Realistic NBA Offseason Trades That Can Still Happen

Free-agency transactions around the NBA have slowed to a crawl, marking the (relative) end of one silly season and the beginning of another.

The second wave of silliness to which we're referring, of course, is the trade market.

Many of the Association's teams have wrapped up the majority of their offseason business. They will now look to the trade market for finishing touches, odds and ends and, perhaps, some roster rebalancing.

Other squads, meanwhile, should consider this phase of the summer essential—a lifeline through which they fill a non-negotiable void or capitalize on the opportunity to level up in a more consequential way than they've already done.

From teams looking to enter or solidify their spot among postseason hopefuls and contenders to contingency plans and depth-chart expansion to placeholder pivots, fliers and dice rolls, this latest batch of trade ideas offers a mix of everything.

Charlotte Hornets Receive: Kevon Looney, Atlanta's 2026 second-round pick (via Golden State)

Golden State Warriors Receive: Robert Williams III, own 2028 second-round pick (via Portland), Rayan Rupert

Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Reggie Jackson, Moses Moody

I almost didn't include this one. But after consulting multiple parties and getting their stamps of approval, I'm feeling all sorts of brave. Call it "co-signature muscles." Or something.

The Warriors could use a center with a truer big-man profile than Draymond Green or Trayce Jackson-Davis. RW3 isn't conventionally huge (6'9"), but at his best, he's a game-changing screener, diver, short-roll passer and defender—regardless of the matchup.

Betting on his health isn't a modest risk. He missed most of last season with a right knee injury and has appeared in just 41 games over the past two years. Still, the potential payoff is worth the nondescript financial investment. RW3 is on the books through 2025-26...for a total of just $25.7 million.

Surrendering Looney is no longer much of a concession on the Warriors' part. Including Moody for an injury-prone big is tougher to reconcile. But inconsistent usage coupled with his entering a contract year makes it easier to stomach his exit. Golden State is also getting back control of its own second-rounder in 2028 while grabbing a flier on Rayan Rupert, a three-and-D-type prospect with whom I'm absolutely smitten, and who's under team control for another two years at $4.1 million total.

Portland is dealing RW3 at the nadir of his value here and could just hold onto him in an attempt to rehab his curb appeal. But Moody is a higher-end three-and-D prospect than Rupert, and his next deal shouldn't scare the Blazers when he doesn't have the track record to command a ton of leverage or money. General manager Joe Cronin also hasn't helped RW3's market by adding Donovan Clingan to a center rotation that already features Deandre Ayton and the (eminently serviceable) Duop Reath.

Charlotte isn't needed to complete this deal. But it has room for a reserve center to inject into the Mark Williams-Nick Richards rotation and is netting a second-round pick for taking on an additional $2.7 million.

Rerouting Looney is meant to be part of the draw for Portland. It increases the team's cushion beneath the luxury tax and avoids replacing one big with another.

Reggie Jackson instantly becomes a buyout candidate, but the Blazers can hang onto him as a matching salary in subsequent moves. They might even consider using him to sponge up second-string point guard reps, since Dalano Banton, Anfernee Simons and, to a lesser extent, Deni Avdija are their only backup floor-general options at the moment.

Memphis Grizzlies Receive: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Matt Ryan, 2030 second-round pick, 2031 second-round pick

New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Santi Aldama

Moving Dyson Daniels and Larry Nance Jr. in the Dejounte Murray trade has put the Pelicans in a weird space. They have clear needs—most notably at center—but their remaining salary-matching tools almost guarantee whatever they do must be on the more dramatic end.

Unless, of course, they do something like this.

Despite standing 7'0", Aldama has not taken up primary-center responsibilities during his time in the NBA. That's something with which New Orleans may have to grapple. But the opportunity cost here isn't too steep, and Aldama fits like a relative glove alongside Zion Williamson.

The 23-year-old hits enough of his triples (36.1 percent on spot-ups, 38.2 percent on wide-open looks) to stretch the floor versus opposing bigs. And he offers enough of a floor game in space to provide offensive flexibility.

Using him at the 5 next to Zion could get a little finicky against certain matchups. But the Pelicans have the perimeter stoppers to insulate both him and Zion, and Aldama isn't exactly a pushover at the basket.

Opponents last season shot 56.7 percent at the rim when challenged by him, a mark right in line with teammate Jaren Jackson Jr. (56.1 percent) and someone like Aaron Gordon (56.6 percent). A lot of Aldama's point-blank contests came as the helper, so returns could change when he's the de facto 5. But he's big enough to give it a whirl.

