Ranking the 10 Best NBA Trade Assets After Wild 2026 Offseason
The 2026 NBA offseason shook the league's foundations, but everyone understands we're only another blockbuster trade away from an aftershock.
Here, we're going to assess the assets most likely to show up in the next seismic deal.
We're not talking about the hypothetical centerpieces of those exchanges. We don't care about the young superstar who'd bring back a mint like Victor Wembanyama. Established MVP types are also off-limits, which excludes the likes of Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Instead, we want the picks and players who would have to be on the table for any team trying to acquire those apex-level talents.
10. Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets
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Maybe designating Reed Sheppard as a trade chip will look foolish if he uses the upcoming season to deliver on the expectations of his supporters. Plenty of fans in and out of Houston believe the former No. 2 overall pick hasn't gotten a fair shot from head coach Ime Udoka and that the sweet-shooting guard is only a role upgrade away from stardom.
It's a good bet that some rival teams looking to unload a superstar hold a similar opinion.
Sheppard shot 39.4 percent from deep and flashed the defensive disruption that made him such a two-way analytics darling in college. Still just 22 and toting career averages of 18.6 points, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per 36 minutes, the Kentucky product comes with ample signs of potential stardom.
If he develops as a playmaker and figures out how to survive being a target of the opposing offense, Sheppard has legitimate star potential. If all he does is continue to shoot it efficiently while generating steals, he's still probably a quality starter.
9. Warriors' 2029 1st-Round Pick
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With the exception of spots 21-30 on their 2030 pick, the Dubs control all of their own future first-rounders.
Given the age and contract status of the current core, the 2029 selection falls in the Goldilocks zone—not too distant as to be unpredictable, and not to close as to be negatively affected by a competent roster.
Timed to convey just as Stephen Curry and Co. figure to exit the stage, that 2029 selection should be the main ask for any team thinking of sending Golden State a premium player in trade.
Curry's deal is currently set to expire after the 2026-27 season, but he's highly likely to sign an extension that could add another two years to his contract. Though head coach Steve Kerr's deal runs through 2028 and Draymond Green's contract concludes after this season, it's still probably best to zero in on the pick that seems most safely situated after Curry is either retired or playing elsewhere.
8. Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder
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There's a case for Chet Holmgren here, but his max rookie-scale extension makes him more of a high-priced upgrade than a true trade chip.
Cason Wallace could move into that category soon enough, as he's eligible for his own extension. For now, though, the 22-year-old defensive dynamo is only earning $7.4 million this season with a cap hold of $22.3 million ahead of 2027 free agency.
Teams interested in Wallace as part of a return for a star had better strike quickly. Though the Oklahoma City Thunder's moves this offseason were mainly designed to shrink their tax bill, the exits of Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe also had the effect of removing competition for minutes on the wing.
Wallace is going to sop those up, likely juicing his stats in a potential breakout campaign. He's a lock to blow past last year's career highs of 8.6 points and 1.9 steals, and it's even possible he'll improve on 2025-26's second-team All-Defensive nod.
Any team that deals for him will do so knowing it'll be on the hook for a hefty extension.
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7. Nuggets' 2032 1st-Round Pick
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Maybe Nikola Jokić will sign the richest max extension ever next summer, making official his stated commitment to the Denver Nuggets. Maybe he won't.
Either way, the unprotected 2032 first-rounder Denver sent to the Brooklyn Nets with Michael Porter Jr. in 2025 is going to carry massive value.
Whether Jokić is long gone or still around but making a colossal salary during the decline phase of his career (a right he's earned, by the way), the Nuggets are going to have a hard time avoiding some slippage six seasons from now. Though the sheer number of years it'll take for this pick to convey introduces a ton of uncertainty, the pretty obvious likelihood that Denver won't be a contender early in the next decade makes it intriguing.
The Joker will keep Denver competitive through his mid-30s, but this pick will convey following his age-36 season.
The only way this selection could lose value is if the Nuggets deal Jokić for a draft haul that starts a rebuild, one which matures into a new and dangerous team by 2031-32. That's a real possibility, which is why we can't rank this asset any higher.
6. Kings' 2031 1st-Round Pick (Swap)
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As a general rule, you'll do pretty well betting against the Sacramento Kings playing competent basketball.
Combined with a conveyance date one year sooner than the Denver pick, the Kings' reliable mismanagement makes this a juicier asset. If anything, the possibility Sacramento will wind up in the relegation zone following the 2030-31 season is a bigger concern than it reaching the playoffs, which would lower the pick's value.
The San Antonio Spurs currently control the selection, which almost seems unfair in light of their in-house talent and trajectory.
