Now that the 2024 NBA Finals are officially over, it’s a good time for us to embark on a mission nobody else is undertaking: The unleashing of hypothetical trades that would shake up this year’s draft.
Just kidding…about the “nobody else” part. I do, in fact, have a fresh bundle of trade ideas for you to peruse.
The criteria for this is simple: Every proposal must include at least one 2024 NBA draft pick. Sometimes, they’ll be higher-end selections. Other times, they’ll be back-of-the-second-round choices that grease the wheels of bigger deals I have decided you just have to see.
For the collective bargaining agreement savants: Assume every one of these trades is agreed upon during the June 26-27 event but not completed until a later date. This allows us to make use of cap space and work around the Stepien Rule.
Brooklyn Nets Receive: No. 3 pick, Jae’Sean Tate (team option), 2025 first-round pick swap, 2026 first-round pick (their own), 2027 first-round swap
Houston Rockets Receive: Mikal Bridges
The Rockets reportedly offered the Nets some combination of their picks back to try landing Bridges at the deadline, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. Brooklyn, of course, refused.
And it continues to resist overtures for the 27-year-old. League sources recently told The Athletic’s Fred Katz that the Nets “front office has told teams it views Bridges as a costar to whichever big name it can trade for down the line.”
That is…misguided. The Nets have the draft-pick stockpile to make waves, courtesy of Dallas, Philadelphia and Phoenix. And stars shake loose all the time. But Bridges’ time in Brooklyn has shown he’s best suited as a non-headlining offensive option. That’s not an insult at all. If you want him to be your No. 2, then you’re No. 1 better be second-team All-NBA material.
Landing that player is hard. Donovan Mitchell is perhaps the “lowest” level of superstar with whom you could actualize Brooklyn’s purported blueprint and not feel as if you’re fooling yourself. His prospective availability is evaporating by the day, and the list of plausible alternatives doesn’t scream “Go all-in, Nets!”
Maybe Trae Young changes that. To this point, though, we’ve yet to get word he’s available. Pivoting to Dejounte Murray shouldn’t cost the moon, but it also doesn’t set up Brooklyn to do more than compete for the top of the middle. Darius Garland, Karl-Anthony Towns, Brandon Ingram et al. aren’t good enough.
All of which is to say: The Nets should pounce at the opportunity to nab the No. 3 selection and control their own future picks. It frees them up to properly rebuild—and it’s definitely more in line with the long-term approach team governor Joe Tsai claims he wants to follow.
Houston has every right to think this is an overpay. Perhaps it can get Brooklyn to concede the final swap. That gives the Nets two years of hassle-free recalibration.
But Bridges is under contract for long enough and cheap enough to stick with a Rockets core that must plan around forthcoming paydays for Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün. Most critically, his offensive and defensive packages are much more valuable to a team that doesn’t need him to be its very best performer on either of those ends.
Dallas Mavericks Receive: Bogdan Bogdanović
Atlanta Hawks Receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Olivier Maxence-Prosper, No. 58 pick, 2025 first-round pick (top-eight protection; turns into two second-rounders if not conveyed)
Making it to the NBA Finals is proof of Dallas’ concept—to an extent. It is not a license to sit back and relax. The Boston Celtics are now its standard, and the Western Conference will get more hellacious, health-permitting, next season.
Two voids stand out when surveying the Mavericks’ roster and Finals performance: Two-way wings and a third offensive player who can not only consistently make shots but also regularly put opposing defenses in rotation.
Bogdanović checks the latter box. He just drilled 36.6 percent of his pull-up triples and shot 52.1 percent on drives while reinforcing his value as a secondary ball-mover and dependable spot-up sniper. His shot-making can slog through troughs, particularly when operating off the dribble, but he’s someone to whom defenses overreact. The same cannot be said for any of Dallas’ other non-stars.
