BS Meter for NBA's Top News and Rumors – Bleacher Report

NBA training camps have opened everywhere and the 2023-24 season is nearly upon us.
A new year brings fresh news and rumors, either by recapping what could have been this summer or what could take place this upcoming year.
From the team that checked in on Zion Williamson, to O.G. Anunoby’s future with the Toronto Raptors, the Houston Rockets’ reason for choosing Fred VanVleet over James Harden and more, it’s time to fire up the B.S. meter once again to make sense of the league’s latest chatter.

While we heard plenty of chatter on Zion Williamson potentially switching teams this summer, nothing ever came to fruition as he enters Year 5 with the New Orleans Pelicans.
This doesn’t mean other teams weren’t doing their due diligence, of course.
According to Marc Berman on The Knicks Recap podcast, the Knicks “checked in” on Williamson’s availability this offseason.
Of course, the Knicks were tied for the best draft odds in 2019 when Williamson went No. 1 before ultimately landing at No. 3 overall in the lottery and selecting Duke teammate RJ Barrett instead.
Reuniting the pair will have to wait, however, as the Pelicans are choosing to gamble on their oft-injured star, with president of basketball operations David Griffin claiming the team “never had a single conversation that Zion was a part of.” Insert eye roll here.
New York will continue to remain at the forefront of potential destinations when star players become available, both due to market and available trade assets.
It’s absolutely believable that the Knicks would have made a phone call to check on the availability/asking price for Williamson, who remains one of the most talented players in the NBA when healthy.
B.S. Meter: Very low. Nearly every team should have at least checked in on Williamson, especially an eternally star-hungry market like New York.

Everyone thought that Damian Lillard was going to be traded to the Miami Heat this summer. Everyone, that is, except for the Miami Heat, apparently.
“I don’t think it was a surprise to them that they didn’t get Damian Lillard,” said ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “From what I’ve been told, they didn’t have many substantive conversations with the Portland Trail Blazers about Damian Lillard all summer long. Probably the most substantive conversation they had was right after summer league. So it wasn’t a surprise when he was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.”
To say it wasn’t a surprise to see Lillard end up on the Bucks would be like saying it wouldn’t be a surprise to wake up tomorrow with your head sewn into the carpet. We all expected Lillard to wind up in Miami, likely in a three-team scenario, especially since his agent, Aaron Goodwin, went on record to say he wanted to play for the Heat.
Miami sounds like the boy who was interested in the girl, only for the girl to end up with a different boy, and is now playing the classic “I was never really that interested anyway” cover.
Jimmy Butler sure seems like he was planning on having Lillard as a teammate, as he first accused the Bucks of tampering before showing up to media day in his “emotional state.”
The Heat’s offer was never good enough, and enough work to get a third team involved was clearly never completed.
Miami was clearly planning on eventually getting Lillard, as were the rest of us.
B.S. Meter: Very high.

After previously choosing to go into unrestricted free agency with Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet (with neither situation ending well), the Raptors could now face two more flight risks with Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby next summer.
Anunoby has a player option valued at $19.9 million, which is well below his market value, especially with a salary cap that’s jumping 10 percent every year. There’s no way he opts in with a contract extension or free agency as the only other paths forward.
According to Marc Stein on The Stein Line substack, Anunoby will not sign an extension with the team and will indeed test free agency in 2024.
This may have less to do with Anunoby’s happiness with the Raptors and everything to do with maximizing his earnings while entering the prime of his career. The 26-year-old’s max extension right now would be valued at $117 million over four years, or $29.3 million per season. After seeing Jaylen Brown get over $60 million per season on a five-year deal, Anunoby would be wise to wait for unrestricted free agency.
While the Raptors would be thrilled to lock down Anunoby’s elite defense and evolving offensive game for under $30 million a season, this simply won’t be the case.
B.S. Meter: Extremely low. Anunoby would be doing the Raptors a huge favor by signing an extension now.

Paul George remains one of the best wings in the NBA when healthy, as the 33-year-old enters his fifth season with the Los Angeles Clippers and 15th overall in his Hall of Fame career.
In terms of his future with L.A., George holds a $48.8 million player option for next season and is currently eligible for a contract extension.
According to Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times, George said extension talks are “active, but both sides have to be on the same page, and that’s just what we’re trying to figure it out.”
George is set to earn $45.6 million this season and can turn down his player option in favor of a four-year, $220 million extension instead, the max the Clippers can give him.
Of course, there should be some real hesitation on Los Angeles’ part to do so.
A max extension would mean paying George an average of $55 million per year until 2027-28 when he’ll turn 38. That’s a significant commitment for someone who hasn’t topped 56 healthy games since being traded to the Clippers.
We’re not doubting that there are active extension talks ongoing, but this isn’t going to end in a max deal for George, not at his age and with his durability concerns. The two sides could meet somewhere outside of max territory, with an extension in the neighborhood of three years and $150 million looking more likely.
B.S. Meter: No B.S. for talks going on, but B.S. that a max extension is offered and signed.

The James Harden-Houston Rockets reunion rumors seemed very real last season until Houston hired Ime Udoka as head coach. Suddenly, the buzz appeared to cool off and eventually died when the Rockets chose to spend the majority of their $60 million-plus in cap space on Fred VanVleet instead.
Udoka admitted preferring the former Toronto Raptors All-Star over Harden, for one specific reason.
“Nothing against James,” Udoka told ESPN’s Zach Lowe, “but Fred is just a better fit. I coached James in Brooklyn. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever been around. The words ‘Ime doesn’t want James’ never came out of my mouth. It was, ‘Let’s look at the best fit.’ If we want Jalen and the young guys to take the next steps, we need them to have the ball. As for me saying I don’t want James, that was never the case. It was about fit.”
Having someone who could play off the ball better was indeed important, as watching Harden swallowing up possessions would only stunt the growth of the Rockets’ immensely talented young core.
With this being said, Harden was actually the better off-ball shooter last season, hitting 41.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes compared to VanVleet’s 35.0 percent. VanVleet was used far more in this role, however, as nearly half his three-point attempts came off a pass (4.3 attempts per game compared to 4.5 pull-up attempts) while only 1.8 of Harden’s 7.2 attempts were off a pass.
While Harden’s off-court activities may not have been the best influence around the young Rockets either, Udoka made the politically correct statement by using fit as his reason for choosing VanVleet instead.
B.S. Meter: Medium. VanVleet is the better off-ball player, but this likely wasn’t the only reason for choosing him over Harden.

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