New Three-Team Mock Trade Idea Lands Rudy Gobert In Atlanta, Kyrie Irving in Minnesota

The Atlanta Hawks are going to enter this offseason knowing they have two big roster holes they are going to have to figure out.

The biggest one is how they can get better interior defense and rim protection. Onyeka Okongwu had an excellent season, the best of his career, but the Hawks' lack of depth at center once Kristaps Porzingis was traded and Jock Landale was injured was a big reason the Hawks could not beat the New York Knicks (though it was far from the only reason). Bringing Landale back is an option, as is drafting a center at No. 8 in this draft, but the Hawks may want to find a better upgrade to pair with Okongwu.

Minnesota suffered another playoff defeat without getting to the NBA Finals, and with the Spurs and Thunder looking like they could dominate the Western Conference for years to come, Minnesota may need to shake things up this offseason and try to get younger. Julius Randle and Rudy Gobert are expensive players and over 30 years old. They have both been vital to the Wolves' success in the past couple of seasons, especially Gobert, but is it time for a different look in Minnesota?

Dallas is going to have a new front office and new head coach this season and are going to be looking to rebuild this team around Cooper Flagg. I think that veterans such as Kyrie Irving, Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, and PJ Washington could be moved to try and acquire younger players or draft capital to help.

Here is a mock three team trade where each team could get something of value.

The Trade

Hawks Receive: Naji Marshall and Rudy Gobert

Mavericks Receive: Julius Randle, Zaccharie Risacher, Corey Kispert, and Donte DiVincenzo

Timberwolves Receive: Kyrie Irving, Jonathan Kuminga, Klay Thompson, and Daniel Gafford

Why the Hawks do this trade

While Gobert has his limitations on offense, he is an incredible floor raiser for a team because of his ability to play defense at an elite level. After Victor Wembanyama, you could make the argument that Gobert is the second best rim protector in the NBA still.

The Hawks need someone like Gobert in a bad way to help protect the rim and play against bigger bodies. Gobert has familiarity with Hawks head coach Quin Snyder and paired with the elite perimeter duo of Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta would the infrastructure in place to have a top five defense in the NBA next season. Gobert has two more years remaining on his contract and would form an elite tandem with Onyeka Okongwu.

Atlanta also moves unwanted salary. Kispert and Risacher may not have a future with the team and having both of them does not make sense. The Hawks would get a high-level defender in Naji Marshall, who is on an expiring contract.

Atlanta would be at nine players on its roster, totaling $146,896,502 million. They would have space to bring CJ McCollum back on something like a two-year, $43 million deal ($20 million for the first year), draft a player at No. 8 overall (last year's No. 8 overall pick Egor Demin made $6.9 million), bring back Jock Landale as the No. 3 center on a reasonable contract (two years, $10 million?), and use the non tax payer mid level exception ($15,049,000 this offseason) to get up to 13 players and still be nearly $7 million away from the luxury tax. If they wanted to save more money, the Hawks could waive Buddy Hield before his contract is guaranteed (June 25th) and save $6 million, giving them a little over $13 million below the luxury tax to add a couple of players.

This move still gives Atlanta options this offseason and does not clutter their books for the future. It is not an all in move and they still have future draft capital as well as future space to use when the contracts of Gobert and McCollum expire.

Why the Hawks don't do this trade

Gobert is an elite defender, but would having him and Dyson Daniels present too much spacing issues on offense?

The other big question is if the Hawks are ready to move on from Jonathan Kuminga and Zaccharie Risacher. Given Risacher's lack of playing time down the stretch of the season and his overall struggles in year two, it might be time to give him a change of scenery. Kuminga was a good addition for the Hawks at the deadline, but he was very inconsistent and did not show enough in a small sample size to warrant the Hawks to unquestionably make him a part of the future.

Why the Wolves do this trade

Minnesota gets a huge upgrade at point guard to pair with Anthony Edwards, something it has never had, and Irving is still one of the elite shot makers in the NBA. They get younger in the frontcourt with Gafford and Kuminga, while Thompson will provide shooting off the bench and is on an expiring contract. DiVincenzo seems unlikely to play after his major injury in the playoffs and Minnesota can shed his salary.

A starting five of Irving, Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Kuminga, and Gafford is strong while they would have Thompson, Naz Reid, Terrance Shannon Jr, and possibly Ayo Dosunmu off the bench. They could even start Reid over Gafford to improve the floor spacing.

If the moves don't work, Minnesota could let Kuminga and Thompson walk next offseason.

Why the Wolves don't do this trade

Does this move really make Minnesota better? It is tough to say, and their defense would certainly be worse without Gobert. This would be an expensive team, especially if they find a way to bring back Dosunmu. Kuminga shows flashes, but is he a starter on a team with championship aspirations?

Why the Mavericks do this trade

Dallas would get an extra first round pick in this draft, a chance to see if Zaccharie Risacher can be a starting level NBA player, and Kispert could replace the shooting that leaves with Thompson. Randle could still help this team win games now (they don't control their own draft pick for the rest of the decade) and ensure that Cooper Flagg has the ball in his hands as much as possible and running the offense. DiVincenzo is an expiring contract and does not complicate the future for Dallas.

Why the Mavericks don't do this trade

It will be fascinating to see if Dallas tries to emphasize winning immediately give the draft pick situation and if they do, they may not do this deal. Kispert is a bad contract, Risacher has shown flashes of being a solid role player, but for his salary, that is not quite good enough, and Randle is a worse player than Irving. Without Gafford, Dallas would be solely reliant on Dereck Lively II at center and he has not been able to stay healthy.

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