The NBA rumor mill is churning out new gossip around the clock in advance of the June 26-27 draft as well as the official start of free agency on June 30.

And that leaves us with no choice other than to belly-flop, naturally, right into the slop.

Making sense of all the rumblings and mumblings at this time of year can be quite the to-do. Fortunately for us, we have our handy B.S. meter to navigate the minefield of scuttlebutt.

Only the splashiest rumors will be tackled here. Water-cooler chitchat changes tone and substance too frequently during his period to focus on every morsel of speculation that hits the timeline. Our spotlight will shine exclusively on the buzz that is both ultra-significant and has the most staying power.

Our usual disclaimer: This exercise is not necessarily a comment on the merit of included reporting. Every tidbit here makes the cut because the information comes from trusted names. Our B.S. meter is instead programmed to gauge what we should expect to come from each situation—if anything.

Atlanta More Likely to Trade Trae Young Than Dejounte Murray?

Nearly everyone expects the Atlanta Hawks to trade at least one of Dejounte Murray and Trae Young this summer. The question is: Which one will they jettison?

Conventional wisdom suggests they should and will move Murray. Despite all of his flaws, Young is the more dominant player. On a recent episode of Dunc'd On Prime, however, Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer said the Hawks are "more likely" to ship out Trae than Dejounte.

Your ears should be perking up.

This idea that Atlanta would send out its only All-NBA talent is tough to grapple with upon first consideration. San Antonio controls the team's first-rounders in 2025, 2026 (swap) and 2027, so unless the Hawks are getting back their own picks, offloading their best player could put them on the fast-track to Nowhereville (population: Brooklyn and Chicago).

Granted, this presumes you believe Atlanta would be appreciably worse off without Young. Not everyone does. The prevailing belief among skeptics is that it'll be easier to build a top-notch-ish defense around Murray, and that the offense won't suffer enough to regret reorienting the roster and organizational direction around him, Jalen Johnson, Onyeka Okongwu, the No. 1 pick and whatever a Young trade brings back.

There's also the possibility that both Young and the Hawks are ready for a change. This topic tends to come up whenever either party approaches a natural pivot point. His extension eligibility this offseason could be the vessel through which that discussion gets started.

To be brutally honest, I would typically dismiss this outright. Though Young, 25, is the better player, his contract may also prove tougher to move, and he's not infinitely scalable to as many teams given how much he's accustomed to operating on-ball.

When push comes to shove, I still think Atlanta is more likely to keep both Young and Murray than trade the former. But Fischer's track record speaks for itself.

Verdict: Buy Atlanta considering a Young trade over a Murray deal. Sell it actually happening unless San Antonio comes calling.

Chicago Wants To...Move Up in Draft, Trade LaVine AND Re-sign DeRozan

Think the Chicago Bulls' decision to flip Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey and zero draft equity clarifies their direction?

Think again.

Consider this smattering of intel from Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer:

"Chicago continues to project a willingness to shuffle its deck, exploring its options to move up in the draft, sources said, and engaging rival teams on LaVine trade scenarios...There isn't much more room for purported roster shakeups outside of dealing LaVine if Chicago is as intent on keeping [Patrick] Williams and veteran scorer DeMar DeRozan as the Bulls have so far projected, sources said."

There's an entire offseason left to play out. The Bulls could simply be exploring a multitude of options. But this reads as if they prefer to move up from No. 11, unload LaVine and reinvest in a 22-year-old Williams (restricted) as well as the 34-year-old DeRozan.

What bleeping timeline, exactly, is this team following?

Teams preparing for a rebuild or even a one-year tank don't ready themselves to throw the bag at someone who not only doesn't jibe with a more gradual window but who's also too good to prevent them bottoming out.

And by the way, the Bulls have a little over $39 million in room beneath the luxury tax at this writing. Re-signing DeRozan and Williams, not to mention Andre Drummond, will almost certainly take them past that. And because we know they're too cheap and also not good enough to pay the tax, they'll have to figure out how to duck it.

