The rumor mill does not stop when it comes to trade in the NBA off season. Well, what are the latest rumors that we have come to know, and which players does it involve? For starters, the Boston Celtics do seem as though they are on the lookout for yet another star player to adorn their already crowded roster. In the past few weeks, the Celtics have been linked to a range of All-Stars, and at this point in time, the Celtics’ crosshairs might be trained on Washington Wizards’ point guard, John Wall.
Other than John Wall, China Topix have managed to stir up whispers that the Minnesota Timberwolves do happen to have placed point guard Ricky Rubio on the trading block, although there are conflicting views. Hence, it is far from surprising to know that there is a brand new trade scenario which has appeared, that will involve the likes of John Wall, Ricky Rubio, and of course, the Boston Celtics in the picture.
Rumors of such a trade proposal do point to a three-team, four-player swap. As a result of that, we might see NBA All-Star John Wall head to the Boston Celtics, and the Washington Wizards would be on the receiving end of Ricky Rubio, in addition to a trio of first-round draft choices. These three first-round draft choices will comprise of a single pick in 2018, while another two picks a year later after that. As for the Minnesota Timberwolves, they would probably end up with NBA All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas as well as power forward Jonas Jerebko. As long as it is deemed to be a win-win situation for everyone involved, players and teams included, then we would not be surprised to hear of an official announcement made anytime soon.
This is a hypothetical transaction, but there might be some issues concerned that would see it collapse as books need to be balanced as well. The Boston Celtics will be sending out $11.6 million in salary, and with the current NBA trade and salary cap rules in play, the incoming salary will need to be close to that figure. John Wall still has three years on his existing contract -- $51 million in tow as well with the Washington Wizards, so he will end up with $17 million in incoming salary should the deal go through, which would be more than $5 million of what the Boston Celtics are able to accept when it comes to both Thomas and Jerebko.
Perhaps any potential ongoing talks will involve tweaking of the parameters involved, assuming both teams and players are open to a move. Another possibility that such a move would not materialize is the fact that the Washington Wizards are disinterested in trading John Wall at the moment, where the earliest they would change their minds would be somewhere approximately within the NBA trade deadline in February 2017.
All in all, we will just continue to scan the sports pages to find out the latest concerning these NBA trade rumors. Who knows? Everyone might end up not moving anywhere when the new season begins.
