The NBA rumor mill perpetually hums. Even when there is no activity, there are at least a few rumblings about potential happenings.
Quite often, though, the hums rise to a full-fledged buzz, and that's where the latest rumor-mill dispatch takes us.
All three rumors involve players with multiple All-Star appearances and NBA championships. That should be all the build-up needed, so let's dig in.
Blazers Dreaming of Draymond Green Deal
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Over the course of Damian Lillard's 10 NBA seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers have kept in constant pursuit of their proverbial missing piece.
They think they know who that might be, too: Draymond Green, who was played with Lillard both at All-Star Games and in the Olympics.
"The Blazers would love to have him," The Athletic's Anthony Slater said on the HoopsHype Podcast. "Lillard has been obsessed with getting him there for a while."
This makes sense for a lot of reasons, namely that Portland's problem is almost always a leaky defense, and Green is one of the top stoppers of this generation. His ability to create as the screener on pick-and-roll plays would also be a perfect fit with Lillard.
Of course, the things that attract Green to Portland are the same that make him invaluable to the Golden State Warriors, who have him under contract through at least next season. Unless there's a wholly unexpected change of events, the Blazers can likely only Draydream (get it?) from afar.
LeBron James Looking at Week-Plus Injury Absence
For already the second time this season, LeBron James finds himself on the Los Angeles Lakers' injury report.
First, he lost consecutive contests to a sore right ankle. Now, he could be shelved even longer by an abdominal strain.
ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported James is expected to miss "at least one week" with the injury, noting the team "wants to take their time" with his recovery. Lakers coach Frank Vogel addressed James' injury but declined to confirm the timetable after Thursday's loss to the rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder, who also beat L.A. during James' first injury.
"Any time LeBron's out and he's going to miss some time, there's obviously concern," Vogel told reporters. "Hopefully this is something that's minimal, and hopefully he'll be back soon."
The Lakers should play this as cautious as possible, since injuries are predictably popping up more frequently for the now-36-year-old James. Saying that, they need to learn how to survive without him. They won the last four games he played, but are otherwise 1-2 in that stretch with a narrow win over the future-focused San Antonio Spurs and a pair of losses that account for OKC's only triumphs on the season.
Some 'Friction' in Golden State over Competing Timelines
The Warriors want to do what NBA history has mostly proved is impossible: Win big now and win big later.
Their roster is veteran-heavy at the top with Green, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson—a trio that already helped capture three championships—leading the charge. But Golden State has also spent three lottery picks in the past two drafts on teenagers, including a pair of long-term, upside plays in raw prospects James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga.
In an absolute best-case scenario, Golden State is building a bridge between one championship core and the next. However, this keeps the franchise from fully committing to either direction, which could leave it lacking in both.
With the organization pulling itself in opposite directions, it has created "a little friction about the juggling of timelines," Slater said. That follows with a July report from The Athletic's Marcus Thompson II that stated Golden State's three stars were pushing for "the franchise to focus on the pursuit of a championship, even to considering using their two lottery picks to get someone who can help immediately."
The Warriors obviously kept the picks, though it seems possible they would have moved them if the right trade target was available. The competing timelines could create an uncomfortable situation, but for now, Golden State is silencing that story line the only way it can: by winning a boatload of games (six in seven tries so far).
SOURCE Beacherreport
