Potential landing spots for Jazz All-Star who could be moved this summer

Lauri Markkanen arrived in Utah as the result of another superstar trade. He was one of the primary assets sent to Utah when the Jazz traded Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The plan, pretty transparently, was to tank. That’s the expectation when you turn your two best players into seven first-round picks and a handful of young players.

Markkanen threw that plan off course. He was so good in his new surroundings that the Jazz, two years in a row, managed to hang around the fringes of the playoff race until the trade deadline. He has emerged as an All-Star. Perhaps not a franchise player, but a core piece for a team otherwise lacking them.

So why is Markkanen so frequently mentioned in the rumor mill? Is there any substance to these trade ideas? And what is he worth to a general manager that routinely trades stars for more value than anyone thinks possible?

Why he’s in trade rumors
Markkanen is caught in the same uncomfortable middle ground that Mikal Bridges is in Brooklyn. Clearly, he’d be spectacular as the second-best player on a good team. But the Jazz have missed the playoffs in both of his seasons in Utah. It’s just hard to imagine him being the best player on a winner, and Danny Ainge doesn’t build for the middle. Utah’s goal is championship contention. The Jazz have the assets to trade for a “best player on a winner” sort of guy, but convincing a veteran of that caliber to come to Utah would be difficult. Realistically, their best chance at getting that player is in the draft. Markkanen makes them too good to do so.

The Jazz have tacitly acknowledged this uncomfortable middle ground two years in a row. They’ve started both seasons in the mix for a Play-In spot only to sell off veterans at the deadline and go in the tank. This team clearly doesn’t believe it’s ready to win at a high level yet, but it hasn’t committed to losing either. That made sense in 2023, when the Jazz were still figuring out what they had in Markkanen, and it made sense in 2024, when the draft wasn’t strong enough to warrant a tank anyway.

But the 2025 draft class is loaded, and while Utah has a bunch of picks from other teams, the only picks whose value you can control are your own. Utah’s best chance at drafting a star will be with its own picks, and getting to the bottom now, while the West is so deep, is eminently doable if Markkanen isn’t on the roster. Couple all of this with the fact that Markkanen is underpaid and expected to renegotiate and extend his contract this offseason and, well, you see the motivation for a trade on Utah’s side. It’s time for them to pick a direction, and doing so before paying Markkanen is their best shot at maximizing his value.

Why the Jazz would keep him
The short answer is that it’s hard to get players of Markkanen’s caliber under any circumstances, and it’s even harder to do it in Utah. Regardless of where the rest of the roster sits, the Jazz have an All-Star-caliber player right now. There’s no guarantee that they’d be able to draft another by tanking. Keeping Markkanen may make it harder to add the sort of player they’ll need to compete for a title, but it also guarantees a degree of competence teams rarely want to sacrifice. If they can find that top player, having Markkanen as a sidekick would be incredibly valuable.

It’s also worth noting that the Jazz have explored win-now additions lately, even if they haven’t ultimately pulled the trigger. They were in the running for Jrue Holiday. They talked to the Hawks about Dejounte Murray, but seemingly moved away from him when it became clear such a deal would cost young guard Keyonte George. The Jazz probably should be tanking. But they haven’t proactively taken that step, so it’s not some slam dunk that they will.

Finally, there are optics at play here. Danny Ainge has a bit of a reputation for callousness when it comes to roster-building. He’d trade anyone for the right price. That’s probably the right way to approach the job, but it has a pronounced effect on team morale. No player wants to feel like an asset rather than a human being even if the business of basketball makes it true. Trading Markkanen sends a message to the rest of the roster that any one of them could be next in service of the team’s greater goals. That’s not something to be done lightly.

What destinations make sense?
Markkanen makes sense for a pretty wide variety of teams. He can play either small or power forward. He’s no defensive stopper, but he can survive on that end of the floor. He’s reasonably cheap (for now), and he’s never expressed a desire to play in certain markets. It’s “best offer wins” time, folks. Here are three sensible destinations.

Oklahoma City Thunder: If the Jazz want to add to their stockpile of picks, no team can give them more than the Thunder. Oklahoma City not only has the most draft picks of any team, but the most diversified stack. The Jazz could handpick the teams they want to short, and as an added bonus, they’d effectively be taking the Thunder out of the race for future blockbusters because they’d be paying Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren and Markkanen at that point. Oklahoma City wants to play five-out. Good luck stopping that foursome. Utah might be handing Oklahoma City multiple titles with this sort of trade, but the price coming back to them could be worth it.

