Blockbuster NBA Trade Ideas for Celtics, Suns and Teams Desperate For a Change
A handful of NBA teams are entering the 2025 offseason in desperate need of a reset. Let's go ahead and give it to them.
The factors driving these situations will vary. Some squads have reached the natural end of their current vision. Others are being forced into wholesale shifts thanks to looming trade requests or devastating injuries.
Regardless of the reason, it's time for those teams to play the longer game.
These trade ideas will be proposed through that lens. They are not lopsided in favor of the franchises that should be looking toward the future; they're just concocted with their realities in mind.
New Orleans Begins a Full-On Reset, and Portland Gets a True Star
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New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Deandre Ayton, No. 11 pick, Milwaukee's 2028 first-round pick (swap rights), Milwaukee's 2029 first-round pick (swap rights)
Portland Trail Blazers: Zion Williamson
New Pelicans lead executive Joe Dumars has said he's under no mandate to trade Zion Williamson this offseason. Zion representing New Orleans at the 2025 NBA draft lottery seemingly supports that claim. Or it's an incredible misdirection.
It doesn't really matter. The Pelicans are ready for a reset. They can wait and see whether Zion increases his value ahead of February's trade deadline, but that's a risky game considering his checkered injury history.
Scooping up another lottery pick for one of the NBA's least-available stars would be a good start. Ditto for taking back only an expiring contract in Ayton. The rights to Milwaukee's selections might get dicey, though. They are not outright first-rounders, so there's no guarantee the Pelicans exercise those swaps.
At the same time, New Orleans controls Milwaukee's next two firsts (swap rights in 2026 and top-four-protected in 2027). Adding another two to its clip would be a calculated gamble.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has soft-launched a potential trade request, so the Bucks soon may be on the way down. Those swaps could be gold. They could also be auctioned off for a ransom as a means of facilitating Giannis' relocation elsewhere.
Portland might balk at including both or either of them for that reason. Zion's health won't suddenly become more of a certainty in a different uniform. But he'd give the Blazers a genuine star, which they don't yet have, and which they likely won't find so late in this year's lottery.
Blazers general manager Joe Cronin has assembled defensive talent capable of insulating Zion, and Portland's offense would sing if it injects more shooting into the rotation around him. If this is too rich for the Blazers' tastes, they could try fleshing out a deal around Jerami Grant, or try tacking on Matisse Thybulle (player option) to this construction.
Boston Begins Adjusting Post-Tatum Injury, and Dallas Buys Kyrie Time
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Boston Celtics Receive: Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington
Brooklyn Nets Receive: Dwight Powell (player option), 2026 second-round pick (most favorable of Minnesota, New Orleans, New York or Portland, via Boston)
Dallas Mavericks Receive: Jrue Holiday
Jayson Tatum’s devastating Achilles injury stands to fast-track the Celtics’ inevitable cost-cutting in the face of the second apron. This trade wouldn't get them out of it, but it would lay the groundwork for a bunch of different options.
Washington could help offset some of the Tatum minutes (positionally speaking). Gafford would be valuable big-man insurance with Al Horford entering free agency (and turning 39) and with Kristaps Porziņģis' questionable bill of health.
Both incoming Mavs are on expiring contracts. Boston could look at rerouting them as part of a larger plan to skirt the second apron or the tax entirely. Or it could try trimming salary in a Porziņģis trade. This package would give the Celtics a ton of options as they potentially enter a gap year.
Dallas badly needs another ball-handler since Kyrie Irving’s ACL injury will keep him out through at least the start of 2026. Holiday could run a good portion of the show until Irving returns without infringing upon developmental reps for likely No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. The Mavs would have no trouble playing all four of Flagg, Holiday, Irving and Anthony Davis together when they’re at full strength.
The balance on Holiday’s contract could be a hang-up. He is owed $104.4 million through 2027-28 (player option), his age-37 season, and he's coming off a rough offensive campaign. Dallas could push for Boston to include draft equity, but Holiday’s arrival caters to the immediate timeline laid out by team president Nico Harrison while still preserving the big-picture outlook carved out by winning the Flagg lottery.
Brooklyn would get a second-round pick for sponging up one year and $4 million worth of Powell. That should be enough.
Phoenix Trades Durant as Part of Bigger Game, and Houston Gets Massive Scoring Punch
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Phoenix Suns Receive: Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr., No. 10 pick, 2026 first-round pick (their own, via Washington), 2027 first-round pick (their own, via Houston)
Houston Rockets Receive: Kevin Durant
Washington Wizards Receive: Jock Landale (into Jonas Valančiūnas traded player exception), No. 29 pick, 2029 first-round pick (least favorable of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah)
The Rockets reportedly aren't interested in Durant because he'll be entering his age-37 season next year. That makes some sense if they think landing him requires them to empty their asset armory.
