Star-for-Star Offseason NBA Trades That Make Too Much Sense
Star-for-star swaps aren't often seen in the NBA.
Maybe they should be.
While it's tricky to get everything aligned just right, when it actually happens, the trades can be transformational. Just ask the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings. While they didn't technically make a one-for-one move at last year's trade deadline, the deal involving Tyrese Haliburton and Domantas Sabonis was all about the two stars, both of whom are blossoming in their new digs.
If someone set this offseason's boldness setting all the way up, maybe we'd see some more star-for-star megadeals. The following four trades—presented in simple star-for-star form, even if some deals would need to be fleshed out more—all seem sensible on paper and have serious win-win potential.
Kyrie Irving for Deandre Ayton
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The Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns seemingly both head into this offseason short on options. Dallas and Phoenix could create some flexibility together, though, by brokering a sign-and-trade of Kyrie Irving for Deandre Ayton.
Let's start with the Suns, who have a pair of generational scorers in Kevin Durant and Devin Booker but very little firepower beyond them. Ayton sometimes fills that void, but there is zero reliability with his scoring or even his involvement. Chris Paul remains an expert connector, but he has never been less threatening on the offensive end (career lows in points, offensive box plus/minus and offensive win shares).
Adding Irving would give them the third shot-creator who could launch this offense into unguardable territory. There is no right way to defend an attack with Irving, Durant and Booker. Each is a headache to handle in isolations, but they'd be nightmarish when linking up on pick plays for one another.
As for Dallas, the biggest argument for re-signing Irving on a massive deal seems to be that it can't let another asset leave for nothing after letting Jalen Brunson walk last summer. That's hardly a huge endorsement for throwing copious amounts of cash at Irving, whose arrival only worsened a disastrously disappointing season.
Signing and trading Irving gives the Mavs an alternative, while this deal in particular would deliver a high-level player at a position of need and on the same timeline as Luka Dončić.
"The Dallas Mavericks have a gaping hole at their starting center," ESPN's Tim MacMahon said (via Dallas Basketball). "The Dallas Mavericks believe that Deandre Ayton is an extremely talented young big man who has a lot of untapped potential. Those are the facts."
Swing this deal, and the championship-or-bust Suns up their championship odds while the Mavs finally start building a foundation with Dončić.
Trae Young for Karl-Anthony Towns
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Karl-Anthony Towns is 10 inches taller and 84 pounds heavier than Trae Young. Somehow, though, the two might be mirror images of each other.
Both have been incredibly productive to this point of their careers. Both have also faced constant questions of whether their defensive limitations will prevent their teams from ever winning big. Both have the stature and salaries of franchise centerpieces, yet neither feels totally off-limits.
A challenge trade between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta Hawks—a deal in which each team wagers it can do more with the incoming player than the other did—would be fascinating. Maybe it would be nothing more than the proverbial rearrangement of the Titanic's deckchairs, but perhaps it would align the puzzle pieces of two talented rosters.
The Timberwolves should be doing everything they can to make Anthony Edwards' life easier, and a Young trade would be a step in that direction. His off-the-dribble creativity would draw defensive attention his way. His three-point volume and willingness to fire from way outside would help space the floor. His vision and passing could better weaponize Edwards as a cutter, not to mention give Rudy Gobert purpose on pick-and-rolls.
Plus, if there's a team capable of masking Young's defensive shortcomings, it might be one with Edwards, Gobert and Jaden McDaniels. That's a ton of length, disruption and rim protection behind the score-first guard.
As for Atlanta, the front office has ownership's blessing to consider Young trades, per The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, and that might be the route the Hawks take after back-to-back first-round exits.
Sending out Young would immediately put the offense into Dejounte Murray's hands and potentially help him find a comfort level he never quite showed during his first season in Atlanta. Pick-and-rolls and pick-and-pops between Murray and Towns would play a massive part in shaping the Hawks' offensive identity.
Atlanta doesn't necessarily need a big man at the moment, but getting Towns could free up the front office to make changes elsewhere. Maybe that finally nudges the team toward an actual John Collins trade. The Hawks could even shop Clint Capela around and clear the runway for Onyeka Okongwu, whose defensive versatility could help cover Towns' limitations on that end.
