Forsberg: Evaluating trade assets, targets and possibilities for Brad Stevens - NBC Sports Boston

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Muscle up.

That’s the instruction that Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said he delivered Brad Stevens in advance of the next week’s NBA trade deadline.

Grousbeck even hinted last week that he’d be OK to splurge on a rental-type player when he said, "The conversation that I've had with Brad is, it's about this year. It’s not about, ‘This will pay dividends in three years,’ or, ‘This will do this next year.’ It is this year. Muscle up and let's go get the job done."

A green light to splurge is an interesting proposition. The Celtics, when healthy, have a well-defined eight-man playoff rotation and some emergency depth pieces. An injury to a core player, especially at a big-man position, complicates matters a bit.

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So how might Stevens and his front office staff proceed over the next 10 days?

Let’s start by taking inventory on the Celtics’ assets to make a deal:

Draft picks

The Celtics traded their 2023 first-round pick to Indiana as part of the Malcolm Brogdon trade this past summer. That also means they cannot immediately trade their 2024 first-round pick because the Stepien Rule prevents teams from trading consecutive first-round picks. Once the 2023 draft passes, Boston could then trade the 2024 pick because it owns all its future picks moving forward.

So if the Celtics wanted to use a first-round pick on any deal before the deadline, 2025 is the first available option. Let’s say the Celtics wanted to make a really big splash and send out three first-rounders, then you’d be looking at something like the ’25, ’27, and ’29 picks -- this after already agreeing to a pick swap with San Antonio in 2028.

Boston does have a potentially solid second-round pick coming from Houston (protected for spots 31 and 32) that could be dangled, though the Rockets currently own the worst record in basketball and would instead deliver that pick to the Pacers.

Even if Boston doesn’t get the Houston pick, Boston still projects to have multiple second-round picks in this year’s draft. That includes a mid second-round pick from the Trail Blazers (currently slotted at No. 41) and the less favorable of Miami and Dallas picks (currently projected at No. 52).

Trade exceptions

The Celtics still have five traded player exceptions but four of those are valued at $2.1 million or less, making them unlikely to be utilized (a friendly reminder, TPEs cannot be combined).

Boston does have the Dennis Schroder TPE worth $5.89 million. The Celtics can trade for any player making that salary (or lower) without necessarily having to match outgoing salary.

This opens an intriguing pathway to add a player at a modest salary for depth purposes. Sitting roughly $24 million into the luxury tax and looking at a near $60 million tax bill, Boston would likely hope to send out some salary but it could be a less cumbersome path to adding an impact player.

Disabled player exception

The NBA awarded the Celtics a $3.24 million disabled player exception after Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL before the season. The Celtics have until March 10 to utilize. Boston can either sign a free agent for the remainder of the season or trade for any player in the final season of their contract making that amount or less.

The biggest advantage to the DPE would likely be using it as a means to outbid other rivals for any impact player that landed on the buyout market. We’d simply remind you that history suggests a limited impact for buyout additions as it’s been 15 years since PJ Brown aided Boston’s run to Banner 17.

Player assets

If we operate assuming the Celtics wouldn’t want to trade one of their core players, then Boston’s best available trade asset would likely be Payton Pritchard. A playoff contributor last season, Pritchard has seen inconsistent minutes and recently hinted at a desire to spend next season with a team that can offer him a bigger role. Even with him under team control next season, the Celtics need to consider his future given his obvious desire for a bigger role.

Boston, given the injury histories of players like Marcus Smart and Brogdon, might prefer to keep Pritchard for emergency depth this year. He’s been a luxury when Brogdon and Smart have missed time recently.

Pritchard is earning $2.2 million, which could make it hard for the team to find ways to get a player of his potential in return. Boston could also ponder including someone like Justin Jackson to help increase total outgoing salary but, even by pairing those two contracts, it doesn’t land you at a salary level above the Schroder TPE.

The one wild card here: Would the Celtics be willing to send out Gallinari in any deal? He reveled in the chance to join Boston and has attacked his rehab with hopes of a rather improbable playoff return. Alas, it doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be ready for that stage and the Celtics might need his bulky salary to facilitate any big-splash move before he can even play on the Garden floor in green.

Moving Gallinari and his $6.5 million salary is slightly complicated, however. Gallinari has a player option for next season, which, combined with his age and injury status, makes him bit of a negative asset. A team would likely insist on additional draft assets to take on his money.

Still, the bottom line is that there is no assurance that Gallinari can help this team this year and, if the Celtics can move him for someone who can, the team must absolutely consider that deal.

Tax considerations

One thing to keep in mind when crafting any potential swap is Boston’s tax status. While Grousbeck is signaling a green light to splurge, there’s a tax bill that will grow rapidly from its current $60 million projection. Adding impact talent at a high salary seems unlikely, though the quality of player could certainly entice ownership to go all in given Boston’s obvious place as a legitimate title contender.

So how does it all play out? How do the Celtics 'muscle up?'

It would be easy for the Celtics to ride the status quo. They have the best record in basketball. They survived the opening months of the season when Robert Williams III was rehabbing from offseason knee surgery. They have more depth now than they did during last year’s Finals run. 

And yet we can’t shake the feeling that they ought to take a swing at the trade deadline.

It’s simply rare to get to this juncture of the season and feel like you have a definitive chance at a title. Those moments must be embraced. And when your owner goes on TV and says to muscle up, you might as well take advantage of his willingness to let you spend.

Yes, it feels harder to construct an impact move than in past seasons. But it’s on Stevens and his front office crew to find something that moves the needle.

Boston could take smaller swings by adding a depth big to help manage Williams III and Al Horford to the finish line of the regular season, or finding another trustworthy wing that might give interim coach Joe Mazzulla another body to extend the rotation on occasion.

