Surprise Landing Spots for Top 10 NBA Trade Deadline Targets
Tired of seeing the same teams listed as landing spots for the top NBA trade targets? We're right there with you.
So let's break the cycle.
Dark-horse destinations are not meant to be interpreted as predictions. They're not even necessarily endorsements. They are more like off-the-beaten-path squads with the assets and potential motivation, however cursory, to enter the running for a given player.
Determining which players qualify for the "top-10 trade targets" bucket is a little challenging after you run through the obligatory candidates. For our purposes, we're limiting inclusions to the best names routinely populating the rumor mill or those with implied availability independent of being used as blockbuster bait. (i.e. Anfernee Simons is eligible. Jonathan Kuminga is not.)
Players will be listed in alphabetical order rather than ranked. And finally, for variety's sake, each suggested long-shot suitor will only appear once.
Jimmy Butler: Atlanta Hawks
1 of 10
Many continue to have Jimmy Butler ticketed for the Phoenix Suns after they parlayed their 2031 first-rounder into three more imminent (less-favorable) first-round selections. What if the Atlanta Hawks come swooping in with their own offer?
Dispense with the "Jimmy Butler will decline his player option and leave!" rebukes. Atlanta is a sleeper locale when it comes to talent retention. The Hawks, in fact, may be more hesitant to fan this flame than Butler.
Atlanta needs another primary creator aside from Trae Young. Jalen Johnson, Dyson Daniels and Bogdan Bogdanović are more secondary-types, and Kobe Bufkin is both injured and lacks a concrete ceiling. You can also never have too much defense around Young.
Any addition would ideally have more outside gravity than Butler. The Hawks have enough talent to figure it out. They can finagle packages that allow them to keep one of Bogdanović or De'Andre Hunter and won't need to include Daniels or Zaccharie Risacher.
Plus, with its next three picks controlled by San Antonio, Atlanta has some incentive to shop this year's Sacramento (top-12 protection) and Los Angeles Lakers picks for an immediate boost.
John Collins: Minnesota Timberwolves
2 of 10
John Collins, currently sidelined, is restoring trade appeal by knocking down nearly 44 percent of his threes and 56 percent of his twos while notching a career-high assist rate. His $26.6 million player option for next season will prove prohibitive in many cases, but the Minnesota Timberwolves can easily justify footing the bill or bankrolling his next contract.
Dangling Julius Randle will imply he's primarily responsible for the team's unevenness. That's not exactly true. Randle has been as expected, if not better, in a vacuum. But the shot creation he adds comes as the expense of floor balance and spacing.
Inserting Collins into the rotation decongests the lane. Minnesota forfeits creation, but Rob Dillingham's recent play suggests he's ready to offset some of the deficit.
The Utah Jazz won't have much interest in Randle. But he's a short-term investment, as well as a vehicle through which they can add a couple of second-rounders—including, perhaps, their own in this year's draft.
Jerami Grant: Toronto Raptors
3 of 10
Acquiring Jerami Grant doesn't perfectly square with the Toronto Raptors' timeline. But they have a handful of short-term and expiring contracts—Bruce Brown, Chris Boucher, Kelly Olynyk—to use as salary anchors and a reported interest in doing...something
Plenty of teams will shy away from the three years and $102.6 million remaining on Grant's deal. Toronto isn't necessarily one of them. Cap space doesn't mean much on the market, and the Raptors aren't on track to chisel out a bunch anyway.
Having a big contract as a salary anchor for future trades may prove more valuable. And while Grant's number isn't super palatable, he can still fill the three-and-D quota.
Of course, this is all predicated upon the Portland Trail Blazers almost exclusively looking to lop off his money without receiving top-tier assets in return—a likelier possibility given their direction and Grant's performance this season.
Brandon Ingram: Chicago Bulls
4 of 10
The Chicago Bulls should be invested in opening up financial flexibility while ensuring the top-10-protected 2025 first-round pick stays put. Yet, their organizational history is littered with bizarre decisions. Chicago may very well be committed to preserving or advancing its place in the middle.
Targeting Brandon Ingram would offer optionality.
Landing his expiring contract can presumably get the Bulls out from the final two years and $95 million of LaVine's deal. It may also increase their lottery odds. LaVine is having the better year, and Ingram's continued absence might remove a capable weapon from the rotation.
Hashing out framework with the New Orleans Pelicans is the real challenge. They don't profile as a LaVine destination, and Chicago has zero business sending out (more) future draft picks.
Constructing three- or four-team scenarios is basically a mandate. And beyond that, if the Bulls aren't looking for expiring money, they must view the 27-year-old Ingram as a quality long-term fit at a position of (relative) need moving forward.
Cam Johnson: Memphis Grizzlies
5 of 10
Sources told the New York Post's Brian Lewis the Brooklyn Nets "would be loath to move [Cam Johnson] for less than two first-round picks or the equivalent thereof." Enter the Memphis Grizzlies—who will no doubt emphasize the "equivalent thereof."
Surrendering multiple outright first-rounders isn't really the Grizzlies' style. Right now, it would require them to part with 2025 and 2027 selections. That's reasonable enough, even if out of character. But they also have plenty of intriguing players on cost-controlled contracts to include, some of whom can be peddled as the "equivalent" of a first-round pick.
