The NBA’s off-season is about to formally kick off.
Beginning with Thursday’s NBA draft, and quickly followed up with the opening of free agency Monday evening, everything is coming together, once again, in rapid fashion.
Because the off-season’s two major events are coming, essentially, back-to-back of each other, the league’s hot stove is lit up right now as teams send out messages and smokescreens both making known and masking their intentions during both the draft and in free agency.
At the heart of most of this noise are the Toronto Raptors, who have many options in front of them with one of the hottest free agents on the market in Kyle Lowry, as well as a valuable asset in the No. 4 overall pick in a draft that’s expected to feature a least five players with all-star potential.
So, with the draft just a day away, here’s a look at some of the latest major rumours floating around the NBA.
Siakam available for trade?
According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Raptors all-star forward “Pascal Siakam [is] considered available for trade.”
Fischer added that the Raptors have “been categorized as one of the most active teams in pre-draft trade chatter, exploring all avenues from swapping their pick in a deal for an all-star such as [Bradley] Beal or Damian Lillard to trading back and recouping more draft capital to embrace a post-Kyle Lowry rebuild.”
This is all interesting information, but it feels more speculative than concrete.
Yes, there was some chatter earlier about the possibility of the Raptors swinging a deal with the Golden State Warriors centered around Toronto swapping Siakam and the No. 4 pick to the Dubs for James Wiseman, maybe Andrew Wiggins and the No. 7 and/or No. 14 picks in the draft, but the linchpin of this transaction is still Siakam, who doesn’t seem like the best of trade chips at the moment.
Siakam, of course, is coming off shoulder surgery with the expectation that he won’t be able to return until around November.
This injury, combined with the questions that have plagued Siakam since he signed his max contract extension about his validity as a true No. 1 option would, at least to me, be factors that would sink his trade value, and given the heights we’ve seen him reach before, if you were going to deal him, why would you do it when his value appears to be low?
Seeing names like Beal and Lillard out there is exciting, but chances are Siakam alone wouldn’t be enough to make a blockbuster deal like that happen, and in that case, if you’re the Raptors, how much of your core would you be willing to sacrifice?
So, is Siakam available for trade? Sure, that isn’t too outrageous a claim to believe seeing as most of the league is available for trade, but that doesn’t mean he actually will be traded.
Raptors in “most advanced” talks with Sixers for Simmons
From a later Fischer post, he reported that talks between the Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers for a trade for Ben Simmons have been “the most advanced of any early conversations Philadelphia has had.”
Additionally, Matt Moore of the Action Network reported that an initial offer from the Sixers of Lowry, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and the No. 4 pick in exchange for Simmons was rejected.
If such an offer was real it’s pretty obvious why the Raptors would balk at that, but of note is the inclusion from Philly’s side still of Lowry.
Philadelphia’s pursuit of Lowry looks to be as red-hot as ever, and if the Raptors are looking to complete a sign-and-trade with Lowry, then keep channels open with the Sixers for Simmons can’t hurt.
The market for Lowry looks substantial
And on the topic of Lowry, it looks like he’ll have his pick of the litter when free agency opens as the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and, of course, the 76ers all look interested in 35-year-old, as they attempt to add some veteran leadership and championship pedigree to their young, talented rosters, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and long-time NBA insider Marc Stein.
That there’s significant interest in Lowry isn’t surprising, particularly after seeing what Chris Paul was able to accomplish as a senior leader for Phoenix Suns this past season. However, it doesn’t look like Lowry will come cheap.
As The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reported, Lowry is likely looking for at least $25 million per year, something that could, ultimately, limit his market as paying that much annually to a player as old as Lowry does seem rather risky, no matter how good he’s been in the twilight years of his career.
Are the Raptors uninterested in Jalen Suggs?
Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman reported that the Raptors simply just might be uninterested in Gonzaga freshman phenom Jalen Suggs, citing league sources believing that Florida State forward Scottie Barnes might be the surprise No. 4 that Toronto ends up taking.
The Raptors have a tendency to try to project forward who they believe might end up the best player a few years down the line, and if they actually don’t like Suggs then that’s probably because they don’t believe his ceiling is all that high compared to a prospect like Barnes.
Forecasting ahead has paid dividends for the Raptors in the past with success stories like Siakam and Anunoby, but it’s also burned them in the past with the Bruno Caboclo pick a good example of maybe valuing possible potential too much over what a kid can do immediately.
This isn’t to say Barnes is a Caboclo. He’s a top-five-level talent and would be a tremendous addition to any team, but if you’re looking for something more proven and can step in and help you win right from the jump, Suggs feels like the safer bet.
Could the Pistons pass on Cunningham?
Could the Detroit Pistons be having some doubts about Cade Cunningham, the consensus No. 1 overall pick according to just about every draft expert out there?
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Pistons are still having internal meetings debating the pros cons of the presumed top three of the draft, Cunningham, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley.
Odds are, this is just Detroit doing its due diligence and ensure they’ve left no stone unturned and they’ll come to the conclusion of taking Cunningham first overall.
If he were to fall out of No. 1 that would be a real shocker on draft night.
Cavaliers must really like their options at No. 3
In a bit of a head-scratching move, the Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly turned down an offer of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the No. 6 pick in the draft for the No. 3 overall pick.
If Cleveland had this offer on the table and didn’t take it then they must be locked into someone like a Mobley or Green at No. 3 and feel comfortable moving forward with their existing backcourt of Colin Sexton and Darius Garland because to pass on the chance to acquire an all-star caliber point guard in Gilgeous-Alexander and the No. 6 pick where talented players like Jonathan Kuminga, James Bouknight and maybe even Barnes are likely to be available seems a little crazy.
