A 4-Team NBA Trade That Would Change Everything at the Deadline
On the eve of the NBA's 2023-24 trade deadline, things feel relatively quiet in the rumor mill.
However, on many occasions over the years, we've seen that thing start churning in overdrive at a moment's notice.
And nothing would do that quite like a massive, four-team trade with multiple former All-Stars, multiple draft picks and two of the league's highest-profile franchises.
All those boxes are checked in our last hypothetical megadeal of this trade season.
The Deal
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Before we get into why each team would embrace this madness, we'll take a wide view of the entire trade.
New York Knicks Receive: Dejounte Murray, AJ Griffin, Torrey Craig and Jaxson Hayes
New York Knicks Lose: Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, a 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 first-round pick and a lottery-protected 2026 first-round pick
Atlanta Hawks Receive: DeMar DeRozan, Evan Fournier, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Max Christie, a 2024 first-round pick from New York and a 2025 first-round pick from New York
Atlanta Hawks Lose: Dejounte Murray, AJ Griffin, Patty Mills and a top 10-protected 2029 first-round pick
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Alex Caruso, Andre Drummond, Quentin Grimes and Patty Mills
Los Angeles Lakers Lose: D'Angelo Russell, Max Christie, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jaxson Hayes and a 2029 first-round pick
Chicago Bulls Receive: D'Angelo Russell, a lottery-protected 2026 first-round pick from New York, a 2029 first-round pick from Los Angeles and a top 10-protected 2029 first-round pick from Atlanta
Chicago Bulls Lose: Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond and Torrey Craig
Feel free to quibble over the young talent and picks involved here. Some teams might be coaxable on those fronts, but as you'll read below, there are real reasons for all four to be interested in the core players hypothetically on the move.
Knicks Push for a Finals Berth
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New York Knicks Receive: Dejounte Murray, AJ Griffin, Torrey Craig and Jaxson Hayes
New York Knicks Lose: Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, a 2024 first-round pick, a 2025 first-round pick and a lottery-protected 2026 first-round pick
The Boston Celtics have looked like a juggernaut for much of this season, but the Knicks are close enough to legitimate title contention to warrant a splashy, win-now move.
This is that, and then some.
Adding Murray to a rotation that already includes Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart might make things feel crowded in the backcourt, but all four can play up a position or two. Murray might rediscover his defensive fire under head coach Tom Thibodeau.
And as a pure talent play, functionally replacing Grimes' 8.6 career points per game with Murray's 21.0 points and 7.0 assists over the same span feels like a no-brainer.
This move also adds another potential rotation player on the wing in Griffin, who's only 20 and is a career 37.7 percent three-point shooter.
Craig's defensive intensity and switchability practically screams "Thibodeau guy," too. And Hayes brings a little depth to a frontcourt that could use some as it awaits the return of Mitchell Robinson from an ankle injury.
Atlanta Retools Around Trae Young
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Atlanta Hawks Receive: DeMar DeRozan, Evan Fournier, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Max Christie, a 2024 first-round pick from New York and a 2025 first-round pick from New York
Atlanta Hawks Lose: Dejounte Murray, AJ Griffin, Patty Mills and a top 10-protected 2029 first-round pick
A season and a half into the Hawks' impromptu backcourt partnership of Trae Young and Murray and it's already clear that this just isn't a good fit.
During their time as teammates, Atlanta is minus-1.8 points per 100 possessions with both on the floor and plus-2.8 when Young plays without Murray.
Any deal that separates those two probably makes at least some sense, but this one also checks some other boxes.
First, and perhaps most importantly, it helps the Hawks recoup some of the draft capital they expended in acquiring Murray in the first place. It's not quite as much as Atlanta surrendered, but two incoming picks and two flier-worthy young talents such as Hood-Schifino and Christie are better than the status quo.
This trade also brings the Hawks some cap flexibility, since DeRozan is on an expiring contract and Fournier's $19 million salary for next season is contingent on a team option. Meanwhile, Murray's deal runs through 2027-28 (when he has a $31.6 million player option).
At least one of those players (DeRozan, of course) can help Atlanta stay competitive for the next couple months too. The Hawks have won four of their last five and are suddenly very much in the mix for a play-in spot.
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Lakers Undo the Caruso Mistake and Beef Up Defense
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Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Alex Caruso, Andre Drummond, Quentin Grimes and Patty Mills
Los Angeles Lakers Lose: D'Angelo Russell, Max Christie, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jaxson Hayes and a 2029 first-round pick
Russell has been a heck of a shot-maker for a team that desperately needed one over the last several weeks. Over his last 13 games, he's averaged 24.0 points and 4.2 threes, while shooting 46.6 percent from deep.
However, his career suggests this could be a streak, rather than the kind of production the 27-year-old will put up the rest of the year. And if his salary can help to bring back Caruso, this stretch (and whatever it's done to his trade value) could be his parting gift to Lakers fans.
The resulting L.A. lineup after this move would be loaded with defense. A lineup with Caruso, Drummond and Anthony Davis would be stout on that end, and filling it out with LeBron James and Austin Reaves would also give it plenty of playmaking.
It would be easy to downshift into some small-ball by replacing Drummond with Rui Hachimura, too.
And Grimes and Mills are probably more ready for high-leverage rotation minutes than young talents such as Hood-Schifino and Christie.
This may not be the kind of superstar package Lakers fans and front office might want for trading one of their few precious firsts, but LeBron is 39 years old. His presence on a roster forced teams to make win-now moves 10 years ago. That pressure only intensifies with each passing season.
Chicago Finally Rebuilds
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Chicago Bulls Receive: D'Angelo Russell, a lottery-protected 2026 first-round pick from New York, a 2029 first-round pick from Los Angeles and a top 10-protected 2029 first-round pick from Atlanta
Chicago Bulls Lose: Alex Caruso, DeMar DeRozan, Andre Drummond and Torrey Craig
The explanation for the Bulls is obvious: A reboot is long overdue.
In the two-plus seasons DeRozan, Nikola Vučević and Zach LaVine have all been together, the team is a dreadful minus-2.8 points per 100 possessions when all three are on the floor.
And if they can get any kind of draft capital for splitting up that trio, they need to do it. The thing is, the most likely source of any draft capital is probably Caruso. Since L.A. may not have enough tradable picks to work a simpler deal, the Knicks are roped in, too.
Ultimately, walking away with three firsts and the ability to still trade Vučević, LaVine and Russell (who'll be on an expiring contract in 2024-25) over the next couple years would make for a solid start to a rebuild.
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