Rumors & Rumblings before Thursday’s NBA Draft…
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on June 24, 2009
Gotta kick it off with the hometown Bulls, as Gar Forman is under 24 hours away from partaking in his 1st NBA Draft as general manager since the resignation of John Paxson.
Chicago’s attempt to trade up with New Jersey for the 11th pick was rejected on Wednesday evening, as the Bulls were targeting guard Gerald Henderson from Duke University.
Henderson would give the Bulls extra insurance at shooting guard just in case free-agent Ben Gordon decides to sign elsewhere.
Former Bull Jamal Crawford will be traded to the Atlanta Hawks on July 1st in exchange for guards Speedy Claxton & Acie Law.
The Hawks will be Crawford’s 3rd team within the past 2 years, as he split last season between the Knicks & Warriors.
Speaking of the Knicks, they could add 7-foot center Darko Milicic by the end of this week.
The Knicks & Grizzlies are discussing a trade that would send the former 2003 lottery pick to New York in exchange for forward Quentin Richardson, who is scheduled to make $8.7 million next season via player option.
Hasheem Thabeet is causing quite a stir on the eve of the NBA Draft.
The 7’3 center from the University of Connecticut cancelled a scheduled workout with the Memphis Grizzlies due to a shoulder injury, then later blamed a Visa issue (Thabeet is originally from Tanzania) for the cancellation.
Memphis holds the 2nd overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
The Washington Wizards have been busy this summer.
They hired Flip Saunders as their new head coach & have 3-time NBA championship winner Sam Cassell on the sidelines as an assistant head coach.
On Wednesday, they acquired swingman Mike Miller & guard Randy Foye from the Minnesota Timbewolves in exchange for forwards Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, Oleksiy Pecherov & the 5th overall selection in Thursday’s NBA Draft.
Boston Celtics’ guard Rajon Rondo has been mentioned in trade rumors with Memphis & Detroit, but Celtics GM Danny Ainge has shot down any speculation of a deal.
Finally, the Cleveland Cavaliers could be inching close to pulling off a blockbuster trade to acquire 15-time All-Star Shaquille O’Neal, who has expressed interest in playing alongside LeBron James.
O’Neal knows how to mesh with fellow superstars, as he has already won championships with Kobe Bryant & Dwyane Wade.
Stay tuned tomorrow night as i’ll have a blog up recapping the Bulls’ draft picks, as they hold the 16th & 26th selections in the 1st round.
Any trades that go down tomorrow will also be recapped as well!
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