1 Trade for Every 2024 NBA Draft Lottery Team
Fortunes could be changing for the NBA teams with a lottery pick this summer, but nothing is a guarantee in the draft.
And with one exception, every squad that's in the lottery has some pretty dramatic improvements that need to be made and won't be accomplished on the back of just one 2024-25 rookie.
Every organization in the top 14 of the draft could benefit from a trade (or trades), and realistic options on that front for all of them are below.
Pistons Add a Wing Scorer
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The Trade: Evan Fournier, Isaiah Stewart, Quentin Grimes and a 2027 first-round pick for Brandon Ingram
The Detroit Pistons have been a mess for years, despite an apparent attempt to become more competitive last summer. Beyond hanging onto Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks, they added veterans Monte Morris and Joe Harris in the offseason.
The Pistons were bad again, and all four of those players are now gone.
And then, above all else, the team slipped outside the top four of the lottery. Again.
Another attempt becoming competitive this summer may be short-sighted, but Detroit fans could also be nearing their limit on the lean years. Over the last five seasons, the Pistons are last in the league in winning percentage at 24.5.
And the distance between them and the 29th-place San Antonio Spurs is about the same as the distance between 29th and 16th.
The move proposed here isn't like the half-measures the Pistons have taken in recent years.
Brandon Ingram's trade value may have taken a hit this year (he had his lowest box plus/minus since 2018-19 and looked overburdened after Zion Williamson went down in the play-in tournament), but he'd likely be the best scorer Cade Cunningham has played with.
The 2020 All-Star can also create a bit, which would give the 2021 No. 1 overall pick occasional opportunities to work off the ball and relieve some of the pressure he's been under over the years.
With those two and Jalen Duren, Detroit might at least have the beginnings of a winning trio.
For the New Orleans Pelicans, this opens up a starting spot for Trey Murphy III, whose defense and higher-volume three-point shooting fits better alongside Zion than Ingram's sometimes ball-dominant and often midrange-heavy game.
Isaiah Stewart can be a low-cost replacement for Jonas Valančiūnas. Quentin Grimes provides some upside and depth on the wing, and Evan Fournier's salary is exactly the kind of filler needed to make this work under the salary cap.
The Pelicans (and their fans) might insist on more than one first-round pick. And Detroit could still probably justify going for it while giving up more assets. But Ingram's game and recent performance simply may not command more than one pick, especially since this package includes two young players in Stewart and Grimes.
Kings Reinforce Bench, Wizards Add Financial Flexibility
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The Trade: Trey Lyles, Sasha Vezenkov, Chris Duarte and a 2029 first-round pick for Kyle Kuzma
Restraints of the collective bargaining agreement will limit the Sacramento Kings to a four-year, $77.9 offer for Malik Monk. As an unrestricted free agent, there's a chance he signs for more elsewhere. And if he does, Sacramento will suddenly have a need for some scoring punch.
Kyle Kuzma could provide that. He might even be good enough to start over Harrison Barnes. And the Kings have two expiring contracts in Trey Lyles and Chris Duarte and effectively a third with Sasha Vezenkov (who's on a team option for 2025-26) to offer the Wizards for him.
That alone brings the Washington Wizards loads of financial flexibility. Kuzma is on a reasonable deal, but it runs through 2026-27, when he's set to make $19.4 million.
Getting out from under that and eventually adding a first-round pick makes this a reasonable haul for a soon-to-be-29-year-old volume scorer who's never had an above-average true shooting percentage.
Hornets Add a Lob Target for LaMelo, Jazz Shed Some Salary
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The Trade: Dāvis Bertāns, Grant Williams and a top-10 protected 2028 first-round pick swap for John Collins
With Miles Bridges hitting free agency, LaMelo Ball could use a new high-flying lob threat at forward, and John Collins fits the bill.
The 26-year-old is one of the game's most explosive above-the-rim finishers, but he also had a resurgence as a three-point threat in 2023-24. Shooting 37.1 percent from deep may have rehabbed his value just enough to command a protected pick from a rebuilding team desperate to be competitive again.
For the Utah Jazz, this turns the minuscule offer they made for Collins last summer (Rudy Gay and a second-rounder) into a possible first. It brings some financial flexibility with Dāvis Bertāns' expiring deal and Grant Williams' more affordable one (it maxes out at $14.3 million in 2026-27). And perhaps most importantly, it could force coach Will Hardy's hand into starting what should be the team's frontcourt of the future.
With Lauri Markkanen's shooting and Walker Kessler's rim protection, those two have the potential to be a high-end 4-5 combo, but Hardy spent much of 2023-24 figuring out how to fit Collins into that mix. Kessler's starting job, in which he thrived as a rookie, was the casualty.
Trail Blazers Keep Getting Younger
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The Trade: Jett Howard, a 2027 first-round pick and a 2029 first-round pick for Anfernee Simons
Malcolm Brogdon obviously isn't a part of the Portland Trail Blazers. There's a version of this deal that probably costs them a little less and sends him to fill the playmaking void on the Orlando Magic.
But we'll set Orlando's sights a little higher here.
The Magic can absorb Simons' salary into their cap space, so they don't have to send a ton of money back. That makes this deal essentially three firsts (Jett Howard is only 20, and he played fewer than 100 minutes this season) for Simons.