Houston Rockets: Houston is a bit short on its own picks, but still has several more Nets picks incoming that would surely appeal to Utah. The Rockets have been star-hunting since at least the deadline, and Markkanen has the advantage of being able to fit with either Dillon Brooks or Jabari Smith Jr. at forward, allowing for all three to remain the core of Houston’s forward rotation.

San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs are the Thunder, but a few years earlier in their contention window. They have picks from other teams (most notably Atlanta), but not quite as many. They have an impending mega star in Victor Wembanyama, but he still has three years left on his rookie deal, so the Spurs can afford a major expenditure and that isn’t changing for awhile. In addition to everything else both of them do, the spacing of an offense with Wembanyama and Markkanen in the front-court would be basically impossible to defend. It could set the Spurs up to be a supercharged version offensively of what the Celtics have become: shooters everywhere creating driving lanes for everybody.

What is the latest reporting?
The Athletic’s Tony Jones speculated that it would “something like four or five first-round picks, and a star-level talent” for Utah to consider trading Markkanen. This is, obviously, not happening, but generally speaking, this is par for the Ainge course. The reporting in 2022 suggested that Utah wasn’t eager to move Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell either. How’d that go? Ainge sets very high prices for his stars, but if someone is willing to meet them, he’s typically willing to trade them. So for now, a trade may not look feasible, but Ainge is always listening. He’ll consider it if someone wants to bowl him over.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum takes shot at Miami Heat to kick off Boston’s wild championship parade

The Boston Celtics are celebrating their recent NBA title victory with a championship parade in the city. Before the parade even got underway, Celtics star Jayson Tatum decided to stir the pot a bit.

While being interviewed by former Celtics big man Brian Scalabrine, Tatum was asked if the Celtics’ series against the Miami Heat was any sweeter due to the lack of success that Boston had against them in previous years.

“They’re always easy,” Tatum sarcastically replied.

Brian Scalabrine: “You guys have been on a lot of hard-fought trips to Miami, was this one a little sweeter?”

Jayson Tatum: “They’re always easy.” 😅 pic.twitter.com/EvuhSrUWD6

— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 21, 2024
After defeating the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 earlier this week, the Celtics flew down to Miami to celebrate their NBA record 18th championship. It was perceived to be a shot at the Heat, who have beaten the Celtics in two of the last four playoff matchups.

Tatum has a 13-12 career record against the Heat in the postseason. Still, he gets a little leeway since the Celtics won the Larry O’Brien Trophy and eliminated the Heat in doing so.

In addition to Tatum’s comments, it’s expected that there will be plenty of viral moments coming out of Boston as the Celtics celebrate on Friday.

Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who was named the NBA Finals MVP, arrived at the event wearing a t-shirt that said “State Your Source” on it. Brown is likely taking a jab at ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, who previously reported that a source told him that Brown had a large ago and wasn’t a marketable superstar.

Jaylen Brown is wearing a “State Your Source” shirt 🔥 pic.twitter.com/56AVrii8qB

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzellNBA) June 21, 2024
Teammate Al Horford brought a little bit of lightness to the parade celebration as he simply wore a t-shirt of Tom Brady partaking in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl parade back in 2021.

Al Horford rocking the drunk Tom Brady shirt for the parade 😂 pic.twitter.com/J05WTIh5kg

— Celtics Junkies (@Celtics_Junkies) June 21, 2024
Brady took notice, posting a meme of Jack Nicholson.

https://t.co/cQxaQrYSAx pic.twitter.com/zrcSjJhvIn

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) June 21, 2024
Here are a few moments and posts that made waves during the parade itself:

The Celtics sent out 18 special victory cigars, each with words from those who doubted the team.

Those will go up in smoke today💨

(Via @CousinStizz on IG) pic.twitter.com/XNv8s1k53e

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) June 21, 2024
The Larry O’Brien trophy shining at the Celtics’ parade.