Counting on a LaVine trade to cut costs feels like a risky proposition relative to what we know about his market. They may end up having to sacrifice some other assets that could come back their way in any deal to increase how much money they're shaving off. (This concern becomes null and void if DeRozan or Williams lands elsewhere.)

To be fair, losing DeRozan—and, to that end, Williams—for absolutely nothing isn't a palatable course. But this merely reinforces just how much Chicago has mismanaged and misvalued its own players.

At the very least, the Bulls could hint at the tiniest bit of foresight and progress by pushing to explore sign-and-trade scenarios for DeRozan. And if this were (almost) any other organization, we'd be able to give it the benefit of the doubt. Chicago hasn't earned that—or, quite frankly, anything close to it.

Verdict: Buy that the Bulls are going to continue to be the Bulls.

Milwaukee Ready to Trade Anyone Other Than Dame and Giannis?

Are the Milwaukee Bucks open to trading Khris Middleton or Brook Lopez in exchange for depth, athleticism and/or players who fit a more aggressive base defensive scheme?

Had this question been posed a few days ago, I would have scoffed. Now? Not so much.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst made some waves during a recent appearance on First Take with these comments (h/t Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway):

"There's starting to be rumblings that Doc Rivers is looking for a change or two to some of their core pieces. Not Dame or Giannis, but potentially looking at another maneuver they could make to alter their team. I think they could be active in the trade market coming up. I think it's less likely than Philly or New York that they could make this big move, but don't forget about Milwaukee."

Fischer followed this up with reporting of his own, noting that "the Bucks are open to reshaping their roster, and they are gauging the trade value for Brook Lopez."

Milwaukee profiles as a second-apron team at the moment, which means that, for now, it can neither aggregate outgoing salaries nor take back more money than it's sending out. That reality seemingly increases the importance of retaining core players, but it also drives up the likelihood a larger salary has to go out in order to make material changes.

Bobby Portis Jr. ($12.6 million) and Pat Connaughton ($9.4 million) are the Bucks' two highest paid players outside the Core Four. Neither comes in at a standalone price point that can be easily broken up into multiple bodies or someone closer to marquee status. And they both probably lack the singular appeal for teams to be pining after them.

Lopez and Middleton are different stories. They're on the older end—the former is 36, the latter turns 33 in August—but they have higher-end utility to teams angling for reformulation or upgrades at their respective positions.

Lopez, in particular, has layers to his value. Floor-spacing rim protectors don't grow on trees, and his $23 million expiring salary renders him lower risk than Middleton, who makes substantially more ($31.7 million) and holds a $34 million player option for 2025-26.

So, the Bucks' openness to shaking things up near the top of the rotation should be considered a given. Whether they have the gall to go through it is a matter of course—one likely contingent upon the market.

Does a Lopez-for-Marcus Smart deal pique their interest? If not, and they can figure out how to stay beneath the second apron, does adding Santi Aldama to the package get it done? Is Larry Nance Jr. and Dyson Daniels enough? Would the New Orleans Pelicans consider including a pick?

Would a three-team construction that lands Lopez in Oklahoma City; Pat Connaughton and firsts from the Thunder in Portland; and Robert Williams III and Matisse Thybulle in Milwaukee do anything for any of the included parties? (The Bucks would have to again finish beneath the second apron here.)

Spotting the move for Milwaukee isn't easy. And usually, betting on Lopez and Middleton staying put would be the smart play. But Windhorst isn't a reporter who disseminates rumors willy nilly. And, well, smoke, fire, etc.

Verdict: Buy the Bucks shopping—and ultimately moving—Lopez or Middleton.

Klay Thompson on Way Out of Golden State?

Winning the 2022 NBA title was clearly a swan song for the Golden State Warriors' dynastic run. And now, the Stephen Curry-Draymond Green-Klay Thompson era may be over, too.

The latter is getting set to enter free agency, and though it's hard to picture him on another team, things may be trending in that direction.

