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Trade Ideas for Likeliest NBA Buyers and Sellers This Season – Bleacher Report
With stars up for grabs, the championship race feeling wide open and the trade machine always at the ready, there’s never been a better time for a round of “Let’s Make a Deal: NBA edition.”
While the number of buyers and sellers could change considerably over the course of the 2023-24 campaign, we can already identify likely candidates for both roles.
So, why not pair some of them up and iron out exchanges that could go down between now and the trade deadline?
Utah Jazz receive: Terry Rozier
Charlotte Hornets receive: Collin Sexton, 2029 second-round pick and 2023 second-round pick
The Utah Jazz won’t be the first team that comes to mind when thinking of buyers, but as their summer addition of John Collins showed, they’ll make an opportunistic upgrade if the price is right.
They were competitive enough last season to imagine they can at least be part of the play-in race this time around. But point guard is a soft spot in this rotation, especially if they don’t think rookie first-rounder Keyonte George—who’s more of a combo guard than a floor general—is ready to step into a lead guard role.
Terry Rozier could shore things up. He’s a solid playmaker (career 3.4 assists against 1.3 turnovers), feisty defender and mostly reliable outside shooter (32.7 percent last season, but 38.8 percent on high volume the previous three campaigns combined). He also has 50 playoff games under his belt, and that experience could be key in helping this young core learn what it takes to win at a high level.
The 29-year-old could carry this club in spurts, but he knows how to coexist with more prominent players and not step on any toes. In other words, shifting him into more of a support role would be doable if young perimeter players such as George and Ochai Agbaji are ready to soak up more of the spotlight.
The Hornets, meanwhile, should feel no rush to compete, since their most important players are the 21-and-under twosome of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. That should give them enough patience to figure out exactly who Collin Sexton is and how he can contribute to winning at this level.
Sexton, who only turns 25 in January, has almost always produced when he’s played (career 19 points per game on 46.4/38/82.6 shooting), but his stats have lacked substance (net differential of minus-4.1 points per 100 possessions).
If the Hornets can solve this puzzle, they could have a young, valuable player on their hands—plus a pair of future picks—in exchange for a veteran they haven’t won with in four seasons.
Memphis Grizzlies receive: Bojan Bogdanović
Detroit Pistons receive: Brandon Clarke, Ziaire Williams and 2026 first-round pick (top-five protected)
The Memphis Grizzlies are clearly hoping to contend this season, as they traded for Marcus Smart this summer to help them do exactly that. As soon as he steps foot on Beale Street, he’ll provide some of the best defense in basketball, plus emotional leadership and invaluable postseason experience.
But here’s the thing: Memphis already had a stonewall defense, as it was the 2022-23 campaign’s third-most efficient team on that end. The Grizzlies needed more help with their 11th-ranked offense, and Smart won’t necessarily provide all they need. He’s an underrated passer, but his scoring and outside shooting come and go.
That’s why this front office could have interest in another significant swap, especially if it delivers an offensive weapon like Bojan Bogdanović.
The 6’7″ swingman offers three-level scoring, strong perimeter shooting and some ability to create for himself and his teammates. Since 2018-19, he’s become a nightly source of 18.8 points on 46.6/40.4/86.5 shooting, 2.5 threes and 2.0 assists.
His addition would substantially improve the Grizzlies’ offensive menu, particularly in the half-court. The threat of his three-ball alone would give this group some badly needed spacing. Memphis has finished each of the past two seasons ranked 22nd in half-court efficiency, per Cleaning the Glass. What’s worse is that’s actually the team’s highest ranking since 2014-15.
As for the Pistons, a Bogdanović deal seems overdue, as the 34-year-old is so far removed from the timeline of this young core. Turning him into two rotation players and a lightly protected future first pick feels like a no-brainer.
Ziaire Williams, the No. 10 pick in 2021, is still just 21 years old, so he may yet emerge as an impact two-way wing.
Brandon Clarke, who turns 27 in September, is working his way back from a torn Achilles, but the future-focused Pistons can afford to be patient. Once he’s healthy, he’s a plug-and-play option who brings explosive athleticism and defensive versatility.
