Sports
Simple Trades That Would Change 2024 NBA Championship Race – Bleacher Report
Whether it be Channing Frye to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, Marc Gasol to the Toronto Raptors in 2019 or P.J. Tucker to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, it doesn’t always take a blockbuster trade to help a team win an NBA title.
Instead, smaller moves can change the course of the playoffs, either by elevating a borderline postseason team to contender status or by simply filling a glaring weakness on an otherwise solid roster.
The following five trades would help the following good teams become great without completely shaking up the roster to do so.
Los Angeles Clippers Receive: G Malcolm Brogdon
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: PF Marcus Morris Sr., F/C Kobe Brown, SG Amir Coffey, 2024 second-round pick (via Toronto Raptors)
If at first you don’t succeed…
The Clippers nearly traded for Brogdon once this offseason as part of a three-team deal to send Kristaps Porziņģis from the Washington Wizards to the Boston Celtics. While the original deal fell through and Brogdon ended up on the Blazers in the Jrue Holiday trade, the veteran point guard should be quite available from a rebuilding Portland franchise.
The 30-year-old Brogdon was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year last season, giving the Celtics 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 26.0 minutes off the bench while finishing fourth in three-point percentage (44.4 percent).
Brogdon would likely play a similar role for the Clippers while also serving as starter insurance if Russell Westbrook struggles.
Brown, the Clippers’ first-round pick this past summer, gives the Blazers some more young talent in their frontcourt, while Morris can be flipped to a contender or Portland can use the savings from his expiring $17.1 million contract. The Blazers also pick up another 2024 draft pick and can plug Coffey into the rotation or shop him to a contender as well.
New York Knicks Receive: C Myles Turner
Indiana Pacers Receive: C Mitchell Robinson, 2024 first-round pick (top-10-protected via Dallas Mavericks)
After finishing fifth in the East last season and advancing to the second round of the playoffs, the Knicks are knocking on the door of becoming a true title threat in the East. Swapping Robinson out for Turner upgrades the center position, helping to space the floor while not sacrificing rim protection.
Turner is coming off a career year (18.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 37.3 percent from three on 4.0 attempts per game) and would help open up the floor for a driving point guard like Jalen Brunson. This is important after the Knicks finished dead last among all playoff teams in three-point accuracy (29.2 percent) and next-to-last in made threes per game (9.5).
Robinson would fit in nicely with the Pacers as a lob threat for Tyrese Haliburton, and there’s enough shooting on Indiana’s roster to make up for his lack of floor-spacing. Robinson is also two years younger than Turner (25) and is on a longer contract at a lower annual number (three years at a $14.3 million average compared to two years at a $20.4 million average).
Indiana also gets a first-round pick from New York via Dallas, one that will almost certainly convey in the upcoming draft.
Miami Heat Receive: PG Tyus Jones
Washington Wizards Receive: F Duncan Robinson, 2028 first-round pick (top-10-protected)
After losing out on Damian Lillard and watching Gabe Vincent leave in free agency for the Los Angeles Lakers, the Heat shouldn’t count on 37-year-old Kyle Lowry as the answer at point guard this season.
Miami should still be scanning the market for floor general upgrades, with a player like Jones serving as the perfect fit.
Jones, 27, has averaged 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.6 steals and shot 36.5 percent from three in 94 career starts, stepping in for Ja Morant as needed for the Memphis Grizzlies the past four years. He’d join a starting lineup in Miami along with Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and (insert name here) that would now be far more likely to make it back to the Finals.
For a rebuilding Wizards team that’s in asset-collection mode, picking up another future first-round pick before Jones becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2024 is good value. Robinson can be flipped to a contender in need of shooting at some point as well.
Jones deserves to start for a team with playoff aspirations. Moving from Washington, D.C., to Miami would provide him that opportunity while also helping the Wizards’ tanking efforts.
Atlanta Hawks Receive: F Jerami Grant*
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: F De’Andre Hunter, 2024 first-round pick (lottery-protected via Sacramento Kings)
The Hawks could finish anywhere from third to eighth in the East this season, as they didn’t make any major additions to the roster this past summer while trading John Collins to the Utah Jazz in a salary dump.
Grant would be the ideal forward to plug into a lineup with Trae Young given his length, defensive versatility and three-point shooting. The 29-year-old is coming off the best season of his career (20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 40.1 percent from three on 5.7 attempts per game) and could slide into Collins’ old spot as the starting power forward.
After finishing 22nd and 26th in defense the past two years, Atlanta should jump into the top half based on Grant’s presence alone.
For Portland, Hunter, 25, fits the timeline better and is a cheaper option (four years, $90 million compared to Grant’s five years and $160 million). He should immediately become the team’s starting small forward while the Blazers collect an additional first-round pick in the 2024 draft.
*Grant can’t be traded until Jan. 15.
Dallas Mavericks Receive: O.G. Anunoby
Toronto Raptors Receive: G/F Josh Green, G Jaden Hardy, C Richaun Holmes, 2027 first-round pick (unprotected)
The Mavericks got better this summer with the additions of Grant Williams, Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, although this roster still looks far below the likes of the Denver Nuggets and other top teams in the West.
Anunoby would be the perfect piece to elevate the Mavs back into a playoff lock, one of the NBA’s premier defenders who would complement the offensive brilliance of Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving.
The 26-year-old averaged 16.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and led the NBA with 1.9 steals per game, all while making 40.6 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes. This number climbed to 41.5 percent on wide-open threes (closest defender six or more feet away), opportunities he should have far more often while defenses focus on this All-Star backcourt in Dallas.
Toronto protects itself from Anunoby leaving in free agency for nothing next offseason, as Green can be an immediate starter on the wing (11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 21 starts last season) and is a good three-point shooter and defender already at age 22. Hardy is only 21 and showed strong scoring instincts as a rookie, and the Raptors add a future unprotected first from Dallas as well.