Thursday Trade The NBA trade season has unofficially begun with Alex Caruso heading west and Josh Giddey heading north between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls. With the draft less than a week away and free agency coming up shortly after, teams are now starting to get serious about making moves to finally prepare for the start of the 2024-25 season.
As always at this point in the calendar, rumors are starting to fly. On Friday, Yahoo's Jake Fisher dropped some bombshells about players we knew were available (Zach LaVine) and players we didn't (Mitchell Robinson, Walker Kessler). Let's take a look at today's latest rumors.
Knicks sell Mitchell Robinson?
The Knicks are in a tricky position when it comes to re-signing key center Isaiah Hartenstein. Due to Early Bird Rights, New York can only offer him a 75% increase over his previous salary. That would be roughly $72.5 million over four years, which the Knicks would be happy to pay, but it's possible that an opposing team could top that. Initially, it seemed like the Oklahoma City Thunder were prepared to do just that, but now that they've acquired Alex Caruso, they appear to have cooled on Hartenstein. For now, it looks like Hartenstein will remain with the Knicks.
But Robinson, New York's other main center, is currently reported to be a trade target. This makes financial sense for the Knicks. Robinson's salary is relatively low, but injuries have made him a somewhat unreliable player. If New York is willing to trust Precious Achiuwa as a low-cost backup center, swapping Robinson for another high-value player could strengthen the team overall. The tag team of Hartenstein and Robinson has been New York's big weapon in recent years, and the Knicks frequently shift time to one or the other depending on the opponent and who is playing well that day. Achiuwa doesn't deserve the same treatment. He'll definitely be a backup. But a healthy, affordable backup can be more valuable than a better but more expensive and injury-prone player.
Are the Jazz considering moving Walker Kessler?
The Jazz have vacillated between win-now and win-later modes the past few seasons. They've pursued veterans like Jrue Holiday and Dejounte Murray, but deals fell through and they sold valuable players at the deadline to maximize their draft position. It's still not clear what their long-term approach is, and Friday's news doesn't help. Fisher said Utah is open to a move for young center Walker Kessler.
Kessler is one of the best young rim protectors in basketball. He's still on a cheap rookie contract, which he'll have for another two seasons. But the Jazz have had the most success with Kessler off the bench this season, as he doesn't fit next to a big man with no shooting prowess in John Collins. Kessler could get a big payoff if the Jazz were to trade him. There would be multiple buyers, even if you just consider the teams looking to trade up to acquire the lookalike Donovan Clingan ahead of Wednesday's 2024 NBA Draft. It's rare for a rebuilding team to move a player this young and talented, so the Jazz may have something bigger in store.
Bulls struggle with Zach LaVine move
Chicago's Caruso trade was odd in a few ways. Here's what's noteworthy: Caruso would have been Chicago's best chance to get rid of Zach LaVine's bad contract. A team without a ton of draft capital to trade may have been willing to take LaVine if they could get Caruso on the cheap. Caruso is gone, but Fisher said the Bulls haven't made much progress on a LaVine deal yet. It's unclear how the Bulls plan to move LaVine without the added perk of Caruso.
Fisher cited the Sacramento Kings, to whom he signed an offer sheet as a restricted free agent in 2018, as a possible fit for LaVine. The Kings have reportedly been focusing on acquiring big-name players over the past year, and a deal involving Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter could be a good fit. However, Sacramento just re-signed Malik Monk to a four-year, $78 million deal, so they don't need a high-priced shooting guard. A trade could happen, but it would be difficult for the Bulls to move LaVine's contract.
Could Paul George opt in and get traded?
On Thursday, it was revealed that the 76ers had rInterest in Paul George as an offseason target has reportedly wanedThis was a big blow for George to the Clippers, who are currently refusing to give him a four-year max contract, according to reports from the team. While the Orlando Magic or Oklahoma City Thunder could potentially fill the void, there is currently no clear destination for cap space to cede to the Clippers in negotiations.
Of course, he may not need that. ESPN's Brian Windhorst offered an alternative on Friday morning's Get Up. “If Paul George were to move teams, it would likely be a situation where he opts into his contract and requests a trade,” Windhorst said. George has a $48.8 million player option for next season, and there is precedent for a soon-to-be free agent to use that option and be traded to a team that can't afford to sign him directly. Chris Paul, for example, did that to get to Houston in 2017, but it's risky. There's a world in which opting in doesn't immediately get you the move you want, as James Harden experienced last offseason. George now has a chance to sign one last long-term deal. It may not be worth the same a year from now. It's a risky approach for George, but it's a path worth pursuing if someone is willing to give him the max contract.
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