Brooklyn Nets receive: Pascal Siakam
Toronto Raptors receive: Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas, 2027 first-round pick (top-eight protected, via PHI) and 2029 first-round pick (via DAL)
If the Nets legitimately have a star in Mikal Bridges—the soon-to-be 27-year-old certainly looked the part after his deadline deal to Brooklyn—then they should be looking to slot other stars around him.
They have a some solid-or-better role players in their supporting cast, but Bridges is their only player in or around the elite tier.
Making a mega-move for Pascal Siakam would change that.
The 29-year-old may not be a tier-one superstar, but he is a two-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA honoree who has been the second-best player on a world champion. While one may debate whether he or Bridges could carry an upper-half offense on their own, in tandem, they might hit most of the statistical marks expected from a first and second option.
And on defense, forget about it. They’d cover an absurd amount of ground together, and that’s before accounting for the many other stoppers Brooklyn would have on the roster, like Nic Claxton, Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale. The Nets could dominate on defense, and if they managed to put together a top-10 offense, that would get them on the championship track.
Toronto, meanwhile, probably just needs to rip off the Band-Aid and fully embrace a rebuild already. Fred VanVleet and Nick Nurse are gone. Do the Raptors really think highly enough of their short-term outlook to pay what it could cost to keep both Siakam and O.G. Anunoby in free agency next summer?
Toronto should be looking for a way out, and this offer could suffice.
It’s richest in long-term assets—the picks speak for themselves, and 21-year-old Cam Thomas has a sky-high ceiling as a scorer—but the wild card that is Ben Simmons could give the Raptors a boost as soon as this season.
Spacing would get clogged with the three-time All-Star and Scottie Barnes together, but each is a legitimate playmaker with five-position versatility on defense. Toronto could put almost any kind of supporting cast it wanted around that combo, so long as it found enough shooting for the pair to breathe.
New Orleans Pelicans receive: Damian Lillard
Los Angeles Clippers receive: CJ McCollum
Portland Trail Blazers receive: Norman Powell, Marcus Morris Sr., Dyson Daniels, Brandon Boston Jr., Kira Lewis Jr., 2024 first-round pick (from NOP), 2026 first-round pick (from NOP) and 2027 first-round pick (from NOP via MIL)
The more time passes without Damian Lillard being traded to the Miami Heat—his preferred destination—the more inviting it could become for someone else to swoop in for a seven-time All-Star who just averaged the most points (32.2 per game) on the best true shooting (64.5) of his storied career.
The Pelicans should be that someone. If they ever got a healthy season out of Zion Williamson, they might have a contending-caliber twosome with him and Brandon Ingram. But that combo isn’t enough to separate from the many dynamic duos scattered across the NBA landscape.
Turn that twosome into a Big Three with Lillard, though, and suddenly New Orleans has the talent to hang with anyone. Ingram, who just flirted with a 50/40/90 slash while averaging 24.7 points and 5.8 assists, would be the third option in this offense. This attack would obliterate even the stingiest defenses.
Now, some might note there wouldn’t be a lot of defense coming from the Lillard-Williamson combo, but think of what the Pelicans would still have left over. Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy III can silence scorers on the wings, while Jose Alvarado makes ball-handlers uncomfortable. The center spot can have size and strength with Jonas Valančiūnas or athleticism and versatility with Larry Nance Jr.
New Orleans’ potential would feature no less than a championship parade.
Would the other teams participate in this trade, though?
Well, the Clippers clearly covet more offensive juice in the backcourt, and they aren’t getting it from a James Harden deal. McCollum isn’t a carbon copy of the bearded baller, but he is one of seven players to average 20 points, five assists and 2.5 threes in each of the past two seasons. The 31-year-old is a tough cover already, and he’d only be harder to handle operating as a third option with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
The Blazers would send out a 33-year-old who’s set to collect $216.2 million over the next four seasons and bring back three unprotected first-round picks. That’s already a haul, and that’s before getting to Dyson Daniels’ building-block potential. The No. 8 pick of the 2022 draft could be a snug fit with Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe as a defense-first playmaker.
From there, Portland nabs a few long-shot fliers in Brandon Boston Jr. and Kira Lewis Jr., a capable rotation player or possible trade chip in Norman Powell and the $17.1 million expiring salary of Marcus Morris Sr. The draft picks and Daniels do the heavy lifting in piquing the Blazers’ interest, but they could get some value out of the rest of the package, too.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