Using Hardaway’s salary to snag Bogdanović does put the Mavs at risk of losing Derrick Jones Jr. They must use an exception to re-sign him, and this deal doesn’t shed enough salary to guarantee they’ll have access to the non-taxpayer MLE. But Dallas can attempt to offset the difference by moving Maxi Kleber or Dwight Powell ($4 million player option).
Whether Atlanta should view expiring salary, O-Max and a first-round pick as enough compensation is debatable. That 2025 first is valuable when the Hawks aren’t guaranteed to get the Sacramento Kings’ selection (top-12 protection), and when their own is headed to San Antonio.
Atlanta’s impressions of this deal could also change if it treats winning the No. 1 pick as a means to reorient its timeline around Trae Young, Jalen Johnson and whomever they draft. Regardless, the Mavs have other permutations they can peddle. Including Jaden Hardy or even Josh Green as part of different versions shouldn’t scare them away from the bargaining table.
Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Alex Caruso
Chicago Bulls Receive: No. 41 pick, 2028 first-round pick (via Los Angeles Clippers)
Cobbling together trade targets for the Sixers before knowing how much cap space they’ll decide to carve out ($60 million-plus is possible) and on whom they’ll spend it is *gestures wildly toward nothing and no one in particular while sighing in exasperation.*
Caruso stands out as an every-scenario fit. His salary next season is low enough ($9.9 million) that it doesn’t seriously warp Philadelphia’s finances even if it intends to max out Paul George (player option), and what he does best scales to pretty much all 30 teams: Defend his butt off, including versus wings, without monopolizing offensive touches.
Playing Caruso and Tyrese Maxey together in the frontcourt is the embodiment of a chef’s kiss. Caruso covers up Maxey’s defensive limitations (which aren’t as stark as some believe). Maxey masks Caruso’s (at times maddening) low offensive volume. Having both Caruso and Joel Embiid in the fold, meanwhile, ensures the Sixers’ most important lineups will churn out elite defensive returns.
Yet, as we all know by now, the Bulls reportedly turned down a top-10 pick in this year’s draft to move Caruso, according to CHGO’s Will Gottlieb. That suggests they won’t view this as enough.
Then again, a far-out Clippers pick is much more intriguing than an end-of-lottery selection when looking at this year’s draft class specifically.
Philly can bake in lower-end first-round equity as a finishing touch if Chicago balks. But unless Caruso is willing to sign a (estimated) four-year, $78 million extension to stick around, the Bulls would be unwise (and therefore, totally on-brand) to not at least treat this offer as a viable springboard for further negotiations.
Phoenix Suns Receive: Nick Richards, Grant Williams
Charlotte Hornets Receive: Jusuf Nurkic, No. 22 pick, 2031 second-round pick
Suns team governor Mat Ishbia sounds bent on dealing more first-round picks. I’ll let you decide whether that’s a good idea.
Truthfully, this specific scenario wouldn’t scare me. There’s a difference between forking over the No. 22 pick in this year’s draft versus hocking your 2031 first-rounder for a sub-star return. And this package does a nifty job of diversifying Phoenix’s frontcourt rotation while cleansing its longer-term salary commitments.
First, albeit not foremost, a disclaimer: I am very much aware that Williams had beef with Kevin Durant this season. I’d like to say they wouldn’t clash as teammates, but I can’t promise something so lofty relative to Williams’ brief stint in Dallas.
I can, however, promise that Williams will unlock more versatile defensive lineups and add stretch to Phoenix’s frontline, and that the three years, $40.9 million he’s owed is equal parts team-friendly and a valuable salary anchor for down-the-line trades.
Richards could immediately slot into the starting center spot vacated by Nurkić. He isn’t the better player in a vacuum, but he’s got more vertical pop and should come closer to approximating what new head coach Mike Budenholzer values most on defense from his bigs.
