Chicago’s questionable trade for Josh Giddey was the “final straw” that pushed DeRozan to decide he would leave the team in free agency this off-season, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
DeRozan has yet to find a new home but is one of the top available free agents, ranked fourth entering free agency by the New York Post.
The 34-year-old had been considering a potential return to the Bulls after three seasons in Chicago, but several events ultimately shifted his view.
The Chicago Sun-Times noted coaching changes and “behind-the-scenes personnel decisions” as two factors that resulted in DeRozan “quickly having second thoughts”.
Get all the latest basketball news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!
Former Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. and Clippers assistant Dan Craig are joining Billy Donovan’s staff in place of assistants Chris Fleming and Josh Longstaff.
The Giddey trade ultimately broke the camel’s back.
The Bulls traded away Alex Caruso, a defensive whiz with a championship pedigree, for Giddey, a younger player coming off a disappointing end to the season with the Thunder.
Giddey was also accused of an alleged relationship with an underage girl, although charges were never pressed.
DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls. Photo by Michael Reaves / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFPSource: AFP
“DeRozan realised he was not in the Bulls’ plans, and he really no longer wanted to be,” the outlet reported.
The 15-year veteran is now free to join a team that likely is closer to contending than the Bulls, who made the playoffs just once in his three seasons.
Chicago’s season ended with a loss to the Heat in the Play-In Tournament.
DeRozan averaged 24 points per game on 48 per cent shooting this past campaign, to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
He averaged 25.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.1 rebounds during his three seasons in Chicago.
The Lakers, who await LeBron James’ re-signing with the team after he opted out of his contract, are considered a possible destination, per the report.
DeRozan spent the first nine years of his career with the Raptors before being traded to the Spurs in the Kawhi Leonard deal that helped Toronto win its first title.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
The “sour taste” left by an early World Cup exit is driving Josh Giddey’s Olympic ambitions as the Boomers ramp up their preparations for a Paris medal tilt.
Lapping up a return home before heading to Paris, Giddey declared Australian basketball was “as good as it’s ever been” after Johnny Furphy and Alex Ducas became the latest players to join the Aussie NBA contingent on Friday.
Giddey, who linked up with the Boomers in Melbourne this week after a whirlwind 48 hours in his new home of Chicago, said the signings showed the strength of the Australian game.
“Australian basketball is as good as it’s ever been, from top to bottom I think,” he said.
Pacers nab exciting Aussie with pick 35 | 01:48
“You look at the veterans that run this program, and then the kids that are coming through, we have (NBA) draft picks every year, whether that’s lottery picks, second-round picks, whatever it is … Australia has proved to be a real pipeline into the NBA and we’re seeing it now on the global stage.
“The development that kids get in this country is world-class and it’s really shown up in the NBA draft.”
Giddey said he still felt the disappointment of the Boomers’ World Cup campaign last year after they failed to reach the quarter-finals following losses to Germany and Slovenia.
It was Australia’s worst result at an international men’s basketball tournament in almost a decade.
“We know we had a sour taste from the World Cup left in our mouths, for that to finish the way it did wasn’t good for any of us,” Giddey said.
Josh Giddey (right) says he is eager to resume his international basketball career as the Boomers arrive in camp in Melbourne ahead of the Olympic Games. Picture: Kelly Defina / Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
“So we’re very happy to be able to go to Paris now with another chance to get up on that podium with a gold medal. It’s exciting, we’ve got a great group of guys.
“It’s always a fun time coming back and playing in green and gold. Especially these major tournaments that happen once every four years.”
Giddey said Chicago had made a strong first impression after he quickly relocated following his trade from the Thunder to the Bulls for Alex Caruso.
“I just got back from there (Thursday morning), but I’m very excited. I think it was good for both sides to get a fresh start,” Giddey said.
“The city was great, the organisation – the front office, coaches, the guys on the team were awesome. I was only there for 48 hours but it was good to get a feel for the city and the fans.
“I know the history of that club and how far back it goes, so I’m very excited to get over there in September and get into it.”
Giddey is part of a 17-man Boomers Olympic squad which will be trimmed to 12 players following a series of exhibition games against China, the USA and Serbia in July.
Here, foxsports.com.au looks at some of the key talking points to come out of the opening round, including a few steals and where Furphy could land on day two.
WHAT HAPPENED TO AUSSIE JOHNNY FURPHY… AND WHAT COMES NEXT?
It is always the case that some projected first-round picks end up missing out on selection and Furphy was one of the unlucky few, with the Victorian instead expected to have his name called early in the second round.
In terms of looking at why Furphy may have fallen, it was always going to be tricky to project where this year’s first-round prospects would be taken given the varying opinions on them.
Furphy was routinely mocked to Orlando at 18th overall, although the Magic’s eventual pick — Colorado wing Tristan da Silva — made plenty of sense for a number of reasons.
Firstly, while Orlando still has a young core, this is a team that is already competitive in the Eastern Conference and a late bloomer like da Silva is more likely to produce right away.
Watch Live Coverage of The 2024 NBA Draft with ESPN on Kayo Sports. Fri 6am AEST. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
Johnny Furphy will have to wait a little bit longer. Chris Gardner/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
Then of course there is the fact the Magic clearly value big wings with a well-rounded skillset and da Silva fits that bill, while it of course is also handy he shot 40 per cent from deep in his last year with Colorado.
From that point there were a few other teams that made sense for Furphy, although there were also a bunch of contenders drafting later in the first round and given the Australian is still an incredibly raw player he may have just not been the right fit at this stage of his career.
The good news for Furphy is he should not have to wait long to have his name called.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie said on his ‘Game Theory Podcast’ that he is going to mock Furphy to the Toronto Raptors with the first pick of the second round and if he doesn’t go then, the Utah Jazz at 32nd overall also make plenty of sense.
ESPN.com’s latest mock draft has Furphy now going 33rd overall to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Meanwhile, don’t be surprised if another team currently not on the board near the top of round two trades up to snag Furphy, shocked that he is still available.
“Even if you don’t believe in Furphy to the same degree as my projections, which had him fifth overall, he was the best available player in the top 100 from [Jonathan] Givony and [Jeremy] Woo for a long time,” added ESPN’s Kevin Pelton.
While it was unfortunate that Furphy was made to wait only to not have his name called, the 19-year-old only made his first state team in 2022 and even then, that was as part of the second team.
Speaking to former coaches and mentors of his in the lead-up to the draft, they all constantly stressed one thing — Furphy was never the type to complain, always grateful for every opportunity.
The early setbacks and Furphy’s attitude towards them have perfectly set him up for this moment and considering he wasn’t even expecting to have played college basketball last season, the 19-year-old is already ahead of schedule anyway.
With that in mind, while obviously disappointing, Furphy’s background means missing out on first-round selection isn’t necessarily the hit to his confidence that it would be for others.
If anything, it only adds another layer to his remarkable rise, should Furphy continue to exceed expectations.
WHICH TEAMS GOT THE BIGGEST STEALS?
You have to start with the Lakers, who landed an absolute steal at 17th overall when they drafted Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht.
The 23-year-old was the seventh overall player on ESPN’s big board but fell down the draft, much to the surprise of Jonathan Givony, who said he was “shocked” Knecht was still available.
The ESPN draft expert reported sources had been telling him Knecht’s age was the reason for his slide.
“I am shocked that Dalton Knecht is still on the board here,” Givony said
“For the last 30 minutes, I’ve been racking my brain, texting every GM, saying ‘What is going on? Why is Dalton Knecht falling?’
“They say, ‘There is no medical concern. It’s strictly because of the age. We are going with teenagers here.’
“I really do not understand this. Dalton Knecht is a first-team All-American, SEC Player of the Year, shot 40 percent from three. He can help an NBA team right now. He needs to come off the board in the next pick or two at worst.”
That ended up happening, with the Lakers taking the 6-foot-6 sharpshooter who averaged 21.7 points in his only season with the Volunteers after shooting 49.9 per cent from the field and 39.7 per cent from 3.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka described the value as “extraordinary” when speaking to reporters after the draft, while also revealing that new head coach J.J. Redick, who shares similar traits with Knecht, already has ideas on how to get him involved in the gameplan.
“We would have never imagined a player as skilled and sort of perfect for our needs would be there as Dalton Knecht,” Pelinka said.
“We had him as a top 10 player unanimously across our scouting reports. Across the board, just couldn’t be happier. I was at the SCC tournament scouting him extensively and in my mind I was like, ‘There is no way a player like this will be available for us to pick on draft night’.
“I was joking with coach Redick upstairs that we found a movement shooter to match his skills as a player and he already had his whiteboard out drawing up pindowns and ATOs and actions where he could run a movement shooter off screens. So, I think his mind is already working on drawing up plays for Dalton.
“If we would have had the 10th pick in the draft, we would have taken him, so to get that value at 17 is really extraordinary.”
Dalton Knecht is a Laker. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
Meanwhile, for Knecht, the fact he fell down the draft board is just another reason for the 23-year-old to continue carrying the “chip on my shoulder” that he developed in his three-school journey to the NBA.
“I’d say my why is I feel like I’ve been underrated my whole entire life ever since I was coming out of high school,” he said.
“I’ve always had a chip on my shoulder, and to this day I’ll always have that chip on my shoulder to go out there and prove people wrong.
“… Every single time I touch a basketball or walk into a gym, I always feel like I’ve got something to prove.
