Some of the biggest stars in the league keep cropping up in NBA trade rumors, so we found one deal that works for each of them.
Although at least one NBA insider has said not to expect Fourth of July fireworks in the NBA trade market, some of the biggest names have been relentlessly mentioned in NBA trade rumors. From Damian Lillard to Paul George and Karl-Anthony Towns we found one fun deal for each of them, even if they never actually happen.
A trade that finally brings Deandre Ayton to the Trail Blazers
Deandre Ayton may not have a lot of trade suitors going forward. The offers have been so bad that the Suns are pulling out and seem open to keeping him going forward. If the Suns make a trade they will be looking for depth, turning Ayton into two or three high-quality role players. But it's really hard to find a deal that would work for both teams. But there is one possibility.
If the Trail Blazers were looking to make a deal for a talent increase while getting someone young, Ayton might be the right candidate for the team. The Trail Blazers are looking to trade Jusuf Nurkic. Nurkic is a very solid player who could help the team as a backup center. They could also look to include Anfernee Simons and another small contract and get a win-now center to appease Lillard and someone with growth potential.
For the Suns, they get a defensive-minded starter at center and another young, fringe rotation player in Watford for giving up Wainwright (to make salaries match). Simons probably doesn't have a role to play on this team with Booker and Beal already in place but he could be repackaged to a team like the Knicks for something like Obi Toppin, Evan Fournier and a protected pick, giving them more value in the Ayton return and a few more players to plug into the rotation.
A trade that sends Paul George to the Knicks
The Clippers have been quietly looking to trade Paul George as both of their star players have player options after next season. The Clippers might end up looking to trade Paul George to end up keeping Kawhi Leonard.
A deal where the Knicks end up trading Evan Fournier, Isaiah Hartenstein, and R.J Barrett. The number of draft picks could be agreed upon later but this is a deal that makes sense for both sides.
The Clippers don't have a lot of draft assets and they could look to quietly retool. If Barrett doesn't end up having a terrible year, he could end up restoring his status as one of the best young players in the league.
The Knicks need a star and this could help the team going forward. The only thing that they are missing is an offensive star that can help Jalen Brunson create offense in the playoffs. George would be a perfect fit for a team that has a lot of depth.
While they might not win a title in year one, the 2019 Raptors might be in a very comparable situation to this. George is a player that can't probably play a full season. Allowing George to rest during the regular season and play in the playoffs might be the best thing for his career.
The All-NBA player could end up signing with the team for multiple seasons and allowing the team to make multiple deep playoff runs if they are able to re-sign him.
A trade to send Damian Lillard to the Heat
It's not clear yet if Damian Lillard will ask the Trail Blazers to trade him and but he's implied that the Heat would be his preferred destination if things come to that. The Heat, for their part, are obviously very interested and reportedly waiting to see what happens.
Miami could easily give up Tyler Herro, Kyle Lowry, and a young prospect like Nikola Jovic. They would have to push things off until 2027 and 2029, but the Heat would likely need to include at least a pair of first-round picks with pick swaps potentially involved as well.
The Heat have a lot of flexibility outside of their 2025 first-round pick which is owned by the Thunder. The Trail Blazers are a team that could use a rebuild because it's hard to imagine them actually building a championship contender around Lillard. Scoot Henderson has a chance to end up being a franchise player for the team but it will take a lot of time before he is able to develop into that type of player.
This would be very good for the Heat due to the fact that this team was only three wins away from a title. Lillard would give the Heat another All-NBA type player which would allow them to compete for a title during the next three years. The Heat are missing an amazing offensive creator to work with and around Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
A trade to send Zach LaVine to the Clippers
Zach LaVine could end up getting moved this summer so that the Bulls could lose out on the bad contracts years that the team signed him to. This would be helpful for this team and allow the Bulls to have a chance to rebuild. But his contract is enormous and might make it hard to get fair value.
However, they could land an interesting young player, some guaranteed cap relief and a few future picks. A team that could end up offering that kind of deal would be the Clippers.
Morris and Gordon both come off the books at the end of next season and could be traded for additional value during the season. Bones Hyland is an electric scorer looking for an opportunity to play big minutes and 2028 and 2030 first-round picks are a ways out but better than nothing.
For the Clippers, this would be a big gamble on another high-priced perimeter player with his own injury concerns. But he'd give them another elite perimeter scorer and with Leonard and George's contracts coming off the books in the next year or two, holding LaVine's contract isn't quite as bad as it is for other teams.
A trade to send Dejounte Murray to the Knicks
Honestly who really knows what is going on with the Hawks? This is a team that is in disarray and just traded a player for peanuts (John Collins) who has been involved in trade rumors for the last couple of years. Atlanta has been rumored to consider trading Trae Young this offseason. Last offseason, they made a major move for Dejounte Murray, giving away a lot of first-round picks to create a backcourt duo of him and Young.
After one season, this is a team that may be looking to get out of the situation they made for themselves. They don't want to pay the luxury tax, especially for a team that can't avoid the Play-In and things could get very wild for this team this off-season.
While trade is unlikely and would require a situation where the team offers it instead of the Hawks giving it, there is a situation that would work. The New York Knicks could be a very good fit for a trade like this. They would not have to offer any of their young prospects in the deal given the amount of leverage that they would have in a deal. Still, they have plenty of picks to offer in a deal that could allow the Hawks to reload on draft assets going forward.
With a deal centered around Evan Fournier's expiring contract and Immanuel Quickley, the Knicks could offer a pair of their less valuable, highly-protected picks for next year. Atlanta would be able to avoid the luxury tax long-term and the Knicks would be able to get a player who can provide on the offensive end. Murray would also be a perfect fit with Jalen Brunson due to the fact that he is an amazing defensive player.
A trade to send Karl-Anthony Towns to the Knicks
If the Timberwolves want to make sure that Anthony Edwards ends up staying with the Timberwolves for the rest of his career, they may need to trade KAT. This team traded a ton of draft picks for Rudy Gobert last season and is probably already regretting it. They also just paid Naz Reid a very good extension for a backup and this team has a lot of money committed to the big-man position.
Karl-Anthony Towns may be the most versatile of the three but he also is the easiest to trade and so he might be the odd man out.
The Knicks need another star next to Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns could end up being that guy if he is available. The Knicks could offer Evan Fournier, Isaiah Hartenstein, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley and two or three of their future first-round picks.
The Timberwolves get a nice blend of minor draft capital and a few talented young players to try and fit around Anthony Edwards and Gobert. Hartenstein would slide into the same big-man logjam but could be flipped for another pick potentially.
For the Knicks, this is a no-brainer, especially if they can use the Timberwolves' lack of leverage to keep R.J. Barrett out of the deal.
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