Blockbuster NBA Offseason Trade Ideas

Feel that? It's the NBA trade winds blowing, fast and furiously, through your hair, gradually yet unrelentingly giving you goosebumps.

Or is it actually the sensation of me holding a portable cold air fan, set to its top speed, right in front of your face? 

Who's to say? Either way, we have a fresh, piping-hot of NBA trade ideas ready for delivery.

Speculating this far out from the draft and the end of the playoffs can be tricky. Teams that have already wrapped up their season will be the primary focus, since their intentions seem a little more concrete. Inferences about current/soon-to-be-eliminated playoff squads will still be made, though, because that's how this works.

Assume every one of these deals is completed as part of the new league year, even if they're agreed upon beforehand. That's how we're able to ship out current first-round picks without regard for future draft obligations.

Let's make some waves.

The Trade

Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Rudy Gobert

Utah Jazz Receive: Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, Justise Winslow, 2022 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick (top-four protection, via Milwaukee), 2025 second-round pick (via Detroit)

Failing a surprising run to, say, the Western Conference Finals, just about everyone expects the Jazz to shake things up over the offseason. That could entail attaching future picks to role players in hopes of prying an impact wing loose from his current digs (Jerami Grant?). Or it could mean what most think it'll mean: a rebuild, or a retooling, around Donovan Mitchell that starts with rerouting Gobert.

This package is a befitting start to their hypothetical teardown. They aren't walking away with a king's ransom, but that's the reality of jettisoning a soon-to-be 29-year-old big who cannot serve as your offensive focal point and is owed another $169.7 million over the next four seasons.

Snagging the Blazers' pick, currently slated to land at sixth, is a big deal. It allows the Jazz to tap into the future with more immediacy. They get a second first-rounder down the pipeline, and Johnson, the No. 21 pick in 2021, parlayed his speed and explosion into some entertaining moments after getting dealt to Portland. Bledsoe's deal must be guaranteed for this to go through, which should be fine with Utah. He and Winslow are both on expiring deals.

The Blazers shouldn't give this a second thought unless they're committed to competing with Damian Lillard. And if they're not going to move him, they need to be. He turns 32 in July. Urgency is intrinsic.

Interim general manager Joe Cronin (or his replacement) will must still beef up the perimeter defense, but Gobert is a generational stopper that counts as a system unto himself. His arrival spells the end for Jusuf Nurkic; the Blazers can explore sign-and-trade possibilities with him in a cap-starved free-agency market. Utah could even try negotiating with him if it prefers adding a big on a new deal to Bledsoe's expiring money. 

The Trade

L.A. Clippers Receive: Mike Conley

Utah Jazz Receive: Brandon Boston Jr., Terance Mann, Marcus Morris Sr., 2027 first-round swap

Other deals will invariably follow if (when?) the Jazz move Rudy Gobert. Maybe one will include Donovan Mitchell. But he's 25, with three guaranteed years left on his deal (2025-26 option). Utah seems more likely to keep him and deal everyone else.

Finding secondary trades gets weird fairly quickly. The Jazz have a handful of impact players—Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, Royce O'Neale—but none who will command surefire first-round compensation.

O'Neale probably comes closest. Conley comes in at second. Conley is prone to taking a backseat for stretches but remains a steadying offensive decision-maker who can, more than occasionally, get buckets. He also turns 35 in October and will make $22.7 million for the 2022-23 campaign, with $14.3 million of his $24.4 million salary guaranteed in 2023-24. 

Suitors won't necessarily treat him as a decidedly net-positive acquisition, but his prospective fit on the Clippers allows them to ascribe more value to his services than most. He is a floor general upgrade over Reggie Jackson yet a perfect complement to everyone, including a healthy Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

Losing Mann stings, but the Clippers have plenty of depth on the wings in Kawhi, PG, Nicolas Batum (player option), Robert Covington (unrestricted) and Amir Coffey (restricted). Morris remains critical to L.A.'s smaller units in particular, but it should be able to bring back RoCo for cheaper.

The Jazz can count themselves fortunate to get Mann on a team-friendly contract that runs through 2024-25 (three years, $25.9 million). He is an endless supply of offensive energy and made some strides on defense this year. Brandon Boston Jr., 20, spent real time in the Clippers rotation as a rookie and is first-team All-Hustle. Utah can move Morris later or keep him if it wants to try treading water and experiment with downsized units. The 2027 swap could be big if the Jazz's rebuild-retool-reinvention-whatever is dunzo. L.A. should try to withhold it, and truthfully, if I'm Utah, that wouldn't be a deal-breaker.

The Trade

Indiana Pacers Receive: Kyle Kuzma OR Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Rui Hachimura

Washington Wizards: Malcolm Brogdon

History suggests the Pacers aren't gearing up for a long renovation project, and that they'll use their top-seven pick, futz and fitz on the margins and see where a core headlined by Brogdon, Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Buddy Hield, Chris Duarte, maybe T.J. Warren and a high lottery prospect can take them.

Or maybe not.

Marc Stein reported on his substack the Pacers have "definitely left the impression around the league that they're going to trade Malcolm Brogdon." The timing of this revelation is odd, if not ominous. Yes, Indiana just landed Haliburton, but his skill set is scalable to any team. Neither he nor Duarte need the Pacers to move on from a guard who, at his peak, can pump-and-drive, strokes threes off the catch and tries on defense.

