It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s not Christmas, it’s not summer, it’s NBA trade deadline week. Until February 18th, at 3 p.m. EST, the NBA world will be flooded with rumors of impending trades and deals that can shake up the NBA landscape. It’s not always easy to sift through what is credible and what isn’t, so we have compiled the completed trades and the legitimate trade rumors about lottery teams.
Trade: Detroit Pistons receive Tobias Harris, Orlando Magic receive Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova
Read more on the first trade of Tuesday here.
Trade: Charlotte Hornets receive Courtney Lee, Memphis Grizzlies receive P.J. Hairston, Chris Andersen and four second-round picks, Miami Heat receive Brian Roberts
A trade with a lot of moving parts, read more about it here.
Phoenix looking to move Morris, but not for cheap
Suns power forward Markieff Morris has been on the trading block for what feels like an eternity, and Phoenix is still very much looking to send him away. But in his latest NBA Trade Deadline Buzz, Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting the Suns are looking for a young player in addition to a first-round pick in return for Morris, and are willing to hold onto him until the summer if their demands are not met:
“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 trade – and have no intention of bringing him back next season – but teams are starting to think 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.”
McLemore ready to move on, Kings want immediate contributors
Discussing the latest trade chatter, ESPN’s Marc Stein reports Ben McLemore wants out of Sacramento, and the Kings are indeed trying to move him. Tired of the lack of playoff appearances, Sacramento is in the market for impact players:
“The aforementioned McLemore, sources say, is working with the Kings to try to find a new home via trade. Sacramento made the same pledge to veteran swingman Caron Butler as far back as December.
Word is that the Kings, who are desperate to end a playoff drought spanning nine seasons and counting before moving into a new building next season, prefer immediate help in trade talks more than future picks.”
Multiple lottery teams involved in the Jeff Teague market
The Jeff Teague rumors are heating up, and several lottery teams have expressed interest in Atlanta’s point guard. In his trade deadline preview, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reports the Bucks, Nets, Knicks, and Magic have all expressed interest in Teague.
On the Bucks interest, Lowe reports:
“The Bucks chased Teague in free agency three years ago, and they remain unconvinced that Michael Carter-Williams, coming off the bench again, is the long-term answer, league sources say.”
Lowe also reports the Nets’ interest in Teague would be dependent on if they would receive assets in return for Brook Lopez or Thad Young:
“The Nets are testing the market for Thad Young and Brook Lopez — they’d be irresponsible not to, even without a full-time GM — and if they snare a first-round pick for one of them, Brooklyn could flip it for Teague.”
On the Knicks front, Stein reports they are major players for Teague, but are trying to unload Jose Calderon, and his contract that is still on the books for one more year, to create space:
“The Knicks, who also strongly covet Teague in their search for a front-line point guard, are trying their best to get a team interested in Jose Calderon and the $7.7 million owed to the Spaniard next season. Sources say New York is talking up Calderon’s leadership qualities and, in some cases, offering to include big man Kyle O’Quinn to sweeten proposals.”
Conflicting Reports on the Bucks
A couple weeks ago, local Milwaukee news reported the Bucks were looking to move Michael Carter-Williams and Greg Monroe. But how much the Bucks are trying to move either of them is unclear, as national reporters have offered conflicting reports on the pair.
In Stein’s trade chatter piece, he shut down the availability of Monroe, and Jabari Parker, but made it clear MCW was available:
“Sources say that Bucks center Greg Monroe, contrary to recent speculation, is not being made available. Despite the Bucks’ 22-32 struggles in Monroe’s first season in Milwaukee, they’re not looking to surrender their marquee free-agent newcomer before he completes his first season in town.
The Bucks, sources say, are also turning aside the calls they’re getting on young forward Jabari Parker, who continues to recover from ACL surgery, but point guard Michael Carter-Williams is undeniably gettable.”
However, Zach Lowe brought the Monroe rumors back to life, citing New Orleans and Portland as being potentially interested, and that Monroe could be had if Milwaukee could get a first in return:
“The Pelicans still like the idea of surrounding Anthony Davis with a bruiser; they’ve gone back and forth with the Bucks about Greg Monroe, sources say.
The Blazers have pursued Monroe before, and despite Milwaukee striking a strong pose in some talks, Monroe could be had if some suitor tosses in a decent first-round pick.”
And a tweet from Yahoo’s Marc Spears pours some water on the MCW rumors, although his reference to the Sixers shows that nothing is ever definite.
Guard Michael Carter-Williams has been told by the Bucks that he would not be traded, a source said, but the Sixers told him the same thing.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 16, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsSo it’s hard to get a feel for what is happening in Milwaukee, but you definitely can’t rule them out at this deadline.
Pelicans Have Decisions to Make
New Orleans could go a lot of different directions at this deadline, but they are limited due to the injuries to Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans. They could try to bring in Greg Monroe as rumored above, but the most likely scenario is the Pelicans trading stretch forward Ryan Anderson. There will be no shortage of offers for Anderson, it’s just a matter of finding the right one, according to Lowe:
“But the Pelicans are sifting through a pile of potential Anderson offers, and teams have gotten the impression that Dell Demps, the New Orleans general manager, may not have the freedom to toss in a first-rounder after dealing three picks for Jrue Holiday and Asik. Other teams have offered to slap top-of-the-lottery protections onto New Orleans’ 2016 pick, but that hasn’t swayed the Pelicans, sources say.”
Multiple contenders are interested in Anderson, but Lowe cites the Wizards as another potential destination:
“The Wiz are also a natural Anderson trade partner; John Wall would get him all the open 3s he could eat, and Washington has a readymade trade package in the Kris Humphries/Kelly Oubre combo. Oubre’s an intriguing young player at a position of need; the Pelicans aren’t doing much better than that. Washington is reluctant to trade Oubre, but he’s barely playing, and the status quo hasn’t worked.”
The Pelicans are asking for a lot in return, which naturally presents a problem as Anderson is no lock to stay with the team to which he’s traded, as Spears reports:
For any NBA team interested in trading for Pelicans Ryan Anderson, source said he’s very interested in exploring FA so he’d be only a rental — Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) February 15, 2016
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Dwight Howard to Charlotte?
Dwight Howard being available was no secret, but Charlotte being one of his main suitors came as a surprise.
ESPN sources say Hornets and Rockets have discussed a potential Dwight Howard-to-Charlotte trade but have not managed to find workable deal
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) February 16, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThe fit does make sense, as Charlotte coach Steve Clifford coached Howard in Orlando and Los Angeles, but the Woj essentially shot down this rumor as he says the Hornets aren’t willing to give up significant assets for Howard.
Sources: Charlotte’s shown no interest in cashing assets for Dwight Howard. Clifford loved coaching Howard in Orlando, but no path to deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) February 16, 2016
Stay tuned for more updates.
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