“It doesn’t matter where I’m at. It’s always going to be there, having that chip on my shoulder, feeling like I’ve been underrated for my whole life. It’s something I’m going to carry with me the rest of my career.”
Elsewhere, the Chicago Bulls were another team to pick up value in the first round as they landed Matas Buzelis, ESPN’s No.5 ranked prospect.
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas said in his post-draft press conference that “did not plan” to draft Buzelis, who was not expected to be available when Chicago was picking at 11th overall.
Matas Buzelis was emotional. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“It just worked out that way,” Karnišovas said.
“But we’re very excited to add him to our young group. He’s a very versatile wing swing. We watched him all year.”
The 19-year-old profiles as a versatile piece to add to a Chicago team that is heading towards a rebuild of sorts, having taken the first step in that direction with the trade for Josh Giddey last week.
Then there is the Utah Jazz, who had a need in the backcourt and drafted their potential point guard of the future in Isaiah Collier.
The USC point guard was generating No.1 buzz late last year but had issues with turnovers and his shooting that saw him fall down draft boards, although at the 29th pick he is more than worth the swing given his high upside if he tidies up those other aspects of his game.
It is also worth mentioning the Portland Trail Blazers here as Donovan Clingan was at one point earlier in the week considered a chance of even going with the first overall pick.
Instead, he dropped to No.7, which was seen as his absolute floor in this year’s draft, as the Blazers picked up the best rim-protector in this year’s class.
TIMBERWOLVES TRADE SETS UP ‘HOLY S***’ COMBO
Well, this is going to be a lot of fun and Rob Dillingham is clearly a player the Timberwolves wanted, making the most aggressive move of the draft by trading up to No.8 to get him.
It is clearly a move for the future, with Mike Conley already 36 years old and in Dillingham Minnesota has a potential successor for the veteran point guard.
He profiles as a great fit as an off-ball shooter next to the franchise superstar Anthony Edwards, having shot 44 per cent from deep in his final season at Kentucky, while he also has plenty of potential as a passer.
Speaking to reporters after the draft, Dillingham said he is excited by the prospect of playing in “the open space on the floor” that the NBA offers.
Rob Dillingham is an exciting prospect. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
“There’s so much open floor, and I feel like I’m quick and I can get past dudes,” he added.
“It’s really the fact of me getting past dudes and making decisions. You’re playing with a bunch of NBA players, so players can’t really help off super a lot because these are NBA players and they knock down shots.
“I feel like, for me, getting past my defender and making plays with my teammates will be way easier, and if they don’t help, it’s just a bucket.”
The obvious concern in Dillingham’s game is his defence, with the 19-year-old standing at just 6-foot-1, although the Timberwolves as a roster are uniquely built to help hide that weakness in his game, especially when sharing the floor with Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert.
THE ONE PICK FEW EXPERTS CAN AGREE ON
Well, Zach Edey was the most polarising draft prospect before Wednesday night and that was made even more clear by the reaction to Memphis’ pick in the first round.
The Grizzlies had a glaring need in the frontcourt after trading away Steven Adams and reportedly had shown interest in trading up to draft Donovan Clingan.
They weren’t able to pull that off so they ended up taking the next best option in Edey, who at 7-foot-4 and 300 pounds made a name for himself in college basketball at Purdue.
There were question marks about his mobility and how his game would translate to the NBA though and opinions were split across the board when it came to Memphis taking him at No.9.
Yahoo Sports’ draft expert Krysten Peek described it as “one of the worst picks I’ve seen in draft history”.
ESPN analyst and former Golden State Warriors manager, Bob Myers, called it the “most surprising pick” of the draft at the time.
In saying that, he did think Edey would be a good fit alongside Jaren Jackson Jr. and while Peek wasn’t a fan, there were plenty of other experts who saw the logic in the move for Memphis.
“There will always be concerns about how Edey fares defending in space, but a player of his size, skill, and touch ought to be able to produce in small, concentrated bursts off the bench at the very least,” wrote The Ringer’s Danny Chau.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, meanwhile, wrote that he believes Edey will “carve out an NBA role and stick around for a while”.
“He’s going to be a killer rebounder, monster screener and will consistently establish his position even against some of the stronger NBA players,” wrote Vecenie.
“I’m done doubting Edey, even as an NBA player. He’s exceptionally tough, and intel suggest his worth ethic is excellent. He’s an unbelievable competitor who desperately wants to win. He plays with an edge that allows him to overcome a lot of the perceived deficiencies of his game.”
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, meanwhile, was one of Edey’s biggest fans and said on Brian Windhorst’s podcast before the draft that he thinks the 22-year-old will be “awesome” in the NBA.
Zach Edey was a contentious pick. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
“You hear them a lot possibly moving up. If they don’t move up, they need a center in the worst way and Zach Edey is clearly the second best center in the draft,” Givony said of Memphis.
“I look at him and I say, ‘What if Jonas Valanciunas was six inches taller?’. That’s what Zach Edey is… he plays incredibly hard, he’s physical, he’s competitive, he draws fouls and rebounds at a ridiculous rate. He is the best screener in this draft which counts a tonne in today’s NBA.
“We need to remember he’s been playing basketball for six years… he’s got better and better every year. His conditioning has improved… I just think when you put him in a smaller role in the NBA where he can go out and foul people, he’s going to be awesome. I think he’s a starting center in the NBA.”
All of this is to not necessarily say one person is right and another is wrong but that there were varying opinions on Edey before the draft and that was only magnified afterwards by how high he was taken.
Edey averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks as a senior while helping Purdue to the national championship game.
THUNDER REPLACE GIDDEY AND CONTINUE TO DO THINGS THEIR OWN WAY
Well, Oklahoma City clearly has a type and after making a charge to top seed in the highly-competitive Western Conference last season, why not lean into it more?
First, the Thunder drafted a guard and forward that general manager Sam Presti did not want to specifically say were picked as replacements for Josh Giddey, who the team traded to Chicago for Alex Caruso last week.
Instead, he wanted to focus more on the type of players they were — namely high-level processors with positional size and versatility.
So, Oklahoma City took Nikola Topic 12th overall even though Presti admitted he would likely not play next season as he recovers from an ACL tear he suffered in June.
Then, the Thunder traded five second-round picks to move up in the draft and take the extremely versatile Dillon Jones with the 26th overall pick.
Nikola Topic was drafted by the Thunder. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
“I wouldn’t compare him specifically to Josh… but like I said earlier, guys that are big for their position, that process the game well, those guys can play pretty much all over the floor,” Presti said of Topic.
“We value those skillsets more than trying to replicate a specific role. I don’t think you can have enough people that can make decisions on the court and when you combine that with size, it definitely increases the effectiveness and probability of those decisions being good.”
Presti said that he had travelled alongside the team’s longtime director of medical services, Donnie Strack, to visit Topic before the draft, where he underwent an in-person medical exam.
A group of Thunder scouts also interviewed Topic at the NBA Draft Combine in Italy and while the expectation is that it will be a redshirt rookie season, the team’s similar experience with Chet Holmgren gave them confidence this was an opportunity worth taking.
But it were those qualities Presti mentioned earlier and specifically players who are big for their position and that can process the game well that made both Topic and Jones solid picks.
Of course, Giddey was one of those players at 6-foot-8 with his playmaking and high basketball IQ. So, it is safe to say the Thunder found potential replacements for his production.
The Brooklyn Nets have made two huge trades including sending Mikal Bridges to the New Yok Knicks.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the first trade on Wednesday (EST), with the Knicks surrendering five first-round picks — four unprotected — an unprotected pick swap and Bojan Bogdanovic to acquire Bridges.
Brooklyn followed it up with a second trade with the Rockets — sending its 2025 Suns pick swap, 2027 Suns first-rounder and a first-rounder and swap in 2029 to the Houston Rockets in exchange their own 2025 pick swap and 2026 first-round from the James Harden trade.
Mikal Bridges has been traded to the Knicks.Source: FOX SPORTS
Wojnarowski reports Houston did the above trade with the intention of making a big play for Suns star Kevin Durant or “be aggressive on deals elsewhere.”
While the Suns reportedly have no desire to part ways with Durant and plan to run it back with their current group, it’s believed that could change.
It marks New York’s big all in-move after sitting on a mountain of assets in recent years amid links to several superstars including Donovan Mitchell. Despite this, New York is reportedly still keen to re-sign free agent OG Anunoby.
Bridges, 27, averaged 19.6 points last season, shooting 43 per cent from the field including 37 per cent from downtown.
The Nets meanwhile commit to a proper rebuild in a move that figures to put Aussie Ben Simmons into a bigger role along with the likes of Nic Claxton, Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson.
The Aussie is on an expiring US $40 million deal and himself could be used as a trade chip.
It’s the second big trade domino to fall this NBA off-season after Josh Giddey and Alex Caruso were traded last week.
The involved players seemed to be excited.
After the trade was leaked Tuesday, Hart tweeted, “YOOOOO @mikal_bridges FINALLY HIT MY LINE!!!!!” and “YO WE F—KIN LIT.”
Brunson kept it simple with an “omg” tweet.
Bridges added, “this is crazy lol.”
Earlier this season, Bridges was a guest on Brunson and Hart’s podcast, ‘The Roommates Show,’ and the conversation was steered by Hart to the Knicks’ immense popularity compared to the Nets’.
“No matter how big the Nets get, that’s Knicks city,” Hart said. “I was in L.A. No matter how good the Clippers are going to be, L.A. is always going to be Lakers. ….”
