2016 Rumor Mill: Trades and Players to Watch

Few and far between is a nice way of putting it. He's had only one other game at 30 points this season although he's had a nice stretch the last 10 games.

Coincidentally, Harden has looked worse and the Rockets are 6-4 over that stretch.

 

I hope we find a nice home for Brandon Bass. I like him a lot. He's been a trooper for us. I'd love to keep him around as a great bench piece to fill in from time to time, but he deserves better than what we've given.

If the Lakers are determined not to take back long-term cash, I'm not sure what kind of trades they can find for him... I'm sure the Bulls would love him. Bass for Heinrich works and Heinrich is on a one-year deal. Personally I'd try to nab McDermott from them (I know the Lakers were high on him in the draft), but if they don't want contracts on the books, then go for a different cheap veteran.

Get Heinrich, cut Huertas.

 

Very nice game from Bass tonight. 18 points and three blocks. Sell high I say.

 

Love him as a mentor going forward, but if we could get a pick or a vet locked up for a few years at a low price tag, I'd be on that. He won't be back.

 

I addressed this in another thread, but I guess this one is more appropriate.

Cousins I don't think moves anywhere. If he does, it's to the East Coast so that the Kings don't see him much. The C Bags make the most sense.

Love doesn't make much sense. Right now his value is as low as it can be and that's because his weaknesses are being exploited big time. He's not a great shooter, he's only a decent passer, and he can't defend mobile bigs. He looks basically like Randle but without the aggression. I don't want to pay for Love when we've got so many Power Forwards anyway. Right now, I don't think Love is an actual draw for FAs.

Noah is a good move, but we don't have to trade for him. Offer him something like 4/20 or 4/24 this summer and that might do it honestly. I mean the guy gets hurt a LOT. I would love his activity and on-court leadership here though.

Monroe I wanted two years ago, but he hasn't shown much growth. He hasn't developed much as a defender and he needs the ball to be effective. With D'Angelo on board now, we need a pick and roll big instead of a post-up big. It's just not a good fit anymore.

Dwight- gross. No.

I'd take Jeff Green, Ryan Anderson, and Trevor Ariza right away. I'd probably take Mozgov as well. Gay would be nice, but I don't see him actually being all that available.

 

I was working through a scenario in which we nab Jeff Green at the deadline as a step toward luring Durant on board. Young + Bass works financially, and if we could snag their second round pick in the process, I'd view it as a win because Bass is walking and Young would be part of a crowded rotation with one of the added wings, the possibility of Ingram, and...Anthony Brown? The pick would hold a minimum roster spot for us, and those contracts aren't guaranteed if I remember correctly.

 

I agree with Real. For Cousins to get dealt, we'd have to unload both Clarkson AND Randle plus some filler. And even so, Sac would be very leery to trade to a bitter rival in the division. But...with the emergence of Russell, I think I might trade both Clarkson, Randle and, let's say Swaggy. Russell and Boogie as a pitch to DeRozen and Durant might be enough. And a core of Durant, Boogie DeRozen with Russell orchestrating could be dominant.

Love is tempting. I think he is actually a great passer for a pf. Obviously he's only decent if you're comparing him to pgs. His shooting isn't as big of a concern to me because I think he is better than the stats let on. Blatt couldn't figure out how to use him to save his life. But I think I'd rather stick with Randle. Randle is 21, he's cheap and he still has TONS of room to grow. It's all on him. Love has kind of peaked as a player.

Noah is broken and don't want him for anything.

Monroe I agree is a bad fit for this team. Monroe + Randle as our bigs is not how you win in today's NBA, and it'd be a layup line for the opposition.

Dwight...I'd actually take him. He's a good pick and roll center (despite his belief in his dominant post game). And while he is certainly on the decline, I think he will still be a top 5 center for another 3-4 years. I hate him and think he's a little b***h, but I ended up liking Karl Malone after all those years of wanting him to get struck by lightning when he was on the Jazz. We could also bring back D'Antoni for one season and talk Kobe into playing one more year in order to orchestrate a GIANT troll of Dwight.

Green, Anderson and Ariza would all be great.

 

I can't believe anyone would want Dwight back. Guy is a loser, he has a losers mentality, he's a clown, he thinks he's a top option on offense when he has like 2 moves, and he's not a player I want representing my franchise. No thanks to him, in fact f*** him. Not a big fan of Kevin Love either, and I am a UCLA fan, I watched his college career. I wouldn't give up much for him at all.

 

Yeah. That's the team I laid out in the draft thread. That team has a big weakness though when t comes to outside shooting.