Zion Williamson for Pascal Siakam
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The New Orleans Pelicans have built a roster that might be championship-worthy, but only if it ever featured a healthy Zion Williamson. Unfortunately, the bouncy big man suited up just 29 times this season—none after Jan. 2—and that was actually the second-most of his four-year career.
That's the reason it might make sense at some point for the Pels to cut bait. They can keep waiting and hoping he stays upright, but he has given zero reason to believe that will happen. In the meantime, they risk being stuck in the middle without him, since their roster is too talented to bottom out but not talented enough to contend.
Williamson's combination of massive injury risk and massive upside makes his trade value tough to pin down, but Pascal Siakam feels about right. He isn't a tier-one superstar and at 29 years old likely never will be, but he's a top-30 player who can author stretches in which he plays closer to the top 15.
Slot Siakam alongside Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III and New Orleans' deep supporting cast, and that club probably expects to advance beyond the opening round (at least). Tack on the Pels' pile of incoming picks—and anything else they might squeeze out of the Raptors in this exchange—and they could fill in any pieces missing from their championship puzzle.
Could they have an even brighter future with a healthy Williamson? Maybe, but again, who's to say when or if that player holds up for an entire season? The certainty Siakam would provide is something Williamson simply can't offer.
The Toronto Raptors, though, are in a position where they might value Williamson's potential more than Siakam's production. After all, Siakam just put up All-NBA numbers (24.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists), and they couldn't even parlay that into a playoff berth. They already axed coach Nick Nurse this offseason, and that might be the first of many moves shifting this franchise into a future-focused rebuild.
Williamson would be the ideal centerpiece for that kind of reconstruction. When he has made it to the hardwood, he's been unstoppable. Through 114 games, his career averages sit at 25.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 60.5 percent shooting. His 26.0 player efficiency rating would be the eighth-highest in league history if he played enough games to qualify.
If he ever ditches the injury bug for good, he'd be a megastar, and in Toronto, he'd have a high-end co-star in 2021-22 Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes. That would be an exceptional foundation to build around, and a duo that might one day bring basketball's crown back north of the border.
Damian Lillard for Darius Garland
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This feels sure to infuriate both fanbases, and that's fine. That speaks to how talented these two players are and how much their backers value them.
It also might mean this is good value for both sides (again, at least a starting point for trade talks).
The Cleveland Cavaliers have seen Darius Garland rise up the star ranks in just four NBA seasons, but they also watched him be unable to correct their course during their first-round loss to the New York Knicks. Some might want to chalk up that defeat as the growing pains of a young club, but Cleveland accelerated its timeline and ramped up expectations with last summer's deal for Donovan Mitchell.
That's why Cavs president of basketball operations Koby Altman felt the need to follow that series loss by saying he sees "no sweeping changes" on the horizon. That seems like the kind of thing that could've gone unsaid, but questions are being raised because Cleveland's window won't stay open forever.
The Cavs may not have Mitchell much longer, so the time for their championship push is now. And for all the growth in Garland's game to this point, he's no Damian Lillard. Very few players are in that class. This season might have been a mess for the Portland Trail Blazers, but he tried making it magical while becoming just the sixth player ever to average 32 points and seven assists.
The formula wouldn't have to change for Cleveland; it would just be turbo-charged by Lillard's arrival. Having him and Mitchell in the same backcourt sounds like a cheat code come to life. The Cavs would instantly factor into the championship conversation and maybe drive that discussion if they found the right wing to fill the hole at small forward.
As for the Blazers, life after Lillard will be painful regardless of when or how his chapter closes, but bringing back Garland (and maybe more) would help cushion the blow. He looks like the type of talent teams tank to find. The 23-year-old's past two seasons have delivered per-game averages of 21.6 points and 8.2 assists with a 46.2/39.6/87.5 shooting slash.
Between him, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe, Portland would have a young nucleus to build around. If the Blazers ace their drafting and developmental work along the way, maybe they'd eventually lift their ceiling higher than they ever could with Lillard.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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