There should be ways to improve this team with only the assets available. It’s hard to know what other teams might be willing to do but we’ve been proponents of calling a team like the Timberwolves, with their overstocked frontcourt, and seeing how much you’d have to splurge to pry out a Naz Reid. Even if you didn’t retain Reid beyond this season, it would be a luxury to have a dynamic third big for the rest of this journey.

We’ve suggested calling the Hornets about PJ Washington or Jalen McDaniels. Would the Kings take on Gallinari’s money if you took on Richaun Holmes’ money? Is there anything you can pry from the Pistons or Rockets as the Race for Wembanyama heats up?

The ultimate goal here is trustworthy depth. We fret about the minutes that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are piling up. Maybe the solution is as simple as leaning a little harder on Derrick White and Grant Williams. But splurging on a defensive-minded wing that can be a surefire rotation player in the postseason would likewise be a good thing for this team.

One more thing to leave you really daydreaming: The Celtics, despite all their talent and their growing payroll, still have at least one more big swing of the bat. The ability to combine three future first-round picks puts them in the game for any big name that comes on the market.

So if the Raptors elect to move OG Anunoby, do you at least kick the tires? There’s no roadmap to that move that doesn’t involve giving up one of your prime assets like a Smart, Brogdon, or White given Anunoby’s bulky $17.4 million salary. And maybe he’s not even the right player to take that swing on.

But there could be players of that caliber that quietly become available. Admittedly, it's easier for Boston to wait until the summer and ponder the best option for that home run swing.

The Celtics have a long history of not overpaying but there’s a case to be made that, given the opportunity in front of them, it wouldn’t be the worst idea to splurge a bit. Other rivals are going to make moves to bolster their rosters.

The Celtics have an ability to stand pat at the deadline, make a small buyout addition, and ride what they’ve got. They've got to think bigger. They’ve got think about muscling up.

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India plans measures to curb Chinese imports as trade gap concerns mount -sources - Reuters

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NEW DELHI, Jan 30 (Reuters) - India is considering a number of tariffs and non-tariff steps to cut imports of non-essential consumer and electronic goods, including from China, as trade imbalances concern policymakers, two government officials and an industry source said.

As many as 18 key government ministries, led by the federal trade ministry, met last week to firm up steps first aimed at cutting imports from China, which accounts for nearly a third of India's trade deficit, said the three sources who declined to be named.

India has been trying to reduce its trade deficit with China since 2020, when border tensions flared along a contested frontier, but with little success as the country is a key and cheap supplier of goods including active pharmaceutical ingredients, electrical equipment and several chemicals.

The trade gap with China widened 28% in April-December 2022 from the same period a year earlier, as India's domestic demand continued to support Chinese imports while COVID lockdowns in China crimped imports from India.

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The government is considering ramping up investigations to weed out unfair practices on a "wide array" of imports, from China and elsewhere, one of the officials said, without specifying which goods or what the unfair practices were.

The industry source said that so far this year anti-dumping investigations have focussed on products such as printed circuit boards and a type of toughened glass imported from China.

If a trading partner were found to have engaged in unfair practices, it would be necessary to introduce safeguards such as the imposition of anti-dumping duties, the official said.

India's federal trade ministry and China's embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to requests for a comment. China's commerce ministry also had no immediate comment.

India's overall merchandise exports fell 12% in December from a year earlier, while merchandise imports dropped 3%, widening the deficit by 13%, government data showed.

The officials said India would also intensify checks on imported goods to make sure they adhere to national quality standards, the two government officials added.

Reuters reported last week that the government could highlight the rising trade deficit as a major downside risk to the Indian economy in its Economic Survey going in to the new fiscal year from April 1, Reuters reported last week.

The government is also likely to detail some of the steps to tackle the issue in the Feb. 1 budget.

Reporting by Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Kirsten Donovan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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What Vancouver Canucks’ perfect 2023 NHL trade deadline could look like - The Athletic

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Perfection is unattainable in the NHL.

Hockey itself is a game of mistakes. The result of any given game, or even a seven-game playoff series, often comes down to a variety of factors — health, puck luck, the referee’s whistle — that fall well outside the control of any one individual.

What’s true for players is true, as well, for hockey operations departments. Like the slim margins that determine playoff success, player evaluation is fickle in nature. The best an organization can do in the NHL is take care of their business to maximize their odds of making a savvy trade, nailing a draft pick or signing a value contract.

Realistically, at this point, Vancouver Canucks fans aren’t asking for perfection or anything close to it. A defensible direction and a coherent plan would count as cause for celebration in the city of Vancouver at the moment.

With the All-Star break in full swing, the Canucks have a bit of time off and club management can regroup from the drama that has overshadowed so much of the 2022-23 campaign. Then we’ll see what sort of “major surgery” club leadership has in store, as the Canucks look to turn the page on another disappointing season.

If the pain of the past few months is going to stand up and mean something, the Canucks will have to get busy selling as aggressively as possible by the March 3 trade deadline. The stakes are massive. Some of the decisions facing the club — most notably a potential Bo Horvat trade — could define this era.

So, what would a perfect trade deadline look like from a Canucks perspective at the 2023 NHL trade deadline?

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1. Sadly, Bo Horvat must be dealt

The signs have been pointing toward Horvat’s departure from Vancouver ahead of the trade deadline for a while now. Canucks GM Patrik Allvin appeared to offer a bit of hope recently on Sportsnet 650, noting that he met with Horvat’s agent, Pat Morris, on Tuesday before the club’s home game against the Blackhawks and presented another offer.

