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Buying or Selling Latest NBA Trade and Offseason Rumors – Bleacher Report
With the NBA Finals nearly complete (unless the Miami Heat can pull a 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers-esque comeback), the focus now shifts to what promises to be an exciting offseason.
A trio of future Hall-of-Fame guards in James Harden, Damian Lillard and Chris Paul will play a big role in potential player movement this summer, as all could switch teams via free agency or trade.
We also have an update on the Golden State Warriors’ plans for next season, as Draymond Green can become an unrestricted free agent and Klay Thompson enters the final year of his contract.
It’s time to buy or sell the latest offseason rumors.
Anfernee Simons has developed into a borderline star during his five years in Portland, a three-level scorer who continues to get better every season.
The young shooting guard averaged 21.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and shot 37.7 percent from three in his first season as a full-time starter and is under contract for the next three years at a very reasonable $77.7 million.
Despite his blend of current production, upside and contract, the Blazers are apparently willing to move off of the 24-year-old if it means adding more veteran talent around Damian Lillard.
As The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor noted: “My league sources say that Portland’s interest in building around Lillard is genuine. The front office is exploring deals for the No. 3 pick, and it’s also open to moving Anfernee Simons.”
Opposing teams should be interested in bringing Simons on board, especially since his age fits with a rebuilding squad, yet his experience going into Year 6 can help a contender as well.
There’s also a fair amount of talent left untapped, as Simons still only has 97 career starts under his belt and has been forced to take a back seat to players like Lillard, CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr. throughout his tenure in Portland.
Giving him a bigger offensive role could turn Simons into an All-Star.
We can debate on whether trading Simons, the No. 3 overall pick and other assets to build around a soon-to-be 33-year-old Lillard is the right thing to do, but it does appear to be the plan in Portland for now.
Buy or Sell: Buy the Blazers willing to move Simons in a deal for veteran talent.
A disappointing second-round exit combined with a roster that could climb close to $500 million next season with luxury-tax penalties means changes could be coming this summer for the Warriors.
Draymond Green has a $27.6 million player option he’ll need to make a decision on by June 29, Klay Thompson is extension-eligible and entering the final year of his contract, and Jordan Poole is beginning a four-year, $128 million extension after shooting just 34.1 percent during the postseason.
Even with the core of Stephen Curry, Thompson and Green aging further out of their primes, Golden State isn’t expected to execute any major shakeups this offseason.
The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami wrote: “I think the most likely scenario is that the Warriors keep most of this together for at least one more season. That’s what Curry wants. His opinion sort of matters.”
Curry shouldn’t want this Warriors team back as it is, because it’s not good enough to win titles moving forward. At least, not if Poole plays the way he did this past postseason.
Letting Thompson and Green play out the final year of their contracts in the hopes of signing them to more team friendly deals next summer is fine. Curry is still one of the best players on the planet, and Andrew Wiggins is on a good contract for the next four years. Kevin Looney, Jonathan Kuminga and Gary Payton II can all be strong contributors as well.
Instead, Golden State needs to shop Poole to find some better-fitting pieces, especially if it can cut salary in the process. This team isn’t that far away from winning a fifth title, but simply running back the same squad that lost in the second round shouldn’t be the strategy.
Buy or Sell: Buy the Warriors running things back, sell the idea of this being a championship-caliber team if they do.
While we wait on the Phoenix Suns to make a decision on Chris Paul and James Harden to make his own decision on whether he wants to re-sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, could the two star guards actually be traded for one another?
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wrote: “And then there’s the idea of Phoenix exchanging Paul for James Harden, which has quietly circulated around some league personnel since the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. A reunion between Harden and Durant makes for great fodder, and the bearded point guard could feasibly pick up his 2023-24 player option on the condition Philadelphia trades him to the Suns.”
Well, this would be interesting.
Harden’s player option ($35.6 million) and Paul’s salary number ($30.8 million) are close enough to be traded outright with no other players added in. The Suns would get younger and acquire the better overall player in the deal with Harden, while Philly avoids the Beard bouncing in free agency for nothing in return. A Paul-Joel Embiid pick-and-roll would be highly successful as well.
There’s a few reasons why this isn’t likely to happen, though.
Harden would be giving up a lot of guaranteed money by picking up his player option instead of signing a new multi-year deal with either the Sixers or a team with cap space like the Houston Rockets. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst previously reported Harden could still land a four-year, $200 million contract.
This would also be a hugely disappointing outcome for the Sixers, who gave up multiple first-round picks along with Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond to acquire Harden just 16 months ago. Paul is still a solid starting point guard, but he’s 38 and has a history of playoff injuries. As good as players such as Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are, swapping Harden for Paul probably eliminates the 76ers as true title contenders.
While this is still technically a possibility, don’t expect it to happen.
Buy or Sell: Sell. There’s a lot of stars that would need to align for such a deal to happen, with Harden needing to sacrifice a lot of money in the process.
As the Blazers explore ways to shake off a 33-49 season and return to the postseason, upgrading the starting center position is one potential path.
This could include checking the price on Deandre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns, a player Portland has “valued” in the past, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Would the Blazers want Ayton as a pick-and-roll partner for Damian Lillard, or a centerpiece to build around in a post-Lillard world?
It may not matter.
Ayton, 24, is both young enough to be part of a rebuild and experienced enough (entering Year 6 and with 45 playoff starts) to help out no matter what Portland decides to do.
He’s also under contract for the next three seasons, giving him enough time to get comfortable in his new home before both sides need to agree on a new deal.
Even after averaging 18.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and shooting 58.9 percent last season, there’s plenty of room to grow for Ayton. He’s not a good passer or three-point shooter yet and could become a better rim protector as well. His offensive role isn’t going to increase now as a third option behind Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, so a move to a team like the Blazers may be in his best interest as well.
Finding the right deal (Jusuf Nurkić and Shaedon Sharpe for Ayton?) isn’t going to be easy, but it could make sense for everyone involved.
Buy or Sell: Buy. Ayton works in Portland both as a win-now piece or in a rebuild.
If Paul ends up becoming a free agent this summer, there will be no shortage of teams that could use the 12-time All-Star’s services, even at his age.
Among the teams interested, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, are the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors.
Los Angeles makes the most sense geographically speaking for Paul, whose family resides there. He also purchased an $11.1 million, 12,000 square foot mansion in Encino in 2020.
There are also plenty of on-court reasons to return to L.A. as well. The Lakers can carve out cap space with some roster maneuvering, meaning the 38-year-old wouldn’t have to settle for a veteran’s minimum contract like other destinations on this list.
There’s also his relationship with LeBron James and the fact that this team was one of the final four standing this season that should appeal to Paul.
The Clippers are also loaded with talent and bring plenty of fond memories, but they don’t have anything bar a vet minimum contract to offer. There’s always injuries concerns revolving around Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and not a lot of young talent or future draft picks to improve the roster. Head coach Tyronn Lue would need to make one heck of a pitch to get Paul to choose the Clippers over the Lakers.
The Knicks and Warriors don’t even have starting jobs for Paul, and moving across the country to New York and further from his family doesn’t seem appealing. San Francisco doesn’t get Paul any closer to Los Angeles, as it’s about the same distance away as Phoenix. The Warriors can only offer a veteran minimum deal as well.
The Lakers are clearly the best fit for Paul when factoring in location, role, contract and opportunity to win.
Buy or Sell: Buy the Lakers (and possibly Clippers) as serious landing spots for Paul, sell the Knicks and Warriors.