Recent reports have downplayed the Grizzlies‘ and Raptors‘ interest in moving Zach Randolph and DeMar DeRozan, but in his latest chat, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford suggests both teams would still be open to moving their respective highest-paid players in the right deal. Here’s more from ESPN’s draft guru:
- Jonas Valanciunas and perhaps Amir Johnson are the only players the Raptors “really want to keep,” according to Ford.
- The Cavaliers are working the phones in an effort to add impact players, and are still very much trying to make the playoffs this season, says Ford.
- Ford believes that anyone on the Suns except for Eric Bledsoe could be had, suggesting that Goran Dragic, who is drawing interest from the Kings, is “the most likely to go.” I’d assume the Suns would require a pretty nice package to seriously consider moving Dragic, given how well he and Bledsoe have played together so far.
- In a 2013 re-draft, Ford would have Giannis Antetokounmpo at No. 1, followed by Victor Oladipo and Michael Carter-Williams.
- There’s no clear consensus on who will be picked first overall in 2014. According to Ford, conservative GMs will lean toward Julius Randle or Jabari Parker, while risk-taking teams will likely opt for Andrew Wiggins, Dante Exum, or Joel Embiid.