Bo Horvat. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

It already didn’t make much sense to re-sign Horvat given the skyrocketing price of his next contract and the team’s distance from viable contention. But now Andrei Kuzmenko’s two-year, $11-million extension makes the salary cap situation flat-out untenable if you tack on a massive Horvat contract to the books. It’d be pointless to run the same core back, at more expensive cap hits, for another year considering the club currently ranks 27th in the NHL by point percentage.

It will be tough to see Vancouver’s captain leave. He’s been a loyal soldier — the only Canuck who’s lived through all the pain and dark days since Mike Gillis left the organization. But Vancouver’s in no position to add another high-risk contract to the books and has a serious deficit of valuable future assets.

Canucks fans need hope right now. They’re begging to catch a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel. Horvat needs to be dealt and the return must be a win.

Many NHL teams subscribe to the theory that you need a big, heavy blue line to go deep in the playoffs.

People point to the Lightning’s back end which has featured jumbo-sized defenders like Victor Hedman, Erik Cernak, Ryan McDonagh, Mikhail Sergachev, Zach Bogosian, Jan Rutta and Luke Schenn over the years. Montreal’s big four with Shea Weber, Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson and Jeff Petry was lionized during the Canadiens’ 2021 trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

Teams have accordingly paid a premium at recent trade deadlines for large, hard-nosed defenders like Chiarot, Josh Manson and David Savard.

Schenn doesn’t have a long track record of top-four success the way Chiarot, Manson and Savard did, but he fits a similar mould in terms of playstyle and has championship experience. The 33-year-old will be highly sought after and should hold significant trade value. The Canucks need to cash in on that.

Some would argue that Schenn still plays at a high level, is a quality leader and should therefore be re-signed, but his next contract could be a lot more expensive than the dirt-cheap $850,000 AAV he possesses now. Last offseason, we saw Rutta — who’s 32 and plays a similar role as a third-pair quality defender for a good team who can moonlight in the top four — sign for three years at a $2.75 million cap hit with the Penguins. Erik Gudbranson checks off similar physical qualities and was overpaid with a four-year, $16-million contract as well.

Vancouver needs to take advantage of the inflated market for physical, stay-at-home defencemen by trading Schenn at the deadline.

3. Treat expiring restricted free agents like unrestricted free agents

It’s not enough for the Canucks to just take care of the obvious trades before the deadline. That’s the absolute minimum standard, frankly.

This club’s long-term needs are legion. In the wake of a dismal performance in a third consecutive season and the club’s total lack of assets at the NHL level, in terms of draft pick capital and their prospect pool, moving off of Horvat and Schenn is insufficient. The club has to go further. They have to be more disciplined about finding whatever marginal value they can.

That includes seeing if a depth defender like Kyle Burroughs can fetch the sort of return players like Nathan Beaulieu, Troy Stecher and Robert Hagg netted their respective clubs last season at the deadline (a sixth-round pick, a seventh-round pick and a conditional seventh-round pick, respectively).

Collin Delia and Spencer Martin surely haven’t put themselves into the range of netting Vancouver a Scott Wedgewood-style return (a mid-round pick at last year’s deadline), but if the club can trade either netminder for more than “future considerations” to a goalie depth-needy rival ahead of the deadline, that would be a nice win.

The club should additionally be asking themselves the tough questions, while proactively engaging in extension talks with any restricted free agents that will cost over $1 million to qualify this summer. Ethan Bear and Travis Dermott are the key examples here, and they should effectively be treated like unrestricted free agents (to a point).

Dermott’s first full Canucks campaign, meanwhile, has been waylaid by a preseason head injury that has cost him all but 11 games. He’s struggled since returning, but unsurprisingly, his game appears to be trending in the right direction as he gets additional reps back in the lineup. He’ll cost $1.5 million to qualify at season’s end.

Bear has been a solid find for the Canucks, playing major minutes since he was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes in late October. He’ll also cost $2.5 million to qualify, which is a commitment the club will effectively have to make merely in order to retain their right of first refusal and make him a restricted free agent.

Qualifying Bear is a no-brainer, but it will also open the club up to player-elected arbitration this summer. And Bear — who has played top-four minutes, while sporting an on-ice goal differential that stacks up well when compared with most other Canucks defenders — is building himself a strong case for a raise.

His situation is subtly complicated. The club only has one healthy right-handed NHL-level defender signed beyond this season (Tyler Myers) and would do well to return Bear. His high qualifying offer level and relatively strong arbitration case create a situation where the club will have to be very delicate in managing his next deal, lest it proves inefficient.

In the case of both Bear and Dermott, if the Canucks are intent on keeping them around long-term, they should use the deadline as a pressure point in extension talks. If there are sharp, potentially efficient value bets to be made ahead of the deadline, great.

If not, it’s far better to fetch an asset in a trade for an expiring player, than it is to haggle in June with arbitration-eligible restricted players who aren’t absolute 100 percent slam dunks to receive qualifying offers.

Ethan Bear. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

4. Use fresh LTI space creatively

According to CapFriendly and the NHL’s roster page, the Vancouver Canucks have yet to put Tanner Pearson or Ilya Mikheyev — both ruled out for the balance of this season — on long-term injured reserve (LTI).

CapFriendly further estimates that, as a result of Micheal Ferland ($3.5 million) and Tucker Poolman’s ($2.5 million) presence on LTI, Vancouver has $2.23 million in available space at the moment.

Now, there are a couple of different ways this could go.

The club could, perhaps, attempt to shed enough salary ahead of the trade deadline that they get out of LTI altogether. Currently, the Canucks have $6 million worth of contracts in LTI and are using $3.8 million of that space with 20 players on their 23-man roster.

Now getting out of LTI is an attractive option. It would permit the club to duck the bonus overages that will otherwise result from Kuzmenko absolutely crushing it in his first NHL season (Kuzmenko has already hit one of his Schedule A bonuses). Any bonus overages incurred would hit the Canucks’ cap sheet as a penalty for the 2023-24 season, based on the fact they’re currently set to exceed the salary cap upper limit using the LTI mechanism at season’s end.

