Trade Ideas to Save NBA's Biggest Offseason Losers
Let's be honest: The 2023 NBA offseason isn't yet old enough for there to be an extensive collection of irrevocable losers.
Present-day free agency makes it damn near impossible to dole out contracts that incite existential dread, and there's enough summertime runway left for inexplicable inertia and confounding depth charts to right themselves on the trade market. Rejoice accordingly.
Still, the offseason isn't all sunshine and puppies and homemade Fruity Pebbles-scented candles for everyone. Some teams are in the process of becoming losers—or, alternatively, delivering uninspiring summers relative to what should be internal expectations.
Their comeuppance for ending up in such precarious, unspectacular or indefensibly vulnerable positions? A hypothetical shake-up, ideated and executed courtesy of this tall, pale and awkward blogperson.
Every proposed trade will begin with why the headlining team is making its cameo. From there, we'll meander, purposefully, into the "Who says no?! Oh, wait, nobody!" of it all.
(*Please assume any deal that includes players already traded this offseason who can't be aggregated is taking place once the two-month window has passed.)
Atlanta Hawks
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Atlanta Hawks Receive: Patty Mills, Pascal Siakam
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Clint Capela
Toronto Raptors Receive: Kobe Bufkin, De'Andre Hunter, Victor Oladipo, L.A. Clippers' 2024 first-round pick (via OKC; lottery protection), Sacramento's 2024 first-round pick (lottery protection)
Congratulations to the Hawks on ducking the luxury tax and doing...basically nothing else. The Dejounte Murray extension is a nice surprise. Opting against upgrades beyond Kobe Bufkin (No. 15 pick) is predictable—and not the least bit nice.
But! There is still time for Atlanta to #DoTheThing. The "thing" in this case is a Siakam trade. The Hawks and Raptors have held talks to no avail, according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer. This framework should revive them.
Atlanta is rolling the dice on Siakam's expiring contract, but the Murray extension actually renders the top of the roster more affordable long term. What Siakam doesn't promise in floor spacing, he makes up for in bullish drives and playmaking and general high-end combo-big artistry at both ends. Moving Capela frees up Siakam to play some 5 and lets the Hawks increase the extension-eligible Oneyka Okongwu's role.
Good luck figuring out what the hell Toronto's doing. Losing Fred VanVleet for nothing is a nightmare. Dealing Siakam ahead of free agency could be the start of a wholesale rebuild or some in-between renovation. A package that bags a quality guard prospect (Bufkin), a three-and-D wing and two first-rounders feels like reasonable value for an almost-30-year-old entering a contract season.
Including Capela makes the most sense for the Hawks. The Raptors have no need for him after (over)paying Jakob Poeltl. Roping in the Thunder appeases everyone. Atlanta gets the necessary salary-matching without moving another perimeter body; Toronto nabs a first; and Oklahoma City procures a rim-running rebounder who can play beside or independent of Chet Holmgren.
Philadelphia 76ers
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Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Brandon Boston Jr., Robert Covington, K.J. Martin, Marcus Morris Sr., 2028 first-round pick (unprotected), 2030 first-round pick (top-10 protection)
L.A. Clippers Receive: James Harden
Oh, yes, the 76ers are losers. For now, anyway.
The latest episode of All My James Harden Trade Requests presumably tethered them to a standstill in free agency. They watched three worthwhile rotation players—Shake Milton, Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang—all leave for money they could have matched. Philly's response: Signing Patrick Beverley and Mo Bamba and, for some reason, bringing back Montrezl Harrell. Fun.
Assuming the Sixers have to move Harden, our framework feels like the best they'll do. It might even exceed reality. Who is clamoring for Harden, right now, aside from the Clippers?
Perhaps Philly gets in L.A.'s good graces by letting Terance Mann stay and favoring purely expiring money. Covington, Morris and Martin will play if the Sixers hold serve. But this trade is more about reloading for another blockbuster or, as Bryan Toporek outlined for Liberty Ballers, setting up the Sixers for something like $65-plus million in cap space next summer.
The Clippers could bristle at surrendering two firsts and a nifty small-ball weapon in Martin. But let's not forget Harden spent last season on the fringes of the All-NBA discussion. Even going on 34, the dude can hoop. And L.A. is built to both insulate him on defense and preserve him on offense. Bagging him without giving up Mann, Nicolas Batum or Norman Powell is an absolute win.
Portland Trail Blazers (Scenario No. 1)
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Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Khem Birch, Nikola Jović, Doug McDermott, Duncan Robinson, Blake Wesley, Miami's 2024 first-round pick* (unprotected), Chicago's 2025 first-round pick (via San Antonio; top-10 protection), Miami's 2028 first-round pick (unprotected); 2027 first-round swap (from Miami), Miami's 2030 first-round pick (unprotected);
Miami Heat Receive: Damian Lillard
San Antonio Spurs: Tyler Herro
(*Miami must negotiate with Oklahoma City to remove protections on its 2026 first-rounder to trade the 2024 first to Portland)
Getting Lillard's trade request just after free agency started didn't give the Trail Blazers much time to adjust course. That's really just a thinly veiled way of saying "reconsider the five-year, $160 million Jerami Grant contract." Maybe Portland saw this coming. We all did. Advanced notice still would have been better—and cleaner.
