Buy or Sell Newest NBA Trade and Free-Agency Rumors
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With the 2023 NBA draft now over, all attention shifts to free agency and trade season in the NBA, with the former beginning Friday at 6 p.m. ET.
James Harden and Draymond Green will be two of the biggest potential names on the market, with the latter already turning down his player option.
One of Los Angeles' biggest stars is reportedly available, while the powerhouse Phoenix Suns are apparently done making any big changes to their roster.
We'll look at the latest buzz surrounding these topics and more, buying or selling the latest NBA rumors.
Suns Planning to Keep Deandre Ayton
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After the Phoenix Suns pulled off a surprising trade for Bradley Beal, the future of starting center Deandre Ayton was in question given the team's lack of depth around Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Beal.
Using Ayton's $32.5 million contract to trade for multiple role players, including ones who can defend, space the floor and get the ball to the stars, would make for a more evenly rounded overall roster.
Despite this possibility, the Suns "are moving forward with the plan of keeping Deandre Ayton to play alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal," according to Bleacher Report's Chris Haynes.
Now, the words "moving forward with the plan of" isn't exactly a rock-solid guarantee. It simply means the Suns have tried to shop Ayton and haven't gotten the offers they'd like for a player who averaged 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds and turns just 25 this summer.
There's a real chance Phoenix begins the season with the Arizona product and sees how he fits in with three All-Stars, especially if the team can re-sign players like Darius Bazley, Jock Landale, Torrey Craig and others for depth. With no first-round picks to trade or swap now until 2031, Ayton is the Suns' best trade chip.
Ayton appears safe for now. If a strong offer comes around, though, this stance could quickly change.
Buy or Sell: Buy Ayton staying in Phoenix until the first good trade offer comes along.
Kings Could Go Hunting for Draymond Green
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While there were lots of winners on draft night, Draymond Green could become one of the biggest after a trade that went under the radar among the rest of the night's excitement.
The Kings traded the No. 24 overall pick to the Dallas Mavericks as an incentive to take Richaun Holmes and his remaining two-year, $25.9 million contract off their books. The move now gives Sacramento the fourth-most cap space of any NBA team this summer, up to $35.6 million according to Keith Smith of Spotrac.
Did the Kings already have a potential target in mind?
Just three days earlier, Green declined his $27.6 million player option with the Golden State Warriors, making him an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
"The Kings can now go hunting for Draymond Green, if they wish," ESPN's Brian Windhorst pointed out. He also noted Sacramento head coach Mike Brown, formerly Steve Kerr's lead assistant at Golden State, is "extraordinarily close" with the 33-year-old from their previous time together.
While there's likely some bad blood between Green and Kings fans given how their first-round series went down, those feelings could quickly be washed aside if the veteran forward decides to join a starting lineup featuring De'Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis.
For a Sacramento team that ranked 24th defensively last season, adding an all-world defender like Green would not only boost them up the standings, but it would also upset the Warriors as well.
Even if Green ultimately re-signs with Golden State, Sacramento should pursue the four-time All-Star, at the very least driving up the contract price and making financial life more difficult for the Warriors.
Buy or Sell: Buy. Green should be the Kings' No. 1 priority in free agency.
76ers 'Determined' to Keep James Harden in Free Agency
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Despite yet another early playoff exit, the 76ers want to at least bring most of the band back next season.
This includes James Harden, who has until Thursday to make a decision on his $35.6 million player option.
"They're determined to keep James Harden, but it will be a negotiation. It's probably not going to be just the traditional max, long-term deal that he's been able to command throughout his career," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski told SportsCenter.
If the 33-year-old opts out and becomes an unrestricted free agent, he can sign for up to $210 million over four years with the Sixers or $201.7 million with another team.
The Sixers can't afford to lose Harden in free agency but keeping him at a max number would almost certainly push them into the new second tax apron. Paying him over $50 million per year as he enters his age-34 season doesn't project to end well, either.
If the 10-time All-Star walks, Philly already has $122.1 million in committed salary, even without new deals for Paul Reed, Jalen McDaniels and others. With a projected salary cap of $136 million, the Sixers won't be able to find a replacement for Harden for less than $14 million.
Signing Harden to a new non-max deal (three years, $100 million?) is a must for Philly this offseason.
Buy or Sell: Buy. The Sixers have to bring Harden back or at least find a sign-and-trade or opt-in-and-trade for the star guard.
Paul George 'Certainly Available' in Trade Talks
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In four years together, the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led Clippers have missed the playoffs as often as they've made it past the second round, with zero titles or trips to the Finals thus far.
While Leonard is still safe for now, George is "certainly available," according to NBA insider Howard Beck via the FnA Union podcast.
The 33-year-old is coming off an All-Star season in which he averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.5 steals and shot 37.1 percent from three. He's still a very good defender and can play either wing position.
The problem, of course, is durability, as Paul has played an average of just over 47 games per season in his four years with the Clippers. Teams can sometimes manage one star going down with an injury, but Los Angeles has often had to deal with two.
Trading Paul now could still net a solid return, but the Clippers aren't looking for future draft picks and young prospects. With Leonard about to turn 32 and one of the league's oldest rosters around him, L.A. needs to flip George for win-now help.
Trying to find the right trade (Paul-for-Harden in an opt-in? Paul for DeMar DeRozan and Alex Caruso?) is going to be extremely tricky. Don't be surprised if the Clippers end up keeping both their star forwards, as teams interested in trading for George won't want to give up their veteran talent, either.
Buy or Sell: Sell the Clippers trading George, but buy that they explore deals for him.
Hawks Trying to Get Pascal Siakam from Raptors
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Few teams are destined for a shake-up more than the Hawks this summer.
Atlanta is already trying to make improvements, with Toronto Raptors power forward Pascal Siakam at the top of its wish list, per Marc Stein of the Stein Line substack.
He noted that the Hawks have "been trying—without success—to convince Toronto to part with" the 29-year-old.
This would set up a Big Three of Trae Young, Siakam and Dejounte Murray, one of the better trios in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta could offer Toronto a package of picks and players including John Collins, Clint Capela, De'Andre Hunter, Onyeka Okongu, Bogan Bogdanović, AJ Griffin and others.
The biggest issue with the Hawks' pursuit of Siakam are the future financial implications.
Young is already on a max contract, earning $40.1 million next season on a deal that continues to increase by about $3 million per year until 2027. Murray and Siakam will both become unrestricted free agents next season and likely command similar contracts. The Hawks would then be stuck between paying borderline All-Stars max money or watching them leave for nothing.
If the Hawks trade for Siakam, they need to feel confident that he'll be the missing piece to carry them to the top of the East and re-sign the following summer.
That's a big risk to take, especially for a team that already has one major 2024 free agent to worry about in Murray.
Buy or Sell: Sell the Hawks trading for Siakam. Buy them making making at least one big move this offseason, though.
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