This trade wouldn't do that. Houston has no room for the No. 10 pick in its rotation, and the extension-eligible Smith has a murky future with the Rockets if they're married to both Alperen Şengün and Amen Thompson. Tacking on an additional first-rounder could be overkill, but the Rockets would also be getting off Green's three-year, $105.3 million deal, which is aging poorly.
Plus, Durant remains magnificent. His ability to impact an offense as either a featured option or an off-ball threat is nearly unparalleled. Sure, his age is a concern, and he's entering the final year of his deal. But he'd vault Houston's offense into the contender's circle, and his next deal may not be for full max money.
Washington shouldn't have any qualms about forfeiting control of Phoenix's 2026 first-rounder. A swap is theoretical. The Suns could be bad next year, but the Wizards remain in the early portion of their own rebuild. Extracting two guaranteed first-rounders is more valuable.
Phoenix should pounce on this deal yesterday. It would effectively be regaining control over its next three first-rounders, including the No. 10 pick. That would open up all sorts of doors for the Suns to reorient their future.
Smith is both a perfect big-man fit alongside Devin Booker and someone whom the front office can treat as a building block. Taking on Green's contract wouldn't be ideal, but it's worth the Suns getting back their own picks. And as luck would have it, we have a follow-up deal that jibes with his arrival...
Phoenix Leans into a Gap Year, and Milwaukee Tries to Keep Giannis
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Phoenix Suns Receive: Damian Lillard, Milwaukee's 2031 first-round pick, Milwaukee's 2031 second-round pick
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Bradley Beal (no-trade clause)
Utah Jazz Receive: Chris Livingston, 2026 second-round pick (less favorable of Denver and Golden State, via Phoenix)
Trading for Lillard when he may not play next season after suffering a torn left Achilles wouldn't help the Suns compete in 2025-26. That's the point.
After regaining control of their 2026 first-rounder (and 2027 first) in the previous deal, they could treat next season as a gap year. Then, in this hypothetical scenario, they would enter 2026-27 with a core of Booker, Lillard on an expiring contract, Jabari Smith Jr., whomever they take at No. 10 this June and another higher first-round pick. They would also have their own 2027 first-rounder, as well as the Bucks' in 2031. What the Suns do from there is up to them.
The Bucks shouldn't make this deal in a vacuum. Beal is owed $110.8 million over the next two years—a contract that is decidedly underwater. But subbing out Lillard for him would show Giannis Antetokounmpo that they aren't belly-flopping into a gap year without any purpose.
Make no mistake, it would be a desperation move. If it's enough to buy more time with Giannis, though, it's worth the risk. Especially when the Eastern Conference figures to be wide-open next year following Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury.
Whether Beal would waive his no-trade clause to play in Milwaukee is debatable. This deal might keep Giannis in town through next season. The uncertainty after that could dissuade Beal from joining the cause. Still, if presented with the chance to play with Antetokounmpo and be a more central part of the offense, you'd have to believe he'd at least think about it.
Utah is looped in here because this transaction must be completed before the new league year. Otherwise, the construction gets ultra-complicated. (The Suns will be a second-apron team, and Lillard's 2025-26 salary is higher than Beal's cap hit.) The Jazz shouldn't have an issue getting a long-shot flier and a second-round pick while taking on minimal money.
Milwaukee Gives into the Giannis Chatter, and San Antonio Goes BIG
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Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, No. 2 pick, No. 14 pick, Atlanta's 2027 first-round pick, 2029 first-round pick, 2031 first-round pick (most favorable of San Antonio or Minnesota)
San Antonio Spurs Receive: Giannis Antetokounmpo
This trade takes place in an entirely different universe than the previous one. It sees the Bucks give into what seems like an inevitable trade request from Antetokounmpo.
The Spurs suddenly have one of the strongest theoretical offers for Giannis after landing the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft. They'd be giving Milwaukee a selection that will turn into a player—likely Dylan Harper—who can serve as the focal point of the Bucks' rebuild. The Spurs would be giving up an additional four first-rounders as well, including this year's No. 14 selection.
Sochan isn't filler, either. He falls short of outright first-round value with an extension on the way and offensive limitations galore. But he has flashed malleable defense and has value in a big-man's play-finisher role at the other end. Barnes and Johnson are on expiring contracts and would help the Bucks remain immediately competitive while they don't have their own first-rounder.
Milwaukee could push for San Antonio to include Stephon Castle or Devin Vassell. The inclusion of either one would likely come at the cost of first-round equity. The Bucks should probably prefer the upside of mystery-box picks. They could also use parts of this package to attempt regaining control over their forthcoming first-rounders from New Orleans and/or Portland.
This is a lot for the Spurs to send out, but they'd end up with a core of Giannis, Castle, Vassell, De'Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama. That's a contender with a pretty open-ended window. It would eventually get prohibitively expensive, but they have two years left before Wemby's rookie-scale deal expires, giving them adequate time to figure out the new dynamics and flesh out the supporting cast accordingly.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
