With the NBA’s Feb. 9 trade deadline fast approaching, the rumour mill is swirling all around the league.
Here’s a look at some of the latest going around the hot stove.
One of the biggest prizes to be had at the trade deadline this season is San Antonio Spurs big man Jakob Poeltl.
A former ninth-overall pick of the Toronto Raptors in the 2016 draft, Poeltl has played his last five seasons with the Spurs and has blossomed into one of the most productive centres in the NBA over the last two.
This season he’s averaging 12.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game on 63.4 per cent shooting from the field.
Poeltl is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, “the Spurs have had a standing offer to Poeltl for his maximum extension of four years and $58 million since before the season, but that has been declined.”
As Charania reported, the 27-year-old has drawn interest from the Raptors and Boston Celtics.
The Athletic's Jared Weiss is reporting that the Spurs would be looking for a couple of first-round picks in any deal for Poeltl.
Another hot ticket at the deadline could be Detroit Pistons sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic.
According to Charania, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans and Raptors are all in pursuit of the 33-year-old forward.
Bogdanovic is enjoying the most productive season of his NBA career, putting up 21.2 points per game and shooting 41.5 per cent from three-point range on nearly six attempts per contest.
The fact Bogdanovic is putting up those kinds of numbers for a rebuilding Pistons team makes him a prime trade candidate, hence all of the interest.
However, he did sign a two-year extension with Detroit that will kick in beginning next season, meaning there’s some interest in keeping him as a productive veteran who can help shepherd the Pistons’ youngsters.
As The Athletic’s James Edwards III reported, Detroit is willing to listen, and if it can get an unprotected first-round pick out of a Bogdanovic deal, then it might be more willing to pull the trigger on a deal.
The Minnesota Timberwolves could trade former all-star guard D’Angelo Russell at the deadline, Charania is reporting.
Russell is on an expiring contract with $31.3 million this season and, according to Charania, there isn’t any sign of an extension heading his way.
In 43 games, Russell is averaging 17 points and 6.2 assists per game this season, but the Timberwolves have disappointed, barely clinging to a play-in spot, leading the team to potentially look for other options at point guard.
That other option Minnesota could be looking at is the Utah Jazz’s Mike Conley.
As Charania reported, the Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers have expressed interest in acquiring the 35-year-old veteran.
Trading Conley would open up the starting point guard spot for Collin Sexton in Utah and if the Timberwolves are serious about dealing Russell, bringing in Conley as his replacement seems logical given his wealth of experience.
As for the Clippers, long-time NBA insider Marc Stein first reported their interest in Conley with the injury to current backup point guard John Wall. Wall, however, could be included in a trade, according to Charania.
Like every season since he’s been in the league, seemingly, John Collins is on the trading block and there are plenty of teams checking in on the talented 25-year-old forward.
As Stein has reported, the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards have all checked in on the current Atlanta Hawk.
Charania is reporting that the Jazz are actually the “most engaged team” on Collins trade talks, with Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt floated as potentially attractive pieces in a deal.
Collins is in the midst of his least productive season of his career since his rookie campaign in 2017-18, averaging 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on 50.4 per cent shooting. With the arrival of Dejounte Murray in Atlanta, coupled with the continued high usage of Trae Young, he’s often been relegated to a distant third scoring option with the Hawks.
A change of scenery might restore his near-all-star form again.
The New York Knicks are looking to trade Cam Reddish, according to Stein.
Reddish, who has only played 20 games this season, has fallen out of Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau’s rotation and hasn’t seen any floor time in New York’s last 23 games.
Among the teams interested in dealing for Reddish, as Stein reported, are the Bucks, Lakers and Mavericks.
A highly touted former No. 10 pick of the Hawks in the 2019 draft, Reddish has struggled to find his footing in the NBA through four seasons in the league so far.
Washington Wizards forward Rui Hachimura, the No. 9 pick in the 2019 draft, is also on the trading block, according to Charania and Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Hachimura is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. The qualifying offer is estimated to come in at about $8.4 million but with Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma locked into Washington’s forward positions, it isn’t very logical to look to keep Hachimura.
In particular, according to Charania and Robbins, while Kuzma has a player option for next season that he will likely opt out of and has garnered trade interest, the Wizards want to re-sign him. Thus, Hachimura is the odd man out.
Hachimura was a highly regarded player coming out of Gonzaga in 2019 but hasn’t seen his NBA career flourish the way many thought it would.
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