NBA rumors

Aaron Gordon confirmed that he has requested trade from the Orlando Magic due to frustration over a series of issues.

Per ESPN,Gordon said he made the request because of his “frustration” with the team on a number of issues. The Athletic reported Monday that Gordon asked the Magic for a trade in February.

Magic forward Aaron Gordon reportedly asked for a trade

“There’s been times where I just expressed my frustration to management,” Gordon told reporters. “Frustration with the losses, the injuries, the way we’ve been playing and how many losses have accumulated over the years. So it’s just my frustration kind of boiling over I would say. … I think a lot of people share that sentiment with me, of frustration.”

“As of right now, I’m an Orlando Magic. I’ve been here for seven years, developed a home here, a sense of love and community here. For as long as I have Orlando on my chest, Magic on my chest, I’m going to give it everything I have.”

According to Ava Wallace of the Washington Post, Wizards star Bradley Beal is not available for a trade this week and the All Star guard has not requested one recently.

According to a NBA source, the Wizards are “operating as if they’ve got time on their hands.”

The Indiana Pacers are listening to trade offers from rival teams on Malcolm Brogdon, according to Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill.

The Pacers reportedly believe Caris LeVert can play the point guard position if they get a good trade for Brogdon, who is in the second season of a four-year, $85 million deal.

The Chicago Bulls are listening to trade offers on Lauri Markkanen, reports The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Finnish forward is averaging 17.7 ppg and 6.0 rpg.

Markkanen will be a restricted free agent this offseason after he didn’t come close to an extension with the Bulls before the start of the season. The Bulls have received interest from multiple teams on Markkanen.

Victor Oladipo will likely be traded by the Houston Rockets before the deadline on Thursday, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Miami Heat and New York Knicks, who each could sign Oladipo outright as a free agent this offseason, are reluctant to offer a premium trade package to the Rockets.

There are teams who don’t project to have cap space who are bidding with combinations of a first round pick and a young player.

According to Kevin O’Connor, the Golden State Warriors have had trade talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers for forward Cedi Osman.

The reporter adds that the Cavs received trade interest for Osman and center JaVale McGee, while the Warriors are willing to listen to offers for Kelly Oubre Jr.

Osman is under contract with Cleveland for 3 more seasons for about 22 million.

Dallas Mavs, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons and Atlanta Hawks are among the teams that have expressed interest in Toronto Raptors guard Norman Powell, Jake Fischer reports.

The guard out of UCLA, who is expected to decline his $11.6MM player option to became an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, is averaging a career-high 19.5 points per game, shooting 55% from two points, 43% from beyond the arc and 87% from the foul line.

The Boston Celtics are the front runners to acquire Aaron Gordon.
Boston offered two first round picks to the Magic for Gordon, same offer made by the Rockets.

Deal is NOT done, talks are ongoing, Magic expected to field offers until Thursday’s deadline.

— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 23, 2021

The Sacramento Kings announced today that the team has acquired forward/center Mfiondu Kabengele (fee-ON-doo cabin-gelly), a future second-round draft selection and cash considerations from the LA Clippers in exchange for a future second-round draft selection.

During the 2020-21 season, Kabengele has averaged 1.2 points (.281 FG%, .222 3pt%, .833 FT%), 0.6 rebounds and 4.1 minutes per game in 23 games. In his second season out of Florida State, Kabengele has accrued career averages of 2.0 points (.359 FG%, .342 3pt%, .909 FT%), 0.7 rebounds and 4.5 minutes per game in 35 games played with the LA Clippers.

Sacramento’s roster now stands at 17 players.

Per ESPN, With the deal, the Clippers created an open roster spot ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline and the eventual free-agent buyout market, dropping $2.6 million below the hard cap. Under the restrictions of the hard cap, the Clippers had to wait until March 30 to sign a player. Now, there are no restrictions on using the team’s two open roster spots.

The Detroit Pistons turned down a trade offer from the Sacramento Kings that would’ve sent Marvin Bagley III to Detroit and Saddiq Bey to Sacramento, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

The Kings and Bagley appear to prefer a separation.

Bey has had a solid rookie season for the Pistons so far, averaging 10.3 points while shooting 38.6 from 3-point range.

The Los Angeles Clippers are in pursuit of a point guard.
The two dreams of the franchise are Kyle Lowry and Lonzo Ball but are both very hard to trade for.

