New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Kevin Durant to Boston, Holiday + Porzingis to Phoenix, Hawks Add Depth

The offseason is here for 26 teams in the NBA. The conference finals have arrived and there are only four teams left alive with hopes of making it to the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Heading into this offseason, the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and the Phoenix Suns are all searching for the next steps to take as a franchise, which is different for all three.

Atlanta is going to be a team worth watching. Most will point to a potential Trae Young trade, but that does not appear likely (for now) and Atlanta may move forward with this core of Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu. If the Hawks decide to do that, they need to improve their bench in a big way this offseason. Due to the NBA's CBA and apron rules, you are going to be seeing a lot more three-team trades between teams so salaries can move around. Atlanta could try to attach themselves to a big deal and add some pieces to their bench if they opt to move forward with this starting five. The Hawks need interior defense, frontcourt depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. This is not a great free agent class to be filling those needs, so could the Hawks look to the trade market? NBA insider Marc Stein has already reported that Atlanta could 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.

Phoenix is in perhaps the bleakest situation in the entire NBA. They do not control their own draft picks for the rest of the decade, they are in the dreaded second apron and have little means to improve, and are stuck with the Bradley Beal contract, which has a no-trade clause. It seems like the only way that the Suns can improve their team is if they decide to trade one or both Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, with Durant being the far more likely option. What kind of return would Durant get the Suns given his age and injury history? It is one of the more fascinating questions in the NBA.

While the playoffs are always unpredictable, practically no one saw the Boston Celtics losing to the New York Knicks after blowing 20-point leads in both Game 1 and 2. The Celtics were excellent throughout the regular season, going 4-0 versus the Knicks en route to another 60+ win season. Not only that, but Jayson Tatum injured his Achilles and is likely to be out next season. Being eliminated by New York means the offseason is here for the Celtics.

Even if Boston had won in convincing fashion and repeated as champs, they would almost certainly have needed to make a significant trade this summer. Another season of being in the second apron would result in their first-round pick seven years into the future becoming "frozen" and ineligible to be traded. Furthermore, second-apron teams cannot use the mid-level exception, cannot aggregate salaries in trades, cannot take back more salary than they send out in trades, cannot send cash in trades, and cannot sign-and-trade a player for another player.

Specifically, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are two obvious candidates to be moved elsewhere. Porzingis is consistently unavailable for Boston and has looked hobbled throughout the 2025 playoffs after he missed most of the championship run. His rim protection and floor spacing are valuable, but the Celtics won't be without either if they move on from him. Even in this situation, Boston could try to move these guys and stay competitive in a weak Eastern Conference, even without Tatum.

So how about a trade where each of these teams tries to fill a need?

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.

Hawks Receive: Grayson Allen, Sam Hauser, and Royce O'Neale

Suns Receive: Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Baylor Scheierman, Neemias Queta, Dominick Barlow, a 2025 1st round pick (via ATL, No. 22), a 2025 1st round pick (via BOS, No. 28 overall), and an unprotected 2027 1st round pick (via Boston)

Celtics Receive: Kevin Durant, Vit Krejci, a 2027 2nd round pick (from ATL, via CLE), a 2029 2nd round pick (from ATL, via CLE), and a 2031 2nd round pick (from ATL, via CLE)

Why the Hawks do this deal: Due to both Boston and Phoenix being in the second apron, they could use a third team to dump salary in and the Hawks should take advantage. They add three knockdown shooters to address one of their biggest problems from last season and it costs them Krejci, Barlow, and one of their first-round picks this year. Both Allen and O'Neale shot above 40% from three last season and would give the Hawks a big boost there. O'Neale is a solid defender and has plenty of familiarity with Quin Snyder from their days in Utah. This is about getting more knockdown shooters to put around Trae Young. Hauser has shot above 40% from three in his career and has improved on defense. They are still under the luxury tax after this deal. They also keep their lottery pick plus Kobe Bufkin.

Why the Hawks don't do this deal: None of these players are on expiring deals and in a year or two, they might age poorly. Perhaps Atlanta would rather have the extra first-round pick plus the second-rounders. None of the players they acquire are game-changers and can be targeted on defense.

Why the Suns do this trade: They get back win-now players around Devin Booker to help them compete while getting some draft picks in return as well. This might be the best-case scenario in a Durant trade and if Porzingis is healthy and available, the Suns could be a really solid team. They can attempt to draft win now players to fill out the rest of their roster or even move them for another win-now type of players. If they need an extra roster spot, they can always decline Barlow's team option. They get under the second apron with this move.

Why the Suns don't do this trade: Holiday is aging, not the same player he was previously, and is under contract for three more seasons. Porzingis is a huge injury risk. He has battled injuries at different parts of his career and was battling an illness with Boston this season. Is he going to be available for the Suns? Phoenix needs to prove something this season and has struggled with player availability over the past two seasons. At his best, Porzingis would be a huge help, but it is a risk. How would Porzingis fit with the team? There is considerable downside to this which Phoenix may not want to have.

Why the Celtics do this trade: They clear salary and are able to still contend in the Eastern Conference. A core of Durant, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard would still be among the best in the NBA and they could try and re-sign one or both of Al Horford and Luke Kornet. This gives Boston the best of both worlds of being able to still contend and clearing future money.

Why the Celtics don't do this trade: They could be looking for something else in trades for Holiday and Porzingis.

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.

Additional Atlanta Hawks News: