5 NBA Offseason Trades That Can Still Happen
We're approaching the real doldrums of the NBA offseason, when virtually all of the available free agents have signed deals and most of the trade chatter has petered out. Deal-swinging season is coming to a close.
The transactionally obsessed portion of the NBA fanbase need not despair, though. We still have some unfinished trade business to discuss.
The James Harden and Damian Lillard sagas obviously hang over everything. Because Dame and the Portland Trail Blazers are current residents of stalemate city, we'll focus on moving Harden before the offseason concludes, along with other deals involving big names.
Every one of these hypothetical swaps would be better conducted prior to the start of the 2023-24 season, as a full training camp with a new team can make all the difference in the integration process.
Oh, and also: We're all impatient. Let's speak these trades into existence before it's too late.
The Mavs Get Their Man in the Middle
1 of 5
The Trade: Dallas Mavericks acquire Clint Capela from the Atlanta Hawks for Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green and a 2025 second-round pick (via TOR).
Dallas has Richaun Holmes, JaVale McGee (for now) and Dereck Lively II as in-house center options. So, your mileage may vary on whether it ought to surrender some of its younger wing and guard pieces for another 5. But Marc Stein reported on Saturday Sportsworld with Marc Stein that the Mavericks would like to do exactly that, which means we can consider their options.
Deandre Ayton would be the costliest difference-making target to pursue, but Capela would come cheaper. He'd certainly be an upgrade on Holmes defensively, and Lively may not be ready to contribute to a winner—as is the case with virtually every rookie.
To bring aboard their sought-after shot-blocking, board-hoarding center, the Mavericks have to cough up a package headlined by Josh Green, a promising connective wing who can cut, pass on the move, defend and hit open threes. If he can replicate the 40.2 percent he shot from distance last year, Green, still just 22, could be a huge get for the Hawks.
There are permutations of this deal that include the Toronto Raptors and Pascal Siakam, per Stein, but this is a fairly simple construction. If Atlanta truly believes Onyeka Okongwu is ready to take over starting duties, moving Capela and the $43 million he's owed through 2024-25 for more shooting and cost-controlled guard depth is a good way to balance the roster and tidy up the books.
The Miami Heat's Fallback Plan
2 of 5
The Trade: Miami Heat acquire Pascal Siakam and Otto Porter Jr. from the Toronto Raptors for Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jović, 2028 first-round pick, 2030 first-round pick, and a 2024 first-round swap.
If the Portland Trail Blazers are serious about being patient on a Damian Lillard trade, the Heat could ultimately decide they'd rather get someone now than wait several months, particularly since Lillard's massive contract will likely make him a negative-value asset sometime around 2025.
In this hypothetical, Miami instead fires its assets at the Raptors to bring in another All-NBA talent in Siakam.
It costs the Heat two future firsts, a swap, Herro, Robinson and Jović, but the chance to add another star has always intrigued the Heat. They've swung big and figured the rest out later in the past, and they'd certainly have to do that after trading two rotation players and one of their only young prospects after losing Gabe Vincent and Max Strus in free agency.
Toronto's haul here is significant, particularly in light of Siakam's looming 2024 free agency. With no guarantee of re-signing him at all, and the uncomfortable alternative possibility of handing him a max contract to retain his services, this is an objectively good result.
Miami would assume all of the risk here, but one would expect Pat Riley and Co. have an understanding of what it'll take to keep Siakam next summer. If Miami isn't sure it will be able to keep Siakam or is uncomfortable with the likely terms of his next deal, this trade won't (and shouldn't) ever get off the ground.
James Harden to the Clippers at Last
3 of 5
The Trade: Los Angeles Clippers acquire James Harden and Furkan Korkmaz from the Philadelphia 76ers for Nicolas Batum, Norman Powell, Terance Mann and Amir Coffey.
Sixers president Daryl Morey can talk all he wants about the exorbitant return package necessary for his team to move James Harden, but we don't need to believe him.
Harden has the name recognition and an MVP award on his resumé, but he's heading into his age-34 season on an expiring contract with a notorious history of postseason no-shows. He isn't the kind of player who should return an A-plus haul of assets, regardless of what Morey's posturing suggests.
The Clippers would be taking a massive risk here in adding another aging star with durability concerns to a roster that already has two in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. It helps the plausibility of this deal that L.A. is only giving up role players, even though losing the versatile Mann will make a bigger impact than most think.
For Philly, this is about getting off a player whose value will only diminish with time and then selling fans on the idea that the litany of guards and wings coming back for Harden make more sense around Joel Embiid. It isn't a ridiculous claim to make, and Morey can argue that point while also emphasizing Tyrese Maxey's expanded role with Harden gone.
The Knicks Offload Evan Fournier
4 of 5
The Trade: San Antonio Spurs acquire Evan Fournier*, a 2024 second-round pick (via UTA or CLE) and a 2024 second-round pick (via DET) from the New York Knicks for Reggie Bullock.
The Knicks might prefer to make this move closer to the deadline, as Bullock is a slow starter who has shot under 30.0 percent from deep in October and November for his career. But the partnership between New York and Fournier hit its expiration date months ago, and it might be best for all parties involved to get the 30-year-old out of town as soon as possible.
One never knows if small bonuses like this matter, but the Spurs might be more amenable to rostering Fournier with fellow countryman Victor Wembanyama ensconced as their cornerstone. Plus, up until last season when he fell out of the rotation entirely, Fournier was a high-end offensive weapon. He was a double-figure scorer every year from 2014-15 to 2021-22 and has shot 37.9 percent from long range for his career.
In a best-case scenario, San Antonio pockets a few second-rounders to take on Fournier, rehabs his value and flips him for another pick at the deadline. His $19.0 million team option for 2024-25 means the Spurs could also just let him walk a year from now with no further obligation.
The Knicks would be getting an even better shooter in Bullock (38.4 percent on treys for his career) with only one season left on his contract. It's also easier to imagine head coach Tom Thibodeau using Bullock in the rotation due to his superior perimeter defense. Fournier's frailty on that end of the floor landed him on the bench in 2022-23.
*This deal just barely falls short of the salary-matching threshold required by the CBA. San Antonio would have to cut just under $1 million from its books to get it done.
O.G. Anunoby Speeds Up Indy's Timeline
5 of 5
The Trade: Indiana Pacers acquire O.G. Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors for Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell, a 2024 first-round pick (top-10 protected) and a 2025 first-round pick swap.
There's never been much sense in the Pacers playing the patience game. Sure, Tyrese Haliburton is only 23. But he's already an All-Star and has every chance to challenge for an All-NBA spot next season. If he's ready for prime time, so are the Pacers, whose second-best player, Myles Turner, is 27.
Here, Indiana reels in former Hoosier O.G. Anunoby, sending the Raptors All-Rookie guard Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell, who'd have a case to start over Dennis Schröder at the point. If the Raptors aren't confident they can reach an extension with Anunoby, they'd do well to extract assets for him now before he hits free agency next summer and potentially leaves for nothing.
Toronto has held off on moving the elite defensive forward for a while, and this package from Indiana is light on first-round capital. Then again, Mathurin was the No. 6 pick in 2022 and is only 21. His 2022-23 campaign put him in a 13-member club of 20-year-olds who've averaged at least 16.0 points with a true shooting percentage north of 56.0 in league history.
The Pacers are overloaded with guards and can spare a pair in exchange for a transformative defensive piece on the wing. Meanwhile, the guard-starved Raps finally pick a direction by trading a big name and adding a pair of backcourt weapons.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
