Sports
NBA Rumors: 3-Team Trades Expected to 'Be More Common' Under New CBA – Bleacher Report
If you feel like three-team trades in the NBA have picked up over the last several months, then you’re not wrong.
One team strategist told Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports that three-team trades “will absolutely be more common under the new CBA.”
“Trades are hard enough to get done,” one Western Conference strategist added. “If you bring in a third or fourth team, it’s easier to derail.”
According to data provided to Fischer, the past four seasons (2019-2023) “have averaged eight trades that included three or more teams,” which is double the amount of multi-team trades that happened between 2009-2019.
There have already been five multi-team trades since the calendar switched to the 2023-24 campaign.
More recently, the Philadelphia 76ers traded James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal that also included the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Portland Trail Blazers traded Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks in a transaction that also included the Phoenix Suns.
Over the summer, the Boston Celtics acquired Kristaps Porziņģis from the Washington Wizards in a deal that saw Marcus Smart land with the Memphis Grizzlies. Boston also sent Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks in a sign-and-trade deal that included the San Antonio Spurs.
Additionally, there was a five-team deal over the summer that included the Clippers, Thunder, Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets. The biggest players included in the deal were Dillon Brooks, who was sent from the Grizzlies to the Rockets, and KJ Martin, who went from Houston to Los Angeles.
League personnel told Fischer that there has been a rise in multi-team trades as front offices become more creative.
“It seems like there’s more strategic thinking and planning in the NBA than there was 15 years ago,” an Eastern Conference executive said. “People are offering solutions.”
There might have also been a spark in multi-team trades as they are expected to become more difficult to execute during the 2024-25 campaign.
“Next season, trades for teams above the first tax apron are going to become even harder under the full implementation of the new CBA,” Fischer wrote. “The limitations for tax-paying clubs not being able to receive more salary than they send out will handcuff plenty of executives hoping to improve contending rosters.”
That said, it’s reasonable to believe more multi-team deals are in store this year.