Per The Ringer,Though the Clippers have interest in big-name point guards like Ball and Lowry, their more realistic trade targets would grab fewer headlines. League sources say the Clippers have had trade talks with Oklahoma City for George Hill and with Minnesota for Ricky Rubio. Los Angeles likely doesn’t have the assets necessary to acquire Ball or Lowry, but the team’s interest in both certainly speaks to the need for a playmaking presence who can stop the offense from running stagnant in fourth quarters. –

The Brooklyn Nets are signing Alize Johnson to a ten-day contract.
Johnson spent the G League season with Raptors 905 averaging 16.6ppg and 13.3rpg.

Johnson, 24, averaged 16.6 points and 13.3 rebounds in the G-League Bubble for Toronto's affiliate. Johnson spent the previous two seasons with the Pacers.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 22, 2021

The Boston Celtics are interested in two Atlanta Hawks players: John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Per The Ringer, Boston’s pursuit of Collins also involves another key Hawks rotation player, according to league sources: Bogdan Bogdanovic, whom the Celtics had some trade discussions about while he was in Sacramento. If the Hawks were to acquire Ball, maybe moving Bogdanovic would make some sense.

Hawks reportedly interested in Marcus Smart and Lonzo Ball

Both Collins, 23, and Bogdanovic, 28, fit the timeline of All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are 23 and 24, yet are good enough to compete now.

The Toronto Raptors and the Charlotte Hornets are eyeing Richaun Holmes if the Sacramento Kings are ready to trade him before deadline.

Per The Athletic, Several teams have expressed interest in Kings center Richaun Holmes, including Toronto and Charlotte, sources said. –

Kyle Lowry’s tenure with the Toronto Raptors may come to an end soon after nine season.

Per The Athletic, The Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers are leaders in pursuit to acquire Lowry, sources told The Athletic, and several rival team executives are monitoring the situation as well as which young player or asset either team could part with. Lowry has spent the last nine years in Toronto, cementing himself as a legacy player for the Raptors and as arguably the best player in franchise history. Lowry’s arrival in Toronto predated Masai Ujiri’s presidency, and to fans, he represents a through line that connects the Raptors’ fight for relevancy at the beginning of his time with the franchise to their current status as one of the league’s most respected organizations.

The Atlanta Hawks are looking for a guard before the NBA trade deadline. Two are the names on Atlanta’s radars: Marcus Smart and Lonzo Ball.

Per The Athletic, The Hawks have expressed interest in Celtics guard Marcus Smart, sources said. Smart has played in six games since returning from a calf strain, and Celtics players understood his loss in the lineup during the month-and-a-half he sat out.

Another team expected to show interest in Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball: The Hawks, sources said. The Pelicans have a price point on Ball to reach for any deal.

Aaron Gordon wants to leave the Orlando Magic.
The forward asked for a trade last February.

Per The Athletic, Aaron Gordon is ready for a relocation, as sources tell The Athletic that he asked Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman for a trade through his representative in February. But will he land in Boston before the NBA’s trade deadline on Thursday? The Celtics have certainly been trying.

As far as the Gordon market, the Rockets and Magic have engaged in talks on a Gordon deal to Houston for two first-round draft picks, sources have told The Athletic. No deal is imminent on this front as of this writing, but there have been significant talks. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers remain interested in Gordon, sources say, but Orlando has held a firm value of its 25-year-old forward. Sources tell me and The Athletic’s Jared Weiss that the Celtics have interest in Gordon and have engaged in conversations with the Magic.

The Houston Rockets lost 20th consecutive game, three losses longer than the previous franchise record.

All-Star guard Victor Oladipo could be traded in the next four days as reported by Marc Stein.

Around the league, Houston’s two-time All-Star guard Victor Oladipo is increasingly regarded as one of the (if not THE) most decorated players to be traded in the next four-plus days

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 21, 2021

Golden State Warriors big man Kevon Looney has entered the NBA health and safety protocol, per The Athletic.

He will miss tonight’s game against Memphis.

The Orlando Magic have received interest from a number of teams on a potential trade for Aaron Gordon, reports Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Orlando would be seeking a young player or players and a draft pick for their player.

The Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves have expressed interest on Magic forward, while the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets are also potential landing spots.