Unfortunately, getting out of LTI at this juncture will be exceedingly difficult to execute. It also might not even be advisable as a primary goal.

By means of illustration, let’s consider Horvat, Vancouver’s best trade asset. There are very few contending teams capable of eating the full freight of Horvat’s $5.5 million cap hit, for example, without sending salary back. The club’s priority in a Horvat trade, however, must be maximizing their return above all else, rather than focusing unduly on doing a deal with a smaller group of teams that wouldn’t need to shed commitments in a potential trade to make the cap math work.

Pursuing the ‘get out of LTI’ route could limit the Canucks’ ability to extract value at the deadline, and one suspects the club might be better off instead leaning into the skid. In Mikheyev ($4.75 million) and Pearson ($3.25 million), for example, the club has the ability to create an additional $8 million in LTI space prior to the deadline.

The sequencing would need to be done carefully, but executing this could arm Canucks management with the ability to do all sorts of creative things to net futures at the deadline. They could act as a cap space clearing house for undesirable expiring deals, for example, or as a retained salary transaction laundromat in three-team trades.

The returns wouldn’t be huge — a fifth-round pick here, a sixth-round pick there — but the club is well positioned to engineer value out of thin air purely with sharp accounting over the next five weeks. And every bit of value netted matters.

In a perfect trade deadline scenario, the Canucks would find a way to take advantage.

5. Add a protected 2023 first-round draft pick that could confer unprotected to 2024

Every year we advocate for the Canucks to prioritize landing a first-round pick that’s conditional and structured to roll over unprotected the following year. There’s always pushback. We’re told annually that no teams would ever surrender a pick like that; that this is a fantasy hockey suggestion.

Then year after year it keeps happening in the actual NHL.

Teams often overestimate how successful they will be in the playoffs and the following season. By targeting a first-round pick that can roll over to the following season unprotected, you’re opening up the possibility of striking gold if that club falters.

Ottawa took advantage of this in the Erik Karlsson trade (pick turned into Tim Stützle). Colorado ended up nabbing a top-five pick from Ottawa in the Matt Duchene deal. Columbus stole Chicago’s No. 6 pick last year with the Seth Jones trade and selected stud RD prospect David Jiricek. The Panthers are 22nd in the NHL by points percentage and owe an unprotected first to the Canadiens for the Chiarot trade.

With Horvat (or perhaps even Schenn if they’re lucky), the Canucks have a trade chip that can realistically net a conditional first-round pick that’s say top-20 or top-25 protected and can roll over unprotected in 2024. In fact, teams may desire structuring any first-round pick they surrender with these kinds of conditions because of how highly this year’s draft class is rated.

The top end of this draft is excellent and it’s pretty deep overall, but it’s getting to a point where teams may be overvaluing 2023 first-round picks in the high teens or early 20s. The Canucks can exploit this with the aforementioned conditions on any first-round pick they acquire and position themselves to effectively bet against a team for next season.

6. Make sure cap flexibility is a key part of the Horvat return

Assuming the upper limit of the salary cap only increases by $1 million and that Kuzmenko maxes out his $850k Schedule A bonuses, Vancouver is currently projected to have somewhere around $10.5 million in cap space for next season, according to CapFriendly.

The actual number should be higher because it doesn’t account for trades, buyouts and Pearson’s uncertain status going into next season. The overall point stands: The Canucks don’t have a lot of wiggle room when you account for how many needs the club will need to address, particularly with the hole Horvat could leave down the middle.

Tanner Pearson. (Bob Frid / USA Today)

Canucks management may opt to target NHL-ready contributors in a Horvat trade rather than pure futures. If they go down that route, however, they need to prioritize hyper-efficient, cost-controllable pieces rather than players who are already attached to sizable, full-market-value contracts.

That means the club should avoid a player like Brandon Carlo from Boston, who will turn 27 by early next season and is tied up with a $4.1 million cap hit. Carlo’s not young or cheap enough to be a massive value add by the time the Canucks actually enter their next competitive window. He shouldn’t be the big prize of a Horvat deal even though he checks a box as a second-pair right-shot defender.

The same holds true even for a younger, higher-pedigree player like Jesperi Kotkaniemi, if the Carolina Hurricanes are looking to swing a Horvat deal.

Good teams need a lot of players who can significantly outperform their contract. That’s how you retain sufficient flexibility to build an elite roster without running out of cap space.

Vancouver should be targeting top prospects and draft picks that can hopefully turn into productive players that provide enormous surplus value on their entry-level contracts down the line. Acquiring a player who’s already paid big bucks — especially if he’s in his mid-20s — isn’t going to leave the club with enough cap room to make substantial changes in the summer.

7. Prioritize raw, uncut futures and add at least 5 draft picks at the deadline

If the Canucks are disciplined about focusing on amassing draft capital and managing the books, the 2023 trade deadline could mark a fork in the road for this franchise and their embattled hockey operations leadership group.

There’s no easy way out of the mess that this club has created for itself over the past decade. And while Jim Rutherford and Allvin inherited much of it, some of their decisions have contributed significantly to the growing sense of hopelessness that has engulfed the Canucks organization.

Canucks management has been focused on netting young players as the key pieces in returns for Horvat and Schenn, as they were in J.T. Miller trade talks at this time last year. The assets, however, that will make the biggest difference for this club in the short term and going forward are draft picks and cap space. In combination, they’re the most potent combination in hockey.

Obviously, the club would love to shed additional long-term cap commitments — like finding a Brock Boeser trade, or a taker for Myers — ahead of the March 3 deadline, and that would be fantastic, but it’s going to be extraordinarily difficult to execute.

