As we close in on the official trade deadline (March 25, 3 p.m. ET), keep up with the latest rumblings around the NBA — and the latest deals that have been agreed to — as deadline day approaches.
Report: Heat favorites to land Aldridge?
The Miami Heat are expected to be busy this week. In addition to reported interest in Raptors guard Kyle Lowery, the defending Eastern Conference champions reportedly are the “most likely landing spot” for Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge, according to a report from Marc Stein of the New York Times. Aldridge and the Spurs mutually agreed to part ways on March 11.
A big week looms for the Miami Heat, who continue to strongly covet Kyle Lowry via trade and who league sources increasingly peg as the most likely landing spot for LaMarcus Aldridge -- provided San Antonio can't find an Aldridge trade before Thursday's deadline and buys him out.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) March 22, 2021
Pistons reportedly turned down trade for Bagley
The Sacramento Kings and former No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III have had some ups and downs together and trade chatter has followed the promising big man at times in his career. Per Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes, the Detroit Pistons recently turned down an offer of Bagley III for promising rookie Saddiq Bey. Bagley is averaging 13.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and shooting 50.2% but has struggled with injuries all season. He recently was ruled out for four weeks with a broken hand. Bey, the No. 19 pick in last year’s Draft, is averaging 10.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg and shooting 40.4% for the struggling Pistons.
Report: Gordon requests trade from Magic
Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon has apparently asked to be moved from the only NBA team he has ever known, per Jared Weiss and Sam Amick of The Athletic. The former No. 4 overall pick of the 2014 draft is averaging 14.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game for the Magic this season, but has been hampered by injuries in 2020-21. Josh Robbins and Kelly Iko of The Athletic report the Houston Rockets have shown interest in acquiring Gordon. Overall, Gordon has played in 426 career NBA games, all of them with the Magic, and he ranks in the franchise’s top 10 in rebounds, blocks and games played.
What will Heat do with their trade exception?
In acquiring Andre Iguodala from the Memphis Grizzlies last season, the Miami Heat also received a $7.5 million trade exception that expires at 11:59 p.m. today. Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald points out that one player the Heat could eye with that exception is Sacramento Kings swingman Nemanja Bjelica. However, in trading for Trevor Ariza last week (as a part of jettisoning Meyers Leonard), Miami went from being roughly $8 milion away from the luxury-tax line to $5.4 million.went from being about $8 million away from the luxury-tax threshold to about $5.4 million below the luxury-tax line.
Bulls may be in the market for a point guard
The Chicago Bulls are No. 10 in the Eastern Conference, which puts them in the mix for the Play-In Tournament and a shot at the team’s first playoff berth since 2017. However, Chicago may be looking to upgrade its point guard situation for the stretch run, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, and talks of potential trades involving backup guard Tomas Satoransky have been floated about. There is also talk of the Bulls being interested in New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, but most of that has been of the rumor variety.