Bridges mostly nodded along, looking annoyed at the reality of generational fandom in New York. Hart then said the “vibes got to be tough” in Brooklyn given the fan dynamic, and asked if Bridges ever looked across the river to play.
That was Bridges’ chance to emphatically declare his allegiance to the Nets and defend their fans, and he instead made a joke about looking at Brooklyn from across the river because he lives in Manhattan.
That was followed by awkward silence, and, months later, a trade to the Knicks.
One of the NBA’s household names might soon be on the move.
ESPN’s NBA insider Brian Windhorst offered Tuesday on ‘Get Up’ that the Clippers could trade star forward Paul George by “this weekend.”
Windhorst explained that George has a “different menu of options,” including opting into the final year of his contract with the Clippers to facilitate a trade — which would necessitate the fastest timeline.
“He could opt into his contract and get traded by this weekend,” Windhorst said.
“That is something that is going to come to a head in the next day or two if he wants to go with that option, because obviously you’d have to negotiate a trade. Then, the team wouldn’t necessarily need salary cap space.‘We’re going to see some action in that, probably coming up very quickly after the draft.”
One source, meanwhile, told NBA insider Marc Stein that George is the “domino who will make it all go when he falls”.
The Clippers have been trying to extend George before this latest fork in the road, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting that extension conversations between the two sides were “ongoing” after Kawhi Leonard signed a three-year, $153 million extension in mid-January.
George has one year worth $48.8 million left on the four-year extension he signed with Los Angeles in December 2020 worth up to $190 million.
Windhorst listed re-signing with the Clippers on a new deal as one of George’s three options, along with the opt-in leading into a trade or opting out of his deal to become a free agent.
The forward was an All-Star both of the last two years after playing in only 31 games in 2021-22 due to a torn UCL in his right arm.
This past year, the Fresno State product teamed up with Leonard and James Harden to help the Clippers claim the West’s No. 4 seed but lost in the first round to the Mavericks.
Since George arrived in Hollywood in 2019, the Clippers have made the playoffs in four of five seasons but have not advanced beyond the Western Conference finals.
If George opts into his contract to set up an exit from Los Angeles, insider Marc Stein reported that the Knicks could be a candidate to land the 34-year-old.
Other contenders for the nine-time All-Star, whether via trade or free agency, include the Magic, Rockets and 76ers, although a recent report made Philadelphia seem like a long shot.
George mostly recently made his debut as a commentator, assisting ESPN’s pregame coverage of Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals.
NEXT DOMINOES THAT COULD FALL… AND WHAT IT MAY MEAN FOR AUSSIE
So, if George ends up being moved, who are the next big names to keep an eye on in the NBA offseason?
Well, Stein reported that league sources believe Denver’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will be “among the players who will be most in demand” after George’s future is sorted.
Caldwell-Pope was Denver’s most underrated piece in the team’s championship run in the 2022-23 season and is one of the league’s best 3-and-D players, having now shot over 40 per cent from downtown in three of his past four seasons.
The Nuggets wing would help any contending team go to the next level, with Stein reporting that sources say Philadelphia and Orlando are considering making a play for Caldwell-Pope if he declines his $15.4 million player option with the Nuggets to enter free agency.
Elsewhere, Chris Paul could also be on the move with a key deadline on his future looming.
The veteran’s $30 million contract for next season will become guaranteed if he is on Golden State’s roster or another team’s after June 28.
If Paul was instead waived and entered free agency, Stein reported that the Lakers and Clippers are two teams that are expected to be interested in his services.
In other news, Chicago’s trade for Josh Giddey has predictably further cast a spotlight on Zach LaVine’s future at the franchise.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that sources claim the Bulls are still “engaging rival teams on LaVine trade scenarios” and are “exploring options to move up in the draft”.
The prospect of a LaVine move, at least in the short-term, is hardly a sure thing though given there doesn’t seem to be much of a market for the star guard.
Woj explains shock Giddey trade to Bulls | 00:59
Fischer reported LaVine is “merely a backup option for the guard”, adding the Bulls “have yet to develop significant traction on deals” outside of talks with the Pistons that previously included the now traded Bojan Bogdanović.
Detroit also has a new president in Trajan Langdon, which further casts doubt on whether the front office has the same interest in LaVine under different leadership.
Fischer went on to report that if there is any suitor for LaVine it seems “most likely at this juncture” that it would be the Kings, who league sources told Yahoo Sports are “active in exploring trade opportunities” for Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter.
The report claims Huerter is receiving a “healthy amount of external interest”, while adding the Kings are also considering trade possibilities for their No. 13 pick.
Meanwhile, the Magic are facing the same deadline as the Warriors when it comes to deciding whether they will retain Australian Joe Ingles or let him become an unrestricted free agent.
Ingles will make $11 million next season if Orlando keeps him, with Fischer reporting that decision will largely hinge on how much money the Magic plan to spend in free agency and where negotiations go with Jalen Suggs, who is set for a rookie-scale extension.
‘This is no indictment on Josh’ | 06:21
“Orlando could very well exercise the 2024-25 option on Ingles’ deal, sources said, depending on how much room the Magic will need to operate through its overall offseason — with the knowledge that Jalen Suggs is in line for a significant payday before his fourth season,” Fischer wrote.
It comes as Fischer reported that Orlando, who has around $36 million in cap room, still holds hopes of landing a “veteran guard/wing who can space the floor Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, without commanding too much on-ball oxygen”.
The Magic had been linked to both Golden State’s Klay Thompson and Sacramento’s Malik Monk, although the latter has since extended with the Kings.
Caldwell-Pope, who was mentioned earlier, fits the mould of the kind of player the Magic may be after.
Josh Giddey couldn’t “envision” his new role for Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thunder GM Sam Presti said in a statement released by the team Friday that Giddey was not keen on a reserve role for the 2024-25 season and pushed for other destinations.
“As we laid out to Josh how he could lean into his strengths and ultimately optimise our current roster and talent, it was hard to for him to envision, and conversations turned to him inquiring about potential opportunities elsewhere,” Presti wrote, as per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski’s X account.
“Josh has All-Star potential, but accessing that in the current construct of the Thunder would not be optimal for the collective. Based on these discussions we decided to move forward and prioritise what was best for the organisation,” the GM added.
It was officially announced Friday that Oklahoma City traded Giddey to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for guard Alex Caruso.
Giddey averaged 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists with 47.5% shooting this season – down from 16.6 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists the previous season.
In the second round against the Dallas Mavericks, head coach Mark Daigneault benched Giddey for the series’ final two games.
The point guard’s minutes plummeted in the playoffs, and he lost his starting spot for the first time.
Giddey averaged 26.5 minutes per game in the first round against the Pelicans, compared to just 12.6 minutes against the Mavericks.
The 21-year-old was selected as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
“When we drafted Josh in 2021 he was an essential aspect of our vision for the next iteration of the Thunder,” Presti wrote.
“Since then, our team has evolved rapidly and dynamically in ways we could never have anticipated. Therefore, as we began our internal discussions this off-season, it was determined that bringing Josh off the bench next season was our best option to maximise his many talents and deploy our team more efficiently over 48 minutes.”
In an emotional post on Instagram, Giddey declared he was “forever grateful” to the franchise for giving him a chance to live out his basketball dreams.
“OKC … thank you for EVERYTHING,” Giddey wrote.
“To the city for embracing me from Day 1. To Mr (Clay) Bennett, Sam (Presti) and Mark (Daigneault) for giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dream of my (sic) being an NBA player, I am forever grateful.
Woj explains shock Giddey trade to Bulls | 00:59
“My brothers, who I got to share the floor with for 3 years. The best group of guys I could’ve imagined. Stuck with me through the very high highs and the very low lows. You guys know the real me.
“I am forever in debt to Oklahoma and no words will do justice to how much the city and the organisation mean to me and my family.”
Caruso, 30, spent the past three seasons in Chicago and averaged 7.8 points, 3.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals this season.
The guard was named to the All-Defensive First Team for 2022-23, the All-Defensive Second Team for 2023-24 and won the NBA Hustle Award for 2023-24.
Undrafted out of college, the Texas A&M grad signed a training camp deal with Oklahoma City in 2016.
However, he was waived before the season kicked off and signed with the Lakers in 2017 – where he played four seasons and won the championship in 2020.
This story originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reposted with permission
Andrew Schlecht, who covers the Thunder for The Athletic, confirmed later in the morning that the trade involved no picks and is just a straight player swap.
‘This is no indictment on Josh’ | 06:21
Giddey was drafted by OKC with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He’s coming off his least productive season in year three, struggling to evolve with the rest of the No. 1 seeded Thunder’s budding core.
His scoring dropped from 16.6 points per game to 12.3 points in a career-best 80 games.
It included Giddey’s role gradually declining throughout the campaign, eventually coming off the bench in the 2024 playoffs and averaging 18 minutes.
The 21-year old this off-season is eligible to sign a max contract extension from his base rookie deal.
Wojnarowski later wrote that the Bulls were “determined” to find a playmaker to replace the oft-injured Lonzo Ball and saw “All-Star potential” in Giddey that had not yet been realised given the playmaking around him in Oklahoma City.
“Giddey was the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft and developed into one of the league’s most creative young playmakers,” added the ESPN insider.
“The Bulls will offer him an opportunity to have the ball in his hands and more freedom to pass and score. Chicago needed an engine for its offence, and the Bulls land that with Giddey.”
