New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Obi Toppin and Jarace Walker to Lakers, Pacers Get Knecht

Although it's always difficult to predict exactly how the offseason will affect the upcoming NBA season, it seems clear that the Eastern Conference is going to be up for grabs. The Indiana Pacers won the conference last year in one of the most surprising championship runs in recent memory, but they are going to be without Tyrese Haliburton for the year. The Boston Celtics have always been a force in the Eastern Conference, but Jayson Tatum went down with an Achilles injury in the second round and will miss the upcoming season. The Bucks made a big move to add Myles Turner, but they had to cut Damian Lillard to do it. In short, the only three teams that seem to be locks for postseason returns are the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers. That leaves an opportunity for several teams to take advantage.

The Atlanta Hawks are certainly doing their best to seize that opportunity. After trading for Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis and drafting Georgia power forward Asa Newell, Atlanta reached a pair of huge free agent signings. The Hawks signed a marquee free agent in Wolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to a four-year, $62 million deal in a sign and trade that sent a 2027 2nd-round pick (via CLE) to the Wolves. Then, the Hawks signed free agent guard Luke Kennard to a one-year, $11 million deal. They also got an unprotected first-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in a draft-night trade. Given the massive injuries in the Eastern Conference next season, it seems that the Atlanta Hawks are going for it and making moves to put themselves in position to contend. One area they could still use some depth is at small forward or another ball-handler.

The Pacers made the NBA Finals in one of the more surprising championship runs in NBA history, but they are poised for a down season after superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals. Indiana still has a fairly competitive roster, but it's worth wondering whether they might make some moves that free up long-term salary flexibility. They have several veterans on their roster that might attract draft capital if Indiana were to move on.

The Lakers made one of the most surprising moves in NBA history when they traded for Luka Doncic at the trade deadline, but they now face the challenging task of building around Doncic with limited draft capital. LA has a shortage of size and length on its roster, especially when it comes to players that can play in the postseason. Adding Marcus Smart, DeAndre Ayton and Jake LaRavia are solid depth moves, but it can be argued that the Lakers need a more aggressive approach. Given that the future of LeBron James in LA is completely uncertain and several teams in the Western Conference made aggressive moves to get better, the Lakers should consider using some of that limited draft capital on moves to address their shortage of wings.

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: Jarred Vanderbilt

Lakers Receive: Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, Kobe Bufkin, 2031 2nd-round pick (via ATL/HOU)

Pacers Receive: Gabe Vincent, Maxi Kleber, Dalton Knecht, 2026 1st-round pick swap (via ATL), 2028 1st-round pick swap (via ATL)

Why the Hawks would do this deal: Vanderbilt's perimeter defense and rebounding is very helpful to a team and he's been able to contribute to a playoff team. He's a complete non-contributor on offense, but he's capable of hounding the best wing scorer for another team. Considering that the Hawks did not have a stellar perimeter defense last season, he'd be a massive upgrade for Atlanta's bench and could find some offensive value from playing off of Trae Young. Bufkin has had nice flashes for the Hawks in Summer League, but his shooting hasn't looked great and the Hawks already have Keaton Wallace as a competent backup point guard. If they can add some more wing depth and supplement a weak perimeter defense rather than waiting for Bufkin to develop, that might be a more effective move to boost their odds of making a deeper playoff run in 2024-25.

Why the Hawks would not do this deal: Vanderbilt's someone who can safely be ignored on offense because he doesn't shoot threes at all. That could be a problem considering that the Hawks already have a lot of wings that are more capable of spacing the floor.

Why the Lakers would do this deal: Both Toppin and Walker bring a lot of size to a relatively small Lakers team. Toppin is a 6'9 power forward who can also line up as a small-ball center. He was a key reserve for Indiana, shooting 36.5% from deep on decent volume in the regular season and having several big games in the playoffs. Considering that the Lakers have issues at center right now, it might be worth acquiring a versatile player like Toppin to fill out their second unit. Walker hasn't really caught on for the Pacers yet, but he's 21 and the Lakers can afford to give him a larger role considering their lack of wing depth.

Why the Lakers would not do this deal: They'd be giving up swaps in both 2026 and 2028, which could be risky if they aren't able to build out the roster around Doncic or suffer injuries.

Why the Pacers would do this deal: Both Vincent and Kleber are worse players than Toppin and Walker, but they're on expiring contracts. The real prize of this deal would be the pick equity Indiana's getting back and the upside swing on Dalton Knecht. Knecht is an older wing who hasn't been amazing in Summer League, but he started his rookie season off well for the Lakers and was a critical reserve for them due to his shooting. If Indiana can tap into that, they could have a cost-controlled rotation player for multiple seasons to come.

Why the Pacers would not do this deal: Knecht's defense is a massive question mark and they are losing a key part of their Finals team in Toppin. Toppin is under contract for the next three seasons and while moving on from him does free up some long-term space, his deal is still relatively cheap as it's around 15 million dollars per year. There's a possibility this is too much of a shake-up for the Pacers.

More Atlanta Hawks News:

New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Jerami Grant to Milwaukee, Kyle Kuzma to Portland

New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Rudy Gobert to Indiana, Obi Toppin and Benedict Mathurin to Minnesota

New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Karl-Anthony Towns to Brooklyn, Nic Claxton to The Knicks

New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Idea Sends Robert Williams to Clippers, Blazers Get Bogdanovic, Hawks Add Center