NBA Rumors: Warriors-LaVine proposal, Mikal Bridges trade request, Ben Simmons hype

We are less than two weeks from training camp around the NBA, which means slowly but surely, the rumor mill is waking up. It has been a while since the league was rocked by a new trade or a monumental signing, but front offices remain hard at work behind the scenes (with a few notable exceptions).

Let's dive into the latest NBA rumors to see what's percolating with the new season close on the horizon.

NBA Rumors: Ben Simmons hype train is somehow still allowed to leave the station

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me, like, eighteen times... well, it's not great.

Ben Simmons is back in the lab, folks, which means we have our annual offseason training montage that shows the 6-foot-10 point guard smoothly stepping into pull-up jumpers and allegedly working hard to expand his game. The former No. 1 pick has never actually integrated a jumper into his skill set, of course, but Simmons does appear committed to the bit. Nothing but respect for that.

If you're fooled by offseason videos at this point, that's on you. Simmons has been posting these for years without any material improvement on the skill front. That said, if you're more inclined to listen to his trainer, well, you should still exercise caution. Don't get your hopes up, Brooklyn fans. It only leads to a more potent despair in the end.

Chris Brickley is one of the most renowned skill trainers on the basketball scene. He works with plenty of NBA stars and has an undeniable track record of benefitting the league's best players. That he's willing to stake his reputation on Ben Simmons is somewhat fascinating, if not at all unpredictable. That is, after all, the job for NBA trainers. It's not about working quietly behind the scenes; it's about broadcasting your product to the masses and selling more lessons.

Could this backfire on Brickley? Of course, but he has too extensive a list of accomplishments to truly suffer from another medicore Ben Simmons campaign. Health has been the major factor behind Simmons' decline these last few years — he has dealt with a series of nerve issues in his back, which have sapped explosiveness and limited his once-special mobility — so if he is truly moving better than his All-Star seasons, as Brickley suggests, then there could be fire behind this gigantic cloud of smoke.

Just don't count on it. We are in wait-and-see mode with Simmons until further notice. The concept is better than the execution, at least it has been for the majority of his career. Simmons at his peak was a borderline top-20 player and one of the best defenders in the NBA, but it has been so long since then, and so much has weighed on Simmons, that it's truly hard to imagine him reaching the same heights.

After all the garbage he has endured (both self-inflicted and from the outside), it's hard not to root for Simmons a little bit. It would be great to see him emerge once again as a dynamic two-way force, but don't let these videos fool ya. Simmons won't come out of the gate firing pull-up 3s out of the pick-and-roll for Brooklyn.

NBA Rumors: Mikal Bridges didn't request a trade to the Knicks... technically

The New York Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in the most consequential trade of the summer. It reunited four former Villanova teammates in Madison Square Garden and established the Knicks as a bonafide threat to Boston's Eastern Conference crown.

The trade also left Brooklyn fans feeling a certain type of way. It was a great trade on the surface — the Nets recouped several valuable draft assets in what can absolutely be called a Knicks overpay — but it also involved the Nets sending their best player to a cross-town division rival. Many thought Bridges requested a trade behind the scenes, which was a reasonable response to such a sudden and shocking move. He gets to team up with his buddies in Manhattan while the Nets are left scrounging for scraps.

Bridges and the Nets front office both deny that a trade request ever took place, and Bridges has even gone out of his way to speak fondly of his time in Brooklyn. That said, according to Bob Windrem of Nets Daily, Bridges was "disgusted" with the constant taunts from his former Nova teammates in New York, asking him to join the Knicks. At one point, he allegedly told them to ask Knicks GM Leon Rose to make the call.

"Whether he demanded a trade or not is semantics," Windrem said. "He was unhappy and he wanted to play with his friends."

That certainly aligns with public perception. Bridges can lob as much praise at Brooklyn as he wants, but it was abundantly clear that the Knicks trade was his preferred outcome. WIndrem also notes Bridges' frustration with former Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn, who was canned midseason. The 2023-24 campaign was a challenge all around for Brooklyn, made all the more frustrating by Bridges' misuse within the offense and a general lack of cohesion on either end of the floor.

Bridges should find what he's searching for with the Knicks. Brooklyn, meanwhile, sure made the most out of this stealth trade request (or non-request), strong-arming the Knicks into coughing up a considerable return package.

NBA Rumors: Warriors-Bulls trade proposal lands Zach LaVine in Golden State

The Golden State Warriors spent their offseason targeting star-power on the wing. Paul George and Lauri Markkanen were both within reach at various points, while it is suspected that Golden State placed a call on Jimmy Butler. With none of those options panning out, however, the Warriors could turn to a former All-Star with a slightly lower profile.

Zach LaVine spent most of last season watching from the sidelines with an injury. It has been a difficult couple years with the Chicago Bulls, which came to a head this summer when the Bulls tried hard but failed to trade the 29-year-old. LaVine is plainly frustrated with his situation, but the market has been too muted for the Bulls to act. Chicago can't even seem to salary dump LaVine, much less recoup assets in return.

That said, all it takes is for the right desperate team to come along. LaVine still offers plenty of talent, even if that contract — three years, $97 million remaining — is tough to stomach. The most logical destination is Golden State, a team operating with a palpable urgency to maximize Stephen Curry's waning years in the NBA.

Bleacher Report's Dan Favale pitched the details of a potential swap.

Frankly, there's a chance Chicago is the team attaching draft picks to this trade, just to get rid of LaVine's contract. The injuries and lack of winning over the years have worn on LaVine's reputation. The discourse is far too negative at this point, as we seem to forget how dynamic LaVine is when he's gliding down the lane with his trademark athleticism or burying deep pull-up 3s. Sure, he's not perfect, but the number of guards who can match LaVine shot-for-shot is slim. LaVine has also improved as a playmaker in recent years, adding more dynamism out of pick-and-roll actions.

Golden State can essentially absorb LaVine's contract for the same outgoing dollar value in bad (Andrew Wiggins) or expiring (Kevon Looney, Gary Payton) contracts. There is risk and a certain level of financial restriction tied to LaVine, but if the Warriors are out of viable alternatives, the fit is strong. LaVine's self-creation, shot-making, and general offensive versatility are deeply needed in the Warriors lineup.