It's that time of year again where rumor mills are starting to buzz as the February trade deadline draws closer. This time, rumors are flying around the league that three Western Conference teams are involved in trade talks.
According to reports, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Sacramento Kings, and the New Orleans Pelicans are in talks of a possible deal that involves six players with Sacramento Kings' small forward Rudy Gay and Oklahoma City Thunder's center Enes Kanter as the center pieces of the possible trade.
Under the proposed trade, the Oklahoma City Thunder will get Rudy Gay from the Sacramento Kings and Alexis Ajinca from the New Orleans Pelicans. The Sacramento Kings meanwhile will acquire Kyle Singler from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Jrue Holiday fron the New Orleans Pelicans. And lastly, the New Orleans Pelicans will receive Enes Kanter from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Darren Collison from the Sacramento Kings.
Based on the players acquired by the Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings, and New Orleans Pelicans, it's a win win situation for all three teams.
The Oklahoma City Thunder this 2016-2017 NBA season have a 15-9 record and are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference. The Oklahoma City Thunder are epecxted to once again make the playoffs this season. All Star point guard Russell Westbrook has been beast on the playing court so far this season averaging a triple double. In 24 games this season, Russell Westbrook's averaging 31.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 11 assists and 1.4 steals per game in 35.7 minutes of playing time.
But despite the monster numbers, many observers still say that Russell Westbrook can't carry the whole team on his back by himself and his body will wear out as the season progresses. That's why the addition of Rudy Gay is a major plus for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Rudy Gay gives them an additional scorer that could help ease the workload of Russell Westbrook.
In acquiring Enes Kanter and Darren Collison, the New Orleans Pelicans are hoping they could turn their season around and make the playoffs while it's still early. Enes Kanter can provide another scoring option that could provide support for Anthony Davis down low. And with Darren Collison running the point, things look good for the New Orleans Pelicans.
As for the Sacramento Kings, they got pretty decent players in Kyle Singler and Jrue Holiday. While Kyle Singler is not on the level of Rudy Gay, he can still provide some scoring for the Sacramento Kings. Jrue Holiday on the hand is younger and can aptly fill in the void left by Darren Collison.