The trade is the latest development in what Giddey described as a “rollercoaster” third year in the league in his end-of-season exit interview.
Giddey came under the microscope, not only for his on-court performances, but also for allegations of an inappropriate relationship with an underage girl.
Newport Beach police announced in January they had been “unable to corroborate any criminal activity” by Giddey and would not pursue charges while the NBA also later closed its investigation into the Australian guard in May.
Speaking to reporters at his exit interview, Giddey reflected on being benched for the first time in his career in Oklahoma City’s playoffs series against Dallas, admitting while it was a “bitter pill to swallow” it was the right call by coach Mark Daigneault.
Josh Giddey has been traded. Mike Mulholland/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
“Coach did what he thought was best for the team and to be honest, I probably agree with him,” Giddey said.
“As hard as it is for a player to sit there and say, ‘I should be on the bench’, at the time Caso [Cason Wallace], Isaiah [Joe], Wigs [Aaron Wiggins], these guys were probably better in this series for Dallas.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow but for a 21-year-old to go through this now it’s probably a good thing and I just don’t want to feel this feeling again. It’ll make me a lot better and stronger as a player to never let something like this happen again.”
It obviously won’t now, with Giddey set to feature as a key building block for a Chicago team that has been in the playoff picture for a few years now but never really taken the next step towards competing for a title.
It will be interesting to see what the Bulls do next, particularly when it comes to Zach LaVine’s contract, with the Giddey move potentially suggesting they are investing in the future and willing to undergo a re-tooling of sorts.
That would be Giddey’s best path to more time with the ball in his hands given it will be hard for him to become a full-time point guard with LaVine and DeMar DeRozan on the roster.
NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson reported before the Giddey news that Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas has “floated as many as 15 proposals” around LaVine, indicating more changes are on the card.
“That’s who I am as a player and to do that is exciting.”
While there was no guarantee Josh Giddey was going to be traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason, there was always a sense a fresh start was in his best interests.
Giddey said as much himself, without actually saying that explicitly.
That earlier quote came from the 21-year-old’s exit interview last month, where an honest Giddey opened up on how he handled his “rollercoaster” third year in the NBA.
While the majority of the questions put to him that day centred around his playoff benching against Dallas and future in Oklahoma City, he was also asked about the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Watch selected NRL, AFL, SSN games plus every F1 qualifying session and race live in 4K on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial today.
‘This is no indictment on Josh’ | 06:21
Specifically, one reporter wondered whether suiting up for the Boomers could help him build towards next season, although of course at this point it was in the context of playing for OKC.
“It’s a different role,” Giddey said.
“I’m going to have the ball in my hands a lot more with Australia, initiating the offence and setting guys up.
“That’s who I am as a player and to do that is exciting.”
That’s who I am. Those four words, even in the context of a question about the Boomers, were yet another reminder of why it didn’t work out for Giddey in what we now know was his final year with the Thunder, after being traded on Friday to the Chicago Bulls in a deal that sees Alex Caruso sent to Oklahoma City.
That is who Giddey is and always was as a player. But he wasn’t that player in a Thunder team that was spoilt for choice when it came to playmaking options.
When you combine Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s rapid rise to superstardom with the emergence of Jalen Williams and rookie big man Chet Holmgren, Giddey was the odd man out — forced to play in a role that didn’t play to his strengths.
Those same strengths which Giddey flashed in his Boomers debut at the FIBA World Cup last year, thriving in a more ball-dominant role as he finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in a 98-72 win over Finland.
Josh Giddey played a more ball-dominant role for Australia at the FIBA World Cup. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
With it, Giddey became the first player in the 21st century to have more than 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in their first World Cup game since, you guessed it, LeBron James.
And Giddey was constantly rewriting the record books and putting his name among legendary ones like LeBron in his rookie year with Oklahoma City, again, when he was playing in a role that was better suited to his game.
All of this is to say that as much as Giddey loved it in Oklahoma City and the Thunder loved him back, this was a move that had to happen for both parties.
Here, foxsports.com.au breaks down what the trade means for both the Thunder and Bulls along with what Australian NBA fans can expect from Giddey in his first season in new colours.
SO, FIRST OFF — WHO WON THE TRADE?
Look, some trades that initially look terrible can look like masterstrokes in hindsight.
The Bulls will be hoping this is one of those instances because even if Giddey goes back to playing the way he did in his first two seasons with OKC, this is a slam dunk win for the Thunder.
That is not an indictment on Giddey as a player or his talent but on a Bulls front office that has seemingly come around to the realisation they need to re-tool an aging roster that has for a few seasons now not really been in a position to compete for a title.
And yet, despite that glaring reality, Chicago continually ran it back and decided against making any major moves at the trade deadline in the hope of potentially becoming more than just a team that settles for making the first round of the playoffs.
The Bulls haven’t really been going anywhere in recent years. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
But even that would be a win for a Bulls team that has only qualified for the first round once in the past five years.
Instead, the introduction of the NBA’s play-in tournament has given Chicago an even lower bar to settle for, keeping the franchise stuck on a treadmill of mediocrity.
What makes this trade particularly had for Bulls fans to take is reporting from Will Gottlieb of CHGO, who wrote earlier this week that the team had “received offers from multiple teams, consisting of multiple protected first-round picks ahead of the 2024 Trade Deadline”.
So, why didn’t they take that? Well, a source told Gottlieb that such a move would mean immediately trying to find a replacement for Caruso, which would have been the logical next step if the Bulls were rebuilding.
However, Gottlieb reported the source said there was a “mandate” from Bulls CEO Michael Reinsdorf to fight for the playoffs.
Again, another example of the disconnect in the Bulls front office when it came to what they wanted this team to be and what it actually is.
Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Arturas Karnisovas appeared to signal after the team’s play-in tournament exit last season that reality had dawned on the franchise.
“We aren’t here for the play-in,” he said.
“It’s a team game and we have to make changes to fix things.”
“Analysis will start right now and go into free agency,” he added when asked if a rebuild was a possibility.
“I think we’re going to be pretty aggressive, the way we showed before going into the draft and free agency. We obviously can’t roll (out) the same team again and expect different results.”
The Giddey move may just be the start, but you still have to question how the Bulls weren’t able to get more for a player of Caruso’s calibre, especially when you consider the multitude of picks Oklahoma City has at its disposal.
Both asked the same question: what draft picks were involved? That says it all.
Perhaps that says as much about Chicago’s confidence in Giddey’s potential as a primary ballhandler as it does the power of Thunder GM Sam Presti to get a deal done.
Because for a guy who continues to impress with his shrewd decision-making, this is another home run swing for Presti and the Thunder.
Alex Caruso is a great pick-up for Oklahoma City. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
Caruso is the kind of high-level 3-and-D player that any contending team would be desperate to have and for the Thunder in particular it is a seamless fit.
The 30-year-old is coming off a season where he had a career-high 120 steals and 70 blocks while shooting 40.8 per cent from downtown.
Shooting and defence, on the other hand, were Giddey’s two biggest weaknesses and were exposed down the stretch in the playoffs.
Add in the factor Caruso will earn just $9.9 million next season and the leadership he will bring to this young but emerging Thunder roster and this could be the move to help Oklahoma City take the next step towards title contention after coming up short in the Western Conference semi-finals this year.
WHAT COMES NEXT FOR GIDDEY AND THE BULLS?
Well, the move away from a 30-year-old win-now piece in Caruso to more of a developmental player in Giddey suggests there could be plenty more roster movement this offseason in Chicago.
That is especially true when you consider the fact the only way Giddey will get his hands on the ball more is if the Bulls move on from either Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan, or potentially both.
LaVine looks the most likely candidate to be traded, with NBC Sports Chicago’s K.C. Johnson reporting before the Giddey news that Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas has “floated as many as 15 proposals” around LaVine.
It isn’t surprising to hear that sort of desperation coming from Chicago with the NBA Draft fast-approaching, where the Bulls should be targeting young players to bolster their frontcourt as well as size and versatility on the wing.
While the expectation was that Chicago would have been able to get at least some draft compensation in a deal for Caruso, moving on from LaVine at least opens up another opportunity to do that before next Thursday’s first round.
It will be hard to get much in return though given it is hardly a secret that the Bulls want to get off LaVine’s contract, with the 29-year-old still owed $138 million ($A207m) over the next three years.
Zach LaVine could be moved. Michael Reaves/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
DeRozan, meanwhile, is off-contract this summer and the Bulls reportedly offered a two-year, $40 million extension to his management in April.
Both parties seem to be interested in running it back but it may end up being a matter of how much the Bulls are willing to offer.
Evan Sidery of Forbes Sports, meanwhile, reported Chicago “appear willing” to part with Nikola Vucevic “for the right price”.
And of course, outside of LaVine, DeRozan and Vucevic, then there is the matter of Lonzo Ball’s near two-year-long recovery from a knee injury.
The move for Giddey indicates the Bulls are pessimistic, or at least covering their bases, given the uncertain nature of Ball’s timeline, with Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic reporting the team expects him to return at some point during the 2025 season.
“Team officials are confident Ball will play next season. They’re just not as confident about when,” Mayberry wrote, adding on Friday that a trade or buyout “could be likely”.
Giddey can absolutely co-exist alongside breakout guard Coby White, who emerged as a key piece of Chicago’s future last season and is a solid off-ball shooter.
Coby White emerged as a key piece of Chicago’s future last season. Jamie Sabau/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
It gives the Bulls a young backcourt duo to build around, should they find a trade partner for LaVine, while Ayo Dosunmu also flashed his potential last year in a bigger role.
