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Trade rumor rankings: OG Anunoby, Rudy Gobert and more

Frank Urbina
·8 min read

It’s time for another installment of our trade rumors rankings series where we rank the five players who have appeared most often on our Trade page over the past week.

With a lot of movement expected throughout the league this offseason, which is fast approaching, the trade rumors are starting to come hot and heavy.

Check out the action below.

Nikola Vucevic (Chicago)

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The big trade rumor of the week involved Rudy Gobert potentially headed to the Chicago Bulls. Gobert would help solve a lot of Chicago’s defensive issues, which caused their eventual downfall in the 2021-22 season, but obviously would come at a heavy cost for the Bulls.

According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, any deal for Gobert would require Bulls All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic to be involved:

Any deal that lands Gobert with the Bulls would almost certainly include Nikola Vucevic, the two-time All-Star center Chicago obtained from the Orlando Magic prior to the 2021 trade deadline. Vucevic’s contract will expire at the end of the 2022-23 season, and with Zach LaVine set for a lucrative free agency, Bulls brass has been considering their options at center since February’s trade deadline, sources said. While Vucevic is generally considered a net negative on the defensive end, the popular package that’s been mentioned by league executives of Vucevic and second-year forward Patrick Williams would introduce the perimeter defender the Jazz have long been said to covet.

The Bulls had the eighth-worst defensive efficiency in basketball last season, giving up 113.2 points per 100 possessions.

They also possess the offensive firepower, especially if they are able to retain free agent Zach LaVine, to survive the loss of a player like Vucevic if it means landing an elite paint defender like Gobert, who might be able to turn them into legitimate contenders in the East.

For the latest Nikola Vucevic trade rumors, click here.

Jerami Grant (Detroit)

Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Jerami Grant has been a popular name in trade scuttle over the past week, being mentioned multiple times with various teams having a reported interest in his services.

First, The Athletic reported that the Portland Trail Blazers remain very interested in acquiring Grant’s services:

The Portland Trail Blazers have been the team linked most to Grant over the last few months and, per sources, remain among the most interested in acquiring Grant via trade. The Hawks certainly need to make some tweaks to get back to where they believe they belong on their timeline. Atlanta showed some form of interest in Grant during the 2021-22 season, per sources, and The Athletic believes that the interest still stands.

The Blazers have been a popular reported suitor for Grant going back to before the trade deadline, which makes sense, as his two-way ability would provide a big boost to the defensively-lacking Portland squad.

The Atlanta Hawks were also reported to have an interest in Grant, as written about by Marc Stein:

The Hawks, league sources say, continue to register trade interest in Detroit’s Jerami Grant. The Pistons, though, have not firmly declared that they are 100 percent moving him and are known to want a lot in return for Grant, who will soon be eligible for a four-year, $112 million contract extension. It is not yet clear whether the Hawks can outbid other Detroit suitors, most notably Portland, with a trade offer (presumed to include the No. 16 pick in the forthcoming draft) that finally convinces the Pistons to part with Grant. The Trail Blazers hold the No. 7 selection in the draft and a longstanding interest in the two-way forward.

The Hawks need help on the defensive end as much as Portland does, which makes their fit with Grant an obvious one.

Finally, the Bulls were also reportedly after Grant ahead of the deadline, according to Fischer, but weren’t willing to give up Patrick Williams in a potential deal:

Chicago’s willingness to part with Williams remains to be seen. The Bulls were strongly resistant to including Williams in preliminary conversations with the Detroit Pistons to acquire Jerami Grant before the trade deadline, sources told B/R. Adding Coby White, whose value the Bulls previously explored on the trade market, and Javonte Green would make the money work to match Gobert’s hefty contract.

With the offseason around the corner, look for the rumors surrounding Grant to continue.

For the latest Jerami Grant trade rumors, click here.

OG Anunoby (Toronto)

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Despite Toronto Raptors players, including Scottie Barnes, not buying the reports…

…stories continue to surface that OG Anunoby isn’t happy with his place on the Raptors and would welcome a trade.

