New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Ja Morant to Chicago, Hawks Get Two-Way Contributor at Point Guard

The NBA offseason officially kicked into high gear with the news today that Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane has been traded to the Orlando Magic for a massive haul. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Grizzlies are sending Bane to the Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first round picks, and one pick swap.

This is of course a major move for the Orlando Magic and while Bane being the target is a surprise, it has not been a secret that Orlando was ready to make moves to try and move up the Eastern Conference chain. However, it also has major implications for the Grizzlies' future. They now have cleared a big contract off their books in the future and could be considering a teardown. It may be possible to acquire Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr for the right price.

Of the two, acquiring Morant is certainly the more risky proposition. He only played in 50 games this season and didn't look like himself in the games that he did play. However, an opportunistic team could use this situation to get Morant for a very cheap price and reap the benefits of having a 25 year-old point guard who has two All-Star nods and an All-NBA Second Team selection on his resume.

Although it may be surprising, one team that could make the move for Morant is the Chicago Bulls. Chicago has a ton of cap flexibility this summer ($53 million under the luxury tax threshold) and has a logjam in its backcourt to solve. They also have control over all their first-round picks, so they certainly have the assets to get Morant if they want him. Given that they made the play-in tournament last season, they could be looking for a more proven scorer to lead their team next season and give them a chance in the postseason.

While both teams have tons of cap flexibility, including a third team could be useful if both teams want to limit the cap space they're taking on. The Hawks are an example of such a team. Atlanta has a ton of financial flexibility this summer, which they can use to address their needs at interior defense, front court depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. NBA insider Marc Stein has already reported that Atlanta could also look to be facilitators this summer in the trade market due to their financial flexibility, depending on if the team brings back any of Caris LeVert, Clint Capela, or Larry Nance.

Given the needs of all three teams, what would a trade between them look like? Here is one possible framework for a deal.

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Lonzo Ball

Chicago Bulls Receive: Ja Morant, Georges Niang, 2027 2nd round pick (via CLE, from ATL), 2031 2nd round pick (via ATL)

Memphis Grizzlies Receive: Kevin Huerter, Coby White, 2026 1st round pick (via POR, protected 1-14), 2027 1st round pick (top-8 protected)

Why the Hawks would do this trade: The best version of Lonzo Ball is a player that would help the Hawks' defense and fill their need for another ball-handler to take pressure off of Trae Young. He's 6'6 and consistently shot well from deep for the last four seasons of his career, which means he can survive in a variety of different lineups. When he returned from injury last season, he posted a 96th percentile assist:usage ratio of 1:12 and a 86th percentile AST% of 18.6%. On defense, he posted an elite STL% of 2.5%, good for a 96th percentile ranking last season. He would fit in very well next to Dyson Daniels as a defensive backcourt, which makes Atlanta's defense much stronger and alleviates some of the defensive issues posed by having Trae Young in the lineup. Ball is on a very affordable two year deal that has cap hits of $10 million for each of the next two seasons.

Why the Hawks would not do this trade: The biggest question with Ball is his health. In the 32 games he played this season, he played 22.2 minutes per game. That's a solid mark, but he just can't be counted on for a big role considering his injuries. It limits how much Atlanta stands to gain from the move. They are also losing a high-volume shooter with size in Niang and it may be harder to be a respectable shooting team without him.

Why the Bulls would do this trade: Handing the keys of their offense over to Morant is a really interesting proposition, especially considering that they already have Josh Giddey and Ayo Dosunmu on the roster. However, Morant and Giddey are very different players. Last season, Morant averaged 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 4.1 rebounds on 45.4/30.9/82.4% shooting splits. He's one of the best guards in the NBA when it comes to drawing fouls, eliciting a foul on 15.6% of his attempts last season. That finished in the 94th percentile last season among all guards. His AST% of 35.5% was also in the 88th percentile last season, showing that he can still be the main facilitator for a team. In Chicago, the combination of Morant and Matas Buzelis in transition is incredibly exciting and could give the Bulls their first playoff berth after three straight seasons of missing the postseason in a weak Eastern Conference. The cost of acquiring Morant is also very negligible - giving up two firsts and expiring contracts in White and Huerter isn't a ton of value and would keep their asset pool relatively intact. Niang is a great floor-spacer who has shot above 40% from deep on respectable volume for six out of the nine years of his career. The Bulls finished 13th last season in 3P%, so they could use a little more firepower from deep.

Why the Bulls would not do this trade: Morant is a difficult player to build around because he isn't a floor spacer (career-best 34.4% shooter from deep), he's struggled to stay on the court and they already play someone who isn't a significant shooting threat in Giddey. He also has inherent defensive limitations due to being a smaller point guard and it's fair to wonder if their ceiling is about the same with someone like White.

Why the Grizzlies would do this trade: This trade only makes sense if the Grizzlies are trying to tear everything down to the studs outside of Jaren Jackson Jr, Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey. Huerter was a bad contract in Sacramento, but he was actually fairly solid for the Bulls upon being acquired at the trade deadline in the Zach LaVine deal. He canned 37.6% of his threes while taking 7.2 of them a night and put up 13.2 points while dishing out 3.3 assists per game. He can still be exploited on defense, but the Grizzlies could use some more shooting and Huerter is a nice depth piece to have because he's 6'7 and can play either the 2 or 3. White isn't the facilitator Ja is, but he still averaged 20.4 points and 4.5 assists on 45.3/37.9/90.2% shooting splits. He's a proven high-volume shooter, which the Grizzlies could value after moving on from Bane, and has size at 6'5. His defense is still a work in progress, but he does have the tools to be a net-neutral on that side of the ball.

Why the Grizzlies would not do this trade: Both Huerter and White are expiring deals, so they won't affect the long-term cap space of Memphis. However, they will need new deals if they play well. Furthermore, White hasn't had the opportunity to run an offense in such an unobstructed way before and he doesn't draw fouls in the same way Morant does (11.0% of shots ended in a foul, 77th percentile among all guards). There is also something to be said about moving on from a player who has proven himself as a star in Memphis and is only 25 years old.

More Atlanta Hawks News:

Orlando Makes Blockbuster Trade For Desmond Bane; Here Is How It Affects Atlanta And The Rest Of The East

New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Lauri Markkanen to Bucks, Hawks Get Versatile Sixth Man

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