The main focus, outside of improving the frontcourt, should be on trying to put shooting around Giddey given White and Dosunmu were the only two players currently on the roster to make at least 100 3-pointers last season.
The team, as a whole, ranked 25th and 26th in the league for 3-pointer attempted and made respectively.
The other question is what happens with Giddey’s contract given the Australian is still eligible to negotiate a rookie-scale extension.
If he can’t come to an agreement with the Bulls by the day before the start of regular season, when rookie-scale extensions must be signed by, he will be a restricted free agent in the summer of 2025.
HOW WILL GIDDEY BE REMEMBERED IN OKLAHOMA CITY?
Obviously that playoff series against the Mavericks isn’t the way Giddey would have liked to have ended his Oklahoma City career, but you have to remember two things.
First, those 76 minutes were only a small fraction of what was otherwise a memorable first few years in the NBA for Giddey, who became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double and continued to break records in a rookie season that exceeded all expectations.
Second, it is easy to forget Giddey is still only 21 years old, turning 22 at the start of next season in October.
In other words, while he may currently have limitations on the defensive end and as a shooter, he still has plenty of time to develop his game in that capacity.
“He’s 21, so 21-year-olds generally have up-and-down years,” Thunder GM Presti said of Giddey at his exit interview.
“… But at 21 years old, he’s stubborn. When I say stubborn, I mean that in an endearing way. He’s confident. In the way that I think a lot of people would like to see him capitulate and give in, he’s not doing that.”
Josh Giddey had a great rookie season with Oklahoma City. Dustin Satloff/Getty Images/AFPSource: AFP
And as much as commentary on Giddey in his final season at OKC focused on his shortcomings, there is a reason the Thunder drafted him with the sixth overall pick in a move that many people in NBA circles believed was a reach at the time.
Obviously that all starts with the Australian’s unique court vision and playmaking, which again remains his greatest strength but wasn’t as necessary in this version of the Thunder.
What makes Giddey a particularly intriguing player though is the fact you get that kind of playmaking from a guy who is 6-foot-8 and can rebound the ball the way he can.
His basketball IQ is also far beyond his years, as is his emotional maturity, which the 21-year-old proved in his exit interview last month when discussing his benching against Dallas.
You only have to compare the way Giddey reacted to the adversity, speaking about wanting to be a “better teammate”, with that of the more experienced Gordon Hayward, who bemoaned not being “given much of an opportunity” despite not really proving he deserved that.
While some people may look at Giddey’s limitations as one of the main reasons the Thunder fell short of competing for a championship, it is sometimes lost in the noise that he actually improved as a 3-point shooter on the season as a whole.
Giddey had shot 26.3 per cent and 32.5 per cent from 3-point range in his first two seasons with the team and improved to a career-best 33.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, Giddey was particularly effective across the board in March with Gilgeous-Alexander injured, again proving how good he can be when playing on the ball more.
JOSH GIDDEY IN MARCH vs REST OF THE REGULAR SEASON
Points: 16.3 vs 11.6
Rebounds: 7.0 vs 6.3
Assists: 5.5 vs 4.8
FG%: 57.2 vs 44.4
3P%: 41.4 vs 31.2
And just a week before the start of the Western Conference semi-finals, Giddey was coming off a New Orleans series where he averaged 12.5 points and shot 50 per cent from deep.
A limited sample size sure, but just another reminder of what Giddey can be when playing a confident and aggressive style of basketball.
All of this is to say at just 21 years old and with the postseason experience he had at Oklahoma City, there is plenty of room for Giddey to grow.
Like his early years with the Thunder, Giddey shapes as a key piece of a Chicago team that may be soon forging a new identity.
But for Giddey, this move isn’t about finding his identity as a basketball player. It has always been there.
Giddey knows who he is as a player. A fresh start will give him the opportunity to lean into that even more, as will be the case next month in Paris.
One of the busiest days on the NBA calendar in teams’ final chance to tweak their rosters this season, the fortunes of many sides changed — for good, bad and indifferent.
Read on for all the key NBA trade deadline Talking Points!
Watch an average of 9 NBA Regular Season games per week LIVE on ESPN, available via Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >
Warriors take down Embiid-less 76ers | 00:47
KNICKS THE BIG WINNERS … AND AN EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE FREE AGENT OPTION
You can feel the basketball buzz in the Big Apple from the other side of the globe. For there was one clear trade deadline winner on Friday morning — the New York Knicks.
They did it all in one foul swoop too, landing Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from Detroit in the same deal at a very modest price, handing back Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and two second-round picks.
Yep, that was all they gave up …
Of the Knicks that were sent out, only Grimes was a minor part of their rotation, while Bogdanovic and Burks, who played two seasons in New York from 2020-2022, are set to have key roles to play to significantly bolster their bench and make them one of, if not the, deepest teams in the NBA.
It addressed multiple needs for Tom Thibodeau’s team, which has emerged as a genuine to come out of the East since landing OG Anunoby and been led brilliantly by MVP smoky Jalen Brunson —going 9-1 over its last 10 games.
The Anunoby trade gave the Knicks new-found defensive tenacity and versatility. But they did lose scoring and playmaking after the departures of RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley — voids Bogdanovic and Burks will help fill as particularly useful additions while Julius Randle recovers from a shoulder injury.
Bogdanovic had been traded to the Knicks (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Indeed, it’s important to note New York also traded for Anunoby, which, just like the James Harden trade, was technically part of this trade period — without giving up a single first-round pick for any of its recruits — in an ultra aggressive approach that’s already paid massive dividends.
And now, the Knicks are even stronger, with a core of Brunson, Julius Randle, Anunoby, Bogdanovic, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Mitch Robinson, Donte DiVincenzo and Burks that you sense could compete with anyone.
Plus, in a deadline where not many other teams made major moves, it puts greater value on the Knicks’ upgrades.
“The second-best team in the Eastern Conference, they made moves all season long … they’re stacked as a roster, they’re led by a hell of a head coach in Tom Thibodeau, they have an identity and they’re legit title contenders,” former NBA player Kendrick Perkins told ESPN’s NBA Today.
Hot Suns too good for Giannis’ Bucks | 01:13
The Knicks were winners in more ways than one.
One of the teams with the most overall assets — with claim of all their first-round picks and owed some from other teams — they’re as well placed as anyone to make a big plays for superstars that might become available down the track, having been constantly linked to Donovan Mitchell.
Despite getting significantly stronger at the deadline, it hasn’t affected their long-term plans. In fact, it’s actually made them better placed.
Not only are the Knicks are more attractive destination for superstars on the move, they’ve added tradeable contracts that could be used to help them retool, if necessary, and land a big name.
Take Bogdanovic for example — he has a partially guaranteed deal for next season at $19 million (or could be waived for just $2 million), though it’s most likely they’ll invest in his contract with the potential to flip him for a bigger star.
Former NBA player Richard Jefferson said the Knicks have done things “absolutely perfect” in recent years, while WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike called them “by far the biggest winners” of the deadline.
“This is not even starting this year, this is the past few years, they’ve added key pieces to build a championship team,” Chiney said.
“Today they bolstered that. B0jan Bogdanovic is one of the best shooters in the NBA. They lost Quickley, now you bring in a backup point guard (Burks) that can play combo roles.
“They just look well-rounded, all the players look like they have their specific utility. They’re all dogs.”
A huge, huge W.
THUNDER MADE A BIG MOVE … BUT WAS IT THE RIGHT ONE?
It wasn’t necessarily a huge swing, but Josh Giddey’s OKC Thunder made a key, win-now move nonetheless and overall upgrade.
They added former All-Star Gordon Hayward, who’s on an expiring $31 million contract and set to become a free agent at the end of the season, in a trade with Charlotte in exchange for Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, Davis Bertans and draft compensation.
Hayward, 34, despite no longer being in his prime, was still solid for Charlotte this season, particularly when it was undermanned with injuries early in the season. In 25 games, Hayward has averaged 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
The main concern with Hayward is health. The veteran forward has been sidelined since late December with a calf issue to continue a grim run of injury setbacks in recent years.
As such, it’s hard to rely on Hayward to stay on the court, but when he is, he’s a valuable contributor.
It importantly provides a young Thunder side — that’s unexpectedly shot into title contention — a veteran presence who should fit perfectly into its professional culture, and gives Mark Daigneault another option to stagger with his line-ups — or even play a key role in it.
“I like it, I don’t love it. I feel like this is a move because Josh Giddey has not been that great this season. I think they’re filling in a void to help out SGA and Jalen Williams,” former NBA player Kendrick Perkins told NBA Today.
Given the other teams at the top of the West were quiet at the trade deadline, ESPN journalist Zach Lowe also thinks it’s a win for the Thunder.
Hayward will provide a veteran presence to the Thunder (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)Source: FOX Sports
“(Perkins) mentioned Giddey being up and down, Lu Dort has been up and down. Hayward can play the three and the four, he can shoot, he can work off the dribble and he fills every need the Thunder had,” Lowe told NBA Today.
“Yes, his health is a big question. But I’m told he should be ready to play very soon, if not immediately.
“The Thunder did it — they went out and made a win-now move. Their team has earned this respect from the front office and to really go for it.
“It’s not the sexiest move, but it’s a big move by their standards. The top of the West has a contender that fortified itself.”
