Thomas Robinson subject of trade rumor with deadline approaching; and would Kings move Ben McLemore?

Portland Trail Blazers forward Thomas Robinson (41) grabs a rebound from the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter of a NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014. Portland won 115-111. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Portland Trail Blazers forward Thomas Robinson (41) grabs a rebound from the Oklahoma City Thunder during the fourth quarter of a NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014. Portland won 115-111. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)

Believe it or not, sometimes life in the NBA isn’t easy. Especially if you’re a valuable asset when the league’s trade deadline approaches.

Just ask Washington’s journeyman power forward, Drew Gooden. Actually, BleacherReport.com did, given that the former Grizzly/Magic/Cavalier/Bull/King/Spur/Maverick/Clipper/Buck has played for 10 franchises and been traded on six separate occasions.

“I would say, where I’m at in my
career, after numerous times going
through a trade or the time or the
window before a trade, I’m kind of
numb to the feeling,” Gooden told
Bleacher Report. “I know it’s a
business, and I learned it early in my
career. I wasn’t a guy who got drafted
and stayed with his team for five,
six, seven years and then got traded.
I was a guy who played half a season
in Memphis and got traded 50 games
into the season.”

In his third go-round as a pro, Thomas Robinson hasn’t experienced all that Gooden has, but he can certainly relate. Drafted by Sacramento, traded to Houston as a rookie, then moved again to Portland before the start of his second year, Robinson could once again be on the move.

Robinson has turned in some positive moments in a Trail Blazers uniform this season, including a double-double in his first career start. For the most part, though, he has not been a factor or become a significant part of the rotation on a talented roster — Portland entered the All-Star break with a 36-17 record, good enough to tie Houston for the third-best mark in the volatile Western Conference.

The 6-foot-10 power forward from Kansas only has played in 32 of 53 games and averages 3.6 points (a career low) and 4.2 rebounds while hitting 51.6% of his shots in 12.2 minutes a game this season. He has DNP’s in three of the last five games.

Portland elected even before the season began to let him become a free agent this coming summer. So, as we wrote about before the season began, another Robinson trade long has been in play.

Now, with Thursday afternoon’s trade deadline getting closer by the second, the rumor mill churns away at a fevered pace, and Robinson’s name has emerged. Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports the Trail Blazers offered the athletic backup big to Denver in an attempt to land Wilson Chandler.

“Portland has shown a stronger desire
to make a deal with Denver for Wilson
Chandler than Arron Afflalo,”
Wojnarowski wrote, “partly because
Chandler is under contract next
season. The Blazers have made Will
Barton and Thomas Robinson, as well as
a future first-rounder, available in
talks for wing players, but clearly
would be more motivated to sweeten a
package for Chandler than Afflalo,
league sources said.”

Whether Robinson ends up in Denver or elsewhere, don’t be too surprised if he has a new NBA home by Thursday night.

Keep in mind: just because some other deal hasn’t been rumored doesn’t mean there isn’t one, and some other trade package could materialize in the next few hours. You never know.

As a free-agent-to-be, another uniform change could be just around the corner for Robinson anyway.

Would the Kings move McLemore?

Sacramento Kings guard Ben McLemore, left, goes up for a dunk over Golden State Warriors forward David Lee during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015. The Warriors won 121-96. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Speaking of young KU products with crazy bounce, Ben McLemore, in his second season with Sacramento, is averaging 11.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists, and making 44.4% of his field goals, 36.2% of his 3-pointers and 83.7% of his free throws.

The Kings — one of the league’s worst teams, at 18-34 — wouldn’t possibly consider moving a a 22-year-old shooting guard with upside would they?

ESPN insider Chad Ford conducted an online chat Wednesday and came up with a scenario that could entice the Sacramento brass.

The name Goran Dragic swirls prominently in the trade winds these days, and the Phoenix point guard has made it plenty clear he wants out. Dragic reportedly wants to play for the Lakers, Knicks or Heat, presumably because he’d like to sign with one of those teams as a free agent this summer. But Ford could see Phoenix moving him within the Pacific Division for the right pieces in return:

“The Kings are the team I like best as
far as fit goes. And if the Suns could
get Ben McLemore or Nik Stauskas and a
future No. 1 … I think that would be
a great deal for both sides,” Ford
wrote.

This doesn’t even really qualify as a rumor, just speculation. However, Wojnarowski thinks Sacramento could be a serious contender to land Dragic. So stay tuned.

A McLemore trade would be devastating news for the Kings’ television analyst, who would no longer be able to offer up such gems as:

“Ben McLemore. How ’bout Ben SplashLemore right there?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFuE159D7S8

The most interesting part of a McLemore-to-Phoenix move, of course, would be the Suns having him and the Morris twins.

According to veteran trade piece Gooden, it’s best to keep your phone handy near the deadline.