NBA Draft Rumors: Mavericks targeting Kyrie Irving replacement?
According to Dalton Trigg of Dallas Basketball, the Mavs really are sold on Anthony Black. Black, who plays point guard, cannot shoot very well from three but has a very solid game outside of that. This would be a potential replacement for Kyrie Irving if he left in free agency.
With the limited cap space that they have this season, this is best way for Dallas to add talent to this team if they want to keep Irving.
If they do end up keeping Irving, then perhaps the Mavs can move their attention elsewhere. They can improve this team by trading draft picks but if they don't make the right move, they could put themselves in a huge danger zone for losing Luka Doncic
NBA Draft Rumors: Top 5 trade down party
As reported by Marc Stein, any team in the top five that isn't the Spurs is open to trading down in this year's draft. For the Houston Rockets, it makes a lot of sense due to the fact they are looking to retool quickly. They are interested in bringing back James Harden, and adding another asset could make them a more attractive destination for free agents.
They also have another max slot which they can use to pair with Harden. It is expected that the Portland Trail Blazers will trade their pick as a means to pair another talented player alongside Damian Lillard.
The Charlotte Hornets is where things start to make less sense. Yes, they do have LaMelo Ball and some other young pieces, but this team is nowhere near a second-round exit nonetheless a title contender. This team could benefit from a young player who could be a long-term piece of the core.
Detroit makes a little more sense but this team is still miles away from contending. Cade Cunningham is their franchise player but he still has a ways to go after suffering an injury that made him miss most of the season.
The only reason that the Pistons are more likely to trade their pick is that they have just paid a boat-load for their new head coach, Monty Williams. The idea was that Detroit paid so much money for Williams was because he was willing to coach a young roster.
NBA Draft Rumors: Blazers need sidekick for Damian Lillard
Speaking of Portland, the Trail Blazers are trying to build a trade package to surround Damian Lillard with talent. According to the Ringer's Kevin O' Connor, the Trail Blazers are open to trading Anfernee Simons and the third-overall pick for All-Star help. The players that they are looking at include Jaylen Brown, Pascal Siakam, and Mikal Bridges.
Out of these three options, Mikal Bridges is probably the most unlikely. The Nets do not have control of their picks for the next couple of years. Due to that reason, they have decided to not rebuild and rather retool after the end of the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving era.
One could assume that an offer of Portland's tradable first-round picks, Simons and the third-overall pick would at the very least make the Nets consider it. Still, the idea that Bridges is a suitable running mate probably doesn't make sense due to what we saw in the first round against the Sixers.
Brown would require the Celtics to not want them to extend the All-NBA player, which they may end up doing in the end. Still, that situation is based on outside factors that Portland can not control.
The Raptors would make a lot of sense if they hadn't traded their first round pick next season to the Spurs. Still, a deal where they get Simons might allow them to avoid a full retool when trading Siakam.
