NBA Trade Rumors: Evan Turner To Charlotte Bobcats! Michael Jordan Wants A Playoff Run, Offers Expiring Contract And First Round Pick!
The Philadelphia 76ers will be at the center of the NBA Trade Rumors going into the deadline. They clearly want to tank, and they have three real assets that teams would be interested in. They held out for the best offers. Now, time is running out.
Perhaps the commodity that they would want to trade is Evan Turner. He's not as good as Thaddeus Young, whom they are thinking of keeping, and he is better than Spencer Hawes, who is quite a hard sell.
On the surface, it seems like Air Jordan of the Charlotte Bobcats is giving them the ideal offer. From the Charlotte Observer:
"The Bobcats presumably are offering Ben Gordon, whose contract expires after the season, and a first-round pick. But which pick? They own Portland's, which will be late, and Detroit's, which will be good to decent."
Charlotte's own pick will probably go to the Chicago Bulls, Air Jordan's former team as a player. But they have two picks from Portland and Detroit. Apparently, that's the point of contention.
From NJ.com: "The difference between the Detroit pick and the Portland pick are huge, and could be a major haggling point. The Detroit pick is top-8 protected, and the Pistons currently have the 10th worst record. It could end up being, however, a top 10 pick -- which is pure gold considering this year's draft class.
The Portland pick, on the other hand, is currently the 26th overall pick -- still an asset, but clearly not the same as the Detroit pick."
Indeed, Charlotte would not give up a top 10 pick for Evan Turner. Not in this draft which is projected to have quality players all the way to the 15th pick.
ESPN insider Chad Ford also weighed in during his weekly chat:
"Bobcats want talent that can help them now, the Sixers are looking for assets. Sounds like the Sixers don't want to pull the trigger just yet. Teams typically wait another week to see if better offers arise. But if the Sixers don't get a better offer, I'd be shocked if they didn't make this deal."
This trade will probably go down this week. It's not a blockbuster, but it's relevant. Eventually, the Sixers may have to take the Portland pick.