Jettisoning Nurkić’s contract is also part of the appeal here. He’s owed $37.5 million over the next two years. His standalone price point is valuable, in theory, as a trade chip. But exactly zero teams will be chomping at the bit to pay him noticeably more than the non-taxpayer mid-level.
This includes the Hornets. They already have Mark Williams and will probably be more interested in running out Aleksej Pokuševski (non-guaranteed) at the 5 than allocating minutes (and payroll) to Nurkić.
Charlotte is in the infancy of its latest reorganization, though. Scooping up another first-round pick—and what could be a higher-end second—for two players unlikely to be part of the big-picture program is reasonable business.
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Robert Williams III, No. 40 pick
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: 2025 first-round pick (second most favorable from Houston, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami, Oklahoma City or Philadelphia)
Everybody wants the Thunder to use their $30 million-plus in cap space and endless supply of draft picks to pull off something seismic.
“Throw the kitchen sink at Utah for Lauri Markkanen! Pay Isaiah Hartenstein enough to leave New York! Entice Brooklyn into actually moving Mikal Bridges! Create your own trade market for seemingly untouchable players on uber-team-friendly deals (Deni Avdija) or rookie scales (Jalen Johnson)! Do something huge! Even if it’s somewhat reckless! You will have the leftover assets to fix it later! Hell, are we sure Denver won’t listen on Nikola Jokić?!”
If history is any indication, the Thunder will anger everyone by straddling the middle ground and/or using their cap space to give immediate pay bumps to Isaiah Joe (team option) or, less likely, Aaron Wiggins (team option). But their acquisition of Gordon Hayward at the deadline, while ill-fated, is proof the team will take chances to bolster what was just the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed.
Rolling the dice on Williams fits snugly into that motif.
He isn’t the biggest name (or biggest center), but he injects more strength, athleticism, screening and short- and deep-roll passing and finishing into Oklahoma City’s program. His contract (two years, $25.7 million) is a steal even relative to his injuries and ends just as the Thunder have to start grappling with max/supermax paydays for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Ah, yes, those pesky injuries. RW3 missed all but six games this season with a right knee issue that required surgery. He has now made just 41 total appearances over the past two years.
His spotty availability is caked into what the Thunder are giving up. This doesn’t leave a dent in their war chest. They can still make one or two of those aggressive, verging on haphazard, moves for which many of you pine.
Portland, for its part, might want more. Shocker. Oklahoma City can sweeten the pot without losing sleep. But the combination of RW3’s health bill, the degree to which the Blazers seem invested in Deandre Ayton and the team’s early-stage rebuild should render this, if nothing else, a conversation-starter.
Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Ayo Dosunmu
Chicago Bulls Receive: Pat Connaughton, No. 23 pick, No. 33 pick
I’m rehashing this hypothetical from a previous trade-idea dump because 1) I very much like it and 2) because I’m tweaking it.
After (way too) much consideration, it feels like the Bulls need more than the No. 23 pick to part with Dosunmu and take on the $18.8 million Connaughton is owed over the next two years (2025-26 player option).
Weaving in the No. 33 pick is a quality finishing touch. It gives Chicago three top-35 selections in this draft, which might not be ideal. But the Bulls can try tethering them together and move up from No. 11 (or No. 23).
Milwaukee might be hesitant to punt on two cost-controlled roster spots, but it doesn’t have the open-ended timeline to prioritize development, and its rotation needs a jolt of versatility and verve on the perimeter.
Dosunmu brings it in spades. At 6’5″ in shoes, with a wingspan north of 6’10”, he can defend both guard spots and scale up to certain wings. Tackling star covers isn’t out of the question, either.
Four other players this past season split at least 20 percent of their defensive possessions against 1s, 2s and 3s and spent about as much time on first and second options as Dosunmu while clearing 2,000 minutes, according to BBall Index: Malik Beasley (who the Bucks are about to lose in free agency), Mikal Bridges, Jaylen Brown and Jaden McDaniels.