Definition of aura. (via @OnlyInBOS) pic.twitter.com/1ekEYHXBvK

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 21, 2024
Welcome to Boston ☘️ pic.twitter.com/Q2cdhEyuaW

— Frank Gorman (@CelticsParquet) June 21, 2024
The Celtics parade is CRAZY. 🔥🔥

(via @OnlyInBOS, h/t @overtime)

pic.twitter.com/T6VZfvmJhy

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 21, 2024

76ers are reportedly out on Paul George and Zach LaVine, so who exactly is their primary offseason target?

The NBA Draft hasn’t even arrived yet and a handful of top Philadelphia 76ers are already seemingly off of the table. On Thursday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that their interest in Paul George had waned in recent days. Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports reported that the 76ers aren’t interested in pursuing Zach LaVine either.

Though he isn’t a star, the 76ers took a blow when the Bulls traded Alex Caruso to the Thunder. Caruso had frequently been mentioned as a Philadelphia trade target because of his low salary. In theory, an optimal offseason for them would have involved sending picks to Chicago for Caruso and then still fitting a max-salary free agent into their cap sheet. That option is off the table with Caruso gone. There simply aren’t other role players that are valuable in earning a low enough salary to make that plan possible. Even if there were, George is considered by many to be the best free agent that is truly available. If he’s out, mapping out Philadelphia’s offseason becomes a lot harder.

Of course, their general manager is Daryl Morey. That means mapping out their offseason is always going to be difficult. He has a bit of a history of pulling superstars out of thin air. It’s entirely possible that the 76ers think they have a path to a player we might not otherwise consider available to them, as he did when he landed Chris Paul in 2017. Nothing is off of the table for the 76ers.

And then, of course, there is the timing of this reporting. It would make no sense for the 76ers to leak. Even if it is true, Philadelphia should want the world to believe it is ready to offer George the max (and that he is ready to take it) because that is the leverage they can exert in negotiations elsewhere. The likeliest reason that this gets out probably has less to do with George than the rest of the field. If the 76ers have cooled on George, it’s probably because they think they have a path to someone else. The question here is who?

Two names come to mind here, at least at first glance. Dan Woike of the LA Times reported Thursday that LeBron James is expected to opt out of his contract and become a free agent. Now, he is also expected to re-sign with the Lakers, but he and his camp have been fairly noncommittal about that throughout this offseason. That has been especially true of agent Rich Paul.

Paul said that “LeBron is a free agent” during an alt-cast of Game 2 of the Western Conference finals. He claimed that the Lakers should be focusing on Anthony Davis, not James, in their hiring of a coach this offseason in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. He told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony that James could leave the Lakers even if they do draft his son, Bronny.

This doesn’t mean he’s leaving the Lakers. Staying is still the likeliest outcome. But it doesn’t exactly seem as though he’s off of the table entirely for enterprising contenders. If nothing else, getting to an Eastern Conference team with two All-Stars probably gives him a better chance of winning now than remaining in the West on a team with one. Morey has pursued James in the past. Perhaps there’s a pathway for him now.

On Friday, The Ringer’s Howard Beck predicted that Jimmy Butler would be the biggest name to move this offseason and even stated outright that he would be traded. He’s been a common element of the rumor mill so far this offseason. He will be 35 on opening night and wants a contract extension that the Heat reportedly aren’t willing to give him at the moment. If Miami could cash out on him now and get assets back, they could then redirect those assets elsewhere to find a younger star to pair with Bam Adebayo long-term.

Butler has already done one tour through Philadelphia. The people most responsible for his exit (Brett Brown and Ben Simmons) are now gone. He has remained close with Joel Embiid, and the fit between the two is as obvious today as it was when they split in 2019. Morey pursued Butler before he was ultimately dealt to Philadelphia in 2018.

These are the names that immediately come to mind. Morey’s history suggests that we should probably broaden our horizons. It’s hard to imagine a 76ers team with over $60 million in cap space, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey coming up empty. If they’re out on George, it’s because they think they’re close somewhere else. We don’t know who yet, but with the draft nearing and free agency coming soon after, it’s only a matter of time before their plan reveals itself.

LeBron James expected to opt out of Lakers contract, become unrestricted free agent, per report

LeBron James is expected to opt out of the final year of his current contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and become an unrestricted free agent, according to Dan Woike of The LA Times. According to Woike, the sense is that he will ultimately elect to remain with the Lakers in the end.

