Reaves Heads North, Markkanen Heads West, Kuminga Heads East In Epic Three-Team NBA Mock Trade
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Let’s be honest, here, kids: Our NBA mock trades can be, in a word, silly.
After all, thanks to the league’s byzantine salary cap rules—not to mention an NBA GM’s fear of screwing up a transaction and losing his gig—the chances of our fantastical deal scenarios coming to fruition are all but nil.
Nonetheless, we keep trying. Besides, training camp is about seven weeks away, and our topics for hoops articles these days are limited, so we all but have to consistently drop mocks.
Plus it's fun. So there's that.
Three Is Not The Magic Number
We’ll note that the silliest trade proposals almost always involve more than two teams. Y’see, it’s simple for us to visit ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine and concoct a transaction...but it’s near-impossible for NBA decision-makers to get a three- or four- or five-team transaction executed.
Thus, silliest.
But that won’t stop us from trying.
Here’s the Pitch
We generally gravitate towards including at least one major market team in our proposals—because unless you’re from Toronto, Charlotte, or Brooklyn, what fun is it to argue whether the Raptors, the Hornets, or the Nets have improved their team, when, in their cases, improvement means 58 losses rather than 61.
So today, we head to big-market Los Angeles, big-ish market Golden State, and not-so-big-market Utah. (Note: This silly deal will likely need to include other players in order to comply with that aforementioned byzantine cap. Because, silly.)
Los Angeles Lakers receive
- Lauri Markkanen (PF/C)
- Kris Dunn (PG)
Golden State Warriors receive
- Austin Reaves (SG)
- Kelly Olynyk (PF/C)
Utah Jazz receives
- Jonathan Kuminga (SF/PF – sign-and-trade)
- Rui Hachimura (PF/C)
- 2029 first-round pick (LAL)
- 2030 first-round pick (GS)
Why It Might Work For Los Angeles
Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt truthers might disagree, but the Lakers’ biggest weak spot is at the four. Sure, Hachimura and Vanderbilt are perfectly useful NBA players, but they certainly can’t hang out West with the likes of OKC’s Chet Holmgren/Isaiah Hartenstein duo, or Minnesota’s Julius Randle, or new Houston Rocket, Kevin Durant.
Can Markkanen?
If he can stay healthy, almost. The former Arizona Wildcat will give you 18 points and seven boards a night, his seven-foot frame and not-great-but-not-bad speed makes him a defensive pest, and he’s only 28, under team control with a reasonable contract through the 2028-29 season.
Sacrificing Reaves is a bummer, but Dalton Knecht showed flashes during his 2024-25 rookie season, and should be just good enough to merit moving on the Wichita State stalwart. A starting five of Markkanen, Knecht, Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Deandre Ayton would be a problem for the West.
And don’t sleep on Kris Dunn, a defensive-minded irritant who would be a great change-of-pace running back for Doncic.
Why It Might Work For Golden State
Golden State’s shooting guard situation hasn’t been optimal since Klay Thompson decamped in Dallas, which continues to be the case heading into the 2025-26 campaign, as ESPN’s depth chart currently has Brandin Podziemski starting at the two, and, spoiler alert, Podz ain’t exacly a championship-level producer.
Reaves, however, has the potential to be just that, and with Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and even Buddy Hield sucking up defensive oxygen, Reaves should have plenty of open looks—and some basic math tells us that his 46.0% from three is considerably better than Podziemski’s 37.2%.
This also solves the Dubs’ Jonathan Kuminga problem, and lands them Olynyk, a reliable veteran big off the bench, something for which they’re desperate.
Why It Might Work For Utah
For the Jazz, this one is all about time.
Markkanen doesn’t fit Utah’s timeline (such as it is), but the 22-year-old Kuminga, two first-round picks, and Hachimura’s expiring contract sure do.
This move will have little impact on winning in the coming season—Kuminga’s win share last year was a dreadful 1.9—but who cares? Kuminga will be fine when he gets consistent burn, plus Utah needs to plan for 2028-29.
Is this a rare three-team win/win/win deal?
Maybe, maybe not. But it’s pretty darn close.
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-82121a1351894b8089c555f4b4b69420-1d609352940036e7455770363a74a2e9.png "Alan Goldsher")
Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.