Worst Landing Spots for Damian Lillard, James Harden, Buddy Hield
The NBA's player empowerment era is in full swing with 2023's Damian Lillard and James Harden trade requests. Yet, despite knowing exactly where those two aim to land, we're approaching both training camps and media days without resolution.
After news broke this week that the Toronto Raptors have become sudden front-runners to land Lillard, it's fair to ask as loudly as ever: What would it look like for these stars to end up in spots they never saw coming?
Instead of the usual "top" landing spots exercise, we're flipping the script and looking at what the relative "worst" realistic outcomes might look like for Lillard, Harden and Buddy Hield, who has also re-entered the rumor mill.
Buddy Hield
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Milwaukee Bucks
The Indiana Pacers have tried to calm the buzz about a potential Buddy Hield deal, but it won't go away without a contract extension.
And in the wake of rumors surfacing about a Hield trade, The Athletic's Shams Charania told The Rally that the Milwaukee Bucks have had a "level of interest" in him.
But this is already a top-heavy roster, with most of the cap sheet tied up in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez. That's just sort of what happens with title contenders as contracts expire and new ones keep getting bigger. And that can make it tricky to fill out rotations.
Right now, there's some decent help after those top four players, including Grayson Allen, Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis, but Milwaukee would probably have to give up at least two of those players to get to Hield's salary. That could make an already thin team even worse when the stars have to rest.
New York Knicks
The Knicks shot 29.2 percent from three during the 2023 playoffs, the worst of all 16 postseason teams. Evan Fournier's contract matches up perfectly with Hield's in a potential deal, and the Knicks have draft compensation to tack on.
Despite their need for outside shooting and a pre-built trade package, though, Hield should not be a target for New York.
This is already a crowded Knicks wing following the summer signing of Donte DiVincenzo, who got a four-year, $46 million contract to help fix the three-point shooting woes. Josh Hart picked up his player option and signed a four-year, $80.9 million extension, and Immanuel Quickley could be next in line to get paid.
Of course, RJ Barrett needs a significant role to continue to grow, and Quentin Grimes became a full-time starter and averaged nearly 30 minutes per game last season.
There's simply no room for Hield in this rotation, unless he hits a growth spurt at age 30 and takes over Obi Toppin's old role as the backup power forward.
An unrestricted free agent next summer who could be looking at his last big contract, Hield should want to find a destination that can offer him a starting job and keep his value high. New York isn't it.
Dallas Mavericks
Adding a high-volume shooter to help space the floor for Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving makes a ton of sense on paper. Hield would undeniably help the team's offense.
There's no way a defender can leave him open to double Dončić or Irving.
However, that's only addressing one side of the equation for the Dallas Mavericks.
Hield, at best, is a marginal defender. So, too, are the Mavericks' two stars. The greatest need for the franchise—especially when considering the postseason—is finding the right pieces to compensate for what Dončić and Irving don't do defensively.
That's the most pressing issue for the team, and improving the offense with Hield's long-range shot-making doesn't offset that he's yet another player who needs to be hidden on defense.
That's before even considering his salary. Teams have limited resources, and his $18.6-$23.3 million salary for 2023-24 is too rich for a player who only addresses one side of the ball.
James Harden
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LA Clippers
All summer, it's felt like the LA Clippers are the only potential suitor for James Harden. And if that's true, L.A. is sort of the worst landing spot by default. But there are some basketball reasons to be down on this, too.
The most glaring issue is probably the depth it would cost the Clippers to absorb Harden's $35.6 million salary.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are L.A.'s best players, and it's no secret they've struggled to stay available since joining the team four years ago. Having multiple, versatile wings behind them is a key to surviving the regular season.
If the Clippers can just get to the postseason in one piece (a big if, for sure), they can contend for a title. Over the last four years (regular and postseason), they are plus-10.4 points per 100 possessions with both George and Leonard on the floor.
In theory, Harden could add to that bottom line with his passing and isolation scoring, but there's no guarantee that meshes well with the ball dominance of the stars already there.
The 34-year-old also comes with a different potential form of unavailability. He's not hurt or resting as often as Leonard or George, but he's flat-out quit on multiple teams in recent years, flat-out no-showed in some high-profile playoff games and sometimes struggled to coexist with other stars.