It’s the same story if you’re counting on a prospective Horvat trade setting the club up with a future top-six centre and a future top-four right-handed defender, too. That sort of trade package has next to no relationship with anything we’ve seen at the deadline in recent history.

What the club really could achieve and would be better off focusing on is simply adding to its war chest of draft capital. Draft picks are cash in hand because they can be used to select young players on the draft floor (and the 2023 draft class looks very promising), but also because they’re the most stable, desirable form of currency to use in executing trades with cap teams.

If the club can add at least an additional first-round pick and five additional draft picks by March 3, that would set the franchise up to begin to chart a better, more flexible, more reasonable course forward.

If the club instead adds a bunch of low-upside pieces in their mid-20s, some of whom are attached to significant term and treasure, then this club will have demonstrated once again that they’re not ready to stop digging just yet.

(Top photo of Bo Horvat: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

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Yes, an Aaron Rodgers trade remains possible - NBC Sports

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We know that the infobots have a weekly quota to fill. But does it really count toward the quota if they keep reporting the same thing every week?

Last week, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com told the world that a trade of quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a “real possibility.” This week, Schefter says that a trade of Rodgers “remains an option.”

Apparently, that will be the standing report until a trade does, or doesn’t, happen.

It’s hard to plow much new ground with Rodgers, given that most of the real news is coming straight from the ayahuasca drinker’s mouth. He made it clear 12 days ago that he may want to play, and that he may not want to play in Green Bay. That makes a trade (wait for it) a “real possibility.”

Five days ago, Rodgers complained about trade chatter that his own comments sparked, pointing out that none of it matters until he decides to play in 2023.

Rodgers has named the veterans whose presence are important to him in Green Bay. He has made it clear he doesn’t want to be part of a rebuild.

We realize that there’s value in playing the hits. But for the folks who are supposed to be adding new tunes to the rotation, it’s odd to see them reporting the same thing over and over and over again. Especially when it’s simply a repackaging of what Rodgers has already said.

So why am I writing about it? Good question. I don’t know, frankly. Mainly, I felt compelled to point out that it’s more than a little ridiculous to keep reporting the same non-news.

Yes, an Aaron Rodgers trade remains possible. We don’t need an insider to tell us something everyone on the outside knows.

The real question is the timeline. When will Rodgers decide on whether he wants to play at all in 2023? Then, when will he know enough about whether the Packers will be bringing back enough guys to entice him to want to stay? And if he decides not to stay, when will the trade talks commence?

As we’ve learned in past offseason cycles, a trade can be agreed to at any point. Two years ago tomorrow, the Rams and Lions struck a deal that flip-flopped Jared Goff (plus two first-round picks and a third-round pick) for Matthew Stafford.

In this case, it’s apparently going to take some time. Step one, Rodgers has to decide to play. Step two, he has to decide whether to play for the Packers. Step three, if he wants to play elsewhere, he needs to figure out where — and deals need to be done between the Packers and the new team and Rodgers and the new team.

For the team Rodgers may join, timing becomes critical. If that team isn’t getting Rodgers, it needs to move on to someone else before it’s too late. Those wheels start moving well before the start of the new league year.

For example, the Raiders need to have an unofficial deal in place for quarterback Derek Carr by February 15, or they’ll be stuck with $40.4 million in full guarantees for a guy they no longer want. What if a team that is interested in Carr is also interested in Rodgers?

If that team makes a move for Carr, it closes a door for Rodgers. If that team waits, Carr could end up somewhere else before it’s known whether Rodgers will be available.

So forget about a trade being possible. Rodgers and the Packers need to figure out ASAFP whether they’re going to continue a relationship that dates back to 2005. The sooner they know, the sooner trade talks can begin — and the sooner trade talks can conclude.

Thus, as to all issues regarding a potential Aaron Rodgers trade that everyone knows is possible, the sooner those decisions are made, the better.

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Pacers C Myles Turner, a popular trade target, reportedly agrees to 2-year, $60 million extension - Yahoo Sports

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Myles Turner has a new contract with the Indiana Pacers, but that doesn't mean he's officially off the trade market.

The Pacers big man has agreed to a two-year, $60 million contract extension, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will reportedly see Turner receiving an extra $17.1 million this season, the largest in-season salary renegotiation in NBA history.

Turner had been a pending unrestricted free agent after agreeing to a four-year $72 million deal in 2018, but is now signed through the 2024-25 season.

Contract extensions typically throw cold water on any trade rumors concerning a player, but ESPN's Bobby Marks notes Turner's new deal, which will pay him $21 million for the 2023-24 season and $20 million for 2024-25, leaves him still eligible to be traded by the NBA's Feb. 9 trade deadline.

The deal still makes trading for Turner more difficult and expensive, so it's more likely the Pacers continue to see him as a member of their core alongside Tyrese Haliburton and rookie Bennedict Mathurin.

The 24-27 Pacers appeared on track for a full rebuild given their distance from the Eastern Conference elite in terms of record and star power, especially with Turner's contract expiring after this season and Buddy Hield's after next season.

That meant plenty of interest in Turner. One proposed trade would have sent Turner and Hield to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Russell Westbrook and draft picks.

The 26-year-old Turner is currently averaging career highs in points per game (17.5), rebounds per game (7.9), field goal percentage (.544) and 3-point percentage (.391) while contributing his usual strong interior defense, ranking third in the NBA in blocks per game (2.4) and block percentage (7.1).

Myles Turner got paid again. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

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The Pacers are in a spot where they need to figure out what they are going to do with Myles Turner. While the newest reports seem to indicate that many teams around the league believe that Turner will stay with the Pacers, there is still a chance the Pacers will need to have a backup plan in the case that contract negotiations fail.