That’s according to Bleacher Report’s Fischer, at least, who said the following on a recent podcast:

Jake Fischer: I’ve been hearing since March that OG Anunoby has been dissatisfied with his role in Toronto. And I mean, there’s a lot of guys dissatisfied with their roles in Toronto.

In that same podcast, Fisher reported that the Blazers are not only targeting Anunoby, but that superstar point guard Damian Lillard would welcome the chance to play with the talented two-way swingman.

In addition, Action Network’s Matt Moore reported similarly just yesterday, stating that on top of the Blazers, the Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs would also be interested in Anunoby’s services:

Along those lines, don’t be surprised to see more smoke around a potential trade for OG Anunoby. The Raptors with a re-signed Masai Ujiri like their core, but ultimately upgrades will have to come with the inclusion of one of Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, or Anunoby, and Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes’ emergence opens the door for gauging Anunoby’s value on the market

Anunoby has a load of talent and seems to be improving annually, so don’t be surprised if he comes at a heavy cost if the Raptors do decide to trade him.

For the latest OG Anunoby trade rumors, click here.

Donovan Mitchell (Utah)

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

No non-Finals team made bigger headlines this week than the Jazz, who saw longtime head coach Quin Snyder step down from his role, sending the trade rumors around the team’s two stars into a fever pitch.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, star Jazz 2-guard Donovan Mitchell was unsettled and unnerved by the news about Snyder:

Amid the reverberations of Quin Snyder’s departure after eight seasons as the Utah Jazz coach, All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell is described as “unsettled, unnerved and wondering what it means for the franchise’s future,” sources told ESPN on Sunday. Mitchell considered Snyder a significant part of his reasoning for committing to a five-year maximum contract extension in 2020, and Snyder’s decision to step away on Sunday has left Mitchell “surprised and disappointed,” sources told ESPN

In addition, The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported that the Jazz have rebuffed all trade requests for Mitchell to this point while stating that Utah has told teams it is set on building around the former Louisville standout.

Moore also reported hearing that although people around the league expect a Mitchell trade request to a team like the New York Knicks or Miami Heat to come at some point, it’s not coming soon:

As far as the idea of a Donovan Mitchell trade coming down the pike, league sources do feel that it’s a matter of “when and not if” with Mitchell eventually asking to go to a “glamour market” like New York or Miami. But in the short term, there’s skepticism it will happen. New Jazz owner Ryan Smith is said to be extremely dedicated to keeping and building around Mitchell. Which, of course, is going to mean moving Rudy Gobert as it’s become apparent that relationship is untenable on-court and off-court.

Even if the Jazz are firmly opposed to trading Mitchell, don’t expect the noise to dissipate, as the smoke around this situation has been around for months now.

For the latest Donovan Mitchell trade rumors, click here.

Rudy Gobert (Utah)

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

We already discussed one trade rumor involving Gobert and the Bulls, but there was much more reported on the star big man this week.

For one, SportsNet New York’s Ian Begley reported that with the news of Snyder stepping down, a Gobert trade is more likely than a Mitchell one:

Fischer would expound, stating that not only are the Jazz weighing trade options for the big French center, but that the Raptors, Hawks and Bulls would all potentially be interested in Gobert if his name does hit the trade block this offseason:

Jake Fischer: I do believe they’re internally weighing Rudy Gobert trade options, and externally making calls and contacting teams, and least on the preliminary stages, so far. It sounds from from my conversations with people on the leaguethat Toronto, Atlanta, and Chicago are the three teams so far that have shown at least some type of tangible interest in acquiring him, it’s going to be difficult to find any trade that works with his contract.

Jones also reported that the Jazz are receiving a bevy of interest in Gobert after their tumultuous week.

Fans of the NBA trade market, keep an eye on Utah this offseason. Fireworks could go off in Salt Lake City in what will be a pivotal summer for the franchise.

For the latest Rudy Gobert trade rumors, click here.

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