NBA rumors

76ers president Daryl Morey confirmed that there are talks ongoing with the Sacramento Kings adding that no deals are close to being finalized.

Per The Daily Six (via RealGM), In a wide-ranging interview with Philadelphia radio station 97.5 The Fanatic, Daryl Morey touched on Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and the trade deadline. Morey didn’t shy away from discussing one specific rumor that was making the rounds this week either.
When asked about the rumor that the Philadelphia 76ers were in discussions to trade Simmons and Tobias Harris to the Sacramento Kings, Morey didn’t take the usual tactic of downplaying things.
“I can tell you that for sure there are deals with the Sacramento Kings that I think would work. Will those deals ever happen? I have no idea,” Morey said. “Are they just straight deals with the Kings? Probably not. Is it multiple teams? Probably. But for sure there are deals that are possible, that would go over our line.”
Morey said the Sixers have talked with “pretty much every team” about Simmons trades. He also said “I can tell you for a fact that nothing’s gotten into, at this point, into a range (of being close). And generally, they don’t get into a range of a possible deal until you get closer to the deadline.

The Houston Rockets have no chance to have John Wall back in the lineup or bought out before his contract expires in 2023.

Per Marc Stein of Substack,  (via RealGM) The Rockets traded for Westbrook during the 2019 offseason and then traded him for Wall in 2020 in which they received a first round pick.

With Wall not currently playing and no buyout on the horizon, the Rockets are unlikely to find another trade option before his contract expires in 2023. Houston would seek “sufficient draft compensation” for taking on Westbrook, who has struggled with his first on the Lakers’ roster. The Lakers could offer their 2027 first round pick or multiple second rounders. Westbrook wouldn’t play for the Rockets, just as Wall hasn’t played since last season.

The scenario is described by Stein as unlikely between now and Feb. 10th.

The Lakers gave up a first round pick plus three rotation players in Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Montrezl Harrell in order to acquire Westbrook from the Washington Wizards.

Russell Westbrook spoke with ESPN about being benched in the final minutes of Wednesday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Per ESPN, Asked whether he was surprised that coach Frank Vogel substituted him out of the final four minutes of L.A.’s fourth loss in five games, Westbrook told ESPN: “Surprised, yes. I was disappointed I didn’t go back in, but I’m more disappointed that we lost the damn game.

“I want to be able to be on the floor to help my teammates and be able to help our team win in games like that — but that was a decision that was made.”

“Ultimately, you have to be OK when s— doesn’t go well, and I’m OK,” Westbrook told ESPN. “I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me here, and I’ll continue to do so and ride this out as long as we can toward our ultimate goal — and that’s to win a championship.

“We obviously haven’t been fully healthy, but I’m committed to making this thing work. The communication is there with everybody in the organization to make this thing work, to make this team we all want it to be in the future.

“I have accepted everything that has been asked of me and tried to do it to the best of my ability. I’m not the ultimate decision-maker of if it’s working — or if it’s not working. I’m OK with sacrificing some of the things that I’ve been able to do in this game to win, because that’s the most important part of this game. I’ve done everything they’ve asked me to do to this point.”

DeMarcus Cousins will sign a 10-day contract with the Denver Nuggets.

Cousins played 17 games this season with Milwaukee Bucks.

Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins will sign a 10-day contract with the Denver Nuggets today, sources tell ESPN. Denver has six games in the stretch, beginning vs. Memphis and Detroit on Friday and Sunday.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 21, 2022

Paul Millsap will search a new team for this season after finding a deal with  Brooklyn Nets.

Millsap has played in only two of the Nets‘ last 17 games.

Millsap, 36, has played in only two of the Nets‘ last 17 games. He chose among Nets, Bulls and Warriors in free agency last offseason. https://t.co/fRLlq1dv4F

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 21, 2022

The Sacramento Kings have not ruled out the possibility of acquiring both Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, reports Sam Amick of The Athletic. Harris signed a five-year, $180 million deal with the 76ers in 2019 that has two more seasons remaining.

The Kings could build a package for Simmons and Harris around De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes.

The Boston Celtics are exploring trading Al Horford as they pursue another center, as reported by Jared Weiss of The Athletic

Boston re-acquired Horford last offseason spending the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report says that Los Angeles Lakers star Russell Westbrook’s trade market is “nonexistent” at the moment.

Lakers “might have a shot” if Westbrook was in the final year of his deal, but former MVP has a $47M contract for the 22-23 season.

According to Matt Moore of Action Network, the Atlanta Hawks are willing to engage in trade talks for both John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic

Collins is on the first season of a 5-year, max contract extension signed last offseason while Bogdanovic has $36M overall on his contract for the next two seasons, with the second one being on a player option

The Los Angeles Lakers are shopping Talen Horton-Tucker.

