Except that of those, we only have rumors about one of them. There has been ZERO indication that Brooklyn wants to trade Lopez or that Sacto wants to trade Cousins. Monroe is obviously available, and equally obviously undesirable. Even Kanter is probably unavailable now they traded Ilyasova (probably to force the coach to play Kanter more).
Well, now we have rumors about two of them (and some speculation about the 3rd).
From
ESPN's Marc Stein:
"It's been an eventful week for Nets center
Brook Lopez.
The 7-footer made an undeniable splash Wednesday with 34 points -- highlighted by four 3-pointers -- in surprising Brooklyn's 109-101 victory Wednesday night over Detroit. The flurry of triples made headlines because Lopez came into the game having sank just four previous 3s in 490 regular-season games.
But what's happening behind the scenes is newsy, too. Some rival executives are increasingly convinced that the Nets are open to moving Lopez between now and the February deadline in the proverbial right deal.
Rumblings of Boston interest have been forcefully shot down by sources familiar with the Celtics' thinking, but the situation bears monitoring -- and not simply because the Celts could ultimately decide that a big in-season move is wisest in the event they can't create as much cap space next summer as they once hoped.
Sources stressed to ESPN.com in recent days that they believe as it stands, the Nets are merely fielding calls and doing their due diligence. Listening to other teams, in other words, as opposed to shopping the former All-Star center.
The reality, though, is that Lopez, at 28, is the Nets' most tradeable asset, thanks in part to the fact he has another full season (at $22.6 million) left on his contract after this one.
Yet it should be noted that even after Lopez appeared in 73 games last season, the Nets have already held him out of one back-to-back in a nod to the big man's history of foot troubles and are openly weighing whether to hold him out of more."
And, on Nerlens Noel:
"The Raptors are among the teams that have expressed interest in
Philadelphia's very available Nerlens Noel, but sources say Toronto's initial preference in the wake of losing
Jared Sullinger (foot) to injury is to give more minutes to various younger players (such as rookies
Pascal Siakam and
Jakob Poeltl) so they get first crack at filling the void. ... Oklahoma City's
Steven Adams landed a 7.5 percent trade kicker in his new four-year, $100 million contract extension, meaning he gets a 7.5 percent bonus from his existing salary if he's dealt during the course of the next deal that kicks in next season. The official numbers on
Gorgui Dieng's extension in Minnesota, meanwhile, came in at $62.8 million over four years. ... Jerry Colangelo's decision not to seek a third term as USA Basketball chairman won't have any impact on his role with the senior men's national team. He remains Team USA's managing director after assuring Gregg Popovich that he would continue to essentially serve as the team's GM through the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, something Colangelo promised when Popovich agreed to succeed Mike Krzyzewski as Team USA coach.
And, might as well through Boogie into the mix, from Stein's October 28 predictions column:
"
5. February will be dominated by DeMarcus Cousins speculation.
Can’t promise you that the Kings will actually trade Cousins. If you insist on squeezing a firm prediction out of us on this one, as we speak on Oct. 28, I’d have to say he’ll stay.
Sacramento is determined to make the playoffs this season, or at least a credible playoff run, which somewhat compels the Kings to keep their best player.
But the reality is that Cousins has only one season left on his current contract after this one. If the Kings keep him beyond Feb. 23, they better be sure they can re-sign him, because they’re sure to fetch less in return for Expiring Contract Boogie."
And on the Blazers from that same column:
"
6. Portland is the surest team to make a trade this season.
The Blazers have an aggressive front office and more wings (
Allen Crabbe,
Evan Turner,
Moe Harkless) and bigs (
Mason Plumlee,
Meyers Leonard and
Festus Ezeli) than they need.
So keep an eye on them.
The suspicion among numerous league observers is that the Blazers' non-stop spending this past offseason was asset collection as much as anything. Scan through all those names again and it's clear Portland has no shortage of options to thrust itself into all kinds of trade talks as GM Neil Olshey continues to shape the roster around backcourt bedrocks Lillard and
C.J. McCollum."
By Ben Golliver
BNM