More likely, Indiana is getting buyer's remorse or just wants to refresh the entire backcourt. Brogdon begins a three-year, $67.6 million extension in 2022-23 and is hardly a billboard for durability. He has missed 140 games over the past half-decade—an average of 28 games per year.

That precludes the Pacers from expecting the world in negotiations. Reeling in a quality two-way wing like Kuzma or KCP and a flier on Hachimura's developing outside touch, shaky shot selection and mystery defense is worthwhile compensation. Indy opens up plenty of flexibility as well since KCP, Kuzma (2023-24 player option) and Hachimura (restricted) are all scheduled to hit free agency in 2023.

Washington may not be too enamored with Brogdon. It already has one perpetual injury risk in Kristaps Porzingis. But Brogdon is a much cleaner fit beside Bradley Beal (player option) than Russell Westbrook or Spencer Dinwiddie ever was, and so long as the Wizards plan to keep their star in town, they're obligated to prioritize the present.

Giving up Hachimura and one of Kuzma or KCP isn't nothing. But Hachimura remains a project even after improving his three-point percentage. He still takes too many mid-rangers and isn't consistently felt on defense. The sophomore emergence of Deni Avdija, meanwhile, softens the blow of losing Kuzma or KCP. 

The Trade

Indiana Pacers Receive: Gordon Hayward, PJ Washington, No. 15 pick

Charlotte Hornets Receive: Myles Turner, T.J. McConnell

Sending Domantas Sabonis to Sacramento could mean the Pacers settled their "Which big will we keep?!" debate by choosing Myles Turner. But if Malcolm Brogdon is really on the chopping block, then perhaps they are contemplating a more gradual path.

Indiana might also just not want to pay Turner, who's tapped for free agency in 2023. He's only 26, but giving him a raise off his $18 million salary could hamstring their approach to fleshing out the rest of the roster down the line. 

In the event Turner is available, for whatever reason, the Hornets should be interested. They desperately need a strong rim protector and defensive anchor. Turner isn't going to glitter up Charlotte's lackluster presence on the glass, but he combines a shutdown interior presence with the mobility required to move about the half court and plenty of stretch at the other end.

Figuring out the framework of Turner-to-Buzz City isn't rocket science. The Hornets have an expiring contract in Kelly Oubre Jr. ($5 million partially guaranteed) to use as a salary anchor, but Hayward just needs to end up in Indiana already. As luck would have it, he apparently wouldn't mind another change of scenery, per Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer. His contract is steep (two years, $60.3 million), but he is very much plug-and-play on offense and will keep Indiana competitive if he's healthy.

Washington gives the Pacers another big to try out in Turner's absence, someone who won't come close to replacing the defense but can soak up reps beside either Isaiah Jackson or Goga Bitadze while moonlighting as a 5 himself.  Scooping up the No. 15 pick has an inherent value to a team pivoting elsewhere and arms the Pacers with three top-31 prospects.

Views of McConnell's departure will vary by philosophy. Is it the Pacers losing a defensive go-getter off the bench or eluding the final three years and $26.1 million? This is a good haul either way.

The Trade

Charlotte Hornets Receive: Jerami Grant

Detroit Pistons Receive: Terry Rozier, Kai Jones, No. 13 pick (pending lottery results)

The remodeling of Charlotte's defense continues. 

Grant's market value is complicated. He should be an easy-peasy fit on any team as a three-and-D wing with more one-on-one ball skills than initially thought. But his next team will be on the hook for the four-year, $112 million extension he can sign. That's not a no-brainer investment when talking about a 28-year-old non-star.

Then again, this summer's cash- and talent-strapped free-agency landscape bodes well for the Pistons. Trades are shaping up to be the primary mechanism through which teams make substantive upgrades, and Grant will rank among the most sought-after targets. 

Detroit could sour on this package if it doesn't want Rozier on the four-year, $96.7 million extension he's about to start. But he's an efficient three-point shooter who can play beside Cade Cunningham or Killian Hayes, and the Pistons nuh-eed reliable floor-spacers. 

Injecting Jones' pogo-stick pop into the rotation stands to be mesmerizing, even if he's still a project. Netting a lottery pick for a player on an expiring contract is also nifty value for a franchise in the mid-early stages of a rebuild.

Charlotte has the flexibility to propose alternative packages. Kelly Oubre Jr.'s expiring salary can supplant Rozier. But that puts the Hornets on the verge of salary-cap hell, where they'd be carrying pricey pacts for Rozier, Miles Bridges (restricted), eventually Grant and, in our hypothetical world, Turner. LaMelo Ball is extension-eligible in 2023 as well. 

Still, subbing out Rozier for Oubre shouldn't be a breaking point for the Hornets. Having both Grant and Turner in the rotation legitimizes their defense. Shipping out Hayward and Rozier shrinks their three-point firepower, but Grant and Turner knock down just enough triples to make it tenable, and the completion of both trades opens up more court time for James Bouknight (unless Rozier sticks).

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by NBA Math's Adam Fromal.