Trade rumors are starting to come fast and furious as talks heat up in advance of the Feb. 8 trade deadline, here is a roundup of some of the reports in the last couple of days.
• Pistons, Pacers most rumored teams in Siakam chase. If Pascal Siakam is not at the top of your “traded by the deadline” list, move him there now. That seemed obvious from the moment Toronto traded OG Anunoby to the Knicks and more reports than could be listed here confirmed that a move is coming. But where? Jake Fischer at Yahoo Sports had this report:
But the chatter among NBA executives surrounding Siakam’s potential landing spots has now centered on Indiana, Sacramento and Detroit… Other teams mentioned, such as Dallas and Philadelphia, don’t appear as viable destinations at this juncture, although Toronto officials have suggested to inquiring front offices as many as 10 teams hold legitimate interest in Siakam, sources said.
Scratch Sacramento… probably. Shams Charania reported late on Friday that the Kings “are deciding to pull out of the Pascal Siakam talks.” That means one of a few things. First, that they realize another team (say, Indiana) is about to win the sweepstakes and they pulled out to save face. Second, that Siakam told them he would not re-sign there this summer no matter the offer. Third (and the option Kings fans should cling to), they realized that the price to land him was not worth it considering his questionable fit with Domantas Sabonis.
Don’t forget that Siakam has some leverage in this trade because he is a free agent at the end of this season. Marc Stein reported this week that Siakam “would prefer, again, to proceed to unrestricted free agency” if traded, not automatically re-sign with that team. That could be Siakam’s camp trying to exert some leverage, but if it is true it will lower the return for Toronto because no team is giving up much in assets for a potential rental.
Which could be Toronto’s problem in striking a deal with Indiana: The Pacers have cap flexibility this summer and can arrange to have more than $30 million in cap space, if Siakam wants to come why give up quality trade assets to get him now when they can get him next summer for nothing?
Also of note, not in that mix of potential buyers are the Atlanta Hawks, who had serious conversations with the Raptors about a Siakam trade over the summer, but are more likely to be sellers at the deadline, not buyers.
Expect more teams to be linked to Siakam — if a front office wants to show its fan base it’s active without really doing much it lobs a call to the Raptors, then leaks there were talks — but the Pacers are known to be in the market for a wing who can step in and play a major role. There is logic to them having genuine interest.
• Wait, the Pistons might want to be buyers and trade for another veteran? Yes. Seriously. That the Pistons were as or more likely to buy than sell at the deadline is something NBC Sports heard from a league source previously (but was slow to believe it) and now Fischer at Yahoo Sports and James Edwards III at The Athletic are reporting it. This appears to be true. Does owner Tom Gores want to step in? Some of the worst trades in the NBA come when a GM fears losing his job and starts thinking short-term rather than about the big picture. With Monty Williams being signed to one of the richest coaching deals in league history, he’s not going anywhere, so Troy Weaver becomes the guy on the hot seat.
• Lakers, 76ers among teams interested in Dejounte Murray. The well-connected Chris Haynes of TNT/Bleacher Report said in a video Friday that the Atlanta Hawks are getting “ample interest” from a lot of teams about guard Dejounte Murray, who is absolutely available at the trade deadline.
Haynes specifically listed the Lakers and 76ers as having interest. No doubt they do, but actually making those trades work is another mater. In the case of the Lakers, the salaries match up well with D’Angelo Russell, but Atlanta isn’t going to want him (even if Los Angeles throws in its 2030 first-round pick). Instead, Atlanta will ask for the pick, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura or Jarred Vanderbilt in a larger deal. Would that make the Lakers better? Haynes said the 76ers will be patient — and they should be, if Murray was a poor fit next to Trae Young are they sure they want him next to Tyrese Maxey? Philly can match salaries by using Marcus Morris Sr., but the 76ers would need to throw in multiple picks they stockpiled to get the Hawks to listen. Plus, adding Murray would mess with the 76ers’ off-season cap space plans (Murray is good, but not “blow up your plans” good).
• Trae Young, Jalen Johnson are off the table for the Hawks. Atlanta will be a seller at the trade deadline — in a market short of them — but the two guys not available are Trae Young and breakout star forward Jalen Johnson, Fischer reports. It’s also the right thing to do.
• Wizards hoping to get multiple first-round picks for Kyle Kuzma. The Washington Wizards are sellers heading into the trade deadline — as they should be. However, right now, their prices are high. This is also from Fischer at Yahoo Sports:
The Wizards have informed rival teams they’re open to trading veterans in search of future draft assets for Washington’s rebuild, sources said. Early impressions are the Wizards hope to receive multiple first-round picks for Kuzma, with the goal of receiving maximum draft capital for other players down their roster as well.
Good luck with that.
• Kings testing market for Harrison Barnes, Kevin Huerter. Sacramento expects to be a buyer at the trade deadline as they want to take a step forward around their core of De’Aaron Fox, Domantis Sabonis and Keegan Murray (yes, they see Murray in that core). So what are they offering in trades? The Kings are reportedly testing the market for the combination of Harrison Barnes, and Kevin Huerter, Fischer reports. How much interest that duo draws remains to be seen.
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