The NBA trade deadline is officially just under 24 hours from closing as various teams around the league scramble to make moves that could make or break their season.
The potential availability of Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant remains the story to watch after teammate Kyrie Irving was sent to the Dallas Mavericks in the first blockbuster trade of the window.
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Elsewhere, the Lakers could be on the verge of a three-way trade to solve their Russell Westbrook headache.
LAKERS EYE THREE-TEAM SOLUTION TO WESTBROOK DILEMMA
The Los Angeles Lakers look to be inching closer to finding a solution to their Russell Westbrook headache.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported on Thursday morning that the Lakers, Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves are in discussions on a three-team deal that would send D’Angelo Russell to the Lakers, Russell Westbrook and draft compensation such as a first-round pick to Utah and Mike Conley Jr. to Minnesota.
“Ongoing discussions have included Utah’s Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt as part of the potential three-team deal to the Lakers,” Charania added.
“Sides are working through pick protections and additional draft compensation too.”
It is consistent to whispers ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was hearing on Thursday morning linking Russell to the Lakers.
Bleacher Report’s and TNT’s Chris Haynes, meanwhile, had reported earlier in the week that the Lakers and Jazz held preliminary discussions regarding a trade surrounding Westbrook.
The news comes after a report from Wojnarowski that Westbrook and coach Darvin Ham got into a “heated verbal exchange” in the locker room during halftime against Oklahoma City.
Though the tense exchange was reportedly brief, Ham was apparently annoyed with Westbrook’s lingering on the floor after getting subbed late in the second quarter.
Voices were raised, according to the report, with talk eventually turning back to the game at hand, one that the Lakers went on to lose, 133-130, to drop to 25-30 in what has been another woeful season in Los Angeles.
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Westbrook finished the game on the floor for the Lakers, tallying 14 fourth-quarter points — a season-high — and he and Ham apparently “dapped up” prior to each leaving the arena, per ESPN.
It has been an up-and-down season for the nine-time All-Star. Westbrook has been relegated to mostly a reserve role since early in the season. He’s averaging a career-low 28.7 minutes per game to go with 15.9 points per game, his lowest output since his rookie season in 2008-09 with the Thunder.
Westbrook finished Wednesday’s game with 27 points, eight assists and four rebounds.
— with New York Post
‘FOOLISH’ DURANT TRADE SUGGESTION ROASTED
Plenty has changed since Kevin Durant last requested a trade six months ago.
Coach Steve Nash and superstar teammate Irving are no longer on the team and now there is uncertainty surrounding Durant’s future once more ahead of Friday’s deadline.
ESPN’s NBA insider Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that Durant and the Nets have been engaged in talks with owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks since Irving was traded to the Mavericks.
The focus of those talks, according to Wojnarowski, has been “the direction of the franchise and its ability to be a championship contender”.
Sources told Wojnarowski that Brooklyn is insisting to inquiring teams that it “has no intention” of moving Durant before the deadline.
Instead, having already acquired Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie as part of the Irving deal, the Nets could look to only build their roster further to put Durant in a position to succeed.
The recent emergence of Cam Thomas has certainly helped, although the Nets also created an additional roster spot and potentially freed up $8 million in salary and luxury tax on Wednesday by trading forward Kessler Edwards and cash to the Sacramento Kings.
Only complicating matters though is reporting from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst that rival teams have been strategically hesitant to negotiate with and help the Nets improve their roster.
“The Nets, I’m not sure teams really want to do business with them right now,” Windhorst said on a recent episode of his ‘The Hoop Collective’ podcast
“Because there’s at least some teams that are interested in seeing if they can get Durant. And why would I help the Nets do something to build around Durant when I’m just going to hold my assets for Durant.
“There may be other teams that are not even interested in doing business with the Nets right now that might also hold assets at this deadline, with the mind towards Durant, not that Durant would be available, but the Durant will be available again in the summer.”
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One team that has been linked to Durant ahead of the deadline is the Boston Celtics, with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith claiming Jaylen Brown could be part of a possible deal.
That though is hard to believe given Brown is just 26 years old and squarely in the MVP discussion earlier in the season and Jalen Rose agreed it would be a “foolish” move.
“The Boston Celtics, they would be foolish to trade Jaylen Brown at this point of his career,” Rose said on ‘Get Up’.
“And (to) break up Jayson Tatum and that duo that a lot of people have been clamouring for them to do the last few years for some odd reason, for Kevin Durant at this point of his career.
“I know how dominant and great (Durant) is. But at his age, he’s dealt with some injuries over the last couple of years. You don’t trade Jaylen Brown for him if you’re the Celtics.”
AUSSIE THYBULLE ‘COULD BE MOVED’ AS TEAMS CIRCLE
Elsewhere, it is looking increasingly that Australian Matisse Thybulle will be traded before Friday’s deadline.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, “nearly a third” of the teams in the NBA have “expressed exploratory interest” in trading for Thybulle during this season.
Now, whether all of those teams are still interested in trading for the 25-year-old is unclear at this stage but Scotto reported the Pacers, Blazers, Bucks, Mavericks, Hornets, Raptors, and Suns all made calls to inquire about Thybulle.
NBA insider Marc Stein, meanwhile, more recently reported that the Hawks and Kings had interest in Thybulle while Sixers beat reporter Keith Pompey heard similar about the Warriors.
“Determined to contend for a title, the Sixers are expected to keep their core group intact,” Pompey reported.
“But Thybulle, no longer viewed as an essential player, could be moved for a decent package.”
Pompey also reported that the Sixers are looking at a center and wing ahead of the deadline but that Thybulle’s trade value has been lowered by his lack of consistent offensive production.
“As a result,” Pompey reported, “Sixers president of basketball operation Daryl Morey could wait until moments before the deadline to see if offers increase”.
Thybulle has seen his average minutes plummet from 25.5 to 12.1 this season, averaging just 2.6 points per game, but the Australian is obviously still one of the league’s best defenders.
One option could also be including Furkan Korkmaz, who has requested a trade, into a potential package alongside Thybulle to increase the value.
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