It would be ironic if this was the asset necessary to get off former King De'Aaron Fox's contract, but the Spurs could put it to use in any number of other ways. Maybe it doesn't seem like San Antonio needs another star, but who's to say how the roster will take shape over the next half-decade?
A Kings pick is one of the few NBA investments widely expected to remain valuable.
5. Amen Thompson, Houston Rockets
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Already an All-Defensive first-teamer, Amen Thompson comes with a high floor and the clear ability to start for most teams. Questions about his offense and ultimate role are the reason he's still better described as a trade chip than an untouchable cornerstone.
Bluntly, Thompson is a terrible shooter. It's easy to get hyperbolic when it comes to his jumper, but it's hard to argue he's not the worst jump-shooter in the league when he shot just 21.8 percent on wide-open threes and just 36.3 percent from 8-16 feet last season.
With averages of 18.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists last year, Thompson clearly still found ways to contribute for the Rockets.
If he never figures out how to threaten defenses from the perimeter, none of that will matter; playoff opponents will totally ignore him, scheming him off the floor or, perhaps worse, crippling the Rockets' attack if they refuse to bench him.
These risks currently belong to Houston, along with Thompson's considerable upside. Should he develop his shot, he would immediately enter the All-NBA conversation. And if another team believes more strongly in the glass‑half‑full version of Thompson than the Rockets do, it's easy to imagine him headlining a deal for a veteran superstar.
4. Wolves' 2031 1st-Round Pick
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This pick is unprotected and comes at the end of a five-year stretch in which the Timberwolves don't control their own first-round asset. It also conveys to the Kings (hey, they finally catch a break!) after what would be Anthony Edwards' age-29 season.
Edwards' ability to shoot threes at high volume means he's probably in for a gentler decline than most players who broke in with his level of athleticism. But he'll be an 11-year vet by the time this pick is changing hands. With just 61 games played last year and some concerning knee troubles cropping up, the elite durability Ant showed across his first five seasons could already be fading.
That all presupposes Edwards is still in Minnesota in 2031. The Wolves just took a major gamble on LaMelo Ball, a move that comes with intriguing offensive upside but one that also introduces real volatility (and injury risk) to the mix.
Five years from now, things could be an absolute wreck in Minnesota.
3. Suns' 2029 1st-Round Pick
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The Phoenix Suns are experts at mortgaging their future, which is why several of their outgoing picks warrant consideration among the league's most valuable trade assets.
It wouldn't be out of bounds to say that, if broken up, the individual picks Phoenix sent out could populate a good chunk of the top five all by themselves.
The Suns' 2027 first-rounder (controlled by the Rockets), 2031 first-rounder (controlled by the Grizzlies) and 2033 first-rounder (controlled by the Hornets) are all great options.
We're going with the 2029 edition, which will go to either the Rockets or Nets, because it slots right into the middle of a half-decade stretch during which the Suns will be wildly inflexible due to Devin Booker's extension.
Add to that the talent drain caused by so many consecutive years without a draft-driven talent infusion (remember, the Suns also owe swaps in 2028 and 2030), and things could reach peak bleakness in the 2028-29 season.
2. Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
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Victor Wembanyama limited his rookie-scale extension to the 25 percent max because he wanted to give the Spurs as many roster-building options as reasonably possible. One assumes that sacrifice was designed to make it easier to retain Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle when they come due for their own extensions.
That's why Castle's presence here might seem strange. He's not available now, and Wemby's decision suggests he may not be for a long time.
But if the Spurs are going to make a star-level upgrade to a roster that fell short of a championship by the slimmest of margins last season, Castle is unquestionably more likely to head out in a trade than Harper.
If that weren't the case, Harper, a potential first-option superstar heading into just his second season, would sit at the top of these rankings without a challenger.
Castle is less offensively polished and still carries shooting concerns that feel more pronounced than his teammate's. He's also a brutally physical downhill attacker who defends at an elite level and has yet to meet a matchup with greater competitive drive. He's San Antonio's second-best trade chip, and he's still good enough to headline a major deal for a star.
1. Milwaukee Bucks' 2027 1st-Round Pick
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The New Orleans Pelicans probably shouldn't be in the business of dealing high-value draft assets, but they could barge into virtually any trade conversation in the league by offering up this choice selection.
Having traded Giannis Antetokounmpo for half-a-rotation's worth of useful players, the Milwaukee Bucks probably won't finish with one of the three worst records in 2026-27. That should ensure the pick they send the Pels has optimal value.
New Orleans will get the more favorable of its own and the Bucks' 2027 firsts, while Atlanta gets the less favorable of those two picks, but with a 1-4 protection.
New Orleans' own 2027 first-rounder could be nearly as valuable as Milwaukee's under the new lottery system, but the deeper East and marginal talent advantage on the Pelicans roster means that Bucks pick has the greater upside.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
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