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Sneaky NBA Trade Ideas to Shake Up 2023-24 Season – Bleacher Report
The NBA trade market seldom stays quiet for long.
So, yes, even though we just saw Damian Lillard get dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks and Jrue Holiday join the Boston Celtics, we’re still bracing ourselves for more activity.
With more than a few teams potentially in need of a shake-up over the course of the 2023-24 campaign, we’re firing up the trade machines to piece together four hypothetical deals that could make that happen.
New York Knicks receive: Buddy Hield
Indiana Pacers receive: Evan Fournier and a 2024 first-round pick (top-10 protected, via DAL)
As soon as word got around that Hield, who’s on the final season of his contract, had hit the trade market, that should’ve gotten the Knicks’ full attention.
They were squeezed for spacing last season (19th in three-point percentage) and might always face that issue with Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson on the roster. Hield, who hit the second-most triples last season (at a 42.5 percent clip, no less), has an argument to be considered the planet’s best shooter not named Stephen Curry.
And it just so happens New York has a perfect money-matcher in Fournier, plus all kinds of draft assets to offer an Indiana team that could be competitive this season but might still be a year or two away from a full-fledged breakout. A top-10-protected pick may not sound super enticing, but for a shooting specialist on an expiring deal, that might be the best the Pacers can get.
While the Knicks aren’t hurting for wing depth, they could clear a not insignificant amount of floor time for Hield. He might be a one-note contributor, but he possesses an elite skill that simplifies things for everyone else around him. Defenses have to account for him every second he’s on the floor, meaning Randle, Barrett and Jalen Brunson would all have more room to attack.
If the Pacers don’t plan on paying Hield next summer, then the time to move him is now. This might be their only option of squeezing out a first-round pick, and since their franchise face, Tyrese Haliburton, is only 23 years old, they should have the patience to keep this pick and see if it becomes someone who can join the long-term nucleus. (If they don’t, they could always flip it for more immediate assistance.)
Fournier would strictly serve salary-matching purposes at the time of the trade, but he’d have a non-zero chance of finding his way into the rotation. He lost his rotation spot with the Knicks last season, but in 2021-22, he delivered a career-best (and Hield-esque) 3.0 threes per game on 38.9 percent shooting.
New Orleans Pelicans receive: Jarrett Allen
Cleveland Cavaliers receive: Jonas Valančiūnas, Jose Alvarado and a 2027 first-round pick (top-five-protected)
The Pelicans face more urgency than you might expect from a squad coming off a 42-win season and having last won a postseason series in 2018. But New Orleans is built to win right now—or it would be if it could ever stay healthy.
This is about to be the fifth season in which Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have both been on the roster. It’s season No. 3 in New Orleans for CJ McCollum, who came to the Crescent City at the 2022 deadline. This trio has hardly hit the hardwood together—172 minutes over 10 games—yet it’s still attached to a ticking clock.
The Pelicans need to make whatever they can of this season, as the fanbase and front office may not be able to stomach another wasted one. That’s why an aggressive trade like this could make sense. Allen maybe isn’t the perfect center to pair with Williamson, but his superior athleticism and defensive versatility should make him a much better fit than Valančiūnas.
Even if New Orleans stays healthy, its defense could crater, since none of its three stars has been a positive presence on that end. That ups the appeal for Allen, a true paint protector who tallied last season’s fourth-most defensive win shares. Tack on that he can extend offensive possessions with his rebounding or finish them on pick-and-rolls (13th-most points as a pick-and-roll screener), and he could be an impact addition at both ends.
So, why would the Cavs let Allen go? Because the playoffs may have just proved that a non-shooting frontcourt with him and Evan Mobley is unplayable when it matters most. Valančiūnas isn’t a knockdown shooter by any means, but defenses can’t completely ignore him outside (35.6 three-point percentage over the past two seasons).
Plus, without Allen around, Cleveland could be more willing to experiment with small-ball lineups featuring Mobley at center. Fill the 4 spot with someone like Georges Niang or Max Strus, and Cavs guards would have tons of breathing room and myriad opportunities to attack.
New Orleans could be hesitant to part with Alvarado, but that’s a sacrifice it could make if it thinks Dyson Daniels is ready for a rotation role. Cleveland could covet Alvarado as an energizer, but it might also just need a backup point guard with Ricky Rubio still away from the team to focus on his mental health.
