Trades to Get Dame, Luka, Zion Back to the NBA Playoffs
Can we find a way to guarantee Luka Dončić, Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson get back to the NBA playoffs next year?
Well, we're about to try.
One assumption will guide us through this fake-trades process: Luka, Dame and Zion are all staying put. None of them have requested a change of scenery, and their teams won't be moving them unless (until?) they do.
This, in turn, means we're tasked with getting the three superstars back to the postseason without sending them elsewhere—hardly an impossible task.
Every deal proposed here will be cobbled together from the perspective of the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans or Portland Trail Blazers. That's not to say they will be one-sided. These are just the best offers I'd dangle against every return if I were running the team(s).
Please assume these deals are going down in the new league year. All 2023 draft picks sent out will be valued based upon their projected slot. Any jumps (or tumbles) in the lottery order that could materially change the framework of these packages will be mentioned wherever appropriate.
O.G. Anunoby to Dallas
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Dallas Mavericks Receive: O.G. Anunoby
Toronto Raptors Receive: Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr., No. 10 pick*, 2026 first-round pick (unprotected; becomes 2027 first-rounder if Dallas' 2024 obligation to New York doesn't convey)
(*If Dallas drops outside the top 10 of the lottery, its pick goes to New York, in which case this offer would feature firsts going to Toronto in 2024 and 2026 instead.)
Defense must be the prevailing theme of Dallas' offseason even if it doesn't re-sign Kyrie Irving. This team struggled to get stops before its midseason shake-up. The issue was merely exacerbated in the aftermath of moving Dorian Finney-Smith, the squad's best defender.
Rim protection and general perimeter juice top the Mavs' shopping list. Anunoby brings both. He can guard the opponent's best scorer pretty much regardless of position while sizing up and making plays around the basket. Only 10 other players standing under 6'10" contested as many looks at the rim and limited shooters to a sub-60-percent clip.
Whether this package gets the Raptors to part with Anunoby is debatable. Hardaway's deal (two years, $34.1 million) might make them flinch. It shouldn't. He adds much-needed three-point volume, and they should still have the surrounding infrastructure to play him substantial minutes. Green made serious defensive strides this year while scoring at hyper-efficient clips in a limited offensive role.
Toronto reportedly turned down three first-round picks for him at the deadline. Were any of them guaranteed lottery picks attached to another unprotected selection? Probably not. Anunoby is also now functionally on an expiring contract (2024-25 player option) and not guaranteed to sign an extension. This offer is commensurate with that risk or reinvestment.
Pascal Siakam to Portland
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Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Otto Porter Jr. (player option), Pascal Siakam
Toronto Raptors Receive: Jusuf Nurkić, Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, No. 5 pick, 2026 first-rounder (top-five protection; first allowable selection pending Portland's 2024 obligation to Chicago)
Firing Nick Nurse does not prove the Raptors are about to blow it up. Their decision to flip a 2024 first-rounder at the trade deadline (top-six protection) suggests quite the contrary.
Still, Jakob Poeltl, Gary Trent Jr. (player option) and Fred VanVleet (player option) are about to hit free agency. O.G. Anunoby is extension-eligible and one year out from free agency (2024-25 player option). Siakam, meanwhile, is heading into the final season of his deal and extension-eligible himself. With so many financial decisions looming, Toronto has to at least entertain moving one or more of its premier names and charting a more flexible course.
Siakam is bound to fetch the most of anyone. He's also the hardest to jettison. Scottie Barnes is the only player with more influence over the Raptors' timeline.
This package should at least get Toronto thinking. Nurkić's deal (three years, $54.4 million) isn't great, but it's reasonable enough to be rerouted or serve as insurance in the event of Poeltl's departure.
Simons' off-the-dribble creation and outside marksmanship would be a boon for the offense. Going on 24, with three years and $77.7 million left on his deal, he fits both short- and long-term visions. Sharpe is a top-seven prospect who doesn't turn 20 until May with three seasons left on his rookie scale. The Raptors nab another top-five pick and semi-distant first in addition to him. That's a legitimate haul.
Portland shouldn't have any qualms. Siakam adds almost everything—most notably creation, playmaking, rim pressure and switchability. Pairing him with Jerami Grant (unrestricted) up front improves both the defense and spacing. If the Blazers are truly operating on Lillard's timeline, they need to get him a genuine co-star. Siakam is one with an All-NBA track record.