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, the rumors and discussions around the media around trades and potential trades are beginning to heat up everywhere. Bleacher Report’s newest trade watch, links Turner to five potential trade partners across the league. Each would have it’s own pros and cons that the Pacers would have to evaluate depending on how they see the next couple of years going.

The problem the Pacers face is that Turner is playing at career levels this year, and they likely would prefer to keep him if they can. However, there have been potential disconnects between Turner and the franchise in recent years, most recently with the franchise trying to acquire Deandre Ayton over the summer.

If they think they could be competitive even without Turner, they should potentially try to get pieces they could quickly put into the rotation. If they don’t, they should continue to try and focus to acquire draft capital.

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JAN 28 MYLES TURNER STAYING IN INDIANA

Year after year, Indiana Pacers big man finds himself in numerous NBA trade rumors, and yet, he always stays right where he's at when the dust settles.

That is the case yet again, as ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday that Turner and the Pacers have agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $58 million. In addition to the extension, Turner also renegotiated his 2022-23 salary that will give him an additional $17.1 million this season.

Although Turner is off the trade market less than two weeks before the deadline arrives, this news doesn't necessarily impact anything the Dallas Mavericks might do, as there had been reports of them not having much interest in Turner – likely due to the amount of money he was seeking.

JAN 26 D'LO LINKED TO MAVS The Timberwolves don't quite seem to know what to do with D'Angelo Russell. But one source tells B/R, "I don't think the Wolves reinvest in Russell.'' ...

Which has B/R saying "various NBA sources'' have included the Heat, Suns, Clippers and yes, the Mavericks, as possible trade partners.

Russell is playing 33 minutes per game and averaging 17.6 points in Minny.

JAN 23 LAKERS TRADING FOR HACHIMURA

Just a few hours after the Dallas Mavericks were linked to the Washington Wizards in regards to trade interest in Rui Hachimura, it appears that the versatile big man is on his way to Hollywood.

According to multiple reports, the Los Angeles Lakers are in the final stages of adding Hachimura via trade from the Wizards. The reported trade package from L.A. will be Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks.

The Wizards and Hachimura were unable to workout a rookie contract extension, and therefore, it was time to find him a new home. The deal is expected to be completed later on Monday.

JAN 21 SHANNON SHARPE AND LAKERS FIGHT? Fox Sports has a reputation for staged on-air fights between its blowhard personalities.

But this looked pretty sincere.

Fox host and NFL legend Shannon Sharpe had to be separated from Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant’s father, Tee, at halftime of a game between Memphis and the Lakers on Friday ... a confrontation that caused the two to eventually be broken up by security.

Assorted Grizzlies got involved in the conflict with Sharpe, who was sitting courtside and, he admitted, talking trash to the Grizzlies regarding LeBron James.

“They didn’t want this smoke,” Sharpe told ESPN after the incident. “They do all that talking and jockeying and I ain’t about the jockeying. It started with Dillon Brooks. I said he was too small to guard LeBron. He said ‘F–k’ me I said, ‘F–k’ you back. He started to come at me and I said, ‘You don’t want these problems.’

“And then Ja came out of nowhere talking. He definitely didn’t want these problems. Then the dad came and he obviously didn’t want no problems. But I wanted anything they had. Don’t let these fools fool you now.”

Sharpe and Tee Morant eventually exchanged a hug at the end of the third quarter. Oh, and the Lakers won, 122-121.

But this is Hollywood. Who cares about that?

JAN 19 Why a Mavs trade for Russell Westbrook makes sense...

The Dallas Mavericks are slumping hard, to put it nicely. After Wednesday's home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Dallas has dropped four of its last five games and has given up at least 130 points over its current three-game losing streak.

If the Western Conference wasn't such a mess this season, the Mavs would be in bigger trouble than they are. However, even though Dallas is barely hangin onto the fifth seed in the West despite all the recent losing, changes are still needed.

The Mavs have been linked to many names on the trade market as the Feb. 9 deadline nears, but could a deal for Los Angeles Lakers' Russell Westbrook make the most sense?

It's been well-documented that Jeanie Buss isn't a fan of trading future draft picks to improve this current version of the Lakers, who currently sit outside the play-in tournament range in the West with a 20-25 record. However, if Buss would be willing to part with just one of the Lakers' future picks, they could potentially improve their roster now.

For the Mavericks' side, adding Westbrook might not affect winning or losing either way, but they do still need a true third ball-handler to go alongside Luka Doncic and Spencer Dinwiddie. With that in mind, here's the trade proposal we have in mind:

Mavs receive: Russell Westbrook, 2027 first-round pick

Lakers receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Reggie Bullock, Davis Bertans

This trade could potentially make the Mavs worse for the short-term future, but there's also a chance that it opens up more lucrative trade opportunities going forward. They'd just have to stomach taking a step back this season. In a year where a near-.500 record is good enough to land you in the West's top-five teams, that might be easier said than done, though.

JAN 18 Doncic wants change? Does potential Knicks trade move the needle?

Ahead of the Dallas Mavericks' nationally televised meeting with the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night, there were a couple of interesting tidbits that came up in the NBA trade rumor mill. The first interesting information came from ESPN's Tim MacMahon, who is reporting that Mavs star Luka Doncic is finally starting to make his want for roster change known to the front office.

Sources said Doncic, who hasn't shown a desire to be involved in personnel matters in the past, has strongly indicated he wants the Mavs to upgrade before the Feb. 9 trade deadline.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban might think it's disrespectful for the fan base to constantly suggest that Doncic needs more help, but this latest report seems to indicate that Doncic is on the same wavelength as the fans ... and anyone else with eyes who have watched the Mavs play when Doncic rests.

