Ayton to Mavs? Suns Move CP3? Win-Now Trades That Would Define 2023 NBA Offseason
We haven't even made it to the conference finals, but the NBA's rumor mill is already churning.
And seemingly every offseason, we're surprised with a handful of win-now moves that alter the landscape of the league. Often, they're blockbusters.
As we pick through that mill, plenty of names surface, and these are the ones whose potential departures would define the lead-up to 2023-24.
Ayton to the Mavs
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The Trade: Deandre Ayton for Tim Hardaway Jr., JaVale McGee and a 2027 first-round pick
The Phoenix Suns are officially out, and a summer breakup with Deandre Ayton still feels like a real possibility.
"Ayton would be excited about a fresh start with another franchise," ESPN's Tim MacMahon wrote after Phoenix's Game 6 loss. "The Suns are expected to aggressively explore the trade market for him this summer."
With Chris Paul (for now), Devin Booker and Kevin Durant all on the team, there just isn't much need for a face-up center like Ayton. In the Suns' second-round series with the Denver Nuggets, he lost a lot of his role to Jock Landale, a lower-usage, higher-energy big who just sort of allows KD and Booker to do their thing.
So, it may not be all that surprising that some potential trade vultures may already be circling.
According to Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, "The [Dallas] Mavericks might have an eye (via trade) on Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton."
Dallas doesn't have a ton to offer (unless they make Kyrie Irving available in a sign-and-trade), but after the last couple years, Ayton's trade value might not be all that high, either.
Tim Hardaway Jr. would give the Suns a dedicated floor-spacer who could flank isolation or pick-and-roll action from KD or Booker. And McGee would be another try-hard (like Landale) who also brings championship experience.
The real prize, though, would be a first-round pick for a team with two stars in Kyrie (assuming he's re-signed) and Luka Dončić who could grow impatient without a title run (that's just the NBA these days, folks).
Of course, the Mavericks wouldn't make a deal like this without thinking it moved them closer to that ultimate aspiration. And while you might have a similar issue with the ball dominance of Luka and Kyrie, the former is obviously a more natural playmaker than either Suns superstar. Dončić could help make Ayton one of the game's better pick-and-roll options.
And while he's no Rudy Gobert around the rim, Ayton has improved as a defender over the course of his career. And the interior defense was already pretty bad this season (Dallas was 21st in field-goal percentage allowed at the rim and middle of the pack in the percentage of total shots allowed in there).
CP3 to the Wizards
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The Trade: Chris Paul for Monte Morris, Daniel Gafford and Johnny Davis
Deandre Ayton isn't the only big-name Suns player who could be on the move this offseason.
In Friday's episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective (beginning at the 31:30 mark), MacMahon said he also expects the Suns to "aggressively shop" Chris Paul.
In his explanation, he noted that CP3's salary is only partially guaranteed for next season and completely non-guaranteed for 2024-25. That means a team acquiring him might be doing so for cap flexibility, but we'll assume it's someone who actually wants to compete.
In that case (assuming they don't start their own rebuild with new decision-makers in the front office), the Washington Wizards make sense for Paul.
Even in his age-37 season, Paul was a solid distributor who averaged 8.9 assists and shot 37.5 percent from deep. He'd cover a lot of the same bases as Monte Morris, only a little more thoroughly. And he'd generate more open looks for Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porziņģis.
Plus, if it doesn't go well next season, that last year isn't guaranteed. The Wizards can just move on from him a year early.
For the Suns, Morris is a table-setter who has no problem deferring to stars like Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. And if Ayton is indeed moved, they may be in the market for a cheaper center replacement. Daniel Gafford is that, while also being a better defender who's happy to be a rim-runner on the other end.
As for Johnny Davis, he had a dreadful rookie season (5.8 points per game on 38.6 percent shooting), but he's only 21 and worth a flier on a rookie salary.
Dame to the Nets
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The Trade: Damian Lillard for Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas and three first-round draft picks (the 2025, 2027 and 2029 picks from the Phoenix Suns)
Is this the year it finally happens? Will the Portland Trail Blazers finally move franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard?
He'll be 33 in July. They've had to pull the plug early on each of their last two seasons. And the West is about as loaded as ever in terms of top-tier talent.
This might be the Blazers' last chance to snag a megastar-level trade package for him.
And after seeing the heights Mikal Bridges can reach in a more prominent role, the Brooklyn Nets might be thinking about fast-tracking their rebuild this summer.
Redirecting some of the draft capital they got in exchange for Durant in a deal for Lillard would instantly bump them up a tier in the East. And they might have the ideal, wing-heavy roster needed to cover for Lillard's defensive deficiencies.
The other side of the deal is certainly the tougher sell. Blazers fans are probably screaming over the sight of Ben Simmons in that deal, but if Portland ever does trade Dame, the draft assets are what it will really care about. At this point, and in this particular deal, Simmons is a flier and the necessary salary for the trade to work under the collective bargaining agreement.
Cam Thomas gives the Blazers another young talent to invest some hope in. He famously had four 40-point games this season. But again, this deal is mostly about starting over with some draft picks for Portland.
Anunoby to the Grizzlies
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The Trade: O.G. Anunoby for Luke Kennard, Ziaire Williams, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2026 first-round pick
The Memphis Grizzlies were reportedly after O.G. Anunoby ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, but they obviously failed to land him.
Since then, both the Grizzlies and Anunoby's Toronto Raptors have fizzled out. In both cases, their seasons likely ended before the teams expected them to.
Now, it feels like the rumors are almost certain to resurface.
"Zach Kleiman said the Grizzlies want to be 'very aggressive' this offseason," Memphis News' Damichael Cole tweeted. "He's not sure who will be available at this point, but expect the Grizzlies to be active on the trade market."
Luke Kennard's shooting was a game-changer after his arrival in Memphis (the Grizzlies' net rating was comfortably better with him on the floor), but his salary might be necessary to get Anunoby.
And while the Raptors' wing isn't the shooter Kennard is, a 37.5 career three-point percentage is enough to make defenses respect him out there. And he's a massive upgrade on the defensive end, where he can bother 2s, 3s and 4s and plays passing lanes and loose handles like Ed Reed.
For the Raptors, Kennard probably isn't a long-term play, but 21-year-old Ziaire Williams still has some potential. And while Toronto may have wanted a bit more for Anunoby in the regular season, two firsts is a solid haul of draft capital.
Giannis to the Knicks
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The Trade: Giannis Antetokounmpo for RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier and all the draft capital New York can muster
This would never happen. Not in a million, billion years.
But...
If the Milwaukee Bucks ever did entertain moving their 28-year-old two-time MVP, almost every front office in the league would call a meeting to discuss.
And very few, if any, teams can put together the kind of ready-made rebuilding package that the New York Knicks can.
In terms of players, New York can put together the necessary salary to make the deal work under the collective bargaining agreement, while also keeping most of those players young, talented and intriguing.
And if the Bucks insisted on four first-rounders, some first-round pick swaps and a handful of seconds to get it done, the Knicks can do that too. Their treasure trove of draft picks is absurd.
And the package above still leaves the Knicks with Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson, so they'd still have the makings of a championship-level top three.
But again, this is never happening. NBA superstars never change teams. Right?
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