As the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline nears, several teams will look to improve and shift their rosters.
Houston just made the sixth trade of the NBA season. acquiring Steven Adams from the Grizzlies. They may not be done dealing with rumblings about a potential Jalen Green trade growing louder.
Rockets Rumblings
The Rockets appear open to moving Green with Sam Amick of The Athletic indicating (via his podcast) that the team doesn’t view the former No.2 overall pick as a key building block moving forward and would be open to trading him for a star caliber-player.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe, on his podcast earlier this week, reported that Green was an “under-the-radar” name to watch, mentioning that several league executives believed the shooting guard could be made available. Lowe mentions Mikal Bridges as a player who would make sense to build a Green-led package for. Multiple reports have indicated that the Nets have no interest in trading Bridges, however.
New Nets News
Things are certainly ever-changing with regard to teams’ stances and with regard to what information is out on the rumor mill ahead of the trade deadline.
Marc Stein hears that Nic Claxton might be more available in trade talks than initially believed (via his substack).
Claxton will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and Stein writes that there are mixed signals coming from Brooklyn about what their plans are for big man.
While Claxton could be moved, Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O’Neale, and Spencer Dinwiddie are the three Nets most likely to be traded before next Thursday’s deadline. Finney-Smith and O’Neale have been linked to Cleveland among other teams.
Wizards Expected To Be Active
Washington is looking to acquire draft picks and high-upside young prospects as the trade deadline nears and David Aldridge and Josh Robbins of The Athletic examined which players could be on the move.
Tyus Jones has drawn interest from several teams, including the Lakers. While the Wizards have reportedly been eyeing a first-round pick for the point guard, The Athletic’s duo proposed an interesting alternative, which involves the Timberwolves sending Leonard Miller—last year’s No. 40 overall pick who was getting first-round buzz over the past two offseasons—to Washington in addition to a second-round pick.
So, if Minnesota really wants a reunion with Jones, who was there his first four NBA seasons, the Wizards would certainly hold out for a plus deal. Washington could ask for forward Leonard Miller, an early second-round pick in 2023 whose draft rights were sent from San Antonio to Minnesota and is putting up big numbers for Minnesota’s G League team, and also ask Minnesota to give back the conditional 2024 second-round pick (the less favorable of either Memphis’ or Washington’s second-round selections in ’24) the Wizards are currently slated to give to the Wolves.
As we mentioned in our full 2024 Wizards Trade Deadline Preview, Minnesota and Washington could become trade partners with the Wolves likely needing to upgrade their backup guard rotation.
There’s almost no question that acquiring Miller, who has impressed in the G League so far this season, would be a better option for a rebuilding team than some late 2024 first-round or future pick with heavy protections. The real question is whether the Wolves will be willing to give up their top prospect.
Leonard Miller tonight for the Iowa Wolves:
25 PTS
19 REB
3 ASTCooking ???? pic.twitter.com/q4OeOKQOje
— Timberwolves Muse (@Wolvesmuse) February 1, 2024
More Lakers Talk
- On Monday, the team was blown out by the Rockets and LeBron James indicated that the team’s “care factor” was a problem.
- On Tuesday, Darvin Ham started Jaxson Hayes over Christian Wood in the contest in Atlanta, leading to Wood tweeting “Lol” before the game and then after the game, Wood explained that he “meant to quote something but [he] didn’t have the quote I thought [he] did.”
- The Lakers lost by 16 and in the postgame presser, James channeled his inner Bill Belichick, stating he didn’t have any message for his teammates other than “just go out and do your job.”
- Late on Tuesday night, James would tweet out the hourglass emoji and not be heard from again until Wednesday when he announced his deal with DraftKings to make NFL betting picks.
- On Wednesday night, Woj went on SportsCenter to tell Lakers fans, players and the organization that they probably need to temper their expectations.
"The Lakers have been active… I think Laker fans and players and the organization probably have to temper their expectations on this trade deadline… Their best bet might be to wait… There are so few difference makers available."
– @wojespnpic.twitter.com/BQyJSdVTY5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 31, 2024
Thursday brought the news that Anthony Davis and LeBron James will miss Thursday night’s game. Perhaps a trade will commence before the duo returns to the lineup.