Elsewhere, Marc Stein is reporting that the Mavs have joined a small list of teams who are considered to be trade suitors for New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish.

The Knicks have redoubled their efforts to find a new home for Reddish with essentially three weeks to go until the deadline, sources tell The Stein Line, with the Dallas Mavericks having joined the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers on the list of known potential trade partners.

Sources say that the Knicks, though, are angling for Dallas to send Thibodeau favorite Reggie Bullock to New York in a Reddish deal, who is likewise held in high regard by the Mavericks.

Given that 1) Bullock has had a career-worst season so far, and 2) the Mavs could use an influx of young talent with upside, it would make sense for Dallas and New York to execute a trade involving those two players – especially since the Knicks have eyes for Bullock that other teams probably don't.

That kind of trade could be a step in the right direction for Dallas, but it likely wouldn't be roster upgrade Doncic has in mind. We'll see if the Mavs' front office can pull off a big trade in the coming days and weeks to satisfy what its superstar desires.

JAN 17 Clippers want Mike Conley? Jazz have other trade ideas?

Ahead of the NBA's Feb. 9 trade deadline, it appears that the Utah Jazz are being active after tumbling from the top of the Western Conference standings to the play-in tournament range. According to Marc Stein, the Los Angeles Clippers have interest in taking veteran point guard Mike Conley before the deadline, if possible.

The Clippers, league sources say, are exploring trade options to fortify their frontcourt beyond Ivica Zubac, but that’s not all. Sources say they also have trade interest in Utah’s Mike Conley Jr. amid a rising belief leaguewide that the Jazz — who have tumbled to No. 9 in the West at 22-24 after their great start — could become a much-needed seller at this deadline. The Clippers’ backcourt depth just took a hit with the news that John Wall is out for at least two weeks with an abdominal strain.

Aside from the Conley rumbles, the Jazz appear to be active elsewhere, as they're apparently trying to find a way to land Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins in what could potentially be a three-team trade between Utah, Atlanta and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Stein explains:

As part of the Cavaliers’ ongoing search for wing upgrades, league sources say, they have weighed pursuing a three-way trade scenario that would land Atlanta’s John Collins with the Jazz and bring Utah’s Malik Beasley to Cleveland. The Jazz have well-chronicled interest in Collins but, to this point, have given the Hawks pause by seeking additional draft compensation for taking on Collins, who still has three seasons left on his five-year, $125 million contract after this one. Caris LeVert’s $18.8 million expiring contract is the Cavaliers’ most obvious trade chip.

The Dallas Mavericks have been connected to the Cavs recently in trade rumors regarding Tim Hardaway Jr. Only time will tell if that kind of deal will materialize, or if Cleveland finds a way to add a younger wing upgrade on a better contract instead.

JAN 15 LaVine is trade eligible; Could Mavs and Bulls make a deal?

As of today, Jan. 15, Chicago Bulls star shooting guard Zach LaVine is now eligible to be traded. The Bulls haven’t yet made it known if they’re open to trading LaVine or not, but there’s been enough smoke this season to the point where we wouldn’t be shocked if he’s wearing a different jersey by the NBA’s Feb. 9 trade deadline.

Some of that smoke has involved the Dallas Mavericks, who desperately want to get superstar Luka Doncic more help as they try to build a championship-contending roster around him. According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon during an episode of the Lowe Post podcast, there are people within the Mavs’ front office who are fans of LaVine’s game.

“I just know that there are fans of him that hold prominent positions within the Mavericks,” said MacMahon. “Again, I’m not sitting here and telling you there’s some great consensus. I think there’s enough fans of him where I wouldn’t totally rule it out.”

As long as Mavs 3-and-D wings Josh Green and Dorian Finney-Smith have been out, one might entertain the theory that Dallas has been extra cautious with them with potential trades on the table. That’s not to say Green and Finney-Smith haven’t truly been hurt this whole time, but why rush them back if they could be key pieces to a blockbuster trade?

Despite averaging 23.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists on 46.4/39.2 shooting splits, LaVine and the Bulls have struggled to stay in the NBA’s play-in tournament range. They’re currently 19-24 on the season and have lost three consecutive games. It might be time for Chicago to blow things up, and the Mavs will surely be listening when and if that time comes.

JAN 14 Could Mavs get D-Rose?

Ever since losing Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks last summer, the Dallas Mavericks have failed to add a third ball-handler capable of filling some of the void that was created by his departure. However, with the Feb. 9 trade deadline looming, could Dallas finally address that need by dealing for one of Brunson’s Knicks teammates?

According to a report from NBA reporter Marc Stein, the Knicks are apparently willing to ‘do right’ by 15-year veteran and former MVP Derrick Rose before the deadline.

Sources say that New York is open to finding a new home via trade for former MVP Derrick Rose but only if it can, as one insider put it, "do right by" the longtime Thibodeau favorite. Rose's role has been reduced sharply this season with the likes of Quickley, Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride emerging.

In theory, one way for the Knicks to do Rose a solid would be to send him to the Mavs, where he would have a larger role on a team completing for home-court advantage in the Western Conference. Given that New York has fond memories of Reggie Bullock, a straight-up swap for Rose would make sense for both sides.

It remains to be seen if the Knicks’ willingness to do Rose a favor would trump any hard feelings they might have toward the Mavs after last summer’s drama … but it’s something we’ll be keeping an eye on.

JAN 13 Collins price lowered; Mavs-Knicks trade idea

Earlier this week, one report stated that the Atlanta Hawks were looking to get a return similar to what the Utah Jazz got for Rudy Gobert last summer when it comes to potentially trading John Collins. According to a report from USA Today on Friday, that might not be the case after all.