Per LA Times, The Los Angeles Lakers are shopping Talen Horton-Tucker in trade discussions, sources tell the Los Angeles Times.

While the Lakers still value Horton-Tucker, they lack ways of improving their roster without including him and his salary in a trade.

The Lakers re-signed Horton-Tucker on a three-year, $32 million deal in the offseason.

Horton-Tucker is averaging 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 27.4 minutes over 28 games this season.

The Los Angeles Lakers have no current plans to replace coach Frank Vogel.
The coach was on the hot seat but after the win against the Jazz he saved his job.

Per LA Times, “There are no current plans” to replace Vogel, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz on Monday, which took him off the hot seat.

Rob Pelinka and Kurt Rambis met with Vogel and David Fizdale after last week’s loss to the Sacramento Kings. It was third time the group has met in recent days. Rambis then attended the Lakers’ pregame coaches meeting before the Utah game. Rambis advocated for the Lakers to use bigger lineups with Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan.

Vogel helped guide the Lakers to a title in his first season with the team, but he was only given a one-year extension before the start of this season.

The Denver Nuggets  have acquired Bryn Forbes from the San Antonio Spurs in a three-team trade that involved also the Boston Celtics.

Per ESPN, The Nuggets will send Bol Bol and P.J. Dozier to the Celtics, and the Spurs will acquire Boston forward Juancho Hernangomez and Denver’s 2028 second-round pick, sources said.

The Nuggets are hopeful Forbes can improve their 3-point shooting. The Celtics will save approximately $3 million in salary on the deal, which will help them avoid the luxury tax. Dozier is lost for the season with an ACL tear, and Bol underwent foot surgery on Tuesday that’s expected to sideline him for three months. Dozier is an unrestricted free agent this summer, and Bol will be a restricted free agent.

Boston has no immediate plans to waive Dozier or Bol, certainly not before the Feb. 10 trade deadline.

Utah Jazz sign Danuel House to a second 10-day contract.

House played 3 games with Jazz this season.

The Jazz say they have signed DANUEL House to a 10-day contract. He played in three games with Utah on a previous 10-day deal.

— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 18, 2022

The Indiana Pacers think of a trade for Caris LeVert.

Indiana would like a first-round pick and a young player in return for LeVert as reported by Hoopshype.

The Pacers are seeking two first-round picks or a promising young player and a first-round pick in exchange for Myles Turner, the NBA’s top shot blocker, as reported by HoopsHype.

This season, Turner is averaging 12.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.

Marc Stein talked about James Harden at Substack: «Yet it must be noted that there is enough noise circulating league wide about Harden’s reported openness to relocation this summer — after he turned down a lucrative extension from the Nets in October — to give Morey the encouragement he needs to wait».

James Harden will leave the Brooklyn Nets in the summer?
Could be.
The former MVP has a $47 million player option he may decline to become free agent.

In case of free agency, Harden is reportedly open to relocate.

“It must be noted that there is enough noise circulating leaguewide about Harden's reported openness to relocation this summer” 👀

– @TheSteinLine on James Harden

(Via https://t.co/TdawS5h82n) pic.twitter.com/E60G5VJZct

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) January 17, 2022

The Houston Rockets are seeking a first-round pick in trade talks for veteran guard Eric Gordon, reports Michael Scotto of Hoopshype

Gordon, under contract until the end of the 2023-24 season (but with a not guaranteed final year), is shooting career-highs from the field (.505) and three-point range (.455) after two injury-riddled years

The Denver Nuggets are among the teams who have expressed interest in San Antonio Spurs guard Bryn Forbes, as reported by Michael Scotto of Hoopshype

Forbes is averaging 9.1 ppg this season, shooting 41.7% from 3-point

According to Michael Scotto of Hoopshype, Indiana Pacers’ asking price for center Myles Turner is composed of two first-round picks or a single pick plus a talented young player. Indiana continues to show its inclination toward a rebuild

Los Angeles Lakers will sign Stanley Johnson to another 10-day contract.

Former Arizona averaged 5.4 points in 9 games with Lakers.

The Lakers plan to sign forward Stanley Johnson to another 10-day contract on Monday, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 17, 2022

Denver Nuggets forward JaMychal Green has entered health and safety protocols, sources tell The Athletic’s Shams Charania

Green is averaging 5.7 ppg and 3.4 rpg this season

The Toronto Raptors have interest in trading for Jakob Poeltl, reports Marc Stein

Raptors traded Poeltl to the San Antonio Spurs in 2019 as part of the Kawhi Leonard. Austrian center re-signed with the Spurs during the 2020 offseason on a three-year, $27 million deal.