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Jim McIsaac/Associated Press
It’s always trade season in the NBA.
Even when teams can’t actually trade players—such as now—they should at least be considering (if not mapping out) future deals to upgrade their rosters.
That’s what we’re doing here by building up and breaking down five hypothetical deals that have a non-zero chance of coming to fruition this summer.
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Charlotte Hornets receive: Myles Turner
Sacramento Kings receive: Kelly Oubre Jr., JT Thor and 2022 first-round pick (lottery protected, via NOP)
The Hornets are positioned to post their first winning record since 2015-16, and if the play-in tournament treats them right, they could be playing their first postseason series since then, too.
Buzz City is…well, buzzing, but if Charlotte wants to dream big—as it should with LaMelo Ball ascending to stardom and Miles Bridges banging on the door—then it needs to beef up its center rotation and fix its 23rd-ranked defense.
A trade for Turner, who’s been on the Hornets’ radar before, might take care of both.
Defensively, he’s the best shot-blocker in the business, and if he played enough games to qualify, he’d be closing in on his third blocks title in four seasons. Offensively, he’s a good enough spacer to buy Ball some breathing room and a deft enough finisher to convert his assist chances.
Turner might not be a fortune-changing star, but he does enough to make a good team better.
The Hornets can be good as soon as next season, but the Pacers might be a few years from reaching that threshold after pulling the plug at the trade deadline.
If Indy sees enough in young bigs Isaiah Jackson and Jalen Smith, it might not see Turner as essential, especially when he needs a new contract after next season.
Flipping him now could be the prudent business decision, particularly if it means snagging a possible first-round pick, last year’s 37th pick in Thor and a plug-and-play wing in Oubre, who can be kept or moved later for extra assets.
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Portland Trail Blazers receive: Jerami Grant
Detroit Pistons receive: Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson and 2022 first-round pick (protected for picks 1-4 and 15-30, via NOP)
Yes, the Blazers are currently in a race to the bottom—the lottery-protected pick they owe the Chicago Bulls gets safer with every loss—but, no, they don’t plan on being there for long.
“Our goal is to be aggressive this spring and summer and put together a really competitive roster right out of the gate,” interim general manager Joe Cronin told reporters after the trade deadline.
Portland has apparently made Grant a key part of that plan. The Blazers pushed to get him ahead of the deadline, per B/R’s Jake Fischer, and they “are expected to seriously pursue” him again this offseason if the New Orleans Pelicans’ pick conveys to them, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Blazers are still following the lead of 31-year-old Damian Lillard. If they’re going to win anything of substance with him, they need to turn their newfound assets into win-now contributors.
Grant can be just that. He is over his head as a No. 1 option—he’s shooting 42.7 percent across two seasons in Detroit—but he could do damage as a second or third scorer who locks up the opponent’s best wing player. With players like Josh Hart, Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little all leveling up, Portland may not need many more pieces to have a formidable roster around the Lillard-Grant duo.
Meanwhile, the Pistons should be focused on giving top pick Cade Cunningham his best chance at success. They can get more long-term mileage on that front from the Pelicans’ lottery pick and perhaps first-round rookie Keon Johnson than the 28-year-old Grant can supply.
Portland would guarantee Bledsoe’s $19.4 million salary to use him as a money-matcher, and Detroit would hope that he winds up interesting someone as an expiring contract by next year’s trade deadline.
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Sacramento Kings receive: John Collins
Atlanta Hawks receive: Harrison Barnes, Justin Holiday and 2022 first-round pick (top-10 protected)
Although the Hawks inked Collins to a five-year, $125 million contract last summer, they have never felt fully committed to him. His name surfaced ahead of the 2021 trade deadline and popped up again during this trade season, mere months after signing that contract.
Atlanta’s asking price this time around, per B/R’s Jake Fischer, was “a valuable first-round pick and a starting-caliber player.” If that’s still the going rate, this trade might do the trick.
This swap would further Sacramento’s effort to build a winner around De’Aaron Fox. After swinging big for Domantas Sabonis at the trade deadline, a deal for Collins would give the Kings a better trio than they’ve had in years. And with all three players being 25 or under, the Kings could lock into this core for several years.
