NBA Trade Rumors: Tony Parker and Josh Smith on the Move? Enes Kanter at 2?

1. Tony Parker on the move?

The biggest rumor in the NBA as of last night, according to CBS Sports News was that the San Antonio Spurs were looking to trade Tony Parker for a lottery pick, with theToronto Raptors or the Sacramento Kings being the likely destination.

At first it’s easy to be shocked, and possibly appalled, by the notion of trading a point guard like Tony Parker—especially with a below-average draft class.

However, if you are San Antonio you have to realize that your team is running out of time to become a top team in the NBA—it became obvious in the first round against a much younger and quicker Memphis Grizzlies team. The team still has George Hill and Manu Ginobili running the points often.

The ideal place for the Spurs to deal Tony Parker would likely be to the Toronto Raptors for the fifth pick. I could also see them trading Richard Jefferson in the deal, with Jose Calderon and Ed Davis returning to the Spurs.

To me, the Spurs will get more than just a pick for Tony Parker. Ed Davis would be a very nice player to get in the deal—he could then learn under Tim Duncan.

The next question is, who would the Spurs draft if they did get a lottery pick? ESPN’s Ric Bucher has said that it would likely be Klay Thompson or Jonas Valanciunas (as reported by NBC Sports ProBasketballTalk).

At 5, Valanciunas would make a lot of sense due to the Spurs lacking in size, especially at center. However, if they feel confident with their current situation at point, then I can see Klay Thompson being a very good pick.

As I said in my mock draft though, I see Thompson as a poor man’s Brandon Roy with his skills.

2. Atlanta shopping Josh Smith?

Another player rumored to be on the move, according to NBC Sports ProBasketballTalk, is Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks. More specifically, he may be on the move to the Orlando Magic, who are desperately trying to please Dwight Howard and seeking to get him to stay in Orlando.

For Orlando, it is the right idea and wrong player, in my opinion. Smith would definitely improve there defensively, but offensively he struggles with his shooting and decision making, especially from the outside.

The move would not be awful, but with a player that plays so closely to the rim and with Dwight already down there, it could become congested. However, it may turn out to be positive as they could get more second-chance opportunities and teams will have a fit trying to score in the paint.

The trade would seemingly have to include Brandon Bass, J.J. Redick and possibly Daniel Orton in the deal.

For Atlanta, if Daniel Orton is included it would be a good deal for them as they would get a true power forward to battle with some of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Although he would certainly not be the answer at power forward, they would also get some much needed depth from him.

I could also see them looking at Jameer Nelson, but that is only if they do not have confidence in Jeff Teague—which, after the playoffs, I would say that is not the case, but they could still use a player like Nelson.

Overall, I think Orlando would be better suited going after a guy like Lamar Odom, Kevin Love, Paul Milsap or even Michael Beasley.

They need a guy that can spread out the defense and make the lane less congested for Dwight Howard to dominate the paint.

I could see potentially see them working a deal with the Lakers, centering around players like Lamar Odom and Jameer Nelson. The Lakers would likely have to require a bit more for Lamar Odom, but they could easily find a replacement and could use Andrew Bynum to do so.

If Orlando were to make a deal for Josh Smith, it would not be a bad deal; it would improve the team. But they need someone to spread the floor like Rashard Lewis did when he was on top of his game; in my opinion, that was a huge reason for why they got to the championship.

3. Enes Kanter at 2?

Rumor has it that the Timberwolves are having a tough time deciding between Enes Kanter and Derrick Williams—if Kyrie Irving goes No. 1, that is. At this point, according to ESPN’s Andy Katz, it is neck-and-neck and will likely come down to the last minute.

To me this is an obvious pick at 2—and it's Derrick Williams—but it makes sense that the Timberwolves would want Enes Kanter. The way the team is set up, they need a center more than they need a tweener-forward since they already have one in Michael Beasley and Kevin Love is an undersized power forward. So, Williams would essentially have to play small forward there, which he wouldn’t mind, but in my opinion he is more of a power forward.

Enes Kanter would give them a center (which they need) that can go alongside Kevin Love. However, both are probably better shooters than they are post players, which means second- chance opportunities will be hard to come by and may exploit them on both sides.

It almost makes more sense for Minnesota to either trade down for Kanter, or to deal Kevin Love or Michael Beasley, and look for a more legitimate post player.

Look for the Timberwolves to talk to multiple teams up until their selection and don’t be surprised if they deal it away.

One possible scenario, besides the Lakers rumor the other day, would be Cleveland. Cleveland trading Anderson Varejao and the fourth-pick to Minnesota for the second-pick would make a lot of sense to me.

Either way, look for Minnesota to be very active and expect Michael Beasley’s name to come up a lot in trade discussions during the draft and/or this offseason.