The Blazers will lose all over again if Lillard and his agency successfully dissuade everyone outside Miami from acquiring him. Does general manager Joe Cronin have the guts to deal him elsewhere anyway? Does the market even exist for him to indulge his executorial derring-do?
We'll stick with Lillard's preferred destination for now. Most have crapped all over the Heat's top offer. That's, um, a choice. The Heat can offer up to three first-rounders, three swaps, Herro, Jović and Jaime Jaquez Jr. if they renegotiate protections on the Oklahoma City obligation. That may not be the best package outright. It's not nothing, either.
Rerouting Tyler Herro and his four-year, $120 million extension is a must. Portland is brimming with guards. Would the Spurs take a chance if it costs them the frenetically fast, work-in-progress, 20-year-old Wesley and a protected first-rounder that's not their own? They could certainly use the shot creation.
Portland exits this scenario with two long-term fliers (Jović, Wesley), four first-rounders almost perfectly spread out and a Miami swap. The Heat can include two more swaps if the Blazers play hardball. But the whole "Miami's picks are worthless!" trope rings a bit hollow when the core will be considerably aging up, team president Pat Riley turns 79 in March and, you know, Dame is actively trying to submarine his own market.
Portland Trail Blazers (Scenario No. 2)
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Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Dāvis Bertāns, Ousmane Dieng, Keldon Johnson, 2024 first-round pick (most favorable of Houston, L.A. Clippers, Oklahoma City or Utah; via OKC), Chicago's 2025 first-round pick (top-10 protection; via San Antonio), Houston's 2026 first-round pick (top-four protection; via OKC)
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Damian Lillard
San Antonio Spurs Receive: Josh Giddey, Victor Oladipo
The Thunder once traded for one star whose wish list they didn't crack (Paul George). Might they do it again?
This time's different. Lillard is older and more expensive. He's also signed for longer. And his fit with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the core should be seamless.
Ah, yes, the rest of the core. Lillard's appeal is rooted in how he elevates Oklahoma City's nucleus. Emperor of basketball operations Sam Presti shouldn't knife too deep into the incumbent core for an aging star who wants to play elsewhere and dramatically accelerates the organization's timeline.
Loosely translated: SGA and Chet Holmgren are off limits. So is Aleksej Pokuševski Jalen Williams. Luguentz Dort is...not. But the Blazers will have to accept less compensation if he's involved.
Giddey needs to be included if Dort and J-Dub are not. Portland might want him outright. He is 6'8", defends well, rebounds his hiney off and is improving as a shooter. But the Blazers have enough ball-handling types in Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and, less critically, Anfernee Simons. Pivoting to the 23-year-old Johnson, his team-friendly contract and an extra pick seems more appealing.
San Antonio still needs more italics-text facilitators beyond Tre Jones and some secondaries. Forking over Johnson and a first-rounder is steep, but Giddey fits the timeline and has two years left on his rookie scale. The Spurs shouldn't flinch even if this also costs Charlotte's 2024 first (lottery protected until foreverish).
Hand to Dame's legacy, I'm not sure how Blazers fans will react here. Dieng can legitimately play; he's connective at both ends of the floor. Johnson is an established offensive weapon young enough to be part of the next iteration. Three imminent to moderately distant first-rounders have value. Portland shaves a ton of big-picture money from the books, as well.
Maybe Cronin can pry another first from OKC's armory of draft goodies. At the very least, this feels like a haggle-able starting point for all sides.
Toronto Raptors
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Toronto Raptors Receive: Tre Mann
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Malachi Flynn, 2026 second-round pick
Look, they can't all be reality-shattering blockbusters.
This deal is a symptom of the Raptors' indistinct direction. Are they skewing toward teardown mode? Could they party-crash the Damian Lillard sweepstakes without including Scottie Barnes? Their trajectory was opaque and brittle before they lost Fred VanVleet for absolutely nothing. It is unimaginably nebulous and fragile now.
Front office commander in chief Masai Ujiri appears to have entered straddle-the-undefined-middle mode. A flier on Mann fits that chosen ambivalence. He has enough shake and directionality in his ball-handling and off-the-bounce shot selection to make a difference on offense. But he was inefficient enough last season for the backcourt-crammed Thunder to jettison him for second-round compensation.
Oklahoma might require another pick if it's taking on the forgotten-about Flynn. Toronto should be leery about including one for a 22-year-old who may juice up its playmaking, shot-making and spacing but could also torpedo it all, without offering an in-between. Then again, Mann has another season left on his rookie scale (2024-25 team option), so including an extra (protected) second wouldn't be wildly out of turn.
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.
