New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends KAT to Chicago, Knicks Get Needed Depth, and Hawks Add Defense

The offseason is here for 28 teams in the NBA. The NBA finals have arrived and there are only two teams left alive with hopes of making it to the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Heading into this offseason, the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, and Chicago Bulls 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.

Chicago remains stuck in the middle. They are good enough to make the NBA Play-In Tournament but are not true contenders. While they have resisted doing it for years, it might be time for Chicago to tank and find the right pieces to go forward with. They have a lot of expiring and movable contracts that teams could want to fill depth on their team.

New York is in an interesting position. They made it to the conference finals and if not for the collapse in game one, they might have beaten the Pacers and moved on to the NBA Finals. Every main player for the Knicks is locked in for next season and with Boston losing Jayson Tatum and uncertainty with teams like Cleveland and Milwaukee, the Knicks could easily just run it back with this team and hope they have better luck.

The biggest criticisms of this Knicks team was the lack of defense from center Karl-Anthony Towns and their depth. Towns is an incredible offensive player, but his defense has been a sore spot of years and pair that with Jalen Brunson, who is not a strong defender either, and it was easy for teams to target the Knicks. They had no reliable depth and it was up to the starters to take on a heavy load. While it seems unlikely, the only real way for the Knicks to address these problems is by trading a starter and Towns is the most likely to move due to the issues already outlined.

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: Ayo Dosunmu

Knicks Receive: Nikola Vucevic, Kevin Huerter, Lonzo Ball, and a 2026 1st round pick (Lottery protected, from CHI, via POR)

Bulls Receive: Karl-Anthony Towns, Terance Mann, Kobe Bufkin, Pacome Dadiet, and a 2027 2nd round pick (from ATL, via CLE)

Why the Hawks do this trade: Dosunmu is a proven backup guard who can operate as a ball handler and defensive option for Atlanta. Dosunmu can play alongside Trae Young or Dyson Daniels and be a strong point of attack defender. Dosunmu can fill the need that the Hawks were hoping Bufkin would do when they drafted him. He is a career 36.1% shooter from three as well. He would strengthen the Hawks bench immediately. They move off of Mann's contract and get a better player in return.

Why the Hawks don't do this trade: Are they ready to give up on Bufkin and are they prepared to give Dosunmu a contract extension? Atlanta may prefer to see what they have in Bufkin and just keep Mann

Why the Bulls do this trade: They get an elite offensive player to pair with Josh Giddey (assuming he is brought back) and Matas Buzelis. Chicago has a lot of expiring deals and turning them into Towns could propel them into a playoff team in a weak Eastern Conference. Chicago never truly seems to embrace tanking and might opt for a move like this to bring a star player in, even a flawed one. Mann replaces some depth and they could have a hidden gem in Bufkin.

Why the Bulls don't do this trade: Defensively, they would be a disaster still and are they going to be that much better overall? This could be a playoff team in a weak Eastern Conference, but are they an actual threat to do damage? Probably not.

Why the Knicks do this trade: They get depth and clear money for the future while getting a 1st round pick as well. Vucevic can either start or come off the bench while Ball and Huerter provide them with better options then they had. None of the players are as good as Towns, but they are a deeper team and Vucevic can give them a different look on offense.

Why the Knicks don't do this trade: They get deeper, but maybe not necessarily better. Ball is unreliable from an injury standpoint, Huerter has not really improved much since being traded from the Hawks, and Vucevic has some similar defensive concerns as Towns without being as good of a player.

To be clear, I don't think the Knicks move Towns, but if they were open to it, the Bulls seems like one of the few teams that would actually be interested.

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.

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