The NBA free agency frenzy has died down and with the summer league complete, and the league has reached a quiet point. However, there are a few trade rumblings and free agents available that are still creating buzz. Here are the latest NBA rumors you need to know:
Okafor to Bulls?
The Philadelphia 76ers have been openly shopping center Jahlil Okafor this offseason, but they have yet to find a taker. The Celtics have been the most interested, but the Chicago Bulls are also interested in him as someone who can help them win now and be a building block of their future. Via Fansided's Josh Wilson:
The Bulls need more pieces, bottom line, and one of those pieces could be Jahlil Okafor. Okafor, who was raised in Chicago, has been brought up as a possible trade piece for the Sixers since the team has so many big men.
It was tough this past season for Okafor and Nerlens Noel to play together, since both took a majority of their shots right at the rim. Add Joel Embiid who is supposedly coming back from injury this season into the mix and you’ve got yourself a classic logjam. The Sixers may be looking to clear that as soon as possible.
Okafor would be great with Nikola Mirotic in the frontcourt, since Mirotic takes most of his shots beyond the 3-point arc.
Chicago has made veteran forward Taj Gibson available for trade, but with Philadelphia's need for backcourt help, the Bulls could center a package around Jerian Grant or Doug McDermott.
Lakers trading Young
The Los Angeles Lakers want their young core players to receive a bulk of the playing time under new head coach Luke Walton, and that has caused them to link into getting rid of some of their veteran players. One player who the team is looking to deal is Nick Young, according to Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding:
“I would frankly be surprised if Nick Young is on the Lakers’ roster at the start of the season. They’ve been trying to trade him for a while, they’re still trying to trade him. They are willing to even buy him out, if necessary, to move on and really commit to the youth movement and let D’Angelo Russell do his thing.”
Young averaged 7.3 points and 1.8 rebounds in 54 games last season.
Knicks "looking to prove something"
New York Knicks point guard Derrick Rose made headlines last month when he said the Knicks were a "super team" on par with the Golden State Warriors, and he told a South Korean newspaper that he isn't backing off those comments:
"I still believe that,” Rose said. “Like I said, with that Super Team term, you have to be very careful, I guess, if you’re in the United States. But I feel like if you’re in any team in the NBA -- it don’t have to be the NBA, it could be the college level, high school level -- you should believe in yourself and have the confidence in yourself that you’re playing on a super team anywhere. So I have a lot of confidence, and I’m not taking that back.
"We have to go in, and we have to prove something. All of us want to prove something. Bringing a group like that together can be very dangerous if we all come together the right way."
Rose averaged 16.4 points and 4.7 assists per game with the Bulls last season.
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