NBA AM: The NBA Rumors Have Gotten Silly

Out Of Control Fast

The NBA rumor season usually does not get going until mid-December, when the bulk of free agents signed during the summer become trade-eligible. This year’s trade market expects to be a little more notable, mainly because there are a few teams with pending free agents or guys who have made it clear to their current team that they won’t be there much longer.

Recently, a couple of names have surfaced from other media outlets, which started the trade rumor bonfire a little earlier than expected. Let’s look at each of the names hitting the rumor mill and what we really know.

DeMarcus Cousins

There is an inevitability to the DeMarcus Cousins situation in Sacramento. He has one more year left on his deal after this season and no one outside of Sacramento believes for a minute that Cousins stays in Sacramento beyond his current contract, which puts the Kings on the clock (228 days and counting if you are keeping track).

The one wrinkle that’s somewhat overlooked is the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. League sources have said that the new deal will have a more favorable structure for current contract players and give the current team more of an incentive to get their current guys to sign extensions, something the current deal makes unfavorable.

While Cousins may turn his nose up at an extension, the Kings at this point are unwilling to entertain trades, mainly because they know they can’t get equal value back in a trade for Cousins and the best chance at winning anything this season is with Cousins as the centerpiece.

Now as the season unwinds and the Kings lose ground, their stance may change. But the prevailing thought from those close to the Kings is that ownership won’t sign off on a Cousins trade, mainly because it won’t return anything.

For those teams with an eye on Cousins, the only way to get the Kings to have the conversation is a “blow the doors off” offer. But is that smart considering Cousins’ contract situation and the likelihood he’ll want to hit unrestricted free agency to choose his next situation?

The Kings are 11 games into the season and still trying to figure things out. Kings sources recently said that it was way too early to talk trades seriously, but there is an ever-present reminder that eventually they are going to have to make changes either to keep Cousins happy or to move him off and start over.

Anthony Davis

Any talk regarding Anthony Davis leaving New Orleans is massively misplaced. Davis is under contract through the 2020 NBA season and simply does not have the juice to force his way out of New Orleans without it getting gruesome.

To say that Davis is happy or content with the situation in New Orleans is the furthest from the truth, but he’s not yet to the point where he is going to throw the team under the bus. However, there is a sense that day might be closer than anyone in New Orleans wants to admit.

There are a couple of things worth noting. The clock is ticking on a lot of fronts in New Orleans, and Davis is aware that things may change pretty drastically if the team does not turn the corner when Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans return to the lineup. Holiday is expected to join the team this week, with Evans on target for early December.

From there, the hope is the Pelicans start winning games and dig themselves out of the hole they find themselves in. If that does not happen, it’s unclear how safe Alvin Gentry is as head coach or more importantly how secure general manager Dell Demps is.

Sources close to the situation say that leadership isn’t ready to pull the plug, but that keeping Davis on board is a priority and that being a bottom dweller in the West is not going to be allowed much longer.

There is a high probability the Pelicans make big changes in the immediate future. However, it won’t include Davis.

While there would be no shortage of suitors if the Pelicans ever decided to explore moving Davis, sources close to the situation say it’s never been a consideration and there isn’t much of a scenario that would create one.

Klay Thompson

Much like Davis, Warriors guard Klay Thompson’s name surfaced recently in a trade rumor that was mostly speculation more than anything. The problem for the Warriors is that they are not as good defensively as they’d like to be and there is a sense among NBA insiders that moving off a big salary might make a lot of sense if the Warriors can’t find their defensive mojo.

All of that makes sense. The Warriors have to do new deals for Kevin Durant and Steph Curry and make decisions on Andre Iguodala and reserve guard Shaun Livingston. While ownership has repeatedly said that paying luxury tax is not going to be a problem, is the best version of the Warriors the group that’s on the floor now?

The answer to that is maybe. That is where the rumors are coming from. The problem with the rumor is it’s not based on the Warriors talking about anything. They are not exploring trades; they are not listening to calls on Klay Thompson.

It’s easy to look in from the outside and say they have a super valuable guy who would return a ton of value and he’s not critical to what they are doing, but that’s not at all how the Warriors see the situation.

In fact, the Warriors know full well to get another championship, they will need Klay and sources close to the team found the notion of trading him somewhat laughable considering how manageable his contract will be going forward.

Now, those same sources admitted that not winning a championship this year could change the thinking, but the plan for the Warriors is to see this group through and maybe add a small piece along the way. There is no desire from inside the Warriors to break up the core, which means you can safely cross Thompson off the wish list.

December 15 is the date to circle on your calendar, as that’s when the largest bulk of players signed this summer become trade eligible; that’s also typically when NBA teams start to get serious on the trade front. It’s also when teams have a real sense of where they stand in the NBA and what changes need to be looked at and considered.

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