Though Hayward clearly helps the Thunder, the bigger question is perhaps whether it was the right one given there’s a view the team needs to add another big to play alongside star rookie Chet Holmgren and help their rebounding.
OKC, of course, has an inordinate amount of draft picks to use on prospective targets, so much so it could essentially dwarf any other offers for superstars in trades.
With that in mind, the Thunder could pretty well land anyone for the right price, while Dallas acquired Wizards centre Daniel Gafford, who could’ve helped OKC, for just a first-round pick.
Former NBA player Richard Jefferson thinks the Thunder “got better but not what they needed” — a big — that he said could’ve “pushed them over the top” in the West, questioning how they’d fare in the playoffs against bigger teams with star centres like Denver and Minnesota.
Kyrie stars with 36 in Brookly return | 01:04
The prospect of OKC adding an impact big could’ve made them scary without really compromising their draft hand at all.
It’s however worth noting that OKC general manager Sam Presti has embraced patience and playing the long game with the Thunder. So even despite the team’s unforeseen rise to the top of the West, it’s fair to assume they’d want to see how far this team can go before trying anything too bold.
“This is a short-term move and long-term move,” NBA insider Brian Windhorst said of OKC’s Hayward addition on NBA Today.
“They positioned themselves to also re-sign Gordon Hayward at the end of the season, he’s a free agent, and they can use him as trade asset next year.
“The other thing with this move is, they are about $9 million under the tax still and they have two open roster spots. I think they still have 34 tradeable picks.
“The good, smart organisations make moves to give them flexibility … this is a move that helps the Thunder now and later and doesn’t take on any bad money. It’s just a smart move by a smart front office.”
SIXERS LOOK TO STAY AFLOAT WITH EMBIID INJURED
Philadelphia sort of hedged its bets at the deadline as it navigates a tough stretch without Joel Embiid.
The Sixers added sharpshooter Buddy Hield in a deal with Indiana that only cost them three second-round picks and back-end players to give Nick Nurse’ sides another offensive weapon to help with its playoff push, plus multiple roster spots to go shopping with on the buyout market.
Philly was in an awkward position given uncertainty surrounding Embiid’s health for the second half of the season due to his MCL injury — one the superstar centre has history with.
Should the Sixers have gone all in for a title push despite Embiid’s injury?
Or preserve their assets for the off-season — where the have multiple tradeable first-round picks and are projected to have over $50 million in cap space to sign a superstar free agent (they’re reportedly targeting Paul George), while they’ll also need to re-sign Tyrese Maxey to a mega extension.
Ideally, they’d have a bit each way, which the Hield move essentially does.
It would’ve been negligible to not try something with the success they’ve had with Embiid, prior to his setback, utterly dominant and in the best form of his career.
The Sixers have added sharpshooter Buddy Hield (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
Reports have suggested they’re planning to get Embiid back at some stage, and a supporting cast of Maxey, Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Nicholas Batum, Kelly Oubre Jr and Hield is a potent one that could challenge Boston in the East.
Critically, Hield is also on an expiring deal, so taking on his contract doesn’t affect the Sixers’ off-season cap space at all.
Philly also swapped backup point guard Patrick Beverley with Milwaukee’s Cameron Payne and got a second-round pick in the process, so technically, the Hield trade only cost it two second-rounders.
“Overall I think the Sixers have done something that allows them to stay in this race … what they picked up with Buddy Hield and getting away from Patrick Beverley, I think keeps them in the mix for Nick Nurse,” ESPN’s Clinton Yates told Around the Horn.
“I’m surprised the Pacers were willing to come off Buddy Hield. Overall, I think the Sixers are still in this hunt as far as personnel.”
Green shines as Mavs take down 76ers | 01:13
BIG NAME STILL ON THE BOARD
The trade deadline has come and gone, but there’s still one big name still on the board — Spencer Dinwiddie.
After being traded to Toronto for Dennis Schroder, the Raptors are reportedly waiving Dinwiddie’s expiring deal in a move that clears up cap space — and has come as a big surprise.
No one was expecting a player of Dinwiddie’s caliber — he’s averaged 12.6 points from 48 games this season and six assists — to be available on the open market to sign as a free agent.
As such, there’s no shortage of suitors.
Reports say the Lakers, 76ers, Mavericks and Pelicans all have interest in Dinwiddie in one of the most fascinating storylines to follow post the deadline.
One team is set to get a big boost and largely a free hit to help with their playoff campaign.
THE MAVS SACRIFICE TWO FIRST-ROUNDERS TO BUILD AROUND LUKA
The Mavericks were certainly active on the deadline, moving a first-round pick to pick up Daniel Gafford and then using another one, as well as a pick swap, to add P.J. Washington.
Let’s start with Gafford, who the Mavericks landed while sending Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round pick to Washington.
Gafford gives the Mavs another athletic big who can be a lob threat for Doncic and Kyrie Irving while also offering rim protection on the other side of the floor.
With Dereck Lively II injured Gafford can step in and deliver NBA starter-level production immediately for Dallas while he will also ease the pressure on the rookie come the post-season.
The only question is whether it was worth paying up that much for a player who is either going to be a back-up centre or take minutes away from Lively II, who impressed early in his rookie campaign.
It really depends which way you look at it.
LeBron stars as Lakers down Knicks | 01:18
As for Washington, he brings added athleticism and defensive versatility around Doncic and could benefit from the change of scenery away from Charlotte.
More than anything, both moves are proof to Doncic that Dallas is serious about making improvements to its roster and building around him, even if it doesn’t end up paying off in the end.
“I heard Jason Kidd say something about a week ago about how you have to do everything possible when you have a player like Luka Doncic on your roster as far as finding the most talent the surround him,” ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks said on ‘NBA Today’.
“I know they were two first-round picks that went out but when you get Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington in a trade and that upgrades your roster, I look at Dallas as a big winner.”
THE $51M LEBRON ‘ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM’ TO WATCH
There were few teams under more pressure entering the deadline than the Lakers.
That is what happens when LeBron James first posts an hourglass emoji of all things on social media before later refusing to make any guarantees on his future as he enters the summer with the possibility of becoming a free agent for the first time in his career.
Despite all of that, the Lakers did not make a single trade on Friday morning.
There still could be movement on the buyout market, with the Lakers reportedly among the leading contenders to sign Spencer Dinwiddie alongside the 76ers, Mavericks and Pelicans.
But despite showing interest in Dejounte Murray, the Lakers ultimately decided a trade for the Hawks guard was not going to be the kind of needle-mover that would vault them into Western Conference contention.
Part of that comes back to the fact that the player they were likely going to have to trade to land Murray, D’Angelo Russell, has been on a tear as of late.
Russell has averaged 24 points and 6.5 assists in his last 13 games while shooting 46.6 per cent from deep.
While that sort of production may not be sustainable and Murray would have been an upgrade on defence, it may not have been enough to warrant sending Russell away along with a first-round pick.
The Lakers stood still at the trade deadline. Was it the right call?Source: FOX SPORTS
The other issue is that if it wasn’t Russell it had to be Austin Reaves, who the Lakers had been reluctant to include in trade talks and was such a crucial part of the team’s Western Conference Finals run last season.
“The Lakers essentially saw the market place as marginal upgrades on what they had. The price to pay for that was just too high,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on ‘NBA Today’.
“Especially considering it would probably take them out of the market place in the summer. Where they think they’ll have an opportunity to go out and get a significant player – perhaps another star or more than one good player.
“Right now they have one-first round pick they can offer in trades. That changes July 1, they’ll be able to offer three first-round picks, that really changes the calculus of what you’re able to do.”
For the time being, the Lakers will stand pat and instead target a bigger name in the summer when they have three movable draft picks at their disposal.
That follows reporting from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin before the deadline, claiming the Lakers had internally discussed packaging the three picks, along with players, for a “bona fide star” such as Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell or Atlanta’s Trae Young.
Bill Reiter of CBS Sports also reported on Thursday the Lakers believe they are a chance of landing Mitchell in the off-season.
Of course, the risk the Lakers run is that James – who has a $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season – is not even on the team in the summer.
Giddey explodes for season high in 2OT! | 01:09
ESPN’s Malika Andrews described it as the “elephant in the room” for the Lakers, although NBA insider Brian Windhorst said L.A.’s mature approach at the trade deadline was the right one.
“They’re not acting like they’re petrified,” he said on ‘NBA Today’.
“I think that’s because they think the best course of action to keep LeBron and the Lakers competitive is to do what they’re doing right now. And I’ll also say this. I just don’t believe LeBron is opting out of $51 million.”
Could a poor stretch of play at the end of the season, which results in the Lakers missing the playoffs, change his mind? ESPN’s Zach Lowe believes it is worth the question.
“I’m watching the Lakers even more closely than usual for these last two months and the play-in and the playoffs if they get there because we all know the truth. LeBron has a player option for next year. If this team doesn’t play well he has outs if he wants to leave,” Lowe said on ‘NBA Today’.
“I don’t think he wants to leave. I think he wants to remain a Laker the rest of his career but the contract is what it is. This team is what it is and they’d have competition in the summer… this team has to prove itself to LeBron and to itself in the coming two months.”
WHAT ARE THE BULLS DOING?
If there was one team that didn’t make a move but should have before this year’s deadline it was the Chicago Bulls. Although the fact they did nothing hardly comes as a surprise.
After all, the Bulls have now not made a trade involving a player since August 2021, or in more stark terms — 30 months.