Myles Turner to New Orleans
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New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Myles Turner, No. 29 pick
Indiana Pacers Receive: Naji Marshall (team option), Jonas Valančiūnas, No. 14 pick
The Pelicans needn't make any seismic changes to solidify their 2024 postseason stock. They need better health more than a shake-up (which is why they get one hypothetical trade to the two apiece for Dallas and Portland).
This is not to suggest New Orleans can or should stand pat. Spotty availability is a reality of employing Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. The Pelicans need to shore up their flaws and personnel both with their stars in mind and independent of them.
Turner has long been a sensible trade target. That hasn't changed. What New Orleans loses in Valančiūnas' rebounding Turner makes up for with spacing and rim protection—both of which render him the ideal big to play beside Zion. Turner is averaging around five three-point attempts per 36 minutes over the past three years and limited opponents to 56.3 percent shooting at the rim this season while placing ninth in total close-range contests.
Forking over a lottery pick for his services is much easier following his extension. He's on the books through 2024-25, at an average annual value under $20.5 million per season—more than reasonable money for a starting 5.
Indiana feels more likely to pump the brakes here. A notoriously rebuilding-averse franchise probably didn't extend Turner just to almost immediately move him. But Valančiūnas is an extremely capable player, on an expiring deal, who will thrive amid the Pacers' spacing. Marshall can handle tough defensive assignments and has the capacity to drive in space. Adding a second lottery pick speaks for itself.
Nic Claxton and Royce O'Neale to Dallas
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Dallas Mavericks Receive: Nic Claxton, Royce O'Neale
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Dāvis Bertāns, No. 10 pick
Jettisoning the No. 10 pick to land two non-stars on expiring contracts and wipe Bertāns' money from the ledger (two years, $33 million) isn't a very sexy turn of events. That's OK.
The Mavericks already have two stars, assuming they re-sign Kyrie Irving. They don't need sexy. They need depth and defense. Claxton and O'Neale are both.
Too many people were down on O'Neale after his final season in Utah. He isn't an A-plus-plus defender, but he can guard up. We just watched him help make life difficult on Joel Embiid in the playoffs for a couple of games.
Claxton gives off building-block vibes. He just turned 24 and was a fringe Most Improved Player candidate. His frame limits him in one-on-one situations against the strongest bigs, but he's a disruptive rim protector who won't get played off the floor; he might be the most switchable center in the league.
Dallas has the spacing to continue unlocking Claxton's offense, too. He ranked in the 90th percentile this year as a roll-man finisher and proved he could put the ball on the deck. His 56.1 percent clip on drives came while basically quintupling his field-goal attempts from last year.
Does a top-10 selection get the Nets to part with two key rotation players and sponge up Bertāns' deal if they're not looking to rebuild? It's a good question. Dallas has other cards to play—Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, one more first—and the deal can be fleshed out accordingly. This package should at least be a conversation-starter.
Mikal Bridges to Portland
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Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Mikal Bridges
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Nassir Little, Shaedon Sharpe, No. 5 pick, 2026 first-rounder (unprotected; first allowable selection pending Portland's 2024 obligation to Chicago)
Truth be told, the Nets might view Bridges as untouchable. He has held his own as a No. 1 option—including, mostly, during their first-round sweep at the hands of Philadelphia. More than that, Brooklyn reportedly turned down offers of four first-rounders for him ahead of the trade deadline.
The context of those picks matters. The Blazers would be surrendering what amounts to a pair of top-seven prospects plus an additional unprotected first. That's waaay more attractive than a mishmash of draft selections coming over from ready-made contenders.
Portland can also construct a deal that doesn't send out any bad long-term money by using the No. 5 pick as actual salary. That may not have been true for most midseason proposals fielded by the Nets.
Brooklyn still only accepts this deal if it prefers a more gradual approach in the post-Kevin Durant era. That's fine. The Blazers can sweeten the package with New York's 2023 first-rounder (No. 23), and Anfernee Simons can be on the table if Brooklyn values him over flexibility and/or certain draft equity.
Portland should pounce at any chance to land Bridges—and not just because Damian Lillard reaaaaally wants to play with him. His offensive ascent looks infinitely better as the No. 2 option beside Dame, and he injects All-Defensive stopping power and versatility into the rotation.
Stomaching this opportunity cost shouldn't be an issue for Portland. Not only does Bridges have three years remaining on one of the league's most team friendly contracts, but he just wrapped up his age-26 season—making him someone who can be an integral part of both this Blazers era as well as the next one.
Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac.
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.
