BS Meter On Latest NBA Offseason Rumors and Buzz

The torrent of offseason NBA transactions has slowed to a trickle as we move deeper into July, but there's still no shortage of rumors to analyze as teams look to finish up business and prepare for the future.

The New Orleans Pelicans want a center and, apparently, don't want Brandon Ingram. Worse still, nobody else seems interested either.

Meanwhile, Anthony Edwards is talking big, Jalen Brunson could take a near-unprecedented team-first step, and Stephen Curry has given the Golden State Warriors a bit of a scare.

Here, we'll catch up on the latest whispers and reports around the league before deciding how seriously to take them. Most of the usual smoke screens and leaks have dissipated now that we've left those first few days of free agency behind, but we still need to view chatter with a critical eye.

And that's what the B.S. meter is for.

Jalen Brunson could soon make himself an even more beloved figure in New York.

While most players talk about valuing winning above everything, the All-Star point guard might put his money where his mouth is by sacrificing cash to help ensure the Knicks are as competitive as possible for years to come.

Brunson can hit unrestricted free agency in 2025, at which point he could sign a contract worth as much as $269 million over five years. Alternatively, he'll be eligible to sign a four-year, $156 million extension on July 12.

However, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic: "Brunson understands the issues the current CBA causes with team building. A league source says it's one reason he's considering taking the cheaper extension."

Lots of players talk about winning as the only thing that matters to them. Without passing an ounce of judgment, we can all agree that the vast majority of them are lying. They also want to make the most money possible, a goal that is incompatible with maximizing their team's success.

Even before the new CBA brought stiffer penalties for teams that spend into the tax, it was still true that payrolls were more or less finite.

If players only cared about winning, several superstars would band together, take minimum salaries and go on a dynastic run. That never happens because players—as is their right—want to earn as much as they can during very short careers.

Winning is important, but it's almost never the only priority.

BS Meter: Very little

Brunson isn't some hero. He's still going to get life-altering money on his next deal. But the grit, maturity and leadership he's shown with the Knicks gives this report a ring of truth.

If the 27-year-old takes a nine-figure discount, it might be the reason New York gets an actual ring at some point in the next few years.

Whether you believe Anthony Edwards is serious or not depends on how you read his trademark smile.

Sometimes, the smirk he gives in press conferences is akin to a wink, a subtle communication that he's aware he's saying something outlandish. That he's in on the joke.

Other times, the 22-year-old's expression belies a hint of defiance. Like he's daring someone to challenge whatever hyperconfident assertion he's making...because he actually believes it.

You be the judge:

Some context might help decide what the smile means in this case.

Edwards also told reporters "We got LeBron, KD and Steph. So I don't feel like nobody can beat those three by themselves on the court. You mix in two of us regular guys, we'll be all right."

Not mentioned: Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis, all of whom also have either a championship or an MVP award, two accolades Edwards, a "regular guy", lacks.

BS Meter: High, but we're here for it.

Edwards is just staying on-brand. He's always seemed to embrace the idea that self-belief is a superpower, but he knows he's not truly tops in the Team USA pecking order.

This is just another instance of him projecting extreme confidence in a way that, somehow, doesn't come off as arrogant. It's a gift, and it's endearing. But he understands the hierarchy in Paris.

Just a few hours into July, the New Orleans Pelicans lost the two players who mopped up virtually all of the minutes at center in 2023-24.

Jonas Valančiūnas, who started all 82 games at the 5, signed with the Washington Wizards in free agency. The Pels also sent Larry Nance Jr., who often closed games at center in small-ball looks, to the Atlanta Hawks in the deal that brought Dejounte Murray to New Orleans.

No wonder the Pels are on the hunt for help in the middle.

Per Will Guillory of The Athletic: "Cleveland's Jarrett Allen and Orlando's Wendell Carter Jr. are both players the Pelicans have coveted for some time."