The Hawks are willing to move forward John Collins for a shooting big, which is … what Collins is. Or used to be. Collins shot 40.1% on 3-pointers in 2019-20, 39.9% the following season and 36.4% last season. But he’s just at 22.9% this season.

There is a market for Collins, and that includes Utah, Brooklyn and Dallas.

If the Dallas Mavericks can’t come to terms on a contract extension with versatile big man Christian Wood before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, perhaps making a play for Collins would make some sense. 

Or … if the Mavs could find a way to add Collins and another piece from Atlanta — like Bogdan Bogdanovic — without giving up Wood, that would be even more ideal.

Meanwhile, the reported trade price for New York Knicks forward Cam Reddish is apparently two second-round picks. A straight-up trade for Mavs forward Reggie Bullock would work financially, and that might actually be a deal the Knicks would be interested in doing given coach Tom Thibodeau’s admiration for Bullock.

JAN 12 No Mavs interest in Myles Turner?

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner has been in trade rumors for several years now, but he has yet to be shipped out of the Hoosier State. 

The Dallas native has been linked to the Mavericks in the past but no deal ever surfaced to land him on his hometown team.

In a report on Thursday from Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, the Mavericks’ interest in Turner has apparently 'dissipated'. 

"The trade chatter surrounding Turner has indeed seemed to cool. For years, the Hornets presented a likely landing spot. But now, Charlotte does not appear very keen on upgrading its roster ahead of the deadline. The interest from Dallas and New Orleans in recent seasons has also dissipated, sources said,” Fischer wrote.

With Dallas' focus more set on another star or more quality playmakers to place alongside Luka Doncic, the desire for Turner, who is on an expiring contract, makes sense, but it doesn't mean he couldn't end up back in the DFW in the future.

JAN 11 Tim Hardaway Jr. to Miami Heat?

The Tim Hardaway Jr. rumors continue to stack up with the Feb. 9 trade deadline looming. Today, the latest rumor involving the Dallas Mavericks’ veteran shooting guard links him to the Miami Heat.

“According to multiple sources, the Miami Heat & Dallas Mavericks have had initial conversations on a deal involving Tim Hardaway Jr.,” The Basement Sports’ Adam Borai tweeted.

“This isn't the first time Hardaway Jr has been linked to Miami. He's definitely a name to watch as the deadline approaches.”

Borai also mentions that Miami has eyes for Mavs players like Reggie Bullock and Dorian Finney-Smith. Given that the Mavs were runners up to Kyle Lowry in 2021 free agency, we could see them potentially trying to work out a deal to obtain him now despite his down season with Miami.

However, this all could just be posturing and a leverage attempt in talks the Mavs have had with other teams involving Hardaway. As is the case with many rumors during trade season, they need to be taken with a grain of salt.

JAN 10 Hawks’ Steep Collins Price; Lakers as Wood Suitor?

According to one report, the Hawks’ asking price for John Collins might be in the "Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell range'' from last summer.

We discussed the idea of the Mavs pursuing Collins if they can’t reach a contract extension agreement with Christian Wood before the trade deadline, but if that’s truly the Hawk’s asking price, it’s safe to say that you can count Dallas out there.

Speaking of Wood’s contract extension, if an agreement can’t be made, could the Lakers be a trade option for him? Sports Illustrated’s Howard Beck offers his thoughts here.

JAN 10 Mavs Interested in Knicks’ Quickley?

HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto dropped another Mavs trade rumor tidbit on Tuesday, as he linked Dallas to New York Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley.

“Another Knicks player whose name has circulated in the rumor mill this season is Immanuel Quickley. Several teams, including the Bucks, Mavericks, Wizards, and others, have expressed interest in Quickley, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote.

JAN 9 Mavs 3-Team Trade Idea … Could It Work?

Last week, Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer reported that the Mavs, among other teams, were in pursuit of Pistons’ veteran Bojan Bogdanovic.

“At this juncture, the Pistons are seeking at least one first-rounder and either a young player with upside or additional draft capital, sources said, plus Cleveland has company in Dallas, Phoenix and the Lakers, among other teams in pursuit of Bogdanovic,” Fischer wrote.

Pairing this report with what we think we know about Tim Hardaway Jr.’s availability and the Cavs’ interest in him, we constructed a hypothetical 3-team trade that could potentially work for all teams involved.

Mavs receive: Bojan Bogdanovic

Cavs receive: Tim Hardaway Jr.

Pistons receive: Caris LeVert, Frank Ntilikina, two second-round picks

JAN 8 Mavs’ Hardaway is Available; Cavs Pursuing?

We now have multiple reports linking Mavs veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. to the Cavs. The first was a report from Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor. The latest was from Marc Stein, who confirmed Fedor’s report and offered an idea of what a potential Mavs-Cavs trade could look like.

“League sources have reaffirmed to me that Hardaway is indeed available and that it’s essentially up to the Cavaliers if they are prepared to take on the two years and $34.1 million left on Hardaway's contract beyond this season,” Stein wrote in his newsletter.

“Caris LeVert’s expiring $18.8 million contract is the simplest match for Hardaway, who has emerged from a very slow start to shoot 40.5% from 3-point range in 21 games entering Sunday’s play since Mavericks coach Jason Kidd moved him into the starting lineup.”

JAN 5 Mavs Pegged as Potential Zach LaVine Suitor

We already knew the Mavs had interest in Bulls star Zach LaVine in the offseason when NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote that Dallas was considering making a sign-and-trade offer before he signed his new deal with Chicago.

Now, according to a report from HoopsHype, it looks like the Mavs could be a player for him at the trade deadline.

“If the Chicago Bulls make Zach LaVine available before the trade deadline, rival executives are keeping an eye on several teams who could have interest in trading for him, including the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, and Miami Heat,” Michael Scotto wrote.

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