They also haven’t been anything more than a play-in tournament contender in recent years, having made the playoffs in the 2021-22 season before being bounced 4-1 in the opening round by Milwaukee.
It seems like the Bulls are OK with settling for being good enough to be a consistent playoff-calibre team without ever making the leap towards actually threatening to do anything of consequence in the post-season.
As NBA insider Brian Windhorst put it earlier in the week on ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’, “I think they’re in a rebuild and they don’t know they’re in a rebuild”.
Of course, there have been factors beyond their control, starting with Lonzo Ball’s constant injury setbacks. The same goes for Zach LaVine given the size of the contract he signed.
“That is just terrible misfortune but the Bulls are an organisation that historically has been OK with being in the middle and they seem to be content with being in the middle, making the playoffs and trying to put something together,” Windhorst added.
That remained the case on Friday, with DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso and Andre Drummond all staying put despite rival interest in all three players.
LaVine will miss the rest of the season (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
The decision to hold onto DeRozan was particularly perplexing given his impending free agency.
Now, the Bulls found themselves in a similar position last season with Nikola Vucevic and he ended up re-signing for three years and $60 million before hitting unrestricted free agency.
So there is a chance that DeRozan stays put. But does that even make sense for the Bulls? If healthy, are they really as constructed good enough to contend in the Eastern Conference anyway?
Coby White has been a revelation for Chicago this season and looks like the new face of the franchise that the Bulls need to start building around. He is only 23 years old though.
The Bulls had a chance to trade DeRozan on an expiring contract and would have not been short of suitors given the veteran would lift the ceiling of any contending team.
Now, Chicago will have a core group of players in DeRozan, Caruso and Vucevic all over 30 years old and is seemingly destined for another season of potentially getting to the play-in tournament and maybe even securing a playoff berth only to make a swift exit after the first round.
“Chicago fans, let me express – mistake, not trading Andrew Drummond. Mistake, not trading DeMar DeRozan. Mistake, not trading Alex Caruso. Everyone is telling you right now, these were all mistakes you made,” Richard Jefferson said on ‘NBA Today’.
The Bulls could look into a sign-and-trade with DeRozan this off-season or alternatively he could walk for nothing.
If anything, while it was misfortune that LaVine’s injury spoiled any hope Chicago had of trading him and being free of his $215 million contract, it should also serve as a reminder that nothing is guaranteed in this league.
GOLDEN STATE’S TRICKY BALANCING ACT
Like the Lakers, the Golden State Warriors found themselves in a tricky situation heading into Friday’s deadline.
Andrew Wiggins seemed like the most likely player to be moved but that in itself was going to be challenging given he was in the first year of a four-year, $109 million deal.
Klay Thompson, meanwhile, isn’t the same dependable option he once was and his recent benching down the stretch in favour of rookie Gui Santos, who had only played 61 minutes before Tuesday’s game against the Nets, spoke volumes to Steph Curry’s declining supporting cast.
It also spoke to Steve Kerr’s willingness to experiment with his rotations and closing line-ups more, giving younger players more minutes which benefits the Warriors not only in the long-term but right now too if they are better options than underperforming veterans.
A hasty Thompson trade was always unlikely given he can still be a valuable player for the Warriors, currently averaging 17.1 points per game while shooting 37.1 per cent from downtown.
It isn’t the kind of production we’ve come to expect from Thompson but it’s still good enough to have an important but secondary role in the team with room for more if he can rediscover his past form.
The Warriors stood still at the deadline despite talk their stars could be on the move (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)Source: FOX SPORTS
That is a consistent theme for this Warriors team and in relation to Thompson and Wiggins specifically.
Golden State is holding out on the chance those two key members of its most recent championship-winning team can get close to that sort of level as opposed to selling them at their lowest value.
Chris Paul was another name to monitor with an expiring $30.8 million salary, although replacing his role as the leader of the Warriors’ second unit was never going to be easy and wouldn’t necessarily make Golden State a better team anyway.
Then you factor in Golden State’s recent 5-3 stretch, where those three losses came in close fashion.
One of them was in overtime to the Hawks while it was only a one-point difference against both the Lakers and Kings.
In other words the Warriors were close to going 8-0 and the return of Draymond Green has a lot to do with that, improving Golden State’s defence to the extent that it boasts a 112.3 defensive rating during that 5-3 period – ranking seventh in the league.
All of this is to say that there weren’t many real difference makers available via trade and those that were would have required the Warriors to give up too many future assets that could either help the team land a star player in the summer or at least gives Golden State long-term roster flexibility.
That is consistent with reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Friday morning, claiming the Warriors had shown interest in two-way Bulls player Alex Caruso but did not strike a deal given Chicago’s asking price.
The clock is ticking as we move closer to Friday’s 7am NBA trade deadline (all times AEDT) in teams’ final opportunity to adjust their rosters for this season.
Some of the big dominoes have already fallen in recent weeks, with OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam and Terry Rozier finding new homes.
The rumour mill will only continue heat up as we approach the deadline as teams weigh up which direction they take, while several more stars could be on the move.
Below is a state of play on all the key NBA trade deadline storylines to follow in the coming days.
Catch up on the trade state of play heading towards the NBA trade deadline.Source: FOX SPORTS
How does Embiid’s knee setback impact Philadelphia’s plans?
It has to, in some way.
The Sixers were already in one of the most unique positions of any team. They’re in genuine title contention, yet are currently slated to have over $50 million cap space this off-season after bringing back a host of expiring contracts in the James Harden trade.
It means if Philly stayed patient and went into the off-season as constructed, it could sign a max-level superstar free agent, while it also has a suite of draft picks at its disposal to use in trades.
At the same time, Nick Nurse’s side has sat in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference for the majority of this season amid a dominant campaign from Embiid, the clear MVP frontrunner prior to getting struck down with a knee injury that requires surgery in a cruel twist.
There’s uncertainty surrounding Embiid’s return and the extent of his MCL setback — an injury the superstar centre has a history with.
It’s a delicate balancing act for the organisation between ensuring this isn’t a wasted season (though it might inevitably be if Embiid is out long, long term), prioritising his health and holding onto or using their assets.
It comes with the backdrop of Tyrese Maxey due for a bumper pay raise this off-season, though the breakout guard could sign an extensive after the Sixers sign prospective free agents.
But when will Embiid return? And even if they make a move, would it be enough to contend with Boston and Milwaukee in the East? Plus, which players are out there that would make sense for the Sixers?
“I think they continue to stay the course. They have salary cap this summer,” former NBA player Austin Rivers told ESPN’s NBA Today.
“Even though they’ve had a great year, I think a lot of that is due to the brilliance of Joel. I don’t seriously see them beating Boston or Milwaukee, despite their troubles, even with Joel.
“I like Philly and I like their team, but they have the MVP, you don’t need to flip the page … they have assets they can move and salary (this off-season) — this is a team I think next year will be even more in contention.
“I don’t like putting a timeline on Joel’s return.”
LeBron stars as Lakers down Knicks | 01:18
Lakers’ juggling act
Like always, the Lakers are one of most the most fascinating teams to watch.
It’s been a rollercoaster season for LeBron James and company — they have a 27-25 record to sit just inside the play-in qualification.
The good has been great — they won the in-season tournament, have taken some huge scalps — including beating the likes of Boston, New York and Oklahoma City over the past month, plus have had James and Anthony Davis healthy for virtually the entire season.
But they’ve been marred by inconsistency and looked a level below the top sides in the West, hence calls they need to add another piece into their mix.
The Lakers currently have one tradeable first-rounder in 2029 or 2030, but if they wait until the off-season, they have more draft capital to play with and thus could target a bigger name.
Currently on their radar are Dejounte Murray and Bruce Brown, having been the most active team in talks with Atlanta for Murray with a package centred around D’Angelo Russell.
Russell is the Lakers’ main trade chip in terms of players who could be moved out, while they’ve so far rebuffed talks with rivals involving Austin Reaves.
Meanwhile James, who can opt out of his contract at the end of the season and become a free agent, has appeared to be sending subliminal messages to the organisation asking for it to make a move in a bid for the team to make a serious playoff push.
It’s almost like James is keen to go in one direction, and the organisation is unsure what it wants to do to create a type of discord.
“There’s two negotiations going on for the Lakers right now,” ESPN journalist Brian Windhorst explained on NBA Today.
“There’s the negotiations they have with the teams they’re in talks with on trades and there’s the negotiations LeBron is sending with his passive aggressive stuff and bag of manoeuvres that are all very deniable. He’s a master at it, but he’s made it extremely clear he wants the Lakers to be aggressive.
“They have been willing to trade the 2029 first-round pick. But what they have not been willing to do is give everything they’ve got — (including) multiple pick swaps, Austin Reaves (or) looking to go and use second-round picks in another deal to get expiring money because teams talking to them about D’Angelo Russell aren’t crazy about his player option (for next season).
“I think they want to try and improve their roster, but they’ve also watched this team, to use LeBron’s words, be Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and win at the highest level in some of the hardest places … this isn’t necessarily a team if they add one little piece, it’s going to solve everything.
“They are going to try and improve and it wouldn’t surprise me if they did something, but I don’t think they have the interest in pouring everything out they’ve got onto the table to make a deal.”
Giddey explodes for season high in 2OT! | 01:09
Dejounte Murray sweepstakes
The Lakers aren’t the only team pursuing Murray, with a host of sides exploring a move for the Hawks guard.
Arguably the biggest name on the trade block, the likes of the Knicks, Spurs, Nets, Buck, Jazz and Pistons have also been linked to Murray.
