In addition to our weekly chat every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap or the NBA draft? Drop us a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com. Here are this week’s inquiries:
What would it take for the Knicks to land Darren Collison? Is Jose Calderon, Kyle O’Quinn and a pair of second round picks enough? — Rodney
HR: The Kings probably want to keep Collison in case point guard Rajon Rondo leaves in free agency. Even though he was playing out of position much of this season, Collison delivered 14.0 points and 4.3 assists per game. Sacramento doesn’t need to move his contract, as he is due a little more than $5.2MM next season. Collison will be a free agent next summer, so the Knicks may pursue him then if they don’t find a better alternative first.
Any way the Pelicans could pull off a draft night trade and move up to draft Ben Simmons? I know the lottery will affect how it shakes out. — Brandon
HR: The Pelicans would love to have the LSU product, but they don’t have enough to offer unless they part with Anthony Davis, and that’s never going to happen. Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram are considered the best prospects in the draft by a wide margin, and the teams that win the top two spots in Tuesday’s lottery will want to hold onto them.
Who will be a steal in this year free agent market? I’m talking about the underrated and underpaid free agent that makes the biggest impact next season. — illbdat44
HR: As always, it depends on finding the right team and the right fit. A few names to watch are Seth Curry, Jonas Jerebko, Mirza Teletovic and Allen Crabbe. Rockets power forwards Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones were both productive when not sidelined by injures, and the Pacers’ Ian Mahinmi would be a nice pickup for a team needing a defensive anchor. Another possibility is Ersan Ilyasova if the Orlando decides not to keep him. He was a productive player in Milwaukee and Detroit before the February trade, and 6’10” guys who can hit 3-pointers are very popular in the modern NBA. He is due to make $8.4MM with the Magic next season, but only $400K of that is guaranteed, so they may cut him loose.