It is unusual for so many trade rumors to happen at this time of year. Big-time players like DeMar DeRozan are being shopped in the trade market, and the NBA is nowhere near the trade deadline. Will DeRozan go back to Toronto where his career started? will he play for his head coach and mentor Dwane Casey with the Detroit Pistons? Or will he play small forward with the Houston Rockets alongside James Harden and Russell Westbrook? Andre Iguodala and Dejounte Murray highlight other rumors circling the NBA universe.
DeMar DeRozan Returning to Canada and More
DeMar DeRozan – Toronto Raptors
According to Hoops Hype states that Marc Gasol or Serge Ibaka and a first-round pick would be needed to make the trade with the San Antonio Spurs. The Raptors may prefer to trade Gasol as he is a bit older than Ibaka and past his prime. However, it is unclear who the Spurs would want out of the two, as Serge Ibaka has been injured for most of this season. The Raptors could start DeRozan at the small forward position, taking over OG Anunoby’s position. DeRozan played small forward early in his career with the Raptors.
“It sounds crazy, but Toronto actually makes a lot of sense as a landing spot for DeRozan,” another Western Conference executive said. “As far as what Toronto would have to give up, it would probably have to be a first-round pick plus Serge Ibaka or Marc Gasol.”
This way, the Raptors can avoid Fred VanVleet or Kyle Lowry sitting on the bench as they have both established themselves as key players. Some Raptors fans may think this will interrupt the flow of the Raptors offense and defense. While DeRozan will have to adjust, it will not be much of a big deal. A lot of these players looked up to DeRozan when he was a Raptor, and DeRozan is comfortable living in Toronto.
DeMar DeRozan – Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons desperately needs a scorer. Their best player, Blake Griffin, has only played six games this season. While Andre Drummond gets 17.6 points and 17.0 rebounds a game, the team needs a player who can score at will–a skill DeRozan has shown throughout his NBA career. However, this deal though does not make sense if the Pistons trade Drummond. In a Nico Martinez article, an NBA executive has revealed that the Charlotte Hornets are favorites to get Drummond.
Furthermore, after Drummond and Griffin, the Pistons do not have much scoring. According to Duncan Smith of SportsMoney, the Detroit Pistons are outscored by 32.6 points 100 possessions. This proves that the Pistons need a great scorer like DeRozan. Lastly, having Dwane Casey, the one who made DeRozan into an NBA All-Star, will allow DeRozan to feel comfortable in Detroit. The only problem with Detroit is that DeRozan will not be competing for an NBA Championship, something he could possibly achieve either in Toronto or in Houston.
DeMar DeRozan – Houston Rockets
The Rockets are quite interesting. The team does have some tough defenders like P.J. Tucker in the team, however, Houston is 23rd in points per game given up in the NBA. They are already poor defensively and the Spurs would want someone who can play defense. The Rockets will need to decide whether they want to have a team with three NBA All-Stars with little defense or have the status quo.
DeRozan could start at the small forward position, just as proposed for the Toronto Raptors. That way both Russell Westbrook and James Harden will be in the starting lineup in addition to DeRozan. With positionless basketball becoming more relevant as the years go on, this shouldn’t be a problem. This could be a good way of telling both the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers that there is another team in the Western Conference that wants to win the NBA Championship.
DeMar DeRozan – Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic, like the Pistons and the Raptors, have familiar faces awaiting DeRozan. DeRozan spent many years playing with Terrence Ross, and even one year with D.J. Augustin with the Raptors. If he gets traded to the Magic, the transition will be seamless. DeRozan would be a shooting guard for the Magic. With this trade, the Magic would aim to past the first round of the NBA playoffs.
DeMar DeRozan – Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings have been bad for many years. They have not made the playoffs since 2006. However, DeRozan can help the Sacramento Kings get to the NBA playoffs. They are currently 9th in the Western Conference. DeRozan would be able to bring strong veteran leadership to a young team in the playoff hunt.
Andre Iguodala
The five-time defending Western Conference champions have gone off a terrible start this year. Their two best players Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are injured, and the Golden State Warriors are at an NBA worst with four wins and 15 losses. After trading Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Warriors will be looking to get some young prospects this coming offseason. As far as the Grizzlies go, they will look to hold off on buying out Iguodala–for now.
A keynote is that the Raptors cannot get Iguodala before December 15th. This name may get a lot of trade rumors after December 15th, depending on the performances of both the Raptors and the Warriors. The New York Knicks are in a similar position. However, unlike the Warriors, the Knicks are looking at possibly trading most of their team.
New York Knicks
According to Hoops Rumors, most of the Knicks’ roster is in danger of being traded. Of course, there are notable exceptions of RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, and a few other young players on the Knicks’ roster. The Knicks recently lost the NBA off-season sweepstakes to their inter-city rival, the Brooklyn Nets, who got Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. The Knicks have started the season with a disappointing season with four wins and 15 losses. This record is bad enough to put them last in the Eastern Conference.
Other Notable Trades
The Portland Trail Blazers are interested in getting a third All-Star. They recently signed Carmelo Anthony, but he is nowhere near the standard of an All-Star that he used to be. This third All-Star would be Kevin Love, which would be a huge pickup for the Trail Blazers as they try to make a deep run in the playoffs. The Cleveland Cavaliers have not done well since LeBron James left them, as they had one of the worst records in the NBA last season. The last trade rumor would be LaMarcus Aldridge of the Spurs. However, Aldridge is not yet on the trading block. If Aldridge is on the trading block before the February trade deadline, expect the Trail Blazers to be involved.
DeMar DeRozan and Dejounte Murray
DeRozan has cleared his Instagram account, and Murray has unfollowed the Spurs twitter account. These indications seem to points towards both DeRozan and Murray being traded from the Spurs. The last time DeRozan deleted his Instagram posts, he was traded from the Raptors to the Spurs. It seems ominous that DeRozan will eventually be traded, however, DeRozan had something different to say about the Instagram scandal.
“I don’t even like social media, honestly. I’m not a big fan of social media, never been. To this day I always wish I had played in the 90s so I wouldn’t deal with social media. I just let people talk. Me, personally, I hate it.”
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