NBA Draft rumors: Mavs won’t keep pick, Cavs, Suns, Bucks looking to trade in, Ausar cancels on Pacers
NBA Draft rumors: Bucks, Suns, and Cavs interested in trading back into the first rund
According to Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, the Suns, Bucks and Cavs are all looking to trade back into the first round. None of these teams have first-round picks and would need a trade in order to get a chance at adding a young, low-cost rotation player.
Again this is hard for all of these teams due to the fact that they have traded some of their picks for All-NBA talent. This makes a lot of the picks that they have left not tradable due to the Stepien rule — (first-round picks can’t be traded in consecutive drafts). Still, it would not be shocking for any of these teams to use one of the picks that they have left to make a move.
The Bucks are a team with an aging core and could use a rookie rotational player. The Suns are trying to win now after trading for Kevin Durant and could use a cheap rotational player because of the new luxury tax rules. The Cavs are in a similar situation that the Suns are in. (Obviously, Kevin Durant is a lot better than Donovan Mitchell but still a similar situation where both teams trying to win now)
Of these teams, the Suns are the least likely to make a move due to the fact that they could only offer swaps. This is due to just trading all of their tradable picks at the trade deadline. The Cavs are somewhat in the same spot but have a bit more creativity. Of these teams, the Bucks are the most likely to make a move due to the fact that they have trade flexibility in the later years of their first-round picks.
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