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Trade rumor rankings: Kyrie Irving, Bones Hyland and more

With under a week remaining until the 2022-23 NBA trade deadline, we have come back with another edition of our trade rumors rankings series, in which we rank the 10 players who have appeared most often in trade rumors over the prior week.

This week was headlined by a star player asking out from his team for what feels like the 10th time in the past year-plus.

With so many players to discuss, let’s get right into the action below.

Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn)

kyrie irving celtics
kyrie irving celtics

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

A single tweet from Shams Charania set the NBA world ablaze on Friday when The Athletic reporter tweeted that Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets.

In a way, this was surprising news, as Irving’s play for Brooklyn had been so solid lately and we hadn’t heard much drama about him or the team in a while. At the same time, this is Irving we’re talking about, so in reality, we shouldn’t have been shocked by this news at all.

LeBron James, ever the proponent of building super teams throughout his career, sent out a cryptic tweet soon thereafter, sending Los Angeles Lakers fans into an excited frenzy.

Marc Stein reported that along with the Lakers, the Dallas Mavericks would also engage in trade talks for Irving:

Meanwhile, Shams Charania added the Phoenix Suns as an interested suitor while Brian Windhorst mentioned the Miami Heat, too.

Our own Michael Scotto went into detail about the Heat situation, stating that to get Irving, Miami would have to give up Jimmy ButlerBam Adebayo or Tyler Herro, a hefty price to pay for an impending unrestricted free agent with Irving’s recent history.

There’s a whole lot more out there on the Irving trade situation, too much to list on just this slide, so to keep up with all of the latest rumors on the matter, just click the link below.

For the latest Kyrie Irving trade rumors, click here.

OG Anunoby (Toronto)

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A name that has been very hot on the trade market recently is that of OG Anunoby, two-way swingman extraordinaire for the Toronto Raptors, who reportedly has a lot of interest on the trade market.

Chris Haynes reported this week that Anunoby himself would welcome a change of scenery, perhaps in hopes of a bigger role elsewhere:

Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes told league insider Marc Stein that Anunoby has, in fact, braced himself for a potential move (via #thisleague UNCUT): “I think OG himself, off of what I’m hearing, he would like a change of scenery himself. I don’t know if he’s going to management or it’s gotten that far to request a trade, but management knows how he feels. He’s let it be known already. I think he would embrace a change of scenery.”

According to Charania, the teams to watch in the Anunoby sweepstakes are the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers.

Meanwhile, our own Scotto reported that the Memphis Grizzlies are another team that could make a run at Anunoby:

Michael Scotto: There’s been some speculation from a few rival executives that the Memphis Grizzlies could make a run at OG Anunoby, given their surplus of draft picks in the years to come… There was also a report out there, I believe from the Toronto Star, that one mystery team previously offered three first-round picks for Anunoby… I don’t see Toronto getting a better package than that for him.

We’ll see if he does get moved or where he does end up, but if a trade does happen, Anunoby could be one of the most talented players dealt at this deadline.

For the latest OG Anunoby trade rumors, click here.

Bones Hyland (Denver)

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Second-year guard Bones Hyland is one of the most surprising names to hit the trade block this season, though that might have a bit to do with his lack of buy-in with his role on the contending Denver Nuggets. At least that’s what Jamal Murray’s recent tweet made it sound like:

Either way, Hyland appears to be one of the likelier players to get traded ahead of the upcoming deadline, with Haynes stating that the Minnesota Timberwolves and Charlotte Hornets are just two of the teams interested in trading for him.

There are certainly more suitors than that for Hyland, who is averaging 12.1 points this season, as Denver beat writer Michael Singer mentioned a ‘significant amount of interest’ for the VCU product.

For the latest Bones Hyland trade rumors, click here.

Gary Trent Jr (Toronto)

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

With the Raptors’ season headed south the way it has, the team has multiple trade candidates, though none likelier than Gary Trent Jr.

Our own Scotto covered that just this week:

Toronto is the team that I think holds a lot of the cards for the trade deadline and is the biggest wild card going into the deadline… I wrote this closer to the G League Showcase, but it still stands true now according to NBA executives I’ve spoken to around the league, they think Gary Trent Jr. still remains the top trade candidate on the Raptors. Trent just turned 24 years old, and in Toronto, he’s been consistent, averaging 18 or 19 points the past two seasons. He has an $18.8 million player option for next season. Given his age and the market, most executives I talk to think he can get around that, if not a little bit more, if he decided to opt out. They’re operating as if they think he will.

Toronto appears to be reasonable with its asking price for Trent Jr., too, as the latest reports indicate all it is asking for is a protected first-round pick or two good second-rounders.

Trent Jr. holds a lot of value as an outside shooter with added scoring juice, and with an asking price that reasonable, don’t be surprised to see him get traded in the next five days.

For the latest Gary Trent Jr. trade rumors, click here.

Bojan Bogdanovic (Detroit)

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At this point, it would be genuinely surprising to see Bojan Bogdanovic get traded, as every bit of info coming out of Detroit indicates the Pistons plan to keep him past the trade deadline.

That hasn’t stopped interest from pouring in, however, as just this week, it was reported the Lakers as having an interest in Bogdanovic along with the Mavericks.

