The offseason flurry of NBA transactions has slowed to a trickle as we move deeper into July, but there's still no shortage of rumors to analyze as teams look to get deals done and prepare for the future.
The New Orleans Pelicans are in need of a center, and it seems do not They want Brandon Ingram, and to make matters worse, no one else seems interested.
Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards is talking big, Jalen Brunson could take his first steps with the franchise and Stephen Curry poses a bit of a threat to the Golden State Warriors.
Here we take a look at the latest rumors and reports around the league and determine how seriously to take them. Now that the first few days of free agency have passed, most of the usual smokescreens and leaks have died down, but you still need to look at the rumors with a critical eye.
And that's what the BS meter is for.
Jalen Brunson may soon become an even more beloved figure in New York.
With most players saying they value winning above all else, the All-Star point guard may put his words into practice by sacrificing cash to help the Knicks remain as competitive as possible for years to come.
Brunson will become an unrestricted free agent in 2025, at which point he could sign a five-year, $269 million maximum contract, or he will be eligible to sign a four-year, $156 million extension on July 12.
But according to The Athletic's Fred Katz, “Brunson understands the challenges the current CBA poses to team construction, which is one reason he's considering a less expensive extension, according to league sources.”
Many players say that winning is the only thing that matters to them. I don't mean to criticize them in the slightest, but we can all agree that most of them are lying. They also want to make as much money as possible, which is a goal that is at odds with maximizing their team's success.
Even before the new CBA introduced tougher penalties for teams that spend the tax, it was true that total payroll was more or less limited.
If players only cared about winning, a few superstars would band together and run a dynasty while taking minimum salaries, but that will never happen because players (rightfully) want to make as much money as they can in their very short careers.
Winning is important, but most of the time, only priority.
BS Meter: Almost none
Brunson is no hero — he'll likely receive life-changing money on his next contract — but the grit, maturity and leadership he showed with the Knicks lends credence to this report.
If the 27-year-old is willing to accept a nine-figure bid, New York could end up with an actual ring in the coming years.
Whether Anthony Edwards is serious or not depends on how you interpret his trademark smile.
The smirk he sometimes flashes at press conferences is more like a wink, a subtle message that he knows he's saying something outlandish, that he gets the joke.
At times, the 22-year-old's face seems defiant, as if someone is going to challenge his over-confident assertions… because he actually believes them.
Judge for yourself:
In this case, some context might help determine what the smile means.
Edwards also told reporters, “We have LeBron, KD and Steph. So I don't think anybody can win with just those three on the court. You throw in two average guys like us and we'll be fine.”
Not mentioned are Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis, who have also won either a championship or an MVP, two honors lacking for a “regular guy” like Edwards.
BS Meter: High, but we're prepared for it.
Edwards is just staying on brand. He's always seemed to embrace the idea that believing in yourself is a superpower, but he knows he's not really at the top of the U.S. team pecking order.
This is just another example of how he expresses extreme self-confidence without somehow coming across as arrogant — it's a talent, and it's endearing — but he understands the Parisian class system.
Just a few hours into July, the New Orleans Pelicans lost the two players who accounted for nearly all of their playing time at center for the 2023-24 season.
Jonas Valanciunas, who started all 82 games as the No. 5, signed with the Washington Wizards in free agency. The Pelicans also sent Larry Nance Jr., who often closed out games as a small-ball center, to the Atlanta Hawks in the trade that brought Dejounte Murray to New Orleans.
It's no surprise the Pelicans are looking to bolster their midfield.
According to The Athletic's Will Guillory, “Cleveland's Jarrett Allen and Orlando's Wendell Carter Jr. are both players the Pelicans have coveted for a long time.”
Allen will be most useful as a rebounder, lob threat and paint defender, but Carter is a bit lighter in space and offers intriguing spacing potential — he shot 37.4% on three-plus long-range attempts per game last year, something New Orleans essentially didn't have in the Zion Williamson era.
