Birth of trade rumors

It is officially the NBA's silly season with rumors flying around faster than you can type them full of anonymous sources and misdirection. It is hard to know what is true and what is not.

Rumors are fun, we all enjoy trying to project and predict who is going where and building trades that may or may not improve the team. So how do these rumors come about?

Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld broke down how rumors get started in a must read post:

"Around this time of year, teams are always open to having a conversation. It doesn’t mean they’re shopping their players or looking to make drastic changes, it simply means a team is doing its due diligence and seeing what’s out there. This is the time of year when it becomes clear which players are untouchable and which players could be had. If a team is willing to discuss a trade for their star player, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re shopping that player, but it does suggest that they’re open to moving him for the right price. There are some players that are untouchable (Kevin Durant) and making an offer will draw a laugh. There are others who are hard to obtain, but possible to acquire nonetheless.. . .Many times, the rumors that you read about are trade talks that went nowhere. Sometimes, a trade rumor will surface a month after the talks died. That’s why when most trades are completed, there aren’t any rumors in advance of the deal. Executives try to keep active talks from reaching the rumor mill because it can hurt negotiations and upset everyone involved – the player, the agent and the other executive who now has to do damage control as well."

There is always a lot going on in those executive war rooms. The Magic are expected to be among the busiest as they try to remake the roster and prepare for the future.

Let's deconstruct a rumor here:

J.J. Redick has been at the center of several trade rumors this season. He has an expiring contract and would certainly help a contender. He has said he wants to stay in Orlando and the team is thinking about adding him to the team's future plans, but who knows what he will get on the open market.

Thus Orlando is weighing all options. And teams are undoubtedly interested as John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com reports:

Yes, everyone wants Redick. The latest rumor has the Celtics seriously targeting the Magic's shooting guard. Marc Stein of ESPN reports the Celtics are hoping to improve their perimeter shooting and floor spacing. However, they are also looking for a big.

As always, the Celtics are doing their homework. As are the Magic. Why would this leak?

Well Boston could be working other things and trying to let the league know they are looking for a shooter or use these discussions as leverage for other deals they are working on. orlando could be trying to give the idea that more teams are out there in the discussion (which is plainly obvious) to get a better return.

Those theories are probably as good as any for something like this.

When looking at the Celtics, they have very little to offer in the way of assets. Orlando is looking for young players and that likely means Avery Bradley is who the team wants. Is Boston willing to part with him? And is Boston willing to part with him or take on another big contract — like Glen Davis or Arron Afflalo or Hedo Turkoglu — to get the guy the team wants (if it is indeed Redick). And then you would have to find a way to make salaries match and maybe bring in a third team. Yeah, it gets complicated.

Sounds like this rumor is just that.