NBA trade rumors have already started flying before the offseason with Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo being mentioned in deals and names like Omer Asik, Kyrie Irving, Steve Nash, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Monroe, Josh Smith and Tyson Chandler all could be potential players that get moved this summer in 2014 and teams like the Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, NY Knicks, LA Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to be active on the market.
The Cavaliers are in a very interesting position, as they obviously want to keep Kyrie Irving long term and hope to sign him to a max deal, but after getting the first overall pick for the second year in a row, the team has to make sure they do not miss on the pick or he could be on his way out of town like LeBron James. The Cavs don't want to trade Irving, but they could end up in a Dwight Howard/Carmelo Anthony situation where he looks poised to leave and the team trades the player before that can happen.
There is still time to get a deal done and the Cavs are almost guaranteed to not trade Irving this summer, but it's something on the horizon that will continue to come up. This season Irving was agitated with all the talk about his future and that type of attention may rub him the wrong way and could eventually lead him out of town. Irving is the best young point guard in the league and a ton of teams would jump at the chance to sign him.
The Lakers may go after Kyle Lowry this summer and if they do, Steve Nash could be on his way out of town. Nash was injured last season and still could have some life left in his legs, but he needs to get back on the court and the Lakers may not be able to get back to where they were if he doesn't stay healthy. Aldridge has been mentioned quite a bit since the Blazers can only pay him a certain amount as he comes into the last year of his deal and he could get traded without an extension deal with the Blazers.
Kevin Love has been the player everyone is talking about and that's no surprise and teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, NY Knicks, LA Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets as well as the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors have all been mentioned as potential destinations. The Timberwolves want to try and keep Love, but it looks like he wants out and will not sign another deal there and now the team has to decide on trading him or not.
Carmelo Anthony could be a factor in all of this, as teams like the Rockets, Bulls and Knicks are all trying to sign him and that could affect how they handle the offseason. Anthony is likely to stay with the Knicks and he appears to be cool with Derek Fisher coming in and now the biggest question will be whether they can lock him down or not. If the Kevin Love trade doesn't work out for the Bulls or Rockets, Anthony is the number one target.
