As we saw over the weekend with the Lakers trading for Luka Dončić, any deal is apparently now on the table in the NBA. Even Giannis Antetokounmpo (more on him later) is joining in on the fun and throwing out trade ideas — Nikola Jokić to New York?
So let’s play along, too. Here are five blockbuster deals we’d like to see:
Kevin Durant to the Warriors
Ben Rohrbach: In the wake of Saturday night’s Luka Dončić deal, any halfwitted trade idea seems doable, and I’m pretty good at halfwitted ideas, so here goes one:
Kevin Durant to the Warriors.
It is actually not entirely out of left field. The Suns are “listening” to deals for Durant, according to Jake Fischer, and the Warriors are among the teams who want to be heard on the matter.
It would take Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga, Dennis Schröder’s expiring salary, either Moses Moody or Brandin Podziemski, every one of their available draft picks, a third team, maybe a fourth team and some delicate work around the details, especially as it pertains to the collective bargaining agreement’s second apron, which impacts both the Suns and Warriors.
But it is doable, and what great theater it would be. To reunite Durant with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green would make the one-time SUPER VILLAINS the underdogs. No longer would they be the overwhelming championship favorites, but they might just be legitimate contenders.
The old guys have still got it and all that. Plus Durant, who has searched his entire career for somewhere he belongs, would have a home in Golden State — a place he can call his own, even in the shadow of Curry, despite his clashes with Green, and especially if they win again. Who doesn’t love a redemption story? It is far better than the narratives Durant cannot escape.
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Kevin Durant to the Rockets
Vincent Goodwill: It’s very tasty to say Durant going back to Golden State, considering it feels like a natural fit with Stephen Curry and knowing the system. But let’s get crazy and move Durant to play alongside a collection of young players and a coach who gives no quarter: The Houston Rockets.
What would it take? Certainly not Amen Thompson or Alperen Şengün, but a package headlined by Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Dillon Brooks? Absolutely.
Carrying a franchise to a ring is probably too much for Durant at his age (36), but being the old-head who can carry you over the top? Durant benefiting from the gravity Thompson and Şengün create, roaming around for the open spaces and getting his isos? That sounds enticing and fun, especially in the Wild West, where all the teams at the top are trending young. But who’ll have the championship experience to fill in the blanks? In a wild dream, Durant could be it. But it’s just a dream, y’all.
Devin Booker to the Spurs
Kevin O’Connor: The Spurs got De’Aaron Fox for only one meaningful asset: Minnesota’s 2031 first-round pick. Everything else is fairly low value in comparison to the other assets, which gives them eight remaining firsts (six of their own, two from the Hawks) and swaps for four separate firsts. That’s more than enough flexibility to go target a star.
Perhaps the Spurs should call up the Suns and make a significant offer for Devin Booker, who at age 28 fits the timeline with Fox and Victor Wembanyama.
Devin Vassell and Chris Paul would work financially (though other combinations do too). Add a ton of draft picks as incentive, and maybe it’s enough for the Suns to decide to hit the reset button by moving Booker for the best offer and Kevin Durant to the Rockets to get their own picks back. And with a core of Fox, Booker and Wemby, plus some quality role players alongside them, they’d be ready to contend right now.
Giannis Antetokounmpo to Golden State, Damian Lillard to Houston in three-team deal
Haberstroh: Let’s get crazy. Giannis Antetokounmpo to Golden State, Damian Lillard to Houston and Reed Sheppard, Jonathan Kuminga, Fred VanVleet and a bevy of first-round picks go to Milwaukee.
The new ownership in Milwaukee hears Giannis getting all starry-eyed wanting international players going to the top markets and says fine, with Khris Middleton’s unreliability, it’s time to hit the reset button and build the franchise in its own vision.
Houston gets Lillard, the elite 3-point shooter and gravitational pull they so desperately need. Steph gets his Luka in the form of the Greek Freak (Antetokounmpo’s agency also represents Curry, by the way). Milwaukee’s second apron restrictions may complicate matters, but that’s what the three teams’ cap gurus are billed for.
A Jaylen Brown-Devin Booker swap
Morten Stig Jensen: Everything is fair game. That includes the team that actually won the championship last season. The Celtics and Suns are both way over the second apron, so any deal between them would have to be dollar to dollar, and exactly.
Impossible, right?
Well, actually not.
Let’s get nuts here and swap Devin Booker for Jaylen Brown, both of whom earn the exact same dollar amount, meaning a trade is actually possible.
What’s the logic? Well, for one, the Celtics get a more clean fit as Booker is a real two guard. As for Brown, he’s a wing who doesn’t overlap with Bradley Beal and offers a little defense and athleticism on the perimeter.
Does it make some Earth-shattering difference for either squad? Probably not, but since we now live in an NBA world where nothing is predictable, why the heck not?
