NBA Rumors: Draymond Green sabotages Warriors, Bucks stand pat, Jazz trade stalls

As the NBA offseason continues to unfurl, we have reached a point of relative stasis. The primary free agents are off the board and trade talks have largely stalled, with potential blockbusters hung up by haggling over prospects and draft picks. And yet, there's still plenty of potential movement on the horizon. Front offices don't stop during the Olympics, and we are still months away from preseason basketball.

Here are the latest NBA rumors to kickstart your week.

NBA Rumors: Jazz unable to find suitors for potential Jordan Clarkson trade

The Utah Jazz are toeing the line between rebuilding and taking the next step. It will ultimately come down to what Utah decides to do with Lauri Markkanen, who has until Aug. 6 to decide on a contract extension with the team. If the Jazz trade him — and the Golden State Warriors, among other teams, are surely interested — it will reset the timeline and signal a clear direction. If Markkanen re-ups his contract with Utah, then it's full-steam ahead for the Jazz. It's time to start winning games.

Utah has the unique flexibility to go either way. Will Hardy is a brilliant coach who has put the Jazz in the postseason picture each of the last two seasons. Utah was on the playoffs bubble leading up to consecutive trade deadlines, but Danny Ainge engineered deliberate tear-downs to secure Utah's position in the NBA Draft lottery. That might not happen again if Markkanen extends, as the Jazz are equipped with a mountain of future draft picks to leverage in trade talks to improve the roster.

If the Jazz go the other direction and tank, well, those picks will come in handy. A recent development could signal Utah's preferred direction. According to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune, there "haven’t been any other interested NBA teams" in trading for sixth man Jordan Clarkson. That, of course, signals a desire to trade the veteran guard, who could stand in the way of Collin Sexton, Isaiah Collier, and other prospects in Utah's rotation.

It's a bit surprising to see Clarkson's name draw a dud in trade talks. He's under contract for two more years at roughly $14 million annually, which is a reasonable (if mildly steep) price. Last season was a step back for Clarkson, but it came on the heels of a legitimately fantastic 2022-23 campaign, during which the Jazz could've easily swapped Clarkson for a first-round pick or two. He remains a prolific complementary scorer who has made a conscious effort to pass and defend at a higher level. There are lapses, of course, but Clarkson's shot-making and experience ought to appeal to some teams.

Utah probably won't trade Clarkson for scraps without financial motivation, but keep an eye on the 32-year-old as the season progresses. If needs arise around the league for a bench spark plug, Utah will get on the phone.

NBA Rumors: Bucks don't plan on trading Brook Lopez despite rumors

Earlier this offseason, Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer reported "rumblings" that the Milwaukee Bucks would like to play "a more versatile style of defense." That led to natural questions about Brook Lopez's future as an aging, drop coverage rim protector with limited mobility outside the painted area. Milwaukee has the personnel to switch and get more aggressive with a scheme built around Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Lopez is tethering the Bucks to a more traditional coverage.

Despite the noise, however, it does not appear that Lopez is actually on the chopping block. While the 36-year-old would surely return value — and there is only so much time left to return value in a Lopez trade — the Bucks don't plan on dealing their starting center, according to GM Jon Horst.

"First of all, rumors and chatter are what makes the league so interesting and so fun, so people are always going to speculate and talk about it. And I typically don't talk about any of this stuff with the media, but I will say, because Brook is so core to who we are, we have zero intentions of trading Brook." (h/t The Athletic)

This puts the kibosh on the idea of foundational change for Milwaukee this summer. Aside from Bobby Portis, who appears similarly secure in his roster spot for the time being, the Bucks don't have much obvious trade bait. The Bucks front office has done a nice job fleshing out the rotation, adding the likes of Gary Trent Jr. and Delon Wright in the backcourt, but this is largely the same Milwaukee team as last season. For better or worse.

If the Bucks do decide to engineer a major trade, odds are it happens closer to the trade deadline. This will be Doc Rivers' first full offseason with the team, which is certainly noteworthy. The Bucks might as well see what the roster looks like with a bit of cohesion before swinging drastic trades. It's hard to overstate how important Lopez has been to Milwaukee's defensive success in recent years. Giannis typically gets credit for the Bucks' defense, but Lopez's steadfast rim protection is what empowers Giannis to take so many risks as a roamer. He finished second in DPOY voting the season before last and has two All-Defense nods on his resumé.

Typically, trading bad defenders to reshape your defensive strategy is a good idea. Trading elite defenders to change things up is, well, a less sound strategy.

NBA Rumors: Draymond Green advised Warriors front office against win-now trade

The Golden State Warriors are the buzziest team in the NBA rumor mill of late. The Dubs are widely reported as the most engaged team in Lauri Markkanen talks, with the departures of Klay Thompson and Chris Paul opening the door for a completely revamped roster. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are in the twilight of their respective careers, so there's real pressure on the Warriors to deliver a winning team.

That pressure, so far, has not been enough for Golden State to part with Brandin Podziemski or Jonathan Kuminga. Both of the Warriors' top young prospects were kept out of Paul George trade talks, which fell through, and now Golden State has remained bullish on excluding them from Markkanen negotiations. At a certain point, the Dubs' chances of a blockbuster trade become inextricably linked with how earnestly the front office values their 21-year-old rising stars.

So, the latest comments from Draymond Green on his podcast deliver quite the intriguing insight into Golden State's offseason. Apparently, Green only cares about the team and is allergic to selfish motives. So much so that he advised the front office against a mysterious win-now trade that would have hurt the Warriors' long-term outlook.

Hmmmmmmm.

It's hard not to speculate that he's talking about Markkanen, but we obviously don't know for sure. There are endless possibilities that fit the bill of a short-term trade beneficial to Draymond and Steph, but how many so-called "bad" trades don't involve Kuminga or Podziemski? The Warriors aren't tossing prime assets into trade conversations unless there is considerable value coming back.

Draymond is doing a bit of self-propagandizing here. The idea that he's only thinking long-term for the franchise with a couple years left in his career is a bit hard to believe. But, it's clear the Warriors (and probably Draymond) value Kuminga, Podziemski, and the young nucleus gestating beneath Golden State's established stars.

Warriors fans, it's probably time to start thinking about Markkanen alternatives.