NBA AM: A Lot Of Talk, Not Much Substance

A Lot Of Talk, Not Much Substance

With the free agency being the talk of the town in the world of sports, it is only natural that online bookmakers and betting sites take an interest in potential roster changes by NBA teams. Betting websites offer all kind of odds on potential summer moves for big players as well as a plethora of tips for your basketball bets.

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In the NBA, they say you never say never because even the most ardent “no” can turn into a “yes” if the situation is right. That’s true in almost every facet of the game, from drafting and signing a player to hiring and firing a coach and, of course, deciding when to trade a player.

There are a few names that keep popping up in offseason rumors and while it’s always fun to speculate, there are some players who simply are not going anywhere (at least not yet).

DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento

Fresh off his Olympic gold medal campaign, the Kings and Cousins have agreed to take a fresh-start approach to the relationship. Cousins says he likes the hiring of Dave Joerger and that everything he’s heard from the team this offseason is good with him. There are still some roster moves to work out, but Cousins says he is all the way on-board with the plan Joerger and Vlade Divac have for the team.

There’s no question that of everyone on this list Cousins is the situation to watch, but that’s only because it’s been so bad in Sacramento.

The Kings believe Cousins is the cornerstone of the franchise and that any success this season starts and stops with him. They will open their new arena – the Golden 1 Center – in just a few weeks and the plan is for Cousins to be the anchor and focal point of the team.

Incoming calls from other teams have been dismissed. There seems to be zero desire to even talk about a Cousins trade from the Kings’ side.

Unless things are just brutally bad out of the gate, the Kings likely play out the first season under Coach Joerger and make decisions from there once they know more.

There is no doubt that Cousins’ looming free agency in 2018 will become a factor; it’s just not one right now.

Kevin Love, Cleveland

No name gets mentioned more frequently in trade rumors than Cavaliers forward Kevin Love. The problem with that is neither the Cavs nor Love are looking for a change.

People like to point to the sometimes awkward fit for Love on the Cavs roster, but the truth of the matter is Cleveland won a lot of games last season because of Love. While Love wasn’t extremely productive in the Finals against the Warriors, he was very effective in the march up to the Finals and the Cavs know they won’t get anything better than Love in a trade. It’s something they have known for some time.

While there are no shortage of suitors who would take on Love’s contract, sources close to the Cavs say moving him is not even remotely a consideration.

The Cavaliers do have some roster business to take care of, namely getting J.R. Smith re-signed, which is viewed internally as simply a process that resolves itself in time.

As for trading Love, there is no sense that the Cavs are even listening to offers. Like Cousins, he is a name you can simply remove from the discussion.

Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City

By virtue of signing his re-negotiated contract with the Thunder, Westbrook became untradeable for six months, putting him as trade restricted until February 4.

Sources close to the situation say the Thunder’s view on Westbrook is to see what he can do as the single focal point of the team and plan to keep the noise out of the equation until next summer.

That’s not to say if the Thunder simply crumble under their own weight that things won’t be re-visited on this front. It’s simply that the Thunder and Westbrook have pledged to give this season a real chance before addressing the future beyond his new contract.

There is little doubt that after losing Kevin Durant to free agency for nothing in return that the Thunder won’t be more mindful in how they handle Westbrook, but as sources close to the situation have said, there is almost no scenario in which the Thunder look at trades with Westbrook this year. The hope is that he can be the triple-double MVP candidate he looked like two years ago and that would take care of everything.

Trading Westbrook in the future remains a possibility; what’s not a possibility is it happening this year, at least not without a catastrophic collapse on the Thunder’s part.

Blake Griffin, LA Clippers

The clock is ticking pretty loudly for the Clippers. Not only are the Clippers still arguably the third-best team in the Western Conference, they are facing the looming free agency of both guard Chris Paul and forward Blake Griffin.

Sources close to Griffin have been adamant that he is planning to re-sign in L.A. and that he’s not open to going anywhere. Clippers president and head coach Doc Rivers has mirrored that, saying he believes Griffin retires as a Clipper.

Both sides are saying all the right things. But are the Clippers good enough to really contend for a championship and what happens if they fall short again?

Sources close to the situation say win or lose, Rivers is not open to trade talks on Griffin or Paul and that he’s not worried about either walking away in July.

If that is genuinely true, then there is no point in speculating about Griffin. The Clippers can and likely will offer more money in free agency and with Griffin’s business interests in the L.A. market, the odds of him picking up and walking away are pretty slim.

The only scenario in which that becomes remotely plausible is if the Clippers just fall apart and even the harshest critics would struggle to make a case of that being likely.

While moving Griffin might be the best course of action if the Clippers want to re-load the team for the future, the truth is Rivers and owner Steve Ballmer do not seem at all interested, so it’s safe to say Griffin stays exactly where he’s at.

Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks

The only reason Millsap’s name gets talked about in trade rumors is because the Hawks explored moving him to try and retain Al Horford in free agency. But with Horford gone, the Hawks continue to say Millsap is their guy. While he does have a $21 million player option for next season, the belief around the Hawks is that they are hanging on to him as the counter balance to newly acquired Dwight Howard.

Now, much like many of the teams mentioned above, if the floor falls out from under the Hawks then moving Millsap might become a possibility. However, according to sources near the situation, Millsap has been assured he’s not going anywhere.

The problem with hanging onto a guy who could be an unrestricted free agent is that you could lose him for nothing in return. And if the Hawks’ season goes sideways or they are among the bottom six to eight teams, changes might be the only way to jump start things.

How the Hawks play likely has more to do with the future of Millsap than anything.

If they play well, he may want to stay in his deal – even with the cap ballooning again in July.

Like Cousins, Millsap may be one of the few guys mentioned in this piece you may want to keep an eye on this season. But any trade talks involving the forward likely don’t become real until December or January when the Hawks really know what they are.

Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls

Cross Jimmy Butler off your wish list. Barring some kind of critical melt down in Chicago, the Bulls made their choice this summer and opted to stick with Butler as the face of the franchise.

Butler played an instrumental role in recruiting Dwyane Wade to Chicago and the Bulls’ view is that Butler and Wade complement each other really well.

There is no question that if Butler is difficult to coach or if the Bulls’ season collapses that all bets are off, mainly because ownership is not going to sit idle if Chicago is outside the playoff picture again this year. But from all accounts, the Bulls are sticking with Butler for the foreseeable future, which makes him all but unobtainable.

It’s always possible that the right series of events changes the discussion on these guys, but the stance from all of their teams is that they are staying where they are and are the foundation to what their respective franchise is trying to do this season.

If injury strikes or the losses start to pile up in an unexpected way, maybe that changes. However, it’s pretty safe to say that these guys are staying where they are for the foreseeable future and are not the trade candidates some fans want them to be.

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