THE TRADE BLOCK is heating up. Again. According to Cleveland.com, “influential figures in the Cavaliers locker room” are open to acquiring disgruntled PF/SF Markieff Morris from Phoenix. Whether or not “influential figures” means LeBron, we don’t know. However, the Cavs do have a $10.5 million trade exception that is perfect for Morris’ reasonable $8 million contract, and the quality forward’s trade value is at an all-time low… The Pelicans have also reportedly rejected a Kings offer to swap New Orleans’ PF Ryan Anderson with Sacramento’s SF Rudy Gay. An interesting proposal for sure, but the money wouldn’t work anyways if the trade was just these two players, so it would depend on who else was involved, which again, we don’t know… Celtics PF/C David Lee is rumored to be available, and for good reason. For one, Lee is a disastrous fit in Boston, as he was in Golden State, because these two teams are first and fourth in pace, respectively. Lee, who is better suited in post-up situations and to crash the glass rather than spread the floor and hustle up and down, is thus an unnatural fit. In addition, the 32 year old’s $15.5 million expiring contract makes him the perfect chip to even out the money if the Celtics were able to flip some draft picks for say, C DeMarcus Cousins (or even for someone realistic too!).
PAU GASOL, however, is for sure the biggest name who is on a team that actually wants to trade him (sorry about that, DeMarcus). Chicago has reportedly put their three of their best big men, Gasol as well as C Joakim Noah and PF/C Taj Gibson, on the market. It is no secret that the Bulls have way too much frontcourt depth, as impressive youngsters PF/SF Nikola Mirotic and rookie PF/C Bobby Portis have each proved that they are deserving of more minutes. Chicago has made it clear that they are looking to get younger, so a young wing player to pair with star SG/SF Jimmy Butler would presumably be at the top of their wish list. Don’t be surprised if Gibson is the one traded, but of the available three big men, Gasol is perhaps the most valuable, averaging 16.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. Wasn’t one of the reasons that Pau left the Lakers was to escape the constant trade rumors?
THE NETS now need a long-term replacement at both head coach and General Manager, after owner Mikhail Prokhorov fired HC Lionel Hollins and pushed GM Billy King out of his job. The top rumored candidate is Bryan Colangelo, son of Jerry Colangelo, who is eminent Suns owner/GM and current Chairman of the 76ers. Colangelo has served as GM of both his father’s Suns as well as the Raptors, winning the NBA Executive of the Year award in 2005 and 2007. Danny Ferry, the ex-GM of the Hawks who was fired for making controversial remarks about Luol Deng and Africans, is also rumored to be a candidate. Regarding the head coaching vacancy, rumor has it that Prokhorov has “reached out” to former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, and iseven going after eminent Kentucky basketball head coach John Calipari. Landing Coach Cal is a long shot, but then again, so are the Nets in general.
DEMAR DEROZAN is going to get paid. The Raptors’ star shooting guard has a player option for a mere $9.5 million next year in Toronto, which he is sure to opt out of. Obviously this doesn’t mean that he’s necessarily heading south, but what it does mean is that DeRozan can demand up to a $25 million per year max contract, and already both the Raptors and his hometown Lakers are each reportedly willing to offer the two-time All-Star a deal around that figure. The soon-to-be unrestricted free agent is having a career year this season, putting up 22.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game on a solid 44.6% shooting from the field. Obviously an eight figure paycheck is awesome, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure there are two worse NBA cities than Toronto and LA in terms of income tax.
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