Shams Charania dropped a bunch of information on early trade market whispers. Here’s everything he reported and why it matters.
The NBA trade market is going to kick off early this year, it would appear, and Shams Charania’s Friday reporting helps us piece together some whispers from the last week or so.
Charania dropped a full column with multiple different reports (subscription required) in The Athletic on Friday. Let’s dive into each of them and discuss what they mean and — when we can — connect them with other rumors.
Jae Crowder receiving interest from Atlanta Hawks, Milwaukee Bucks
Jae Crowder figures to be the first player to be moved, and if so, his trade will be a needed recalibration for the trade market after the Minnesota Timberwolves blew it up during the offseason when they sent a large stockpile out to get Rudy Gobert in return.
So carefully follow the return for Crowder to get a sense of the direction the trade market will go in.
Charania reported the Bucks were a team to keep an eye on to acquire Crowder, which tracks with what Jake Fischer reported recently. Fischer also recently reported a three-team deal was finishing up, and that deal mysteriously fell through.
Connecting with other pieces of Charania’s report, though, we can guess who the third team may have been…
Looks like the Rockets, Bucks, and Suns may have been close on a deal
Fischer’s reporting on a three-team deal on Crowder fell through or at least seems to have fallen through since it hasn’t materialized yet. The Bucks, based on his follow-up reporting, seem to have been team two. Team three may have been the Rockets.
Charania reported the Suns were interested in KJ Martin. Maybe a deal involving Grayson Allen and KJ Martin to the Suns with Phoenix sending Crowder to Milwaukee and Milwaukee sending draft capital to the Rockets was the deal?
He also reported the Suns were looking into the possibility of acquiring Harrison Barnes and Kyle Kuzma, as well. It seems like the Jae Crowder trade may have been a bit further from nearly-done than was initially reported. So, while it looks like the Rockets were the third team, it may have been the Wizards or Kings.
Plenty of interesting players available
Charania also reported that John Collins (Hawks) is available and the Sixers are seeing if anyone wants to take Tobias Harris off the team’s hands.
Collins is a very interesting trade piece. Harris, on the other hand, has a massive contract that is going to be difficult for most teams interested in a player of his caliber to be interested in taking on.
The Knicks are also thought to be open to moving Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley. Both would be good on competitive teams, but Quickley would fit well with almost any team in the league. He is young and has an incredibly high ceiling.
It’s shaping up to be an early start to the NBA season if these whispers are any indication.