RUSSELL ON THE MOVE AFTER ALL? The original belief was that the Warriors, who will certainly be sellers, were set to hold onto All-Star guard D’Angelo Russell and trade him over the summer after they’ve had time to evaluate him for a full season. As it turns out, however, that might not necessarily be set in stone, as it was reported Monday that Golden State is listening to pitches for their talented young ball-handler, with a few teams registering interest.
One of those teams is obvious; the Timberwolves have long been rumored to badly covet Russell, not just for his obvious talent level and their huge need in the backcourt, but because of his friendship with Karl-Anthony Towns, who’s experiencing a rough season in Minnesota, and not due to his own contributions.
But another team popped up as having interest in Russell, one that we hadn’t heard about on this front before, and that was the Knicks. Some of the players that were mentioned as heading back to Golden State in a theoretical swap for Russell were Bobby Portis and Frank Ntilikina, both of who could be solid role players on an elite team, which the Warriors believe they’ll be next season.
MORE TRADE SCUTTLE: The rumors are running rampant now with the trade deadline under three days away. Here’s just some of the latest. (For more, you can check out our Trade Rumors page.)
The Suns and Pistons are engaged in serious talks for a trade centered around Luke Kennard, as part of a proposed deal that would see Detroit land Phoenix’s first-round pick and some decent young pieces. It appears the full rebuild is about to be on in Detroit.
Clint Capela continues to be shopped by the Rockets, and the Celtics popped up as a surprise potential suitor, along with the Hawks, who seem like the odds-on favorites to land him, and the Nets.
Andre Iguodala is prepared to sit out the entire season if the Grizzlies can’t trade him to one of his preferred suitors. Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks don’t care too much for Iguodala at the moment, it would appear.
The Wizards want to improve at the deadline so as to show Bradley Beal they’re serious about turning things around, and one player they are reportedly targeting is Tristan Thompson. He’d be interesting there, setting strong picks for Beal and John Wall and finishing out of the pick-and-roll.
Charlotte and New York have had talks centered around big man Julius Randle, and Malik Monk and Terry Rozier have been discussed as part of those negotiations.
The Heat are eyeing Danilo Gallinari, who would help them improve immediately without jeopardizing their all-important 2021 max cap space.
HOTTEST NAMES ON THE MARKET: We rank the five players who have appeared most in our trade rumors page over the past week, including Andre Drummond and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
WE GOT SHAMS: In the latest HoopsHype podcast, our own Alex Kennedy is joined by The Athletic’s Shams Charania to discuss some of the latest trade scuttle he’s hearing. He drops a couple of tidbits in there that he hasn’t tweeted and haven’t been reported elsewhere, so it’s a must-listen.
SILVER SPEAKS: NBA commissioner Adam Silver discusses how the league coped with the losses of Kobe and David Stern, improving relations between the NBA and China and the upcoming All-Star Game.
FUTURE COACH? John Wall has spent a ton of time rehabbing over the past 13 months, but he hasn’t let it go to waste. Wall is using his time off to sharpen his basketball mind, and he hopes he can use this experience to become a coach or front-office member in his post-playing career.
HEROIC LEGEND: Manu Ginobili further solidified his status as an absolute legend by saving a grandmother who had fallen at the beach while trying to climb a sand dune. From killing bats to saving grandmas, there’s nothing Manu can’t do.
RAGS TO RICHES: A dude who spent over a decade playing semi-professional basketball and eventually gave up on his dream of reaching the NBA following a failed tryout with the Knicks in 2016 turned to fashion, and has now become a successful jeans designer.
NOT ALL ON HIM: First-year Cavs head coach John Beilein has caught a ton of flak this season, some of it deserved, but rookie guard Darius Garland says Cleveland’s failures aren’t all Beilein’s fault, and it has to fall on the players to do better.
OOPS: Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl checked into last night’s San Antonio game – like, legitimately got on the court – without his jersey on. It was hilarious.
SALARY QUIZ: WHO’S THIS NBA PLAYER? 🤔
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