However, by becoming an unrestricted free agent, James gains two important rights. The first is the obvious one: he can sign with any team in the NBA. The second is a bit more obscure. As James has now spent more than four years with the Lakers and more than eight years in the NBA, he is eligible to receive a no-trade clause. No-trade clauses cannot be added to existing contracts in extensions, so if James wants one in Los Angeles, opting out was his only path to getting one.

By opting out, James would cost himself a little bit of money in a new Lakers contract. His projected three-year max deal as a free agent would come out to roughly $162 million. This figure would begin at his max salary, which is 5% above last season’s $47.6 million figure, and then include 8% raises in the subsequent two seasons. Were James to opt in and extend, he’d be making more than $164 million in total over the new deal because instead of starting at his max based on this year’s projected cap, he’d be started at his player option figure of $51.4 million, which is slightly higher.

James cannot sign for more than three years because of the Over-38 Rule. The financial difference in the two contracts is relatively small, and perhaps James views it as insignificant enough to warrant sacrificing for a no-trade clause. The Lakers are reportedly open to any contract structure James prefers in negotiating his new deal. In the past, he has often opted for one-year deals in order to maximize his own flexibility and to capitalize on the rising salary cap. As the cap is expected to rise by the maximum allowable 10% annually starting next offseason, he could actually make more money by signing one-year deals, but that would cost him the financial security of a multi-year deal.

While James is widely expected to remain with the Lakers in the end, he will surely receive interest from other teams if he is open-minded about where he plays next season. The Philadelphia 76ers led by Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey will have max cap space and are reportedly hunting for a star. The Orlando Magic and Oklahoma City Thunder, both younger teams on the rise, can get to max cap space with a few moves, so both would potentially make sense if they are willing to spend on an older player. There are also sign-and-trade possibilities, or, potentially, opt-in and trade possibilities as well, as James does not have to make his official decision until June 29. If trades are on the table, all 29 other teams would likely register some degree of interest.

But for now, all signs continue to point to James remaining with the Lakers, who just hired James’ podcast co-host JJ Redick as their head coach and are widely expected to draft his son, Bronny, in next week’s NBA Draft. James can explore other opportunities if he becomes a free agent, but the Lakers remain in clear pole position for the moment.

Looking for more NBA coverage? John Gonzalez, Bill Reiter, Ashley Nicole Moss and special guests dive deep into the league’s biggest storylines daily on the Beyond the Arc podcast.

Why it’s good news for LeBron James, but not Anthony Davis

On Thursday, JJ Redick has agreed to a four-year contract and will become the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. On paper, it is one of the more surprising hires in recent NBA history. Redick has no coaching experience at the professional or collegiate level. He has never worked in a front office. While he had a lengthy and successful NBA playing career, he wasn’t a point guard like most no-experience hires.

No, Redick has been appointed to the highest-pressure coaching job in the entire sport based on 15 years as a 3-point marksman, eight years as a podcaster, and three as a television analyst. We’re years away from knowing whether or not that unconventional background will lead to his success or failure as a head coach, but the hire is going to have immediate ramifications for several key figures around the Lakers and around the league. So let’s take a look at the aftershocks here. Who are the winners and losers of the Redick hire?

Winner: JJ Redick
Let’s start with the obvious: for all of the problems that come with coaching the Lakers (and believe me, we’re going to cover several of them), you still, you know, get to coach the Lakers. The pressure that comes with this job is there for a reason. The entire basketball world is watching you. The entire player pool wants to play for you, and you usually have access to more talent than the rest of the league. Even now, at a relative down point in team history, leading the Lakers means deploying LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

That’s an incredible opportunity for any coach. It’s downright remarkable for a coach with no experience. Redick had interviewed for other head-coaching jobs in the past. He was never going to have the sort of win-now opportunity in Charlotte or Toronto that James and Davis give him right now. He was never going to have the sort of platform that comes with this job either. If Redick has won with the Hornets or Raptors, he’d just be any other winning coach. Win with the Lakers and suddenly a level of fame (and, despite their relative frugality, salary) that isn’t available with the rest of the league is suddenly on the table. This is a high-risk job, but it’s a high-reward job as well. If Redick weren’t prepared for the former he wouldn’t have taken the job. The latter is ultimately why he took it.

Loser: JJ Redick
When the Lakers were looking for a coach in 2022, Redick himself pointed out why this job isn’t necessarily desirable on ESPN’s Get Up. “Until they start building their team like every other team in the NBA does, in the modern NBA, I don’t think this is a good job.”

