NBA Trade Rumors: Latest Buzz on Paul George, Ricky Rubio and More

The 2017 edition of NBA free agency is right around the corner, folks.

Teams can begin reaching verbal agreements with players July 1 and can officially sign them July 6. The next few days are going to be chock-full of excitement—but not just because of free agency.

We could have a number of notable trades, too; we've already seen stars Jimmy Butler and Chris Paul change teams.

Who will be the next noteworthy player on the move? We're here to examine the latest trade buzz and what it could mean for the 2017-18 season.

Cavaliers, Rockets Interested in Paul George

The Houston Rockets already made a huge splash by acquiring Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers. However, the team doesn't appear ready to rest on its offseason laurels. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst on SportsCenter, the Rockets are also interested in trading for George.

The hangup with George is that he's only under contract for one more season. However, Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com doesn't believe this would be a problem for Houston.

"Rockets GM Daryl Morey is creative and tireless in his pursuit of star players, and the possibility of George leaving as an unrestricted free agent a year from now surely would not be enough to scare off Morey," Pelton wrote.

Houston isn't the only team interested in adding George, of course. The Cleveland Cavaliers are still looking to acquire him, though they'll have to find a creative way to get a deal done. The Cavs are short on young talent and draft capital, which is what Indiana is interested in.

Terry Pluto of the Plain Dealer explained the situation:

"The Pacers are telling teams they plan to keep Paul George if they can't receive a deal that they really like. No one believes Indiana will actually go into the regular season with George. Once the season begins, the longer they wait to deal George—the more his value goes down. The Pacers want young players and picks, not a veteran such as Kevin Love.

"The Cavs still want George, and they remain in the same position of trying to find a place to trade Love to gain picks/players who would appeal to Indiana."

The Cavaliers already tried once to put together a creative three-team deal for George, per ESPN's Marc Stein:

This deal likely would have sent Love to the Denver Nuggets and young talent or draft ammunition to Indiana. The Cavaliers would have ended up with George on a one-year rental.

The Rockets are in better position to do a straight-up trade for George, though they aren't the only team in position to do so.

Celtics Looking to Add George and Gordon Hayward

The Boston Celtics are also looking to trade for George, though they may only do so if they can first acquire Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward in free agency.

According to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, Boston wants to have a commitment from Hayward before potentially trading for George.

This doesn't necessarily mean the Celtics won't enter the George sweepstakes if they can't land Hayward. However, it does seem more likely the team will want to add at least one marquee free agent before going after him. This is because George is a one-year rental.

The Celtics want to ensure they either have a legitimate chance of winning now or have enough talent that they may be able to talk George into re-upping. Hayward may aid both possibilities.

According to Brad Botkin of CBSSports.com, the Celtics are also looking at Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin.

Timberwolves Looking to Move Ricky Rubio

The Pacers are hoping to move George before the start of the 2017-18 season. The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to do the same with veteran point guard Ricky Rubio, according to Stein:

The Timberwolves, interestingly, are the other team—along with the Rockets—that has added a premier talent via trade already this offseason. Minnesota got Butler from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and a swap of first-round draft picks.

The Timberwolves have a solid core of young players in Butler, Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. But Minnesota believes Rubio doesn't fit.

While Rubio is always among the league leaders in assists and steals, he's a terrible shooter from the field (37.5 percent) and three (31.5 percent).

Per Stein, Utah is also interested in dealing for Rubio:

Rubio, drafted fifth overall in 2009, has played exclusively with Minnesota. He has career averages of 10.3 points, 8.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals.