.png?w=1280)
Best and Worst Landing Spots for Trade Targets After New York Knicks Win 2026 NBA Finals
The New York Knicks have won the 2026 NBA Finals, which means the offseason can officially begin.
Let's start with the misconception that NBA trade season started in mid-December. The week of the draft through July free agency is the most active stretch for deals all year, and we're less than two weeks away from the madness to come.
As soon as the 2025 trade deadline expired, the offseason rumors began to develop, most notably surrounding former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. He's the giant domino, but only one of the stars relocating in the very near future.
What are the best landing spots for Antetokounmpo and other names on the block? What are the worst?
Giannis Antetokounmpo
1 of 5
Best: Boston Celtics
Antetokounmpo has kept everyone in the industry busy this summer. With the prospect of a long-term extension in Milwaukee dwindling, the franchise is expected to move him ahead of the upcoming draft. Some of the potential destinations have been ranked, and while the heat is on Miami as the favorite, the Celtics stand out as a fascinating pairing for the All-Star forward.
The Celtics made the Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown pairing work to an NBA title, but the time has come to make a change. Antetokounmpo gives Boston a more forceful paint-and-rim attacker. He'll improve the team's interior defense and make the squad less wholly reliant on the three-ball.
For Antetokounmpo, unlike the Heat, the Celtics give him a more ready-made team to compete at the highest level. Not that a Bam Adebayo/Antetokounmpo frontcourt wouldn't be devastating defensively, but Miami would have to give up players like Tyler Herro, Kel'el Ware, and possibly Jaime Jaquez Jr. to get a deal done—leaving the roster thin just about everywhere else. Boston is just a better immediate fit for Antetokounmpo.
Worst: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder were very close to a return trip to the NBA Finals, but fell short when Victor Wembanyama outplayed Chet Holmgren. The immediate reaction would be for the Thunder to restructure its team and "go for it" with Antetokounmpo, despite being a hair away from beating the San Antonio Spurs.
Oklahoma City has all the draft compensation necessary to entice the Bucks, and can find contracts like Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort, Kenrich Williams, Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, etc., to add Antetokounmpo's massive salary to the books (understanding he's expecting an extension with the team that brings him on board).
The Thunder don't need that massive obligation and a full commitment to luxury taxes, apron issues, and a star older than its core. A more drastic option would be Jalen Williams, but Antetokounmpo reshapes the Thunder's identity too much. It's overkill for one of the best franchises in the NBA.
For Antetokounmpo, he's better off staying in the East, where he can challenge Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, Wembanyama and the Spurs, or whoever comes out of the West in the NBA Finals.
Jaylen Brown
2 of 5
Best: Portland Trail Blazers
Working with the assumption that the Bucks agree to send Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Boston Celtics, the franchise shouldn't bring Brown back as its primary return, given he'll turn 30 around the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Instead, a multi-team trade makes significant sense. Boston gets one of the few players in the NBA they can comfortably say is better than Brown, while getting the Blazers to pay some of the bounty to the Bucks. Portland has some of Milwaukee's future draft compensation, owed from the original Damian Lillard trade—never mind that he's back on the Blazers after the Bucks waived his contract last summer.
The Blazers have several talented young players, including Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, plus veteran forward Jerami Grant, whom Milwaukee can afford to take on for a couple of seasons with draft compensation.
Brown joins a talented, hungry team with solid veteran leadership, including former Celtics Jrue Holiday, plus Lillard. The combination of Deni Avdija and Brown would be a fascinating combo, different but with some similarities to what he shared in Boston with Jayson Tatum.
Worst: Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks need younger players to start a proper rebuild. Brown is too expensive and too old to fit the timeline. Milwaukee doesn't want to tank, given its lack of a first-round pick in 2027 and new lottery rules that discourage tanking.
The return of the Blazers and Celtics, combined, should help get the restart going without the Bucks bottoming out entirely.
Note: Brown has a $2 million trade bonus, payable by the Celtics if traded in July of the new salary cap year.
