NBA rumors: Brian Windhorst says the Trail Blazers aren't close to a trade
Appearing on the Hoop Collective, Brian Windhorst said the Trail Blazers are nowhere near close to trading Lillard to the Miami Heat. He adds that maybe "there will be a deal between now and then" but it is unlikely unless things start to change. This Damian Lillard saga has lasted all offseason with the Trail Blazers unwilling to trade the All-NBA player to the Heat and him not willing to entertain going anywhere else.
Talks between the two sides have been dead for weeks and it seems like the NBA season will start with Lillard still on the Blazers. Windhorst has said that the Trail Blazers have wanted the Heat's assets to include more picks in any potential Damian Lillard trade. Miami can offer plenty of draft picks if they are able to get a separate agreement with the Thunder where they release the protections on the 2025 pick that the Heat owes to them.
After adding a high combination of picks and swaps, the Heat could add Jaime Jaquez Jr., Duncan Robinson (whose salary is non-guaranteed in the last year of his deal making him an expiring contract next season), Tyler Herro, and sweeteners to make the deal work. The only other obstacle to making this deal work would be the fact that Herro does not fit with top draft pick Scoot Henderson.
Due to the fact that Herro is owed long-term money, this would most likely force a third team in the deal. The Nets have been explored as a third team but it seems they would need draft picks to take on Herro. Of course, an easier way to get a deal would be offering Kyle Lowry instead.
Still, it would not be wise to have Herro's long-term money due to the amount of money that the Heat would be spending in that position. This would end up having huge luxury tax complications. Even though a deal has multiple pathways to get done, it doesn't seem likely anytime soon, with the Heat and the Trail Blazers both refusing to cave into the other demands.
NBA rumors: Malcolm Brogdon is not happy at all with the Celtics
After the Celtics tried to trade him in the offseason in a failed three-team deal for Kristaps Porzingis, it seems like Malcolm Brogdon is not at all happy with the Celtics. Celtics beat writer Gary Washburn raised the point of Brogdon's anger in a brief aside while talking about his ongoing injuries.
The trade ended up not happening because Brogdon did not pass his medical with the Clippers. This forced the Celtics to pivot to another deal where they had to give up Marcus Smart instead to get Porzingis.
Boston is now stuck with Brogdon and the veteran point guard is not happy with the team's decision to almost trade him. The bench player has two more years on his deal and could be a trade candidate. While his injury history makes it hard for any team to offer starting-level compensation for him, he is still a very solid rotational player in this league.
It would probably be wise for the Celtics to trade him at some point this season because of all their injury issues. It's not that hard to imagine the Celtics without enough healthy players for their playoff rotation. A lot of their injury-prone players are in the frontcourt, but Brogdon is a question
NBA rumors: Pelicans hit by a new injury
According to Shams Charania, Jose Alvarado hurt his ankle during a workout and his status for training camp is in question. The Pelicans go into this season with a lot of expectations to get into the playoffs and will look to improve on last season's play-in disappointment.
This comes after Trey Murphy was reported to miss 10 to 12 weeks. Going into the season, New Orleans will be missing two rotation players. This doesn't even take into consideration that there are still major questions about Zion Williamson's long-term durability and the abundant trade rumors. Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum also have small questions about their long-term durability.
The Pelicans were rumored to be making major changes this offseason but ended up keeping the roster the way it was. Not having Alvarado for the start of the season does not help anything in New Orleans and will only increase the noise going forward.