Is all that worth what could amount to a depth-depleting, one-season rental?
—Bailey
Milwaukee Bucks
The asset-limited Bucks should be exploring all avenues to add talent around Giannis Antetokounmpo for another title run, although trading for Harden isn't the way to go.
This is already an old roster that needs to convince Antetokounmpo to sign an extension before the summer of 2025.
Harden is entering his 15th season at age 34 and set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Trading key roster pieces for a possible rental, one that's on the back nine of his career, does nothing to help encourage Giannis, 28, about the future in Milwaukee.
While the chance to compete for a title once again may appeal to Harden, there's a complicated history between him and Antetokounmpo. If Harden didn't like taking a backseat to Joel Embiid and sacrificing shots, he won't be thrilled doing so behind the Bucks star, either.
While a Harden-Jrue Holiday swap is a popular fake trade, this would be a disaster for a Bucks team that went 43-13 last season with both Antetokounmpo and Holiday in the lineup. The duo is still one of the most successful in all of basketball.
Harden and the Bucks simply shouldn't happen.
—Swartz
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks have been remarkably conservative the last few years, slowly building a team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
When negotiating with the Utah Jazz for Donovan Mitchell, the Knicks held fast, preferring to save their draft assets for another opportunity.
The Philadelphia 76ers may give in to Harden's trade demand, and while New York has plenty to offer, it shouldn't.
Harden is still a tremendous offensive force, but he needs the ball in his hands to be effective (and isn't much of a defender). The Knicks aren't a finished product, but they have a potent mix of ball-handling guards and wings in Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Quentin Grimes, Immanuel Quickley etc.
Additionally, Julius Randle can do more when he has the ball. Harden would diminish Randle and Brunson's impact; and while the Beard is a big name, he's just not a fit in New York at 34.
The Knicks probably need to add another impact player to take that next step into contention, but one who fits and can grow with its existing core.
—Pincus
Damian Lillard
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Toronto Raptors
On Tuesday, after two days of buzz about the Toronto Raptors' pursuit of Damian Lillard, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated wrote: "There's a lot of smoke in league circles about Blazers-Raptors talks. Toronto's interest, I believe, is genuine."
I just can't help but think: Why?
The Raptors were about as mediocre as mediocre gets in 2022-23, going 41-41 and missing the playoffs. If they could somehow simply plug Lillard into Fred VanVleet's minutes, this move might make some sense. But even then, how much better equipped would that team be to make a run than the 2022-23 Portland Trail Blazers were?
Of course, that's not even the scenario here. Toronto would have to give up salary to match Lillard's incoming money and presumably some young (or youngish) talent too.
Dame and whatever's left of Toronto after the deal would not push the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks or Boston Celtics.
—Bailey
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls were one of the six teams to have shown interest in trading for Lillard this offseason, according to Marc Spears of ESPN.
While Chicago has needed a point guard upgrade since Lonzo Ball's knee troubles began, this would be an awful spot for Lillard in the next stage of his career.
Assuming the Bulls would need to part with at least one of Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan (who would likely be rerouted to a third team), this would leave a core of Lillard, LaVine/DeRozan and Nikola Vučević to build around.
There would be significant defensive questions surrounding this group, with a ceiling that's not going to get any higher over time. Lillard would again be stuck on a low-end playoff team with no hope of winning a championship.
The Bulls still need a point guard, but they don't have the assets to acquire Lillard and have enough left over to field a true contender.
—Swartz
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers cannot afford to make a bad Lillard trade, but what may be worse is holding onto him through another season.
The team would love a resolution before the start of the year, but that will require other franchises to make an offer that works.
That may take some time, and if it lingers through to the trade deadline, the Blazers would be delaying the inevitable divorce while hampering the development of whatever a post-Lillard Portland will be, starting with the development of Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.
Both are talented but need time to develop as high-usage potential stars. Despite his amiable personality, Lillard would take away from that as the team's clear best player.
Henderson, Sharpe and others need to be taking those big shots. And even when they're missing them, that's the learning process to temper them into the stars the franchise hopes they will become.
The longer Lillard is on the roster, the more he'll be the focus. It's time for the Blazers to move on.
—Pincus