Allen would help most as a rebounder, lob threat and paint protector, while Carter is a little lighter on his feet in space and offers intriguing spacing upside. He shot 37.4 percent on just over three long-range tries per game last year, an element New Orleans has basically never had during the Zion Williamson era.

Carter might be the more gettable player. The Magic just extended Jonathan Isaac for five years and $84 million, and fellow center Goga Bitadze reupped for three years and $25 million.

Both big men have played major roles on excellent defenses in Cleveland and Orlando, respectively. Either would represent a major upgrade not just over who the Pelicans currently have among their center options (which is essentially no one) but also over Valančiūnas and Nance.

BS Meter: None whatsoever

It's hard to find a playoff-caliber team with a larger void at a single position than the Pelicans face at center.

Undersized units with Williamson rampaging in a spaced floor as the 5 will produce points and highlights, but they'll never hold up defensively against the best teams in the biggest moments.

Landing Allen or Carter is a must if New Orleans wants to have a fighting chance in the ever-tough Western Conference.

Brandon Ingram is 26 years old, has made an All-Star team and averaged at least 20.8 points per game in each of the last five seasons.

So, it's a little strange that the New Orleans Pelicans can't find a taker for him and the one year left on his contract, and that they clearly don't want to keep him at market rates, either.

Per Will Guillory of The Athletic: "Both the Pelicans and Ingram agree that going into training camp without an extension is a distraction they'd prefer to avoid. That scenario certainly wouldn't make sense for the Pelicans; finding value for him now is difficult enough, but trying to move him on an expiring contract at the trade deadline would be a nightmare."

The Ingram situation is closely linked to the one we just covered about New Orleans' lack of a center. Ideally, the Pels would trade him for either Allen or Carter. Practically, that hasn't been so simple.

Ingram doesn't fit in Orlando, and Cleveland, like other potential suitors, apparently isn't psyched by the possibilities of either overpaying to extend the 2020 All-Star or losing him in 2025 free agency.

That's a hypothetical problem for the Magic and Cavs, but it's a real and pressing one for New Orleans. The roster is badly out of balance, the Duke product has never been an ideal running mate for Williamson, and it's hard to imagine any scenario in which Ingram and the Pelicans can move past what's now been a full year of trade chatter.

Even if Ingram extends with New Orleans, it'll be difficult for him to feel valued. Bad vibes could ensue.

BS Meter: Zero

Everything you read or hear about Ingram and the Pelicans is framed around New Orleans not wanting to do something.

Keep him on his current deal, trade him for the offers currently out there, extend him: All of it seems unpalatable to the Pels. It appears the only options left on the Ingram front are bad ones.

Golden State Warriors fans still reeling from the departure of Klay Thompson only had days to recover before being served an even more potent helping of pure nightmare fuel.

Losing Thompson from the Dubs' dynastic core was painful, but nothing could match the potential hurt of seeing Stephen Curry in another jersey.

In comments to Yahoo! Sports' Vincent Goodwill, the four-time champion at least acknowledged the possibility that he could one day follow Thompson out the door.

"I mean, I can clearly say I want to be a Warrior for life," Curry said. "It's always been my goal, and I'm saying that sitting in this chair right now, but like you said, life, and especially life in the NBA, it is a wild environment, and things change quickly."

BS Meter: Red-lined to the max

We're going right to the verdict with minimal preamble on this one because, yes, things can change quickly in the NBA. But not in this case.

Curry is on a one-team track like few before him. Even the other rare modern-era examples of that player type had close calls that nearly pulled them away from their teams. Kobe Bryant made a full-on trade demand, Tim Duncan nearly signed with the Magic, and even Dirk Nowitzki was a flight risk in 2010.

None of those guys left in the end, but they all came closer than Curry ever has.

Sure, the Charlotte Hornets have loomed as a distant threat because of the hometown angle, but there was never a point at which Curry seemed even remotely likely to leave over the last 15 years. Currently rebuilding, Charlotte still isn't particularly enticing.

Curry isn't going anywhere. Ever.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.