For better or, lately, for worse, the Lakers do not operate like a normal NBA team. They simultaneously have one of the smallest front offices in basketball in terms of manpower devoted to things like scouting and analytics and one of the largest front offices in basketball in terms of how many power brokers seemingly have a hand on the wheel when it comes to major basketball decisions. Rob Pelinka is nominally in charge. Linda Rambis is a longtime advisor of Jeanie Buss with more power than her “executive director of special projects” title suggests. Kurt Rambis holds a similarly vague and influential position within the franchise. Magic Johnson grumbled about how involved President of Business Operations Tim Harris was in basketball operations during his time as team president. Younger Buss siblings Joey and Jesse have gained renown in the G-League and scouting departments, respectively. When a major decision is made in this franchise, nobody quite knows who made it.

And lately, most of those major decisions have been wrong. The 2020 Lakers built a championship roster by surrounding James and Davis with 3-and-D wings. They have spent the four years since dismantling that concept. They’ve thrown asset after asset after asset into the “find a point guard that can ease LeBron’s ball-handling burden” wishing well and never found one. They’ve never found a long-term center that can shoot well enough to take pressure off of Davis, either. Wings have been few and far between. At times, it seems that the only principle guiding Lakers moves is fame. They add stars. They add former stars. They add highly drafted busts that we once believed would be stars. Sometimes it works. More often, it doesn’t. It’s pretty hard to win a championship when acquisitions are just so heavily on points per game.

The Lakers have had six head coaches since Phil Jackson retired in 2011. Redick will be No. 7. If this brain trust doesn’t improve, it won’t be long before someone else is No. 8. The Lakers fired Frank Vogel two years after a championship. They fired Darvin Ham one year after reaching the Western Conference finals. If things go wrong in Los Angeles, and recent history suggests they probably will, this front office has proven perfectly willing to use a coach as a blame shield before. And without a traditional coaching background to fall back on, failure in Los Angeles might doom Redick’s promising career before it really starts. Redick said it himself: for the Lakers to do a good job, they need to start acting like every other team. They have never, at any point in their history, shown any willingness to do so.

Winner: LeBron James
This is a two-pronged victory for James. We’ll start with the obvious: assuming James re-signs with the Lakers, he will now be playing for his (former???) podcast co-host in Redick. Obviously, it’s unclear just how deep the relationship between these two go. Redick and James never played together in the NBA. The Mind the Game podcast launched only in March. It’s not as though the Lakers hired Dwyane Wade as their coach. The two are professional. They are at least friendly. We don’t know quite how friendly, but the suits James fine.

He obviously wouldn’t have agreed to do a podcast with Redick if he hadn’t endorsed him as a basketball thinker. While understanding basketball tactics and being able to implement them within the structure of a professional team are two different things, it’s hard to imagine James vehemently disagreeing with Redick on strategic matters. They are going to be broadly aligned on the ways that the Lakers need to play in order to win. That sort of buy-in is never a guarantee where James is concerned. From that perspective, this is an obvious victory.

But James has successfully managed to keep his distance during the search. Rich Paul told Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes that James “is not involved” in the search to replace Ham. Virtually all of the reporting has echoed that sentiment, and it’s just smart PR from his perspective. Does the Redick hire work? James was an early adopter, just like he was for, say, Malik Monk or Migos. But if it doesn’t? James can argue that his hands are clean. That means quite a bit given his Machiavellian reputation. When the Russell Westbrook trade blew up a few years ago, James drew an inordinate amount of blame for its failure. This time, he’s done enough to ensure to protect himself this time around. It’s a win-win for an all-time great.

Loser: Anthony Davis
In that same interview with Haynes, Paul said that, in his opinion, “the Lakers’ focus should probably be more so on Anthony Davis than LeBron at this point.” Well, according to Marc Stein, Redick probably wasn’t the preferred choice of Davis. That would have been James Borrego, who overlapped briefly with Davis in New Orleans more than a decade ago.

Is there a reason for that aside from that preexisting relationship? It’s hard to say. Redick’s coaching philosophy is still such a work in progress that it wouldn’t be fair to suggest that he will or won’t be able to maximize Davis. Borrego never had a big man like him when he was coaching the Hornets. Notably, though, Redick did not vote for Davis as an All-Defense player last season. That’s not a great start to their coexistence considering how hard Davis has lobbied for Defensive Player of the Year in the past.

Winner: Broadcasters everywhere
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst made a notable point about the unusual nature of Redick’s candidacy on a recent Get Up appearance. “Frankly, his interviews have been in those podcasts with LeBron James,” Windhorst said. “They’ve extensively broken down the Lakers’ offense, extensively broken down what they do. It’s been out there for the whole world to hear, including from the Lakers’ front office.”

Obviously, Redick didn’t get the job entirely on the basis of those podcasts, but there’s a broader point here. Redick successfully used his platform at ESPN to jump from no coaching experience to the single highest-profile coaching job in the entire sport. Is that going to be a model moving forward?

Well, Redick isn’t the first broadcaster to jump into coaching. Steve Kerr did it in 2014, though he had also worked in the front office for the Phoenix Suns. Others have tried, with TNT’s Kenny Smith notably interviewing for several jobs. But Redick is unique in the combination of his lack of experience and his immediate success, at least as a candidate. Not every broadcaster can emulate Redick’s rise. Success in media does ultimately come down to personality to some extent. But the broad strokes are replicable. Owners aren’t as entrenched in the day-to-day goings on around the league. They are likely to have stronger opinions about television analysts than anonymous assistant coaches.

That may not be enough to get jobs in itself, but it’s a foot in the door. If other analysts can use the platform that studio shows and game broadcasts give them to show off the creativity and likability that Redick did, they are going to be presented with coaching opportunities as well. If nothing else, they’ll be able to use those coaching opportunities to leverage higher broadcasting salaries. Redick’s hiring is, therefore, a win for the entire industry.

Loser: Rob Pelinka
Pelinka has now overseen three head-coaching searches. Two of them have been pretty publicly messy. The Lakers offered the job to Ty Lue in 2019. He turned it down because they only offered him a three-year deal and wanted input on his staff. This time around, Redick got the job only after Dan Hurley said no. The Lakers were widely ridiculed for their low-ball offer. Now, Pelinka has landed on Redick. In a perfect world, he’s found a gem and Redick can be the coach for the foreseeable future.

But it’s one thing to stick your neck out for Frank Vogel, a head coach that has won elsewhere, or Darvin Ham, a well-respected assistant. This hire, given Redick’s background, was a significant risk. If it doesn’t pay off, well, let’s just say it’s not exactly common for general managers to get to hire a fourth head coach. James has so aggressively and preemptively attempted to shield himself from blame on this hire that if it does fail, there just isn’t going to be anyone else for Pelinka to use as an excuse.

Does that mean he’s on the hot seat? Not necessarily. It’s frankly impossible to know where the Lakers are concerned. Somehow, Vogel was the scapegoat for a trade Pelinka made and James endorsed when the Westbrook deal cost him his job. Pelinka’s status as the closest ally to Kobe Bryant has, thus far, made him practically bulletproof within the organization. If he ever does lose ground, we might not even know. That confusing Lakers power structure might be able to take his power without taking his title.

But the pressure is on now. James is about to turn 40. Davis is firmly in his 30s. The sheen from the 2020 title has worn off. If this hire doesn’t work, it’s entirely possible that the Lakers are headed for a very dark half-decade or more. If such a down period comes, it seems almost impossible to imagine that the Lakers make it through that time without making any meaningful front-office changes. You don’t just get to keep firing coaches forever.

Looking for more NBA coverage? John Gonzalez, Bill Reiter, Ashley Nicole Moss and special guests dive deep into the league’s biggest storylines daily on the Beyond the Arc podcast.

Latest on Paul George, Knicks could move Mitchell Robinson, surprising Jazz player on block

Thursday’s trade between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls that sent Alex Caruso west and Josh Giddey north marked the unofficial beginning of trade season in the NBA. The draft is less than a week away, free agency will come soon after, and now teams are beginning to seriously engage on the moves that will ultimately set up the beginning of the 2024-25 season.

As they always are at this point on the calendar, the rumors have started to fly in. On Friday, Yahoo’s Jake Fischer dropped a few bombs relating to players that we knew were available (Zach LaVine) and ones we didn’t (Mitchell Robinson, Walker Kessler), so let’s dive in on today’s fresh batch of rumors.