There might not be much defense in that triumvirate, but Sacramento’s scoring could compensate for any leaks at the other end. Fox and Collins would dazzle in the open court, and when teams slow down the Kings, Sabonis could steer the ship from the high post. Sprinkle in some development for Davion Mitchell and Donte DiVincenzo, and the Kings might finally have the recipe for their first playoff trip since 2006.
The chance at a late lottery pick should qualify as a “valuable” one for Atlanta, while Barnes could slide into Collins’ starting role and perhaps offer a cleaner fit since he’s more comfortable on the perimeter at both ends. Beefing up the wing with a three-and-D veteran like Holiday could be the last sweetener the Hawks need to sign off on the swap.
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Memphis Grizzlies receive: Christian Wood and Eric Gordon
Houston Rockets receive: Steven Adams, De’Anthony Melton, Brandon Clarke and 2024 first-round pick (top-four protected, via GSW)
Fast-forward buttons don’t always accelerate as quickly as Memphis has this season. One year removed from being a feel-good survivor of the play-in tournament, the Grizzlies are now the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.
Why would they possibly consider a significant shakeup? Because this is the time to get greedy.
No matter how young Memphis’ roster is, the front office can’t bank on the title window staying open for long. Plus, even when Ja Morant inevitably inks his max extension this summer, it won’t actually kick in until after next season, so the Grizzlies have the financial flexibility to splurge.
What they may not have is quite enough scoring to complete a championship run. That’s where Wood and Gordon would come in.
Wood is a walking mismatch as a 6’10” combo big with handles, a three-ball and enough explosion to put defenders on a poster. Gordon is a potent long-range shooter (41.6 percent this season) and is still slippery enough to ditch his matchups off the dribble. Add those two to a supporting cast that already includes Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackson Jr., and the Grizzlies could have more than enough net-shredders to make their championship dream a reality.
As for the Rockets, they should enter the offseason in complete asset-collection mode. Even if they like Wood as a player, they can’t justify keeping him around. Not when he’ll be 27 before next season and in need of a new contract after it.
Flipping this pair here would net Houston a first-round pick, a pair of 25-and-under rotation additions in Melton and Clarke and Adams’ $17.9 million expiring salary, which could catch another team’s eye before the 2023 trade deadline.
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Jim McIsaac/Associated Press
New York Knicks receive: Russell Westbrook and 2027 first-round pick
Los Angeles Lakers receive: Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier and Alec Burks
No matter how this season ends for the Lakers, a summer split from Westbrook seems best for all parties involved. The road has been rocky enough to this point that B/R’s Jake Fischer reported there is “mutual interest” in an offseason divorce.
Unloading Westbrook won’t be easy, given his sagging stats (career-worst 14.6 player efficiency rating) and impossibly large salary ($47.1 million), but maybe the Knicks would bite.
The ‘Bockers are in danger of missing the playoffs and erasing all of the good vibes they created during last year’s postseason breakout. Their point guard situation is dire enough that Westbrook could reasonably be viewed as an upgrade, and they have their own big-money deals to dump.
Giving Westbrook the keys could raise New York’s floor. He adds almost nothing as a third option, but he can still be super productive in a featured role. Just last season, he was giving the Washington Wizards 22.2 points, 11.7 assists and 11.5 rebounds and making them better than they were without him.
Tack on the future first-round pick and the added flexibility of not owing Fournier $18.9 million for the 2023-24 campaign, and there might be enough for the Knicks to give the thumbs-up.
Meanwhile, the Lakers would wash their hands of the Westbrook experiment, consolidate his colossal contract into three more manageable ones and flesh out the roster with rotation-ready vets who are better fits for LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Fournier and Burks are plus-shooters from the perimeter, and Rose has been the same for the past two seasons (albeit on low volume). All three are capable of creating offense for themselves and others, too, so L.A. could potentially lighten James’ workload and make his life easier when he’s on the floor.
Statistics are accurate through Tuesday’s games and courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted. Salary information via Spotrac.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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