Combine this with a progressively more robust scoring package when attacking downhill, along with a contract that pays him just $14.5 million over the next two years, and the Bucks’ prospective trade options don’t get much better than Dosunmu—unless they’re prepared to break up the core and/or dump enough money to settle below the second apron.
Orlando Magic Receive: Anfernee Simons
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Cole Anthony, No. 18 pick, 2025 first-round pick (most favorable from Denver or Orlando)
Simons-to-Orlando trade ideas are available in droves. I make no apologies. It’s a great fit, and I’m doing my part to will it into existence.
Half-court shot-making and facilitation top the Magic’s offseason to-get list. Going after Simons comes close to doing both. He isn’t a conventional floor general, but he has improved his live-dribble reads. Secondary orchestration also goes a long way when Paolo Banchero is already in place.
Granted, Simons’ scoring ability represents the meat and potatoes and ice-cream sundae of his appeal. He just downed nearly 43 percent of his catch-and-fire triples and continues to nail his off-the-dribble treys at a satisfactory clip, and the 8.8 three-pointers he jacked per game this season would have led Orlando by a colossal margin.
Attaching two firsts to Anthony will come across as lofty to more than a few people. It isn’t. Neither of those firsts has top-shelf value, and at 25, with two guaranteed years left on his deal, Simons perfectly jibes with the Magic’s timeline. Orlando would also retain access to cap space, if it chooses, that can be allocated toward a more conventional floor general (a la Tyus Jones).
Portland could ask for more, but this package serves a multitude of purposes: It nets two additional first-rounders, lands a reasonably paid and capable backup guard and nudges the payroll (comfortably) outside tax territory.
The Blazers can ask for Anthony Black instead of Anthony or one of the firsts, and the Magic would probably listen. But his developmental arc in Portland profiles as finicky given his shaky jumper, and he’s unlikely to ever graduate to closing lineups with Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe in the mix.
Now, if the Blazers think he can defend wings full-time, this becomes a different story. But if the Magic are giving up Black, the framework probably shifts to him and one of these first alone.
New York Knicks Receive: 2025 first-round pick (via Phoenix, top-10 protection)
Brooklyn Nets Receive: No. 24 pick, No. 25 pick
Sorry, Mikal Bridges-to-the-Knicks advocates. It’s not that I don’t like the idea for New York. It’s more so that I recently wrote about one, there’s already a Bridges deal in here, and, well, Brooklyn seems married to the bottom of the middle.
This trade isn’t as splashy, but it could have ripple-effect implications.
The Knicks should be very interested in keeping at least one of their firsts. Adding someone under cost control for the next four years is a potentially gargantuan deal with Isaiah Hartenstein (Early Bird) and OG Anunoby entering free agency and with new contracts for the extension-eligible Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle on the horizon.
At the same time, though, converting Nos. 24 and 25 into a 2025 pick sheds immediate salary (about $5.8 million) that could prove valuable as they look to navigate life (presumably) beneath the second apron and arms them with a first-rounder in a better draft to either keep or dangle in blockbuster-trade talks.
Granted, an immediate Suns selection has only so much value. Their 2024-25 outlook isn’t smack-you-in-the-face fantastic, but this could feasibly be a bottom-five choice. That should only make it easier to sell the Nets on this deal. They don’t have any firsts this year and shouldn’t feel as if they’re punting on a possible prime-time asset.
The Knicks, on the other hand, can paint Phoenix’s pick as a boom-or-bust proposition. And they wouldn’t be wrong. The Suns are neither a billboard for pristine health nor depth, and they could get lost inside what profiles as a damningly difficult 2024-25 Western Conference.
Who doesn’t love a deal that’s easy to justify for both sides?
Is this a scenario that will motivate the Knicks and Nets to break bread for the first time since 1983? I’ll let you decide.
