to send out $10.4 million in salary to make the deal work. The contracts of forwards Eric Paschall and Kevon Looney leave them about $3.4 million short. The Warriors would have to sign rookie Moses Moody, wait 30 days until he's eligible to be traded and then throw him in an offer with Paschall and Looney."

Ingles would be a fine addition to Golden State's rotation given his prowess as a spot-up shooter and three-point ability—he shot 45.1 percent from beyond the arc this past season. However, as Thompson noted, adding Ingles would be tricky.

There's also no guarantee that the Utah Jazz are eager to move Ingles, though Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer reported it as a possibility, saying: "League personnel most often mention Joe Ingles as the Jazz wing to watch."

Considering what a trade would require, if Golden State does trade for Ingles, it's probably not going to happen in the immediate future.

Brandon Dill/Associated Press

San Antonio Spurs forward DeMar DeRozan is headed to the Chicago Bulls via a sign-and-trade. According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, DeRozan will receive a new three-year, $85 million contract from Chicago.

There was a point not too long ago, though, that DeRozan appeared destined to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Los Angeles worked out a draft-day trade to acquire Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards, but according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, LeBron James wanted DeRozan in L.A.

"San Antonio Spurs unrestricted free agent DeMar DeRozan was in talks with James, sources said, but the Westbrook deal eliminated that option because it would have required a sign-and-trade scenario and a Kuzma inclusion," Haynes wrote.

There was also a prevailing thought that DeRozan might take less money to play for one of his hometown teams—though Fischer reported that the notion changed before the Chicago deal.

"It's believed both the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers saw DeRozan as amenable to coming home and chasing a championship in his native city at the taxpayer mid-level exception that would net roughly $5.9 million," Fischer wrote. " That no longer seems to be the case."

According to Farbod Esnaashari of FanNation, DeRozan was indeed unwilling to accept a smaller salary.

"Sources indicated that DeRozan didn't want to take any form of a severe pay cut for either L.A. team, and that's what ultimately ended up happening," Esnaashari wrote.

DeRozan is landing in Chicago, and the Lakers have turned to other options.