He's not a traditional, table-setting 1, but he did average a career-high 5.5 assists this season and would take some pressure off Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
For Portland, this may feel like selling a little too early on Simons, but it gives the Blazers multiple picks with which to build around Scoot Henderson.
Spurs Accelerate the Timeline, Hawks End Failed Experiment, Thunder Get Bigger
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Spurs Receive: Trae Young and Josh Giddey
Hawks Receive: Keldon Johnson, Kenrich Williams, a 2026 first-round pick (via Atlanta), a 2027 first-round pick swap (via Atlanta) and a 2029 first-round pick
Thunder Receive: Zach Collins, Garrison Mathews and a 2030 first-round pick
For the Spurs, this deal is all about making life a little easier for Victor Wembanyama, who's already proved himself readier to compete at the highest level than just about anyone could've expected in Year 1.
Some reports have suggested San Antonio isn't big on the idea of pairing him with Trae Young, but he'd undeniably be better at the 1 than the combination of the Jeremy Sochan experiment and Tre Jones.
Even with all his defensive flaws, Young is one of the game's most dynamic offensive engines and pick-and-roll playmakers. He'd get Wemby multiple wide-open looks, including at the rim, every game.
Taking a flyer on Josh Giddey could give San Antonio one of the most playmaking-heavy lineups in the league, too. And his lack of outside shooting could be masked by Young and Wembanyama's volume from out there.
For the Atlanta Hawks, this ends the ill-fated Young-Dejounte Murray backcourt, restores some of the future assets spent to acquire Murray and gives the team some depth on the wing with Keldon Johnson and Kenrich Williams.
And for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Zach Collins beefs up a slight frontline a bit, without sacrificing the ability to play 5-out.
Raptors Give Scottie Barnes Another Shooter
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The Trade: Bruce Brown, a 2028 first-round pick swap and a 2027 second-round pick for Jerami Grant
It's hard to tell if the Toronto Raptors are truly rebuilding or simply retooling around Scottie Barnes.
Trading OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam this past season would suggest the former. Giving up real draft assets for Jakob Poeltl and Kelly Olynyk at back-to-back trade deadlines suggests the latter. The player-heavy return for Anunoby does, too. Immanuel Quickley (who turns 25 in June) and RJ Barrett (24 in June) aren't old, but they aren't prospect young, either.
So, in the spirit of those moves, Toronto could justify another win-now trade by moving Bruce Brown's expiring contract (he's on a $23 million team option for 2024-25) and a dash of draft consideration for Jerami Grant.
Grant's contract is onerous (it runs through 2027-28, when he has a $36.4 million player option), but he's averaged 20.7 points and shot 40.2 percent from deep over his two seasons in Portland.
If point-Scottie is the future of this team (and it probably should be), the Raptors need as much shooting as possible to deploy around him. Grant checks that box while also providing some multi-positional defense.
For Portland, this is almost entirely about getting out from under the Grant contract that was signed prior to last summer's Damian Lillard trade. This deal does that while also slightly improving the team's draft prospects and giving it another veteran in Brown who it could flip before February.
Grizzlies Give JJJ a 5, Bulls Shed Vučević's Last Year
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The Trade: Luke Kennard, Derrick Rose and a 2027 lottery-protected first-round pick for Nikola Vučević
Jaren Jackson Jr. got a chance to spread his wings a bit as both a 5 and as a more heavily featured scoring option this season, but not having Steven Adams around to take on the more bruising aspects of the position affected the team defense.
The Memphis Grizzlies were outside the top 10 in points allowed per 100 possessions and in the bottom 10 for defensive rebounding percentage. And Jackson grabbed just 5.5 boards per game.
Nikola Vučević isn't the brute Adams is as a defender and rebounder, but he would spare Jackson some punishment inside, could take on heftier defensive assignments and allow JJJ to return to his more natural defensive position of rover.
For the Chicago Bulls, who've been mired in mediocrity throughout Vučević's time there, this trade would get them out of the final year of his contract (2025-26). And honestly, given his age (33) and declining three-point percentage, if anyone were to offer even a protected first, Chicago would likely have to take it.
Plus, this deal gives the Bulls more shooting from Luke Kennard and a fun reunion between Chicago and Derrick Rose (both of whom are on expiring contracts in 2024-25).
Rockets Add Shooting, Grizzlies Add Depth
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The Trade: Jae'Sean Tate and Jock Landale for Luke Kennard
The up-and-coming Houston Rockets were one of the feel-good stories of this season, but they finished the campaign 20th in points per 100 possessions, 24th in effective field-goal percentage and 23rd in three-point percentage.
They could use a dedicated floor-spacer and outside shooter like Kennard to loosen things up for Amen Thompson and Jalen Green's slashing and Alperen Şengün's post work.
Kennard is a career 43.9 percent three-point shooter, but he's had trouble maintaining a consistent role at each of his last two stops (Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers).
The rotation could be crowded in Houston, too. But again, the Rockets could really use a consistent, dangerous threat from the outside.
For Memphis, this would be another route toward pairing Jackson with a more traditional 5. Jock Landale doesn't have the name or profile Vučević does, but he's five years younger and plays with a bit more of the rugged physicality that made Adams such a good match with Jackson.
Jae'Sean Tate, meanwhile, would be another wide-bodied, switchable-on-defense forward to throw into the bench platoon that figures to include GG Jackson and Vince Williams Jr. next season.
At the very least, this trade balances the Grizzlies' roster a bit and makes it deeper at the same time.
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