NBA rumors: Latest news, trades, free agent buzz
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The 2016 NBA draft is officially over, and now teams will turn their attentions to free agency. Each team has added rookies to their lineup that they hope will develop into star, but now the real battle starts to sign a big name.
Kevin Durant remains the center of free agency rumors, as the Thunder star has yet to give an indication about where he’s headed. The Bulls’ Jimmy Butler was the talk of trade rumors during the draft, but Chicago decided to hang onto him.
Which players are going to be on the move this offseason?
Keep tabs on this page for the latest news and rumors.
Saturday
• The Warriors, Spurs and Thunder have set meetings with Kevin Durant, ESPN reports.
• The Los Angeles Lakers plan to pursue Heat center Hassan Whiteside aggressively in free agency, ESPN’s Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne report.
• ESPN reports the Lakers, Magic and Pistons plan to pursue Hawks center Al Horford.
Friday
• The Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls seemed to be close on a trade involving Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn, according Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. However, Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau said that his team never intended to trade Dunn.
•The Celtics, not the Timberwolves, made the strongest push to acquire Butler, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reports.
• The Minnesota Timberwolves had been shopping Ricky Rubio for the last week, Wojnarowski reports.
• The Bulls talks about trading Butler for Dunn were more serious with the Boston Celtics than the Timberwolves, reports K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
• DeMarcus Cousins told The Undefeated’s Marc Spears that his controversial draft night tweet that followed Sacramento’s surprising selection of Georgios Papagiannis at No. 13 had nothing to do with the draft.
• The Spurs will reportedly bring over French forward Livio Jean-Charles, their 2013 first-rounder, according to French publication L’Equipe.
• ESPN’s Tim MacMahon cited a neutral source who said Derrick Rose looked “lean and explosive” during a recent workout in Los Angeles.
• The Dallas Mavericks will be a serious suitor for Heat free agent center Hassan Whiteside, ESPN reports, and will likely meet with him in the opening hours of free agency. The Mavs will also target Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley. Portland is also expected to pursue Whiteside. The Miami Heraldreports that Whiteside would prefer to remain with the Heat if “all things are equal financially.”