Knicks shopping Mitchell Robinson?
The Knicks are in a difficult position when it comes to re-signing key center Isaiah Hartenstein. Because of his Early Bird Rights, New York can only offer him a 75% raise on his previous salary. That would take him to roughly $72.5 million over four years, a figure they’d be happy to pay, but one that opposing teams could top. At first, it looked like the Oklahoma City Thunder were prepared to do so, but now, after landing Alex Caruso, they have seemingly cooled on him. For now, it looks like Hartenstein will remain with the Knicks.

But New York’s other primary center, Robinson, is now reportedly on the block. It makes sense financially for the Knicks. While Robinson’s salary is relatively low, his injuries have made him somewhat unreliable, and if New York trusts Precious Achiuwa to serve as its backup center at a lower price, turning Robinson into value elsewhere could help the roster overall. The tag-team of Hartenstein and Robinson has been a major weapon for New York in recent years. They Knicks have frequently shifted minutes towards one or the other depending on matchup and who is playing well on a given night. Achiuwa doesn’t merit that same treatment. He would firmly be a backup. But a healthy, affordable backup can sometimes be more valuable than a better, but more expensive and injury-prone player.

Jazz open to moving Walker Kessler?
The Jazz have spent the past few seasons vacillating between win-now and win-later mode. They’ve pursued veteran acquisitions like Jrue Holiday and Dejounte Murray without sealing the deal on any such players, but they’ve also sold off valuable players at the deadline for the sake of maximizing draft position. It still isn’t clear what their long-term approach is, and Friday’s news doesn’t help. According to Fischer, Utah is open to moving young center Walker Kessler.

Kessler is one of the best young rim-protectors in basketball. He’s still on a cheap rookie contract and will be for two more seasons. But the Jazz had their most success this season with Kessler coming off of the bench, as he doesn’t fit next to another non-shooting big man in John Collins. Kessler should be able to fetch a strong return if the Jazz do attempt to trade him, and there will be multiple suitors even if we only account for all of the teams trying to trade up for the similar Donovan Clingan ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday. Players this young and this talented rarely get moved by teams that are rebuilding, so the Jazz may have something bigger up their sleeve.

Bulls struggling to move Zach LaVine
Chicago’s Caruso trade was bizarre on several levels. Here’s a notable one: Caruso was probably Chicago’s best chance at moving Zach LaVine’s bad contract. Some team without significant draft capital to trade might have been willing to take on LaVine if it meant getting Caruso on the cheap. Now Caruso is gone, and according to Fischer, the Bulls haven’t yet been able to generate significant traction on a LaVine deal. It’s unclear how they plan to move him without Caruso available as a sweetener.

One team that Fischer does mention as a possible LaVine fit is the Sacramento Kings, who signed him to an offer sheet in restricted free agency all the way back in 2018. The Kings have reportedly gone big-game hunting over the past year or so, and there could be a possible fit on a deal involving Harrison Barnes and Kevin Huerter. Sacramento did just re-sign Malik Monk to a four-year $78 million deal, though, so the need for an expensive shooting guard is minimal. A trade may materialize, but it’s not going to be easy for the Bulls to move LaVine’s contract.

Paul George could opt-in and get traded?
On Thursday, it came out the 76ers had reportedly cooled on Paul George as an offseason target. This was an enormous blow to George’s leverage with the Clippers, his incumbent team who are reportedly refusing to give him a four-year max deal thus far. The Orlando Magic or Oklahoma City Thunder could step into that void, but at the moment, there isn’t an obvious cap space destination for him to hold over the Clippers during negotiations.

Of course, he might not need one. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst proposed an alternative on Get Up Friday morning. “If Paul George changes teams, it’s very likely going to be a situation where he opts into his contract and requests a trade,” Windhorst said. George has a player option for $48.8 million next season, and there is a precedent of impending free agents using that option to get traded to a team without the space to sign them outright. Chris Paul did it to get to Houston in 2017, for instance, but it’s risky. As James Harden found last offseason, there’s a world in which you opt in and don’t immediately get the move you want. George has a chance to get his last long-term deal right now. He might not have the same value in a year. This is a risky approach for George, but if someone else is willing to max him out, it’s a path worth pursuing.

Looking for more NBA coverage? John Gonzalez, Bill Reiter, Ashley Nicole Moss and special guests dive deep into the league’s biggest storylines daily on the Beyond the Arc podcast.