Rumor Roundup: Lakers and Sixers on D-Rose, Pelicans Changing Gears, Lowry, Covington, More

The NBA trade deadline is just over two weeks away!

Some interesting rumors have gained traction, but we still haven’t been rewarded with a big transaction. It’s only a matter of time.

Get Caught Up:

  • Last week, the Atlanta Hawks sent Allen Crabbe to Minnesota for Jeff Teague and Treveon Graham. All players involved will be unrestricted free agents this offseason, so on the surface, this trade feels a bit unnecessary for two uncompetitive teams. Still, the Hawks get some short-term relief for Trae Young and the Timberwolves get a potential piece to throw into another trade package down the line. Indeed, the Timberwolves have been circling the trade market, another trade feels extremely likely.
  • Meanwhile, the Blazers have dumped some money in a deal with the Kings. And like the Timberwolves, I’d expect both teams to be active moving forward. Unlike the Timberwolves, Portland is two games back from a playoffs spot, and that’s always worth a push – especially when Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum as on the roster.
  • As for the Kings, they have a highly-desirable trade piece in Bogdan Bogdanovic.
  • Close to Home

  • The trade rumors haven’t been all that juicy in Chicago, but we did recently get an update on the Thaddeus Young situation. At the end of December, the LA Times reported that the Los Angeles Clippers could target Young in a potential trade. The rumor fell dormant over the last couple of weeks, but NBC Sports Chicago woke it up on Tuesday. Johnson called the Clippers interest “legitimate” and reported that a recent Clippers scout was in attendance for a game at the United Center, presumably for that purpose. We haven’t heard a whole lot from the Bulls side of things, but it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t listen to offers.
  • The only other Bulls update came from the Sun-Times earlier this month when Joe Cowley reported that the Bulls would “jump” at the opportunity to trade Denzel Valentine. Considering Valentine is firmly out of the rotation and a restricted free agent at the end of this season, trading him for nearly anything would be in the Bulls’ best interest. I’d imagine the deal would be a second-rounder and, potentially, an expiring contract.
  • Young and Valentine appear to be the only players on the trading block for the Bulls. I’d expect this season created a growing interest for Kris Dunn, but we have yet to hear any possible suitors. In addition, I wouldn’t be shocked to hear Chicago is interested in seeing what his RFA market is like this summer.
  • The Rest of the NBA (AKA: The Fun Stuff)

  • GET D-ROSE A RING. The former-Bull is having an incredibly productive season off the bench for the Detroit Pistons, averaging 18.4 points per game. However, the pieces in Detroit have not fallen in place, and Rose’s resurgence shouldn’t be wasted on a team that’ll soon be out of the playoff picture. The Lakers and Sixers appear to be two of the most interested teams right now, and while it would kind of pain me to see Rose playing alongside LeBron, I’m up for anything that gets this guy on a winning team.
  • Complex outlined the top-10 “most likely to be traded” candidates, and the list feels pretty accurate. The strangest name on the list would be Kyle Lowry, who is currently leading a third-place Toronto Raptors team toward the playoffs. Even more strange, Complex lists the Bulls as a possible landing spot. To be clear, I think “potential destination” is purely speculative. I’ve seen no information about a possible Lowry deal for Chicago, so maybe writer Aaron Mansfield just wants to see Lowry in a Bulls uniform. Anyway, other than Lowry, the rest of the list feels like a good set of names to really keep an eye out for.
  • See, the Timberwolves and Kings have come again:
  • Robert Covington (veteran power forward) has become one of the hottest names in the trade market. According to Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal, some of the league’s top teams have expressed some level of interest in acquiring Convington. The Lakers, Clippers, Rockets, Mavericks, and 76ers are the teams floating around right now, and with that many involved, it feels quite likely some kind of deal will get done before the deadline.
  • Real quick, does anyone want to do a three-team trade an include the Bulls? PLEASE!? I WANT SOMETHING COOL TO HAPPEN!
  • In our first Rumor Roundup of the trade season, the Pelicans were heavily involved. New Orleans looks prime to move Jrue Holiday and JJ Redick by Feb. 6th, but the return of No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson has changed everything. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pelicans will now hold back on trade negotiations and try to make a run for the playoffs. The team sits at 17-27, which thanks to a messy western conference, is only 3.5 games back from the 8th seed.
  • written by

    Elias Schuster is the Lead Chicago Bulls writer at Bleacher Nation. He started with BN full-time in 2019 immediately after graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign with a degree in Journalism (yes, he started with the Jim Boylen Era). Since joining, Elias has been the driving force behind Bulls and NBA content for both the site and social accounts. You can follow him on Twitter/X @Schuster_Elias.

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