ESPN.com presents NBA Rumors http://espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/ 60 en-us Mon, 20 May 2013 11:49:37 webmaster@espn.go.com http://assets.espn.go.com/i/espn/teamlogos/lrg/trans/espn_dotcom_black.gif 110 110 San Antonio's win over Memphis on Sunday was shockingly easy, and one of the big reasons why was yet another huge first quarter by the Spurs. SA has made a habit of breaking out to big starts so far in the playoffs, and if the Grizzlies are going to have any chance to come out victorious in four of the next six games they'll have to prevent that trend from continuing. The Spurs outscored Memphis 31-14 in the first quarter of Game 1, and lead all playoff teams in shooting (52.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8152 Mon, 20 May 2013 14:40:41 EDT 8152 Luol Deng is set to become a free agent after next season, and one of the big questions facing Chicago this offseason is whether dealing the all-star swingman is worth considering. Few people are as plugged in to the Bulls roster as that of ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell, and today Friedell touched on the very subject of Deng and pointed out why moving the veteran could make sense. Nick FriedellIn Butler, Chicago already has Deng's replacement"The idea of trading Deng would have seemed preposterous just a few months ago, but then Deng got injured and Jimmy Butler stepped in to fill his role.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8150 Mon, 20 May 2013 14:22:54 EDT 8150 Before last week's NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Victor Oladipo was regarded by most draft experts as a possible top 5 pick. Very few, if any, had him vaulting into the top 3, a move that would require a team to pick the athletic swingman out of Indiana ahead of Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore and/or Otto Porter. After a very impressive showing in the athletic testing, however, NBA teams may be reconsidering Oladipo as one of the three best prospects in the draft.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8143 Mon, 20 May 2013 13:50:10 EDT 8143 UPDATE: Three weeks ago we posed the question and raised the possibility of Miami point guard Shane Larkin rising the charts and becoming a lottery pick this June. It may have seemed a little far-fetched at the time, but it doesn't anymore. Larkin tested as well as anyone at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago last week, opening quite a few eyes along the way. "I was really intrigued," one GM told ESPN's Chad Ford. "He really is a complete guard. He's one and a half inches shorter than Trey Burke, but other than that, I think he brings a lot of similar traits to the table.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=6972 Mon, 20 May 2013 13:21:09 EDT 6972 What Trey Burke showed as a sophomore in this year's NCAA tournament is that he has the talent to be a point guard in the NBA for a long time. Without him, Michigan wouldn't have made it past Kansas, let alone continued on to the championship game against Louisville. Just how great Burke will be at the next level is the big question, and according to ESPN's draft expert Chad Ford there are some areas of concern based on Burke's showing at the recent Draft Combine.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8136 Mon, 20 May 2013 13:08:27 EDT 8136 UPDATE: Toronto's interest in Denver's vice president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is real. Very real. Here's the latest on the Raptors' efforts to woo the Nuggets' highly regarded executive north of the border. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports follows up his earlier report from over the weekend with the following tweet this morning: "(Bryan) Colangelo's finalizing agreement to move over to business side, leaving basketball ops. Ownership preparing major financial offer for Ujiri.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8115 Mon, 20 May 2013 12:45:44 EDT 8115 Several times Kobe Bryant has said he plans to play a few more seasons in the NBA and Sunday night he reiterated that opinion. "Really?? Me. Retire?? Soon, but not yet Vino still has work to do #35 #OG #kbvff," Bryant tweeted. Bryant will make $30.45 million next season and he plans to return from his torn Achilles before the end of 2013. Bryant is expected to sign another 2-3 year contract and then retire when that expires.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8128 Mon, 20 May 2013 10:13:42 EDT 8128 The Charlotte Bobcats are set to have a top-5 pick in the 2013 draft, but Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer wonders if the team is angling to move back in the order after watching the prospects they interviewed in Chicago last week. Bonnell writes: "Here’s what I noticed ... They interviewed Duke center Mason Plumlee, Syracuse point guard Michael Carter-Williams and Gonzaga center Kelly Olynyk. It’s a stretch to draft any of those guys in the top-five.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8123 Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:28 EDT 8123 Dwight Howard is set to hit the free agent market on July 1 and he can expect to hear from several teams once the clock hits 12 am eastern. Those teams include the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks. Howard is expected to to re-sign with the Lakers. however Houston is certainly a viable option. From Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: "With six weeks to go before Howard becomes an unrestricted free agent, the team that is said to intrigue him the most is the Houston Rockets, according to multiple people briefed on internal conversations surrounding Howard's free-agent decision.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8090 Mon, 20 May 2013 09:43:11 EDT 8090 Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has started Chris Bosh at center, Udonis Haslem at power forward and LeBron James at small forward and when Game 1 against Indiana kicks off on Monday that unit will stay intact. Last season Bosh was hurt during the series against the Pacers and Spoelstra inserted Shane Battier into the lineup. "We'll have several people guarding him (David West)," Spoelstra told South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "He deserves that respect.]]> http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/nba/rumors/post?id=8119 Mon, 20 May 2013 09:39:49 EDT 8119