BREAKING NEWS: Trade Rumors: Rockets, Grizzlies, Kings, Wizards, and THJ
According to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link), the Kings were in trade negotiations over that selection in the minutes and hours before their No. 13 choice in tonight’s draft.
In the end, Sacramento chose Providence guard Devin Carter with that choice; he doesn’t seem to be headed for a trade, but it’s safe to say the Kings will keep searching for wing support. Anderson reports that he has heard the names Kyle Kuzma of the Wizards and Cameron Johnson of the Nets connected to the Kings. Meanwhile, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) reports that previous to the February trade deadline, Sacramento showed interest in Dorian Finney-Smith, another Net.
Tim Hardaway Jr.’s Wizards are now a “viable” trade partner for the Mavericks, according to Marc Stein (Twitter link), who had before suggested Detroit as a potential destination for Hardaway. In contrast to the Pistons, Dallas would probably need to return some salary in exchange for a deal with the Wizards because Washington does not appear to have cap space this offseason. As Stein notes, the two clubs have already exchanged players this season; in February, Washington sent Daniel Gafford to the Mavericks.
According to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, Detroit discussed a trade back to No. 9 with the Grizzlies before to selecting Ron Holland at No. 5, but Memphis failed to offer the Pistons anything “substantial” to persuade them to proceed. According to Fischer (Twitter link), the Grizzlies, who were said to be interested in Donovan Clingan, also met with the Hornets on the No. 6 choice. Clingan ultimately went to Portland at number seven, while Zach Edey, another center, was chosen by Memphis at number nine.
Although there have been reports that the Rockets want to quickly exchange the draft picks they acquired from Brooklyn for a great player, most likely Kevin Durant, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle thinks the team would adopt a longer-term strategy. In an article available only to subscribers, Feigen states that the Nets selections Houston gave up would have been priceless assets if a deal had been Houston’s top priority in the near future. The Rockets extended their window of opportunity to investigate the trade market and pursue potential trades by pushing those choices down the road.
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