Myles Turner
3 of 5
Best: Toronto Raptors
Following the thread of turning over the Bucks into something new, Turner, 30, becomes immediately expendable without Antetokounmpo. The Bucks would need to address the center position, but their goal should be to profit from Turner's contract in the meantime.
The Raptors have a fun, athletic young playoff team that's eager to do more. An experienced center who can space the floor like Turner would work wonders. Toronto is paying Jakob Pöltl way too much already for what he brings as a starting center. Getting out of his contract would be ideal, but that may not be the time with the opportunities in the coming weeks.
Instead, the Raptors can look to use draft compensation, such as No. 19 or future considerations, or to relocate Brandon Ingram to the Bucks. Milwaukee would get a former All-Star who can help keep the team initially competitive, or look to relocate him for younger pieces. Toronto can also offer others like Gradey Dick, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Jonathan Mogbo, or a more expensive guard in Immanuel Quickley.
Worst: LA Clippers
The Clippers need a starting center after trading away Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers. The move was a gamble that paid off, with LA earning the No. 5 pick in the draft, along with future considerations, Bennedict Mathurin, and Isaiah Jackson.
Still, LA shouldn't be giving up any assets for a 30-year-old center. Instead, the team needs to get significantly younger. Let Yanic Konan Niederhauser play those minutes, look to trade Kawhi Leonard if possible, and focus on a proper reset.
Note: Turner has an $8.2 million trade bonus, payable by the Bucks if traded in July of the new salary cap year.
Domantas Sabonis
4 of 5
Best: Atlanta Hawks
Admittedly, this one is a risk for the Hawks, as Sabonis missed much of last season with a knee injury. The assumption is his medicals are clean, the Hawks are comfortable he'll stay healthy, and the team is passionate about adding a center to the roster.
The Hawks are a suitor for Antetokounmpo and could make another run at Anthony Davis. Still, if neither is available, Sabonis is one of the more talented offensive bigs in the league and a steady rebounder. Where he struggles is on the defensive side of the ball, but that's a strength of Atlanta's roster, which features long, rangy, hard-working athletes.
The Kings need to restart badly. They won't get No. 8 from the Hawks, but No. 23 for Sabonis could make sense, along with players like Zaccharie Risacher, Buddy Hield, and/or Corey Kispert. Sacramento had previously registered interest in Jonathan Kuminga when with the Golden State Warriors.
Worst: Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers could use a foundational big man, but Sabonis is not the player to pair with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. L.A. would score at will against opponents, but then they'd give up just as many. Sabonis can fit into cap room or come through trade once the Lakers use their spending power, with players like Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, Jake LaRavia, and others. Los Angeles can also send the No. 25 pick, but Sabonis is just the wrong direction as a catastrophic roster fit defensively.
Cam Johnson
5 of 5
Best: Chicago Bulls
The Bulls project to have a ton of cap room this summer, in the $54 million range, with a new front office led by Bryson Graham, no head coach, and marginal expectations for the 2026-27 campaign. The previous regime was building around Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis, and that may continue, but Chicago isn't in a rush.
The team needs to add wing depth, and Johnson certainly provides that, but that's not the point. The Denver Nuggets are in a difficult situation with aprons, luxury taxes, and the pending restricted free agency of Peyton Watson. Denver needs to get out of salary, and Chicago needs to get to the minimum team salary before the start of the season.
Chicago can try to pry No. 26 from Denver first, along with Johnson and/or players like Julian Strawther, DaRon Holmes II, or Jalen Pickett. If that means taking Zeke Nnaji as well, the Bulls should, provided the Nuggets offer enough incentive.
Worst: Boston Celtics
The Celtics have a large trade exception from the February Anfernee Simons trade. The team can bring on Johnson without sending out any players, with only nominal compensation to Denver to make the trade legal. Even if the Nuggets were willing to offer that same compensation to Boston to get Johnson off their books, Boston doesn't need him.
Johnson can shoot the ball but has durability issues, and the team is better off fleshing out its roster around newly acquired Antetokounmpo (see above) rather than locking in first-apron restrictions to add Johnson.
It's a clear example of "just because you can doesn't mean you should."
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X @EricPincus and Bluesky.