Carter may be the easier player to acquire. The Magic just signed Jonathan Isaac to a five-year, $84 million extension and also re-signed fellow center Goga Bitadze to a three-year, $25 million deal.
Both big men have played key roles in elite defenses in Cleveland and Orlando, respectively, and either would be a significant step up from Valanciunas and Nance, as well as the Pelicans' current lineup of centers (which are virtually none).
BS Meter: None
It's hard to find a playoff-caliber team with bigger holes at a single position than what the Pelicans face at center.
An undersized unit with Williamson running wild as the No. 5 with space on the court will produce the points and highlights, but will never be able to hold up defensively against the best teams in the most crucial moments.
If New Orleans wants to have a chance in the tough Western Conference, they need to acquire either Allen or Carter.
Brandon Ingram is 26 years old and has been selected to the All-Star team and averaged at least 20.8 points per game in each of the past five seasons.
So it's a bit odd that the New Orleans Pelicans couldn't find someone to take him with one year remaining on his contract and don't want to keep him at market price.
Per The Athletic's Will Guillory, “Both the Pelicans and Ingram agree that entering training camp without a contract extension is a mess they want to avoid. That scenario obviously doesn't make sense for the Pelicans. It's hard enough finding value in him now, but trying to move him on an expiring contract at the trade deadline would be a nightmare.”
Ingram's situation is closely tied to New Orleans' center deficiency, which we discussed earlier. Ideally, the Pelicans would trade him for Allen or Carter. But in reality, it's not that simple.
Ingram is not a good fit for Orlando, and Cleveland, like other potential suitors, seems hesitant to pay the 2020 All-Star a big extension or potentially lose him in free agency in 2025.
This is a hypothetical problem for the Magic and Cavs, but a real and urgent one for New Orleans: The roster is severely unbalanced, Williamson out of Duke has never been an ideal fit, and it's hard to imagine a scenario in which Ingram and the Pelicans could survive a full year of trade negotiations.
Even if Ingram signs an extension with New Orleans, it will be difficult for him to feel valued. The bad vibes could continue.
BS Meter: Zero
Everything you read and hear about Ingram and the Pelicans revolves around New Orleans. do not have I want to do something.
Keeping him on his current contract, trading for the current offer, or signing an extension — none of these options seem acceptable to the Pelicans — leave Ingram with no good options left.
Golden State Warriors fans still reeling from the departure of Klay Thompson only had a few days to recover before being given even more nightmare fuel.
As much as it hurt to lose Thompson to the core of the Warriors' dynasty, nothing compares to the potential pain of seeing Stephen Curry in a different uniform.
In comments to Yahoo! Sports' Vincent Goodwill, the four-time champion acknowledged there's at least one possibility that he could follow Thompson out of the team at some point.
““I mean, I can definitely say that I want to be a Warrior for life,” Curry said. “That's always been my goal and I'm sitting in this chair right now saying that, but like you said, life, especially life in the NBA, is a tough environment and things change quickly.”
BS meter: Maximum redline
I'll give my ruling on this one right away with very little preamble because things can change quickly in the NBA, but not in this case.
Curry is on a path to becoming a one-team like few before him, and even the rare modern examples of this type of player have come close to being snatched away from their teams: Kobe Bryant outright demanded a trade, Tim Duncan nearly signed with the Magic, and even Dirk Nowitzki was on the verge of leaving in 2010.
In the end, none of these players left the team, but they all ended up closer to the team than Curry ever was.
Sure, the hometown aspect of the Charlotte Hornets loomed as a distant threat, but never in the last 15 years has it looked even remotely likely that Curry would leave, and Charlotte, currently in a rebuild, still doesn't look particularly appealing.
Curry isn't going anywhere. Never.
Stats provided by NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary information provided by Spotrac.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter:Good Hughes), and subscribe to his Bleacher Report Hardwood Knocks podcast. Dan Favell.