Matching Johnson's salary while remaining beneath the tax is no sweat, too. And with two years and $43 million left on his deal, he shouldn't noticeably inflate their medium-term books.
Oh, yeah: Johnson is also a divine fit in Memphis. He's not necessarily a movement shooter, but he's a deadeye floor-spacer who helps a half-court attack with room for a needle-mover at either forward spot.
Zach LaVine: Milwaukee Bucks
6 of 10
Bradley Beal is apparently piquing the Milwaukee Bucks' interest, for reasons none of us should understand. Perhaps they were hoping his arrival would come attached to the Phoenix Suns' 2031 first-rounder. That ship has sailed now that it belongs to Utah.
Zach LaVine registers as the substantially better basketball fit. He is younger, provides more rim pressure and off-the-dribble three-point shooting and is on a contract that's easier to fit within Milwaukee's restrictive salary-matching structure.
Sustaining recent defensive success gets tougher with both LaVine and Damian Lillard logging heavy minutes. But, again, the Bucks are or were reportedly intrigued by Beal—and the logistics of ducking the second apron while moving Khris Middleton, Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis Jr. his arrival would entail.
If LaVine doesn't tickle their fancy, it's because they don't want to part with draft equity. Will they need a first-round pick, though, if they find a taker for Khris Middleton as part of a complex multi-team deal that saves the Chicago Bulls gobs of cash?
Collin Sexton: Orlando Magic
7 of 10
Regardless of when they expect Franz Wagner to return from his oblique injury, the Orlando Magic need an infusion of offense. They are back in the bottom five of points scored per possession and dead last in three-point accuracy. (They are at least attempting more triples.)
Any big swing by the Magic must feature a dynamic off-the-dribble creator and shot-maker. Collin Sexton does not meet that criteria in full.
He also shouldn't fetch the assets and players necessary to acquire someone who does. That type of middle-ground play is right up Orlando's alley.
It likewise helps that Sexton's contract is cheap (under 15 percent of the salary cap) and only runs through next season. And though he doesn't promise an off-the-bounce jump-shooting element, he is banging in over 41 percent of his threes, shooting north of 50 percent on drives and capable of complementing Wagner and Paolo Banchero whether he's on or off the ball.
Anfernee Simons: Los Angeles Clippers
8 of 10
Imagine adding another higher-volume off-the-dribble and long-range threat to this Los Angeles Clippers team. If Kawhi Leonard is any semblance of healthy come April, they may have fashioned a dark-horse contender.
Someone like Zach LaVine more credibly fits the bill. But the Clippers are light on dispensable contracts—Norman Powell is too good—and draft equity. Anfernee Simons is more in line with the tools at Los Angeles' disposal.
Cobbling together expiring deals for Bones Hyland and P.J. Tucker, along with Terance Mann, gets the math to work while saving the Clippers some coin. Whether they're willing to include a 2030 (or 2031) first-rounder is debatable.
Simons is young enough (25) and on a reasonable enough deal (one year, $27.6 million) to think about it. He has also finished inside the 87th percentile or higher of both catch-and-fire and pull-up three-point shot-making in every season since 2021-22, according to BBall Index. And given L.A.'s defensive infrastructure, he's someone they should be able to plan around both now and over the longer haul.
Nikola Vučević: San Antonio Spurs
9 of 10
Giving up value to acquire someone who plays Victor Wembanyama's best position is a no-go for the San Antonio Spurs. And that's the point of Nikola Vučević.
San Antonio may be able to nab him and offload Zach Collins' contract (one year, $18.1 million) without including first-round equity. If you're going to pay a bunch for a non-Wemby big, it might as well be someone who can help you.
Playing Wemby and Vooch in tandem is not out of the question. Both are providing enough stretch. But this is more about elevating the Spurs' minutes without Wemby.
When he's off the floor, they see their offensive rating drop by almost five points, their three-point shooting dip by close to two points, and their defensive rebounding rate fall by nearly four points. Vooch can help nudge the Spurs in the right direction during their non-Wemby stints.
Zion Williamson: Utah Jazz
10 of 10
Reporting for The Stein Line and The People's Insider on Substack, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer wrote the New Orleans Pelicans were open to offers for everyone other than Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and, obviously, Yves Missi. That presumably puts Zion Williamson in play.
Later intel from ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Bobby Marks disputed this notion. But the Pelicans have nothing if not entered consider-almost-everything territory. After many failed to form a healthy-enough contender around him, the promise of another high draft pick this year could prompt them to flip his contracts (and non-guarantees) for as much first-round and prospect equity as they can get.
Absent a tentpole of the future already in place, the Utah Jazz could decide to roll the dice on Zion's health and upside and absurdly good fit with Lauri Markkanen. He shouldn't impact this year's lottery odds much, if at all, and the chance to bag someone boasting his conceptual peak without including elite draft picks is arguably can't-miss.
That's especially true when you have first-rounders to spare. The Jazz have those in ample supply even after their three-for-one trade with the Phoenix Suns, along with digestible matching salary to send New Orleans' way.
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.
Unless otherwise cited, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac. Draft-pick obligations via RealGM.
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