As Anthony Slater of The Athletic wrote:

"Klay Thompson isn't currently mulling a shorter-than-desired offer from the Golden State Warriors. Despite a wide open negotiation window, there isn't a one-year, two-year or three-year deal on the table. Because nothing is currently on the table, according to league sources. There's been no productive discussion between the Warriors and Thompson or his representatives. Talks are essentially frozen."

On the one hand, the Warriors assuming this stance aligns with their apparent interest in not just cutting their luxury-tax bill but actually ducking the line entirely.

On the other hand, if there aren't any offers in play, just what the hell were these now-frozen "talks" about between Thompson and Golden State? The weather? Customized boat shoes? Scaffolding?

Negotiations could no doubt go sideways between the Warriors and Klay. His salary demands may outstrip their view of him, and fitting him onto the cap sheet while cutting costs gets ridiculously tough if they want to use Chris Paul's $30 million expiring contract (non-guaranteed until June 28) to bag a bigger fish.

Still, paint me skeptical that the organization hasn't mapped out at least one or two contract options for one of its franchise icons—who, by the way, remains a lethal shooter.

Verdict: Sell Thompson not having even the faintest outline of an offer from the Dubs. Buy that his future with Golden State is on shaky ground.

Are the Knicks Entering Paul George Sweepstakes?

A "trusted source" told NBA reporter Marc Stein to "keep the Knicks on the list as a potential trade suitor for Paul George if the All-NBA swingman indeed opts into the final season of his current contract at $48.8 million." Take that, Philly. Or something.

Granted, Stein has also heard from "more sources" that PG's "preference, as a proud Southern California native, continues to be re-signing with the Clippers." But the enduring absence of a long-term agreement suggests an opt-in scenario would end with the 34-year-old orchestrating his relocation to the team of his choosing.

Functionally speaking, the Knicks make sense. He is exactly what they need: Another scorer who doesn't require the ball but can still generate plenty of his own looks. And he just so happens to embody the two-way wing archetype that remains the most coveted leaguewide.

All the same, this one's hard to fathom.

Sure, the direct opportunity cost shouldn't be back-breaking. Combining the salaries of Julius Randle and (what would have to be a fully guaranteed) Bojan Bogdanović gives New York almost a perfect dollar-for-dollar match on George's player option. But putting him on the books has ripple effects.

Aggregating salaries while taking back more money than they send out hard caps the Knicks beneath the first luxury-tax apron of $179 million. Adding George's money leaves them with slightly over $130 million in guaranteed commitments when accounting for first-round-pick holds, Jericho Sims' team option and requisite roster charges.

PSA: This is without factoring in new deals for OG Anunoby (player option) and Isaiah Hartenstein. If the Knicks have to fork over as much as possible to keep both, it tacks on another $58-plus million. Put another way: New York cannot realistically acquire George for the Randle-and-Bogdanović package and max out Anunoby ($42.3 million) and Hartenstein ($16.2 million) unless they shed additional salary.

Perhaps Anunoby and Hartenstein fetch less than their top-dollar salaries. But by how much? Anything more than a combined $45 million for the two of them renders the math incredibly tight, if not unworkable.

New York can, of course, look to move off some combination of Sims, No. 24, No. 25, Mitchell Robinson or Miles McBride to increase its wiggle room beneath the first apron and accommodate a scenario that ends with it housing Anunoby, George and Hartenstein. But there's almost no world in which they have those three and maintain the flexibility necessary to make meaningful moves thereafter.

Sucking up the rigidity for a single year could be fine...if it really was a single year. The Knicks' cap sheet is only going to get more complicated to navigate.

Jalen Brunson (2025-26 player option) will be up for a massive raise next summer, and we should all believe he'll sign the four-year, $156 million extension for which he's eligible if and when he actually does. Acquiring George also implies New York will pay him beyond this year.

This team will have second-apron realities to reconcile in 2025-26 even if it sticks with Randle. The addition of George may not drain the Knicks of assets, but his purported salary demands sure restrict what they'll be able to do with them.

Verdict: Sell the Knicks having interest in George.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.

Unless otherwise cited, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac. Draft-pick obligations via RealGM.