Today’s the day! It feels like it took forever to get here, but the NBA’s trade deadline is finally upon us.
The rumour mill has been in full force heading into today’s 3 PM ET frenzy, so let’s take a look at the latest and greatest:
DO RAPTORS WANT TO PUNT THE FIRST ROUND OF 2017 DRAFT?
What we know: The 2017 NBA draft is loaded. While you may have heard about the potential stars expected to go in the lottery like Josh Jackson, Lonzo Ball, Markelle Fultz, Malik Monk and Dennis Smith Jr., it’s also a deep pool that could see plenty of talent still on the board in the low to mid-20s.
Depending on which mock drafts you read, names like Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, promising teen swingman Terrence Ferguson (who skipped college to play a season in Europe), Latvia’s Roions Kurucs, Florida State scorer Dwayne Bacon, Purdue big man Caleb Swanigan, and plenty others will be up for grabs for teams choosing in that spot.
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We also know that the Raptors entered the trade season with two first-rounders— their own and the Los Angeles Clippers (acquired as part of the Grieves Vasquez-To-Milwaukee deal from two years ago)— but sent one of those picks (whichever is worst) to Orlando when they dealt for Serge Ibaka.
What we don’t know: Whether or not Masai Ujiri & Co. are willing to part with their lone remaining first-round draft pick.
That is the debate reportedly taking place in the Raptors war room this morning, as a potential deal for Phoenix Suns veteran forward P.J. Tucker hangs in the air:
You can see why it would be a bona fide discussion within Toronto’s front office. The talent in this year’s draft is reason enough to hesitate on pulling the trigger for Tucker, who seems like he’s been around way longer than his 31 years of age would indicate, and is on an expiring contract.
On the other hand, the Raptors already have a bevy of young prospects— Delon Wright, Norman Powell, Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam, Bruno Caboclo, and even Lucas Nogueira, to name six— and with short-term goals of getting back to the Conference Finals while DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are in their primes, justifiably wouldn’t exactly be looking to add to that list.
In Tucker, the Raptors would add toughness, defence, and rebounding— the type of player who can come in handy when the game slows down during the playoffs— for a relatively low cost. Tucker projects to fill a similar role and skill-set as DeMarre Carroll, but would help the Raps to fill the void on the bench left when Terrence Ross was sent to the Magic. So will the Raptors cough up their pick for Tucker? We’re about to find out.
Update: The Raptors, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein, are also pursuing a trade for Denver Nuggets small forward Wilson Chandler, with the same debates over whether or not to include their first-rounder serving as the main road block. Chandler stands to benefit the Raptors more as far as replacing Ross is concerned, as over his career he’s been a better shooter than Tucker. That said, Chandler is due $12 million next season with a player option for 2018-19, a troubling notion for a team looking to preserve cap room to re-sign Kyle Lowry and perhaps the newly-acquired Ibaka, too.
PISTONS NOT HANGING UP ON DRUMMOND OFFERS
Earlier this week we learned that prior to trading for Ibaka the Raptors held preliminary talks with Detroit for a deal centred around Pistons star centre Andre Drummond. While those talks died when the Magic agreed to send Ibaka to Toronto, it looks like the Pistons aren’t done listening to offers for the 23 year-old seven footer.
The Brooklyn Nets and Portland Trailblazers are two more teams that have inquired about Drummond, but when Detroit asked the ‘Blazers for C.J. McCollum in return that conversation reportedly ended quickly.
RUBIO BEING SHOPPED
Ricky Rubio’s name has been in trade rumours since Tom Thibodeau took the reigns in Minnesota. The latest has the New York Knicks angling to land the Spaniard in a deal that may involve Derrick Rose going back to the Timberwolves as Minny looks to secure their point guard of the present. The ‘Wolves may be more wise to bank on this year’s point-gaurd heavy draft, though they’ve seen in Kris Dunn how hard it can be to rely on a rookie point guard to help win games.
MAGIC JOHNSON-LARRY BIRD RIVALRY CONTINUES
Now that they’re both running teams, the two faces who vaulted the NBA’s popularity to new heights during their playing days in the 80’s are back at it again. The two reportedly spoke Wednesday as the Lakers inquired about what it would take to land Pacers all-star Paul George, the latest superstar to be included in rumours as the deadline inches closer and closer.