Trades we’d love to see during the NBA offseason

Player empowerment has been a constant theme in the NBA for the last decade plus, and franchises are always keen to improve on their previous season’s finish. This combination fuels trade speculation, which fans can’t get enough of. With the 2022-2023 campaign officially in the books, we’ll take a look at trades we’d want to see go down ahead of the 2023-2024 season.

There’s no denying Brown’s two-way skills, but the Boston Celtics will have to grapple with the idea of shaking up their team in order to win an elusive NBA title. There’s also the prospect that Brown catapults into a level of stardom that he may never reach sharing the spotlight with Jayson Tatum on a different team.

Even though Young helped lead the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals in the 2020-2021 season, many around the league are questioning his ability to be a winning piece moving forward. His offensive ability is hard to nitpick, but he’s a liability on defense that teams look to exploit. It would be very interesting to see if any other teams have interest in the star guard.

Siakam is the prototypical NBA player for the modern game, and has a solid resume already. He’s an NBA champion and made two All-NBA teams. It’s hard to figure out what the Toronto Raptors want to do moving forward, and moving Siakam would help them reset their timeline. Siakam could also be reinvigorated by a trade.

Since he’s come into the NBA, LaVine has been one of the most exciting players to watch. He’s a great scorer, and possesses athleticism that prompts fans to jump out of their seats. With that said, he hasn’t exactly led a team to a deep postseason run. He might be better served on a team where he’s an ancillary piece rather than a primary one, even though his salary makes a trade difficult.

Many of the players on this list are bonafide All-Stars, but Bogdanovic would be an excellent addition for a team looking to bolster their playoff rotation. The Detroit Pistons are in rebuilding mode, and figure to be out of contention for another one or two years. Dealing Bogdanovic to a contender would seem to make a lot of sense.

Ayton’s perception around the league is that of a distressed asset, and there’s something to be said about his stagnation overlapping with Chris Paul entering the twilight of his career. The Phoenix Suns are in a difficult position though, as their depth was already compromised in the Kevin Durant trade. They’ll need to acquire a couple of pieces in any deal involving Ayton.

It wouldn’t be surprising for Green’s run with the Golden State Warriors to come to an end in the very near future, but it would be a shame if the team was unable to get anything for him. He’s certainly not the player he once was, but Green’s experience on the biggest stage would be an interesting jolt to another team looking to taste title glory.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are a bit of a mess, as it appears like their blockbuster trade for Rudy Gobert last summer has set the franchise back. They won’t be able to move him, so it looks like Towns might be the frontcourt player who leaves town. His name comes up in rumored deals with the New York Knicks.

Fans often like to point out how players these days love to sprint to where the grass appears to be greener, rather than stick it out with their current franchise. Lillard cannot be accused of that, as he’s remained loyal to the Portland Trail Blazers for his entire career. Still, it would be exciting for him to join a team that has a legitimate chance to contend for a championship.