Official NBA Rumor Mill

[Alex Confer]

Figured I would make this topic so that all proposed/finalized deals approaching the trade deadline could be talked about here.

Ron Artest to Sacramento; Peja Stojakovic to Indiana [Finalized]
Indiana Pacers trade F Ron Artest to the Sacramento Kings for F Peja Stojakovic.



Nikoloz Tskitishvili to Phoenix [Finalized]
Minnesota Timberwolves trade F Nikoloz Tskitishvili to the Phoenix Suns for a 2006 second-round draft pick.



Ricky Davis to Minnesota; Wally Szczerbiak to Boston [Finalized]
Minnesota Timberwolves trade F Wally Szczerbiak, C Michael Olowokandi, C Dwayne Jones, and a future first-round draft pick to the Boston Celtics for G Ricky Davis, C Mark Blount, G Marcus Banks, F Justin Reed, and two future second-round draft picks.



Proposed Trades
- Timberwolves, Sonics in preliminary discussions on an Evans-for-Banks deal.
- Sixers could trade Steven Hunter to Utah for Kris Humphries.

[bravest]

The newest rumor involves Seattle's disgruntled forward Reggie Evans, who has been complaining about his playing time for the past week (he was the only active player on the Sonics not to play a single minute against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday). Since Bob Hill has been the coach of the Sonics, Vladimir Radmanovic has been starting at power forward. Radmanovic, who rolled his ankle in a game earlier this week, was benched in favor of Mikki Moore.

Ronald 'Flip' Murray, a natural shooting guard who resembles Kobe Bryant in a I'll-take-the-ball-and-not-pass kind of way, is rumored to be headed out of Seattle with Reggie Evans for one of the newest additions to the Western Conference, guard Marcus Banks. The salaries match (Murray and Evans for Banks), but the deal could be broken apart by Evans, who can veto any trade he sees as unsuitable for his career or family.

Evans in expected to move within the next week. It's quite obvious that his salary (just over $1 million for a single season) will be hard to match up with a point guard who can back up Luke Ridnour, so other options might need to be explored.

As a Sonics fan, I'd be fine welcoming in Banks. When Bob Weiss was coaching, losing Evans would have been a cotastrophe. But now that Hill has vowed to give the sharpshooter in Radmanovic a go as a starter, everything seems slanted towards getting a guy to play for when Ridnour needs a break.

[Alex Confer]

I'll update the trades/rumors.