We have an 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:
Would a package of the No. 3 pick, Jahlil Okafor or Richaun Holmes, one of next year’s first-rounders and a couple second-rounders get Philly Klay Thompson? — Kevin Wisla
It’s a decent offer that might tempt some other franchise, but the Warriors aren’t going to break up the core of a team that is poised to be title favorites for the next five years. Thompson is only 27 and is under contract for about $17.8MM next season and nearly $19MM in 2018/19, a very good price for a three-time All-Star. Thompson’s shooting troubles early in the NBA Finals prompted some fans and media to start trade speculation, but he’s simply not leaving Golden State. A more realistic, and cheaper, target to fill the shooting guard slot would be Jordan Clarkson, who could become expendable if the Lakers draft another guard and is rumored to be available. The Sixers also have plenty of cash to make a run at Clippers free agent J.J. Redick this summer.
Do you think the Pistons will seek trade offers for Reggie Jackson or Andre Drummond or let Kentavious Caldwell-Pope accept a deal elsewhere to save cap space, or will they keep the roster together, but over the salary cap? — Barron Hudson
Word leaked Friday that Detroit once again plans to explore the trade value for Jackson and Drummond, who were both on the block in February. Jackson is coming off a disappointing year, and the Pistons played worse once he returned from an early-season knee injury. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has publicly questioned Drummond’s work ethic and said he needs to improve in several areas. Those aren’t the guys you want to build your team around, especially coming off a 37-45 season. The Pistons are committed to keeping Caldwell-Pope, a restricted free agent, and don’t have any cap room to replace him if he leaves. But they had better be prepared to make or match a max offer. There are plenty of teams with cap space [Brooklyn will be throwing money around again] and KCP is one of the best guards on the market.
Any NBA draft rumors starting to surface? Which player is most likely to fall in the draft? Which player is most likely to rise? Which team is most likely to trade up? Which team is most likely to trade down? — Matt Trapp
It may be another week or so before the rumors really start to take shape, as teams are in the middle of pre-draft workouts and still haven’t seen all the players they might be interested in. Duke’s Harry Giles is a name to watch in the late lottery, as someone may take a chance on a super talent with a history of knee problems, and teammate Luke Kennard could get chosen much higher than originally projected by a team that needs shooting help. As far as trade rumors, the Sixers don’t have a clear choice at No. 3 and the Kings at No. 5 are reportedly interested in trading up to get Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox, so that’s a situation to watch.
That first question is pretty brutal…
I would like to know more info on Zach Collins though. He is the one guy I don’t really know much about in the top half of the draft. Can anyone tell me how he is on defense? What’s his athleticism like? Can he defend pick and roll, and protect the rim? Offensively, is he a ball stopper, or can he make quick decisions? Does he play above the rim?
He has the quickness to defend the pick and role. He protects the rim well and has a promising jumper. I don’t think he’ll be a star but I think he’ll be a good rotational player.
Nice thanks. If that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind seeing Miami take him at 14 if he’s there. Based on who I expected to be there, I was leaning towards Patton. Collins is seemingly more polished, and if he is able to defend, that automatically will give him a shot to see some minutes at some point
There’s a zero percent chance of that trade. There’s a zero percent chance of any Klay Thompson trade (he’s the second best man-to-man perimeter defender in the NBA, which makes him untradeable). Holmes actually makes sense for the Warriors, but the second round picks would be largely useless for them (unless they had targeted a specific player, in which case they can probably just buy the player as they did with McCaw), and it’s not really clear how the Ws would use, say, Jackson or Tatum in 2017-18 or even the Lakers likely #1 pick in the 2018 draft. So, no, that suggestion is beyond insane.