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Deni Avdija
Washington Wizards Receive: Josh Giddey, No. 12 pick, 2025 first-round pick (second least favorable from Houston, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami, Oklahoma City or Philadelphia)
Robert Williams III has already been sent to Oklahoma City in our fictive world. Avdija now joins him, and he’s bringing more dynamic offensive dimensions that prime Gordon Hayward might have but 2023-24 Gordon Hayward most certainly did not.
The fit is borderline divine, both functionally and mathematically. Avdija will be starting a four-year, $55 million extension in 2024-25 that looks like a steal, won’t turn 24 until January and is working off a career season. His contract, in particular, will prove critical as Oklahoma City bankrolls new deals for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams.
Additional volume looked great on Avdija this past season. Receiving more touches led to a flourishing, at times sneakily physical drive-and-dish game and spiffier handles and footwork and finishing.
Floor balance is a potential sticking point. The Thunder want to play five-out most of the time, and Avdija’s three-point volume always leaves you wanting more. But he just downed treys at a 37.4 percent clip and negates some of his long-range hesitance with less aversion to contact and sharper movement away from the ball.
Spackle in his defensive physicality and malleability, and Avdija is someone who could easily crack Oklahoma City’s closing lineup. And while the Washington Wizards shouldn’t actively be hoping to move him, the Thunder have the first-round-asset armory to create their own trade market.
Is this offer from Oklahoma City enough to facilitate that invention? It largely depends on Washington’s view of Giddey. He can be a masterful passer, has great size and has put together semi-convincing stretches in which he knocks down open threes and keeps defenses on tilt with his floater. His extension eligibility means expensive reinvestment is coming down the pipeline, but he’s a source of real intrigue for a Wizards squad without a cornerstone playmaker.
Bagging another two first-round picks, including a 2024 lottery selection, should at least make Washington think twice before ghosting Thunder executive vice president Sam Presti.
And if it’s still a no-go, Oklahoma City has the draft-pick stash and depth chart to pepper in another first or Ousmane Dieng without feeling as if it’s getting hosed.
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: LaMelo Ball
Charlotte Hornets Receive: Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Gabe Vincent, No. 17 pick, 2025 second-round pick (most favorable from Lakers or Clippers), 2026 first-round swap, 2027 second-round pick, 2028 first-round swap, 2029 first-round pick (unprotected), 2030 second-round pick, 2031 first-round pick (top-one protection; turns into 2031 second-rounder if not conveyed)
Donovan Mitchell and Trae Young get shoehorned into Lakers trade scenarios more than anyone else. That’s fine. In a vacuum, though, Los Angeles won’t have the best offer for either player.
Building out packages that feature three first-round picks and two first-round swaps isn’t something at which to sneeze. That’s real stuff. But other teams can beat that framework. Even if Austin Reaves is included, the Lakers would be counting on Mitchell or Young to leverage their teams into sending them to L.A.
Shifting to Ball could pose similar challenges. He’s 23 in August, under team control for the next five years and, by all appearances, not readily available. More than a few teams will scatter given his injury history. He has numerous ankle issues in the rear view, missed 20-plus games in three of his first four seasons and made just 58 combined appearances over the last two years.
The promise of Ball’s shooting, vision and contrived anarchy on the break and how it all fits beside LeBron James (player option) and Anthony Davis is enough to get the Lakers looking beyond the risks. This is a move that weaponizes their present and constructs a sturdy bridge into the future. And no, L.A. shouldn’t quibble about surrendering so much draft equity when it’s keeping Reaves.
Charlotte’s end of the deal is, naturally, more controversial. If it’s not actively looking to move Ball, is this enough to get them thinking about it? What if Reaves was also included? Does it like the idea of a Rui-Brandon Miller-Mark Williams frontcourt? Or does it prefer (and think) it can reroute Rui for even more assets?
I’m just spitballing here, though, which is the entire point of this exercise.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes.
Unless otherwise cited, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac. Draft-pick obligations via RealGM.