Still, the Pistons’ plan appears to be to keep Bogdanovic in the fold for next season:

More and more, as the deadline draws near, I hear rival teams saying that they believe Detroit is poised to rebuff all trade inquiries for Bojan Bogdanovic. I was certainly among those who thought it was posturing when Detroit’s reluctance to trade Bogdanovic began to surface many weeks ago, but one league source went so far as asserting this week that the Pistons would refuse to surrender Bogdanovic even if offered that fully unprotected future first-round pick that everyone says Detroit covets.

We’ll see what happens here. Maybe a team overpays to acquire the sharpshooting Croatian.

For the latest Bojan Bogdanovic trade rumors, click here.

Dorian Finney-Smith (Dallas)

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Versatile two-way swingmen who can space the floor and play some small-ball 4 are a hot commodity in the NBA, which is why a player like Dorian Finney-Smith appears to be attracting popularity as we get nearer to the trade deadline.

According to our own Scotto, the Jazz are monitoring Finney-Smith.

Meanwhile, Stein reported that if the Nets consider trading Irving to the Mavericks, they would want Finney-Smith in return.

Finney-Smith opened up on the trade rumors recently, telling the Dallas Morning News:

From a broad view, what is it like to go through these weeks leading up to the trade deadline as a good player on a team that’s looking to make a move? Dorian Finney-Smith: Obviously, first and foremost, I know it’s a business. I’ve been lucky, one of the lucky ones, to be in the same place for my whole career. It’s just outside noise. My family, my daughter who’s 12, who’s on the Internet, she sees my name pop up on [websites] and stuff like that. She asks me if I’m going to get traded and stuff like that, but it’s just one of those things. It’s part of it. I haven’t experienced it yet, personally, but I know it most likely is going to happen. Hopefully not, but you just never know.

We could see Finney-Smith being dealt as part of a larger trade, though without a major player coming back to Dallas in return, it’s hard to see the former Florida standout getting dealt, not with how weak the Mavericks’ depth is.

For the latest Dorian Finney-Smith trade rumors, click here.

Myles Turner (Indiana)

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After years of speculation about his future with the Pacers, the rumors were put to a halt – at least for another year – when news came out of Myles Turner’s extension with Indiana.

And for those that thought maybe Turner could still be dealt, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle slammed the door shut even harder by telling collected media recently:

That this firm commitment from the Pacers toward Turner came in the midst of the former Longhorn having the best season of his career is no coincidence. Either way, in Turner and Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers look to be setting up a nice young nucleus going forward.

For the latest Myles Turner trade rumors, click here.

Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia)

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Despite his offensive struggles, Matisse Thybulle’s defensive prowess has made it so he still has fans in rival NBA front offices, namely, with the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, according to Keith Pompey:

Multiple NBA sources said the Golden State Warriors have had internal discussions about Thybulle and that they like him as a defensive stopper. The Sacramento Kings are also monitoring his availability. A league source said Kings coach Mike Brown is a fan of Thybulle, who would add a defensive presence to Sacramento’s starting lineup.

That was piggyback of a report from Stein, who shared that there is a clear interest in Thybulle in Sacramento:

Marc Stein: ‘Sacramento’s interest is clear. It’s been a dream for the Kings, nobody on this planet, I don’t care how optimistic they are, thought that Sacramento had a chance to go into the All-Star break with the third seed in the West after 16 straight years out of the playoffs. But we know Mike Brown loves defense, and they have a need for more defense on the perimeter. So, you know, can they pull a deal off? I don’t know. Is Thybulle someone that they’re monitoring? Very much, yes.’

His time playing for one contender in the East might be near done, but it looks like Thybulle might end up on one of two contenders out West.

For the latest Matisse Thybulle trade rumors, click here.

Kelly Olynyk (Utah)

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One of the more underrated role-playing big men in the league, Kelly Olynyk has continued his steady play this season with the Jazz, averaging 11.5 points and shooting 40.4 percent from three, making him a clear target on the trade market from contenders.

Two teams reportedly interested in Olynyk are two of his former teams, actually, the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, according to Steve Bulpett:

Rekindling an old relationship can be a rewarding move, and it appears that desire may be showing itself with the NBA‘s trade deadline a week away. A source close to the Heat tells Heavy Sports the club is interested in a reunion with Kelly Olynyk — and that Miami isn’t his only suitor. The Celtics are also said to be looking at the possibility of re-acquiring the 6-11 floor-spacing big man, who spent his first four NBA seasons in Boston.

With both Boston and Miami needing another big man, preferably one that can space the floor, keep an eye on the two Eastern Conference rivals as potential Olynyk suitors.

For the latest Kelly Olynyk trade rumors, click here.

Alex Caruso (Chicago)

alex caruso
alex caruso

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso has come up in trade rumors this week, but the defensive dynamo does not expect to move by Thursday’s deadline, telling the media:

NBC Sports reported that the Warriors are interested in Caruso, though a report out of Chicago this week made it sound very unlikely the former Texas A&M guard will go anywhere this deadline:

In fact, when the Bulls have received calls on Caruso, the asking price has been so astronomical, it reiterated a Sun-Times report that Caruso is basically deemed untouchable. “He’s the culture,’’ one source said. Actually, not a bad nickname for Caruso, considering his hustle plays are often plastered throughout the game film.

Caruso might not be a star, but he’s not the kind of player to just get dumped at the deadline, providing way too much two-way value out of the backcourt.

For the latest Alex Caruso trade rumors, click here.

Story originally appeared on HoopsHype