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NBA Trade Rumors 2016: Carmelo Anthony And Ricky Rubio To Lakers, Andrew Wiggins And Julius Randle To Knicks, Kristaps Porzingis And Jordan Clarkson To Timberwolves In Blockbuster Nine-Player Deal

By Adrian Lawhorn
Published on: 10:31 PST, Dec 2, 2016

A new wave of NBA trade rumors began recently when Minnesota Timberwolves head coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau made a public statement that he may be willing to trade one of his young players for a proven veteran, as reported by Yahoo! Sports. Thibodeau feels the Timberwolves are close to being able to compete at a high level, but they need at least one more key piece to put them in position to contend. Yibada has published an article that delves even further into this topic, discussing the possibility of Minnesota dealing small forward Andrew Wiggins, point guard Ricky Rubio, or both.

According to the Orange County Register, Lakers Nation is pining for the return of former head coach Phil Jackson if he leaves the New York Knicks. Jackson can opt out of his contract as team president with the Knicks after the 2016-17 season, and there are rumblings that Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers may have mutual interest in a reunion. The piece goes on to state that some of Phil Jackson’s current players may want to follow him if he decides to take a position with the Lakers. Superstar small forward Carmelo Anthony is mentioned as a prominent player who could land in Los Angeles at some point in the near future.

The latest NBA trade rumors are buzzing about a potential three-team transaction between the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, and Minnesota Timberwolves. In this rumored trade proposal, the Lakers would receive Carmelo Anthony and Ricky Rubio. The Knicks would be sent a package that includes Andrew Wiggins, power forward Julius Randle, small forward Luol Deng, center Nikola Pekovic, and point guard Jose Calderon. The Timberwolves would acquire power forward Kristaps Porzingis and combo guard Jordan Clarkson to round out this colossal trade scenario that is presently being bandied about in the rumor mill.

NBA trade rumors that involve multiple teams and several star-quality players are always intriguing to think about, but often have problems associated with them that don’t allow these hypothetical transactions to take place — and this one is no different. Carmelo Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract with the New York Knicks, and there have been no clear indications that he would waive that right in order to join the Los Angeles Lakers. In addition, the entire concept of the Knicks possibly trading Anthony to the Lakers is predicated on Phil Jackson leaving New York to rejoin the Lakers organization, and if that happens, it won’t be until next summer at the earliest.

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There have been a number of rumors regarding the Timberwolves’ potential interest in trading Ricky Rubio, but with rookie Kris Dunn struggling to adjust to the NBA game, it seems very unlikely that the team would move Rubio anytime soon. Luol Deng is ticketed for New York in this rumored deal, but that doesn’t jive with Minnesota’s goals if they participate in a trade like this. Tom Thibodeau ideally wants a veteran player who is familiar with his system from his time with the Chicago Bulls, so the Timberwolves would be the team looking to add Luol Deng in this swap (per the Christian Times).

Yet another issue with this theoretical trade scenario is the status of Nikola Pekovic. Pekovic has been suffering from a series of recurring foot injuries, and the team announced before training camp that he would miss the entire 2016-17 NBA season, as detailed by ESPN. It is not unheard of for an injured player to be included in a trade, but it is rare. Given the fact that Nikola Pekovic has two years and $23.7 million remaining on his contract, it is extremely doubtful that the Knicks would take on an injured Pekovic and his contract as part of this deal.

The final nail in the coffin for this NBA trade rumor comes in the form of Andrew Wiggins and Kristaps Porzingis. Both of these players are very young, playing on very affordable rookie contracts, and already showing superstar potential early in their careers (some would argue that they are already there). Wiggins and Porzingis are as close to “untouchable” as you can get, even if there is a possibility of dealing them for each other.

Current NBA trade rumors are circulating that a blockbuster deal between the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, and Minnesota Timberwolves could be under consideration. Even without going into how this rumored swap would impact these teams on the basketball floor, there is a mountain of evidence that suggests this trade proposal is a creation of the rumor mill, and not likely to be something that these teams are actually discussing behind the scenes.

[Featured Image by Jim Mone/AP Images]

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new york knicks Kristaps Porzingis Minnesota Timberwolves NBA Los Angeles Lakers Carmelo Anthony Andrew Wiggins
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