The first entry of the "SMH" meter turned out to be a success. A big shout-out to all the readers who dared to try something new, and different from the monotonous trade rumor pieces found all over mainstream media. The main goal is to provide factual information on the hottest trade rumors, hand out ratings based on a few factors (e.g. legitimacy of the sources, timing, and logic of the trade proposal) and offer some entertainment value with the use of hilarious GIFs or videos.

But before running through the second batch of trade rumors, a few changes have been made to ensure that the succeeding entries will be more relatable to readers.

Moving forward, trade rumors that meet all the criteria of factual reporting will now get a Woj-Bomb rating, paying homage to arguably the top NBA insider in the business – Adrian Wojnarowski. Trade buzz that dwells between legit reporting and pure speculation will earn a Clairvoyant Bill rating in reference to the Ringers’ Bill Simmons, who is a savant when it comes to concocting out-of-the-box yet intriguing trade proposals.

Last but not the least, trade rumors or reports that come from shady sources and don’t even fall within the realm of possibility deserve a full SMH rating or simply a rumor that commands a "That’s Blasphemous!" response. Yep, the phrase popularized by ESPN’s own Stephen A.

Smith finally made its way into BN Sports’ SMH meter. A trade rumor that gets this kind of rating means that it’s either fictitious or far off from the standards set for legit reporting.

Now that everything is set, let’s jam.

Julius Randle for Nerlens Noel swap

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Saturday that the Los Angeles Lakers were in talks with the Dallas Mavericks, exploring the idea of swapping Julius Randle and Nerlens Noel.

The veteran NBA insider said the Lakers have been targeting Noel for quite some time and would be interested in using Randle, a Dallas native, as trade bait for the Mavericks, who are right now collecting young assets. Unfortunately, Woj said Noel’s recent thumb surgery essentially killed the trade talks.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is reporting at its finest.

Woj basically confirmed the Lakers’ not-so-secret interest in Noel, a mobile defensive center who has been underused by the Mavs this year. The rumors surrounding Randle’s long-term future in L.A were also brought to light by Woj’s report. With the Lakers looking to create space for two max players, trading Randle’s contract for an expiring deal would make sense for Magic and Rob Pelinka. This is Woj-Bomb material.

Carmelo Anthony to the Rockets

Veteran sports pundit Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports1 believes the time is right for Oklahoma City Thunder's Sam Presti to put a stop to his Big 3 experiment by trading Carmelo Anthony.

Cowherd added that OKC’s unimpressive record more than two months into the season is enough to show that the Thunder can’t compete with this roster. Blowing up the core of the team might be the best solution to keep the Thunder competitive moving forward. The Rockets, who aggressively pursued Melo before the OKC trade, could have another chance to strike a deal for Melo as the trade deadline approaches.

Although Cowherd is notorious for his bold statements, his proposal has an outside chance of taking place. The problem with the Thunder is they have too many high-usage guys playing on the floor.

Melo in particular thrives in isolation sets, causing OKC's offense to stagnate. The market won’t be robust for Melo at this time of the year given his contract (he’s due to pocket $26 million next season) and the limited time to build chemistry, but Cowherd is correct that the Rockets would be the team to watch out for incase Melo become available in February. On the other hand, this is just pure speculation as there’s no actual report indicating interest within the Rockets or Thunder front offices for a Melo trade. For now this is well within the Clairvoyant Bill category.

Sorry Rockets fans, but it looks like Melo will remain with the Thunder for this season, barring a miracle, of course.
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