Los Angeles Clippers receive: Trae Young, Clint Capela and Saddiq Bey
Atlanta Hawks receive: Paul George, Terance Mann, Ivica Zubac and a 2029 first-round pick
With multiple star players changing teams here, this trade might be too dramatic to go down until much closer to the deadline. But if it’s late January, and the Hawks still aren’t gaining any traction, and the Clippers continue struggling with injuries, each could be open to a major move.
After all, Atlanta’s front office already had the green light to consider dealing Young. While L.A has publicly supported the idea of keeping George and Leonard for as long as possible, nothing has been put on paper yet, meaning both could become free agents next offseason.
So, if you picked two candidates to dramatically change their rosters in-season, these wouldn’t be bad choices.
The Clippers have been eyeing James Harden throughout the offseason, but they’ve so far been unwilling to meet the Philadelphia 76ers’ asking price. They might be more comfortable parting with premium assets for Young, who is nearly a decade younger, arguably more dynamic and under contract for at least the next three seasons (early termination option in 2026-27).
Plus, L.A. would upgrade at the center spot to the more athletic Capela and fetch a three-and-D wing in Bey. If Leonard stays healthy, this package plus the Clippers’ leftover depth could put this club right in the heart of the championship race.
The Hawks, meanwhile, have long needed a shutdown wing defender like George, who could also factor heavily into their post-Young scoring plan. A fully healthy George arguably impacts winning more than Young, since he contributes at both ends, but his trade value would be hurt by his age, injury trouble and contract uncertainty.
So, Atlanta would also fetch Mann, a strong-on-paper backcourt fit for Dejounte Murray, and an unprotected future first. Trading Capela would open up a starting spot for Onyeka Okongwu, leaving Zubac as a high-end reserve and insurance option if Okongwu isn’t as ready as he appears.
Orlando Magic receive: James Harden
Philadelphia 76ers receive: Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris, Cole Anthony and a 2025 first-round pick (top-five-protected, via DEN)
The Sixers continue feeling as if they can fetch a fortune for Harden. According to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philly’s latest ask of Los Angeles is a “deal that would center around Clippers guard Terance Mann and first-round picks.”
That feels ambitious given Harden’s age, declining production and expiring salary. The Sixers, Pompey noted, will “continue to explore all options related to Harden’s trade request as other teams continue to monitor the situation.”
It feels like Philly is doing what it can to drive up Harden’s market, but there hasn’t been much action beyond the L.A. talks. That could leave the door open for a team like Orlando—perhaps coveting a star to get a better gauge of how good its young core can be—to field a legitimate (not overwhelming) offer and see if Philadelphia would bite.
The Magic aren’t in position to pay a fortune for someone like Harden, but a depth hit like this could be justifiable. They didn’t make anything easy on young cornerstones Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner last season, as they were a bottom-third team by three-pointers made (10.8 per game, 25th), three-point percentage (34.6, 24th) and average assists (23.2, 26th).
Harden’s skill set doesn’t run as deep as it once did, but it still covers those three areas with ease. Last season, he averaged 2.8 triples with a 38.5 percent splash rate and a league-best 10.7 assists. He could not only take defensive heat away from Banchero and Wagner, but Harden could also position them better for scoring success.
And Orlando may not even mind that Harden has an expiring deal, since if everything goes according to plan, it will want to hand the offensive keys over to No. 6 pick Anthony Black at some point anyway.
Philly might be the tougher sell here, since the Sixers wouldn’t be acquiring a star or landing enough assets to trade for one. Again, though, Harden may no longer elicit that type of offer.
What Philly would get is three rotation-caliber players—all under the age of 30—and a first-round pick. Sixers fans who only remember Fultz struggling after the franchise took him first overall in 2017 should note that he’s since become a two-way playmaker (though he remains without an outside shot). Harris is one of the better three-and-D guards in the game. Anthony is a quick-strike scorer who could beef up the bench’s ability to generate instant offense.
These aren’t difference-makers, but each could handle a rotation role, and both Harris and Fultz could challenge for a starting spot in a Harden-less backcourt. Fultz and Anthony, meanwhile, still have enough theoretical upside that they could sweeten the offer in a different deal should Philly prefer to go that route.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.