But it’s not a sure thing the 22-28 Hawks trade him. In fact, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, Atlanta head coach Quin Snyder is pushing the organisation’s front office to keep Murray.
Murray’s play in recent times has probably increased his trade value too, or made it less likely he’s moved. The 27-year old, on a modest $17 million deal, recently went on the best scoring run of his career including hitting game winners against Orlando and Miami.
Even despite Atlanta’s patchy form overall, fans must be asking: ‘Why are we looking to trade this guy?’
There also hasn’t been recent updates of movement in talks with any teams, though the Lakers have been the one most firmly linked.
You also have to wonder if the Hawks themselves are weighing up whether they’ve put the right point guard on the market, with it possible they keep Murray and become open to Trae Young trades this off-season.
Or Atlanta could pull a different trade lever entirely in the coming days …
Warriors ‘in no man’s land’
Like the Lakers, Golden State is similarly at a crossroads, though their situation is more dire.
Despite having the biggest payroll in the NBA, Golden State has fallen away badly this season, sitting three games below .500 and outside the play-in.
It comes with Steph Curry still in his prime but the rest of the team’s ageing core has declined including Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson struggling to recapture their previous best heights, plus the seemingly never ending Draymond Green drama.
So should Golden State accept it’s the end of an era and continue to give extended opportunities to the likes of Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski and sell their veterans for long-term assets? Or could they try making another move to try and extend their golden run?
That’s exactly what they’d be pondering.
Golden State power past Grizzlies | 00:42
Wiggins, in the first year of a four-year, $109 million contract, is the one considered most likely to be in a new jersey by Friday’s deadline if indeed the Warriors opt to make a move.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania on FanDuel, the Mavericks and Pacers are two teams to watch as potential suitors for Wiggins.
ESPN journalist Brian Windhorst added on NBA Today: “They’ve had some discussions involving Andrew Wiggins. The issue is he’s underachieving right now and having his worst season since he came to Golden State … it’s not the best time to trade him.
“That said, there are some potential deals out there where they could get multiple players back, especially on the wings, that could potentially help them. I think they will examine that between now and (Friday).”
If not Wiggins, Chris Paul is another name that’s been floated in trade rumours, with the veteran guard’s non guaranteed $30 million contract for next season one that could be desirable around the league.
The Warriors last off-season acquired Paul in exchange for Jordan Poole in a move that off-loaded Poole’s mega $123 million contract
“I do think Chris Paul is an interesting figure. “More than anything, he’s a $30 million expiring contract,” Windhorst said.
“Especially if the Warriors do another deal with Wiggins where they offload future money, it could potentially make them more willing to trade Chris Paul in a deal where they take on future money, and again, potentially getting multiple players.
“They’re not touching their core — Draymond and Klay (won’t get traded).
“Part of the reason Chris Paul is there is because he’s money is coming off the books and they were clearing off the Jordan Poole money so they could afford to keep this team together.
“If they do a Chris Paul trade and take back more salary and they still have to potentially pay Klay Thompson (in an extension), I don’t know if it works. It’s a financial decision as much as it is anything else.”
Former NBA player Austin Rivers meanwhile called for the Warriors to get Curry help, but added they’re “in no man’s land.”
“In terms of the Warriors’ downfall, this started when they got rid of Jordan Poole … they got rid of their youngest asset. Now you’ve got Kuminga, who’s outplaying Wiggins and it’s not even close,” Rivers said.
“Wiggins isn’t playing to the level and they can’t trade him, Klay doesn’t have trade value, I don’t even know what Draymond’s trade value is. So they’re stuck in this middle land where they don’t know if they can rebuild, they’re also trying to hang onto this dynasty.
“(Warriors general manger Mike Dunleavy) is a first-year executive at that position and he doesn’t want to be the guy to trade away the Hall of Famers that have built this dynasty. Where does this team go? I don’t know.”
Will the Bulls be sellers?
It’s one of the big questions on everyone’s mind at the deadline amid another lacklustre season for Chicago, a season where Zach LaVine, who himself was considered one of the key candidates to get traded, won’t feature again due to ongoing injury issues.
It’s now highly unlikely LaVine is dealt, though some of his teammates yet could be.
They include DeMar DeRozan, who’s on an expiring deal and set to become a free agent this off-season, Alex Caruso and Andre Drummond.
It comes during a transitional period for Chicago, sitting just inside the play-in mix, where the likes of Coby White and Pat Williams have shown they’re ready to take on bigger roles and potentially make the organisation more open to being aggressive by the deadline.
But according to ESPN Insider Brian Windhorst, the Bulls are likely to stand still or move Drummond – not their bigger names.
“All indications point they’re holding firm — there are no indications of Caruso being available or that they’re going to do something with DeRozan,” Windhorst told NBA Today.
“I think they’re riding it out and they’re going to try and make the play-in. The one player I could see them moving would be Andre Drummond … there’s a bunch of teams interested. If Philly is looking for a stopgap for Embiid, he was there a couple of years ago.
“I think they’re in a rebuild and they don’t know they’re in a rebuild. I have to say, they’ve had horrible luck (with injuries) … the Bulls are an organisation that historically have been OK with being in the middle, making the playoffs and trying to put something together.”
Maxey leads 76ers with 51-point haul | 01:16
How about the Wizards?
Another team on tear it down watch is Washington.
After off-loading Kristaps Porzingis and Bradley Beal least off-season, the 9-40 Wizards, who are very much embracing a rebuild and in tonk mode, could continue to unload their veteran players for long-term assets.
Kyle Kuzma would yield the biggest return, with Dallas and Sacramento reportedly eyeing a move for the gun forward.
Tyus Jones, who’s set to become a free agent this off-season, is widely sought after too. According to NBA Insider Michael Scotto, the Lakers, Sixers, Nets, Magic Timberwolves and Spurs all have interest in the guard.
Frankly, outside of Bilal Coulibaly, it wouldn’t be a shock if any Wizard was moved by Friday.
And the Pistons?
In what’s been a disaster season, the 6-43 Pistons could also look to tinker with their roster.
Outside of Cade Cunningham, who isn’t said to be available, Bojan Bogdanovic is the Piston with the most appeal around the league and would make sense for a ton of playoff teams.
As such, he could get Detroit a nice haul of picks/long-term assets.
The Pistons at last year’s deadline held firm and retained Bogdanovic despite plenty of interest around the league, but could the team’s struggles this season have shifted their position.
Other Pistons including Alec Burks, Killian Hayes and Monte Morris have also been linked to trade reports.
Potential buyers
Having already landed Anunoby, the Knicks are a team that are constantly being linked to the biggest names on the market including Dejounte Murray, DeMar DeRozan, Bruce Brown and Jordan Clarkson amid the team’s surge up the Eastern Conference standings.
With claim of its first-round picks plus extras from other teams, New York could instead wait it out though in hopes that a big-name superstar becomes available later in the year.
Similarly, the Thunder have an inordinate amount of draft picks to use on prospective targets, potentially another big, though the team has very much preached patience and playing the long-term game.
Even despite shooting up the standings this season, you sense OKC isn’t ready to make its big splash nor genuinely explore Josh Giddey trades despite some noise.
The Mavericks, KingsandPelicans are in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race and have some appealing assets and roster flexibility in general to make moves, though they could also reassess their directions in the off-season.
In the East, Miami mightn’t be done yet too despite acquiring Terry Rozier, nor the Pacers after their blockbuster Siakam move.
There’s a bunch of teams looking for upgrades, just not that many big-name stars available.
What are the Jazz doing?
Maybe the team hardest to get a read on.
Utah is uniquely placed in that you could see it going in either direction in terms of buying or selling.
They have a host of veterans like Jordan Clarkson, Colin Sexton and Kelly Olynyk drawing interest from other teams and could net them a nice return.
But at the same time, the Jazz could bundle its assortment of picks acquired in the Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell trades to try and land a big fish like Dejounte Murray.
Watch this space.
Other things to watch …
After moving Rozier to Miami, the Hornets, under new management, appear committed to a proper rebuild and selling more of their parts for picks and other assets.
Both PJ Washington and Miles Bridges, who’s been heavily linked to the Suns, are seen as the other Hornets most likely to be on the move.
Portland is likewise dedicated to its new direction of youth movement, naturally making Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon trade targets for other teams.
It seems the Blazers are keen to hang onto Grant for now, but you could see them parting ways with Brogdon for the right price.
Then there’s the Bruce Brown situation, who was picked up by Toronto in the Siakam trade with the intention of being dealt again by the deadline to a playoff team.
The Knicks and Lakers are considered the main suitors for the 2023 championship-winning Nugget, but a range of teams are believed to be interested in Brown in one of the hottest names available.
Having parted ways with coach Adrian Griffin, it’s clear that the Bucks will be aggressive in doing whatever it takes in the pursuit of success.
Milwaukee is reportedly searching for defensive upgrades amid its struggles on that end of the court, and it wouldn’t be surprised if it tried something bold, with a move of some kind likely.
Brooklyn is another team to keep an eye on given its spread of assets in what’s been an indifferent season disrupted by injury.
Speaking of injury, it’s been a full-blown write off campaign for the Grizzlies after widespread setbacks to their key stars. So just like how it traded Steven Adams to Houston last week for a host of second-round picks, Memphis could look to trade other veterans for off-season assets with an eye towards 2024/25.
There’s a lot in play between now and Friday morning.
