The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to acquire Rajon Rondo from the Los Angeles Lakers for Denzel Valentine.

The Lakers are giving Rondo an opportunity to play regular minutes and to also create a roster spot.

With the Cavaliers losing Ricky Rubio for the season, they suddenly had a need for a point guard to play a bigger role. Rondo has been in COVID-19 protocols since Sunday and will need to be cleared before joining the Cavaliers (20-14).

The Cleveland Cavaliers are closing in on trading for Rajon Rondo from the Los Angeles Lakers. Rondo would be a replacement for Ricky Rubio, who is out for the rest of the season following a torn ACL in his left knee.

Rondo will be a low-cost backup for Darius Garland. Cleveland will likely send a minimal return to LA to complete the trade. The Cavs will need to waive a player to make room for Rondo.

The trade will open up a roster for the Lakers, while also clearing some of their luxury tax burden. Because Los Angeles is so far over the tax line, eating a salary to open a roster spot would have cost them considerable money in tax penalties. Now, the Lakers can sign a veteran to a rest of season contract at a far lower tax hit.

As NBA teams get players out of the health and safety protocols, trade talks are expected to pick back up. That means the Ben Simmons trade buzz should get going again too.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are one team to watch in trade talks for Simmons. The Cavs previously had interest in the disgruntled Philadelphia 76ers star. Cleveland's good start to the season, plus Simmons fitting their roster's timeline age-wise, make them a good match for Simmons.

The Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are also expected to show renewed interest in getting a trade done for Simmons.

The name of Jerami Grant has come up with increasing frequency in reported trade chatter during his second season with the Detroit Pistons. 

"The rising belief that the Pistons are prepared to move Grant comes in spite of his status as a longtime favorite of Pistons GM Troy Weaver," writes Marc Stein.

Grant is currently out for a minimum of six weeks after undergoing a surgical procedure to repair the UCL ligament in his right thumb.

The Pistons signed Grant to a three-year, $60 million contract during the 2020 offseason. 

The New York Knicks have struggled to a 13-16 record so far this season. But the poor record hasn't pushed New York off of adding players who can help them this season. The team reportedly has a long list of players to trade for to aid a playoff push.

One target for the Knicks is Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets. New York point guard Derrick Rose has long advocated for his team to trade for Gordon. The two were AAU teammates and have been known to want to play together in the NBA.

Gordon has had a bounce-back season for the rebuilding Rockets. He's averaged 14.7 points on 47.7% shooting from the field, including an impressive 43.4% from behind the arc. Gordon's contract is for $18.2 million this season and is fully guaranteed for $19.6 million for 2022-23. Gordon's deal is fully non-guaranteed for $20.9 million for 2024-24, unless he hits some unlikely triggers this season or next.

The Philadelphia 76ers have maintained their patience in trading Ben Simmons with the expectation that a true star who is not currently available would eventually become available.

While Damian Lillard has continued to pledge his fidelity to the Portland Trail Blazers, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report writes that "the Sixers and other teams around the league remain optimistic he could eventually request a trade prior to the 2022-23 season."

The Blazers are heading into an uncertain period following the firing of Neil Olshey and their status as non-contenders in the Western Conference. 

The Los Angeles Lakers have held internal discussions on possible Russell Westbrook trades, sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

Westbrook has two years and $91 million remaining on his contract, which makes any trade incredibly complicated.

The trio of Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis hasn't blended as well as the Lakers hoped when they sent out Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and a first round pick to the Washington Wizards.

The salaries of Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio with the Cleveland Cavaliers would match for Westbrook, but that structure is of little interest to Cleveland and hasn't been discussed. 

The Brooklyn Nets have expressed "a surprising willingness to discuss" a trade involving Joe Harris, according to rival teams.

“It’s crazy to me; he’s their only real three-and-D player,” said one assistant general manager. “But his name keeps popping up.”  

The Nets would surely require a large return in exchange for Harris.

Brooklyn could also make Nic Claxton available. The Nets quietly gauged the value of Claxton around the league at the 2021 draft.

Despite their poor record this season, the Sacramento Kings are looking to add to their roster for a postseason push. Sacramento has been linked to several players, including Ben Simmons, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner on the trade market.

As of now, there are no indications the Kings have held serious discussions with the Pacers on Sabonis or Turner, but that could change at any time. As for Simmons, Sacramento is one of several teams linked to the Philadelphia 76ers absentee star.

The package Kings GM Monte McNair seems to be shopping most in talks is Marvin Bagley and Buddy Hield. Bagley has mostly been out of the rotation for Sacramento this season. His agent requested a trade when the Kings informed Bagley that he was a part of their plans any longer.

Hield has been a rotation mainstay, but is part of a deep guard group. Sacramento has started De'Aaron Fox and Tyese Haliburton all season, and also has promising rookie Davion Mitchell coming off the bench. Because of size and defensive issues, it's hard for the Kings to work Hield into three-guard lineups, thus the trade speculation.

The Detroit Pistons receive calls from "dozens of teams" each interested in trading for Jerami Grant. While Grant is out for multiple weeks with torn ligaments in his right thumb, it is unlikely to impact his trade value. 

The Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers are among the teams with interest in Grant.

Grant will become eligible for a four-year extension worth up to $112 million in the offseason. Grant will have one season remaining on his current deal this offseason.

The scenario of a trade and eventual extension is similar to the one the Denver Nuggets had with Aaron Gordon.