The NBA offseason is coming and that means trade rumors will be flying around the league and already some have come up, as Greg Monroe could be moving to the Lakers after Stan Van Gundy was hired to run the Pistons, while other names like Andre Drummond, Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings, Arron Afflalo, Iman Shumpert, Eric Gordon and Omer Asik could be on the move this summer.
The Pistons hired Stan Van Gundy to be the coach and to run as president of basketball operations and that means he gets to call the shots for the franchise. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Greg Monroe is likely out of the mix after he was hired and that comes after the team did not give him an extension and now he is set to be a restricted free agent and could get traded and he also could be in the mix to get a max contract. The Pistons have some major decisions to make, as they love Andre Drummond after signing him, but they realize that Josh Smith, Drummond and Monroe all can't co-exist on the floor at the same time, meaning one will be on the way out.
Smith came up in trade rumors last season and he is signed to a contract for three more years and is making over $13 million per season, so he could be an option to move as well. Some other names that could be in the mix includes Afflalo, who had a very solid year for the Orlando Magic and now he could be moving after the team drafted Victor Oladipo last year. Afflalo averaged 18 points last season and was very good all year for the Magic and he could be in the mix to move in the summer.
Iman Shumpert came up in trade rumors once again last season and while the Knicks rebuffed a deal from the Thunder for a first round pick, they could look to make a move this summer with Shump. The team loves Shumpert's defense and while he is their best young player, he keeps coming up in rumors. Eric Gordon is also a potential target for teams and he could be another player that gets targeted if teams miss out on the bigger named free agents.
Kevin Love is central when it comes to any offseason storyline and while he will be the player that gets talked about most in trade rumors, there is a good chance that the Timberwolves hang onto him. The franchise is still holding out hope that they can re-sign him and while they will get calls this summer about trades, the team will want to see if it can make the playoffs or at least stay in contention for the 2014-15 season and if not, they could trade him at the deadline.
Love signed an extension with the team and he can be a free agent next summer and that is the deadline everyone is looking at, including the Lakers, Knicks, Bulls and Rockets. Love is a double-double machine and the Timberwolves may look to trade him eventually if they realize he won't sign and that would mirror what the Magic and Nuggets did when they realized that Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony were going to leave for nothing. The Rockets could be players for Love, as they have pieces to move in Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik and Chandler Parsons, but the biggest thing to watch is whether Daryl Morey will be willing to give up Parsons to make it happen.
