Offseason Trade Ideas Involving All-Stars Fans Around NBA Want To See
Between playoff disappointment and teams looking to rebuild for the future, the NBA offseason is always full of talk and rumors surrounding key talents around the league.
This offseason, quite a few All-Star talents are expected to hit the market and there is already a lot of speculation about what the future may hold for some big names around the league.
Russell Westbrook, Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell are just a few of the key names that could be on the move in the offseason and each current or former All-Star brings something different to the table skill-wise and financially.
Offseason trades have become a massive part of the NBA offseason as a whole and leading up to the NBA Draft in June, there is going to be a lot of talk about which stars will and will not be on the move.
Who knows what will occur once the NBA Playoffs conclude, but here are some offseason trade ideas that have been floated around recently which have the ability to shake things up league-wide heading into the 2022-23 season.
Lakers Find A Way To Move On From Russell Westbrook
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: G John Wall, G Eric Gordon
Houston Rockets Receive: G Russell Westbrook, G Talen Horton-Tucker, G Kendrick Nunn
The Los Angeles Lakers looked to move Russell Westbrook at the trade deadline this season, but almost no teams in the league were willing to discuss his massive contract, as he is set to make $47 million during the 2022-23 season.
One team however that did pick up the phone and showed a level of interest was the Houston Rockets, as they have been dealing with their own financial problem attached to an All-Star talent in John Wall.
Both Westbrook and Wall were traded for one another in 2019, so could we possibly see these two All-Stars traded for one another again?
The Rockets were willing to move Wall for Westbrook at this year’s trade deadline, but they were wanting the Lakers to attach a future first-round draft pick to the deal as compensation for Houston doing Los Angeles a favor in terms of taking on Russell Westbrook’s contract.
GM Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ front-office were unwilling to commit to this deal, which is why Russ remained in Los Angeles through the end of the 2021-22 season.
Moving Russell Westbrook must be a priority for the Lakers as they head into the offseason simply because they cannot make any moves with his contract and he did not fit in whatsoever alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Not only could getting John Wall really help change the narrative from this past season for the Lakers, but adding an experienced championship-quality wing like Eric Gordon makes a ton of sense.
Gordon was oftentimes the No. 2 or No. 3 guy with the Houston Rockets when they were contending for a championship with James Harden just a few years back and while he is 33-years-old, Gordon proved to be a factor offensively this year in Houston, averaging 13.4 points per game on 41.2% shooting from outside.
Maybe the Rockets offer of Wall for Westbrook and a first-round pick still stands in the offseason, but giving up Eric Gordon for two younger talents in Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn could help Houston in the grand scheme of things since they are rebuilding.
This trade would force the Lakers to take on more salaries than they would be sending out, but John Wall and Eric Gordon alongside LeBron and AD present a much clearer path to fixing the holes on this roster than keeping Westbrook and Horton-Tucker do.
Malcolm Brogdon Gets Shipped To Minnesota
Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: G Malcolm Brogdon
Indiana Pacers Receive: G Malik Beasley, F Jaden McDaniels, WAS 2022 2nd Round Pick (via MIN, Pick #40)
With the Indiana Pacers shipping Domantas Sabonis, Caris LeVert and others out at the trade deadline, it is hard to believe that their roster “re-tool” is over.
Tyrese Haliburton is a young star in the making in the backcourt and given Malcolm Brogdon’s injury concerns over the last few years, the Pacers could look to move the former Rookie of the Year.
Brogdon just finished up his sixth NBA season and being 29-years-old, he is probably in the prime of his career at this point.
Averaging 20.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 45.1% from the floor the last two seasons, Brogdon definitely has a handful of value attached to his name and the Pacers could look to get some solid depth, and possibly some young talents, in return for him.
In this hypothetical with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana would be getting their hands on Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels and a second-round draft pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, giving them options for how to build around Haliburton.
Beasley is a career 38.6% three-point shooter and pairing him with Buddy Hield on the wing suddenly makes the Pacers an intriguing perimeter focused team on the offensive-end of the floor.
As for McDaniels, he has shown flashes of his defensive potential being a lengthy 6’9” forward and with Jarred Vanderbilt coming into his own this year in Minnesota, it is hard to imagine that Jaden McDaniels role with the Timberwolves would expand much heading into the 2022-23 season.
The Timberwolves do not necessarily need to target a guard in the offseason, as they have Patrick Beverley and D'Angelo Russell in their backcourt already, but Minnesota is rumored to be open to shopping Russell in the offseason and they could view Brogdon, a solid two-way guard, as a possible replacement.
Even if they ended up keeping Russell, the Timberwolves would suddenly have four star-like talents in Malcolm Brogdon, D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, giving them everything they need to build off of a year in which they made the playoffs for the first-time since 2018.
Utah Brings Back A Former All-Star
Utah Jazz Receive: F Gordon Hayward, F P.J. Washington, F/C Nick Richards, CHA 2022 1st Round Pick
Charlotte Hornets Receive: C Rudy Gobert, UTA 2026 2nd Round Pick
The Utah Jazz have endured two straight years of playoff disappointment and at this point, it is hard to imagine that both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert will be back next year.
Making a combined $220 million over the next four seasons, Utah would be smart to move one of their All-Stars now in order to add the depth that they need and the Jazz would probably prefer to keep Mitchell over Gobert.
There are a handful of teams around the league that will be looking to upgrade their talent at the center position and no team in the league has been searching for their future big man longer than the Charlotte Hornets.
Mason Plumlee was not terrible this season, but he is not the defensive-stopper that Charlotte needs in their frontcourt. Rudy Gobert, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and this year’s leader in rebounds is exactly what the Hornets need.
Given how strong Charlotte’s offense is already, they would not really need a No. 1 scoring option in their frontcourt and since Gobert can struggle to score at times, he would be the perfect pick-and-roll type of big man for the Hornets to add, especially since LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier are more than capable of throwing lobs to the rim for him.
As for getting their hands on Rudy Gobert, the Hornets would have to move on from Gordon Hayward, something that is looking more and more likely for them heading into the offseason.
Hayward is owed $61.5 million over the next two seasons and with him being injured the last two seasons in Charlotte, his long-term future is very clouded at this point.
The Jazz need scoring weapons around Donvoan Mitchell and while Hayward carried injury concerns with him, this is a risk that they could be willing to take, especially since Gordon Hayward is beloved by Utah’s fanbase and since he was an All-Star there during the 2016-17 season.
P.J. Washington is also another really solid building block for the Jazz to get their hands on in terms of adding depth to their frontcourt and Utah would suddenly have options due to receiving the Hornets’ 2022 first-round pick.
They could either draft a young, talented player in the lottery, or they could potentially package this pick with another player to upgrade their talent at another position.
Right now, Utah has almost no draft capital and they really have no options on how to build for the future, which is why sacrificing an All-Star like Rudy Gobert to reclaim lost assets, some of which can contribute right away, makes the most sense for this franchise.
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- Timberwolves' All-Star Rumored To Be Available In Offseason Trade Talks: Former All-Star point guard D’Angelo Russell struggled near the end of the regular season and in the playoffs for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season, leading to speculation about if the organization will look to trade him in the offseason. CLICK HERE.
- Offseason Trade Possibilities For Utah Jazz Involving All-Star Rudy Gobert: The Utah Jazz are expected to be aggressive in the NBA offseason, which could lead them to moving on from three-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. CLICK HERE.
