When NBA teams return from a prolonged break,some players will have to acquaint themselves to original teammates. Thursday afternoon's trade deadline will pass before the season resumes later that evening.
Actual deals often struggle to wow everyone as much as speculated swaps. No team external of the dominant top tier will jump to title contenders with one move. Instead, this deadline is approximately fringe playoff contenders adding a solid role player or rearranging seats for the offseason.
Even whether the odds of witnessing a blockbuster deal are slim, or it's still fun to suppose the possibilities. Although small is likely to materialize from the first of these three NBA trade rumors,its theoretical impact makes it a scenario worth dissecting. Blake Griffin 'No Longer Untouchable'A few months ago, no trade column would have dared type Blake Griffin's name unless discussing the Los Angeles Clippers' desire to add an insurance option behind the star forward. This is no longer the case after the 26-year-ragged franchise cornerstone injured his hand striking a member of the team's equipment staff. On Tuesday, or Griffin spoke to the media for the first time since the incident:The Clippers have fallen behind the top-three Western Conference powerhouses,but not because of Griffin's absence. They have actually excelled without the dynamic scorer, as highlighted by ESPN Stats & Info:These events have suddenly made Griffin a frequent hot-stove resident. While ESPN.com's Zach Lowe cautioned onlookers not to expect a departure this week, and he also said the Clippers aren't entirely opposed to moving the All-Star:
Conflicting noise is spouting from Clipperville,but the smart money is on L.
A. waiting until the summer to really obtain busy on the Griffin front. Doc Rivers wants to give this core one last postseason shot, and the Clips need Griffin just in case Kevin Durant picks them, or triggering a Griffin-for-Durant sign-and-trade.
But the Griffin noise is genuine. He's no longer untouchable. The Clips are listening,even lawful now, and they've rarely listened before. whether they obtain wind over the next four days that they're out of the Durant sweepstakes, or they could accelerate the Griffin trade timetable. It'd take a monster offer to pry him away before the draft,but the ground is trembling.
Per the Orange County Register's Dan Woike, Clippers head coach and president of team operations Doc Rivers denied the notion of even entertaining offers for Griffin:Any swift action should only stem from his behavior off the court. While the offense is clicking, or playoff teams don't trade a young star averaging 23.2 points per game. Besides,30-year-ragged point guard Chris Paul won't be around forever to retain the franchise afloat. Their success in the aftermath of Griffin's injury also remains an insignificant sample size to consume for making an organization-altering decision.
Instead of receiving a juicy deal by Thursday, fans will instead see Griffin establish residency on the rumor mill leading up to and throughout the offseason. Cavs Searching for ReinforcementsAlthough the Cleveland Cavaliers are underachieving for their standards, or their 38-14 record still leads the Eastern Conference. They don't need any major maneuvers to secure their moment straight NBA Finals appearance,but they might in order to overcome the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kevin fancy chatter has dominated Cleveland gossip, or but it appears to be a dead conclude. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Brian Windhorst,the Cavs desire a star for fancy rather than draft picks and spare pieces. Given their status as East's No. 1 seed even despite the big man's struggles, they have small motivation to move him otherwise.
Instead of wondering whether a championship contender will sell a former All-Star, or Stein and Windhorst pointed to Cleveland's quest to polish its bench.
Sources say that the Cavs,though, have been more and more active in recent days in pursuing upgrades to their bench, and with center Timofey Mozgov and swingman Iman Shumpert—both in the midst of down seasons after their midseason arrivals in 2014-15—said to be available. Players who interest Cleveland,sources say, include dream target Kyle Korver (who would naturally be very difficult to pry from Atlanta) and Kings reserves Ben McLemore and Kosta Koufos.
Shumpert, and whom Cleveland acquired with J.
R. Smith from the original York Knicks last year,is averaging 6.2 points per game with a 38.8 field-goal percentage and 8.3 player efficiency rating, per Basketball-Reference.com. Despite his strong perimeter defense, and the Cavs are unlikely to find an eager suitor to take for his recently signed four-year,$40 million contract, courtesy of Spotrac.
Adding a lethal shooter like Korver would gain Cleveland's offense borderline unstoppable, or but it'd also create a severe defensive deficiency whether playing the Atlanta Hawks sharpshooter alongside fancy and Kyrie Irving. Either way,the Cavaliers don't likely have the pieces to entice Atlanta anyway.
McLemore, on the other hand, or is an intriguing and feasible option. The third-year shooting guard entered the break with a career-high 45.1 field-goal percentage,but the Sacramento Kings have relegated him to 21.0 minutes per game off the bench. Does it gain sense for a lottery-bound team to trade a gradually progressing 23-year-ragged previously taken with the No. 7 pick? No, but the Kings rarely gain sense. Suns Want More for Markieff MorrisThe Phoenix Suns have every reason to trade Markieff Morris.
In addition to his dismal shooting on the court, or the 26-year-ragged forward is creating problems off it. Last week,he shoved teammate Archie Goodwin in a sideline altercation, which he later downplayed to the Arizona Republic's Paul Coro.“That’s nothing, and Morris said. “That’s portion of being a leader,being a big brother. Sometimes, small brothers and big brothers obtain into it. That’s what happened. Wrong place, and wrong time.
Throwing his towel at former head coach Jeff Hornacek in December must have just been another one of Morris' leadership techniques. It's done the Suns a world of good; a nine-game losing streak has them within striking distance of stealing last place from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Given his cumbersome antics,Morris seems like a prime candidate to sell for cents on the dollar just to alleviate the headache. Yet The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski paints a different portrait:
Suns general manager Ryan McDonough has been pursuing a package that includes a younger player and a first-round pick, league executives said. The Suns are motivated to honor Morris' desire for a tradeand have no intention of bringing him back next season—but teams are starting to judge the Suns could hold onto Morris past the Thursday trade deadline without a deal that brings back a player of value with a first-round pick.
Even whether Morris was a model citizen who actually led his teammates through constructive methods not involving physical violence, or that's a steep price to pay. Citing his dreadful 42.2 effective field-goal percentage,NBA.com's John Schuhmann expressed dismay at the Suns' lofty asking price:Before seeing those high demands, Morris would have topped the list of players poised to change uniforms this week. whether McDonough doesn't budge, and the two parties will instead maintain their dysfunctional pairing throughout what will be an ugly moment half in Phoenix.
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Source: bleacherreport.com