Welcome to Friday and welcome, too, to another edition of the Rumor-rama. We are now less than three weeks from the NBA’s trade deadline, and all (or most, at least) is quiet.
There are three challenges the Mavericks are facing when it comes to resolving the Dennis Smith Jr. situation. The first is pretty common: Dallas needs to find a suitable deal for a player who was the No. 9 pick in the 2017 draft, a 21-year-old who has averaged 14.4 points in 97 NBA games.
MORE: Smith has not yet made formal trade request
The second is a function of the market as it stands. According to league sources, while there are certainly teams interested in Smith, there is some reluctance to make a commitment to him because there could be other more traditional young point guards on the market this summer.
There will be the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker in free agency, of course. But for rebuilding teams in need of a point guard — Orlando and Phoenix have been mentioned as possible Smith suitors — the preference is to take aim at young restricted free agents like Terry Rozier or D’Angelo Russell this summer rather than gamble on whether Smith can develop into a point guard.
"He is very athletic, but he’s not a playmaker and not a great shooter," one front office executive told SN. "If you have money under the cap this offseason (the Suns and Magic will), there are other guys you can pursue who fit better, who can pass and score."
The third challenge is a very unusual one. It’s the situation itself, the very fact that a player just one-and-a-half years into his NBA career is already at a standstill with his organization. Smith has been sitting out for the last four games, with what’s being called a back issue, but he is clearly healthy.
The problem centers on Smith’s change in role with the addition of rookie Luka Doncic. Smith’s field-goal attempts have dropped from 14.8 per game to 10.6, and his usage rate has gone from 28.9 to 22.8. He has butted heads with Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle along the way.
MORE: How will Doncic impact Mavs' free-agency plans?
Carlisle can be a hardliner who runs a very tight ship in Dallas, and Smith is not the first point guard to chafe under his rigidity. But for any team considering trading for Smith, there is concern that, at his age and experience level, he is already having problems with tough coaching and his role on the team.
All of this has tamped down the market for Smith, and the Mavericks have no interest in dealing a guy of his youth and talent under that kind of cloud.
Smith, too, needs to understand that patience is required to ensure that the Mavs can get the best possible deal and put him in the right situation. The sides are talking now, hoping to find a resolution that gets Smith back with the team and producing on the floor.
Still, a source told SN that a trade of Smith "is a matter of when, not if." Could be in the three weeks left before the trade deadline. Could be this summer. But it’ll have to come after the Mavs have dealt with some of the challenges of trading Smith now.
That Denver defense could use some help
The Nuggets rank 11th in defensive efficiency, which is a big bump for them — Denver was 23rd last year and 29th the previous season. If they’re going to be a real threat in the West, the Nuggets must at least be an above-average defensive team.
Lately, though, Denver has reverted to its old sloppy-defense self, and that has the Nuggets on the lookout for help ahead of the trade deadline. In their last 15 games, the Nuggets have allowed 115.3 points per 100 possessions, which is 29th in the NBA, only ahead of Cleveland (121.4).
MORE: Warriors drop 51 points on Nuggets in first quarter
Denver has gone 10-5 in those games, but the team still needs to address the defense, especially on the interior. There isn’t a lot on the market, but the Nuggets have three very valuable trade exceptions that can be used to help teams offload salaries — their biggest exception is worth $13.7 million, and the others come in at $12.8 million and $5.9 million.
The exceptions can’t be combined, but using one should be enough to get some defensive bench help.
Jabari Parker, unparked
After nearly a month in street clothes, forward Jabari Parker has been returned to the rotation in Chicago, supposedly because he met coach Jim Boylen’s criteria for increased effort in practice. On the floor, he’s done what he usually does — score. Parker has averaged 14.7 points in 18.0 minutes in the Bulls’ last three games.
But Parker’s return comes not because he made a spiritual journey at the end of which he discovered work ethic. It’s because Chicago’s efforts to trade Parker had fallen flat, and the Bulls needed to get him back on the floor in an effort to re-ignite interest in him.
TRADE RUMORS: Knicks, Bulls have discussed Parker deal
Because Parker makes $20 million this year, and because the Bulls want to take back no players with contracts that stretch past this season, Parker would most likely have to be involved in a multi-team trade with one team under the cap.
The Knicks and Pelicans have interest in Parker, according to league sources, but Chicago would not be willing to take back Courtney Lee from New York or Solomon Hill from New Orleans, making a three-team deal the only way Parker could wind up in either spot.