NBA Trade Rumors: Cousins, Love and Russell in 3-way Trade, Young to Nuggets for Faried
NBA trade rumors continue to arise as the first day of team practices draw near. The following are the latest trade rumors in the league.
1. Cousins to Cavs, Love to Lakers, Russell to Kings
Kevin Love and DeMarcus Cousins have been in the rumor mill this entire off-season. It would be surprising if both players stayed in their previous teams.
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One of the latest rumors involving both players, according to the Inquisitr, is that there will be a major three-way trade between the Cavaliers, Lakers and the Sacramento Kings, where one player from each team will be shifted to another.
The rumor suggested that the Sacramento Kings may send DeMarcus Cousins to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Kevin Love will be sent to the Los Angeles Lakers, and finally, D'Angelo Russell of the Lakers will be sent to the Sacramento Kings.
Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers is said to be recruiting DeMarcus Cousins to join the Cavaliers. Both players are teammates in USA's Basketball team for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
Rumors have also pointed to the scenario that Cleveland and Sacramento have been engaged in trade talks long before this latest rumor, but have not reached an agreement. Now, with the entry of another team, they may finally reach a deal which, when pulled through, will definitely be one of the biggest off-season trades.
2. Nick Young to Denver Nuggets for Faried
Centrio Times reports that trade rumors are pointing to a Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets trade which will send Nick Young to the Nuggets in exchange for Kenneth Faried.
Aside from Nick Young, some rumors also suggest putting Julius Randle on the trading block. So it is both Young and Randle in exchange for Faried and Nuggets' Gay Harris.
Some speculate that the Nick Young trade may be due to the viral video that D'Angelo Russell posted in which Nick Young confessed that he was dating other women while in a relationship with Iggy Azalea.
Russell has since apologized for pulling off the prank which caused Iggy's and Nick's relationship to end. He said, "I am sick. I am sorry about recording the video. I can't repeat myself enough on that: I am sorry I recorded that video. I feel horrible. I wish this never happened."
For head coach Luke Walton, a trade might be the only solution to improve the teamwork and chemistry of the Lakers.
3. J.R. Smith to Sign $10 million per year Contract with the Cavaliers
J.R. Smith is still a free agent despite his successful season with the 2016 NBA Champions Cleveland Cavaliers. He has yet to strike a deal with the team, and even LeBron James is urging him to get it done already.
According to Basketball Insiders, Smith isn't concerned about how much he will be getting, since he and his team believes that the Cavaliers will offer him a multi-year contract in the neighborhood of $10 million annually.
The sense is that J.R. Smith and the Cavaliers organization is still waiting until the very last days before training camp begins before finalizing the deal. That's because the team wants to be sure there aren't any off-season moves left; if they signed Smith now, the Cavaliers will enter luxury tax status, which makes it difficult to make trades and other roster moves in general.