Memphis shouldn't be too eager to move Aldama even after drafting Zach Edey and, presumably, returning a healthy Brandon Clarke. But the 7-footer is entering a contract year, and the Grizzlies have to start planning around JJJ's next deal.

Plus, Ryan lit it up for the Pelicans from long range during the first part of last season before various injuries derailed his year. Getting a look at him has material value, particularly if Memphis doesn't bring back Luke Kennard.

Orlando Magic Receive: Anfernee Simons

Portland Trail Blazers Receive: Cole Anthony, Caleb Houstan, Jett Howard, 2025 first-round pick (least favorable from Denver or Orlando), 2027 first-round pick (lottery protection)

Orlando's cap space is gone. My insistence on getting Simons to the Magic is not.

Cobbling together a package is trickier now that Orlando has burned through its spending power. But it has the breathing room beneath the tax to still offer Portland some additional flexibility of its own. This package shaves around $5.7 million from the Blazers' current payroll, outfitting them with plenty of more runway under the tax themselves.

Roster spots will need to be cleared for Portland in the long run following this trade. That shouldn't be a deal-breaker. General manager Joe Cronin isn't done wheeling and dealing himself, and the Blazers can simplify the math, if need be, by roping in a third team to take on Houstan.

The crux of this package, though, should be enough to get Portland thinking.

Howard didn't play much during his rookie season but provided glimpses into his motion shooting during G League stints with the Osceola Magic. Anthony is just 24, a solid scoring and offensive caretaker option off the bench and about to start a team-friendly three-year, $39.1 million extension. If landing two firsts, on top of Howard, isn't a home run, then it's certainly a triple.

Truth be told, the Magic could be the more reticent party.

Simons is an ideal fit in Orlando. He just downed nearly 43 percent of his catch-and-fire triples and continues to nail his off-the-dribble treys at a satisfactory clip, and the 8.8 three-pointers he jacked per game this season would have led the Magic by a colossal margin. But while he brings some secondary playmaking, he doesn't check the floor-general box.

Here's the thing: Cole Anthony doesn't, either. And Orlando retains Anthony Black as part of this proposal. Even so, the Magic are playing some of their best remaining trade chips. They have to really believe their offense will level up with Simons, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner running the show. That's a gamble.

Then again, it's a wager Orlando is already making. It has so far opted to go after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and reinvest in non-point guards rather than target a game manager. Simons jibes with the committee approach to offensive initiation, and the live-dribble threat he poses, when attached to everything else this team has in place, is enough for all of us, collectively, to start saying some pretty inflammatory things about the 2024-25 Magic.

Chicago Bulls Receive: Pat Connaughton

Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Jevon Carter, Torrey Craig

Rest in peace to my (repeated) attempts to get Ayo Dosunmu on the Bucks. They could still explore that route, but it's tough to construct a deal that makes sense for the Bulls and fits within Milwaukee's second-apron restrictions if we don't include the latter's 2031 first-rounder.

And so, we aim lower.

Breaking up Connaughton into a pair of rotation players is an absolute win for a Bucks squad that, as of now, is a little too reliant on unknowns. Carter is working off a down-shooting season, but Chicago's depth-chart setup didn't do him any favors. The Bucks will be able to tee him up for higher-quality looks from distance, he has experience playing beside this core, and his return gives them another viable point-of-attack defender on top of Delon Wright.

Craig is yet another familiar face, and this time, Milwaukee should plan on keeping him for the entire season. He is shooting above 39 percent from downtown over the past two years, albeit on modest volume, and arms the Bucks rotation with another body to deploy against power wings and bigger forwards. He also remains one of the league's sneakier offensive rebounders.

Chicago might push for second-round equity to take on Connaughton, who has two years and $18.8 million left on his deal (2025-26 player option). But Milwaukee can only deal its 2031 second. This return isn't splashy enough to go that far out.

The Bulls shouldn't quibble much, if at all, in the end. They need to decongest the guard rotation and could use someone closer to an actual wing. Connaughton fits that loose criteria, and his player option shouldn't bother them when Carter's own $6.8 million player option for 2025-26 doesn't currently profile as good value.

Charlotte Hornets Receive: Kevin Huerter, Jalen McDaniels, 2026 second-round pick

Sacramento Kings Receive: Cody Martin, Grant Williams

Huerter has devolved into a distressed asset for the Kings. A poor 2023 playoffs was followed by a down 2023-24 campaign that culminated in left shoulder surgery. The two years, $34.8 million left on his contract are seemingly being perceived as a net negative rather than a desirable deal.

Yours truly respectfully disagrees.

Career shooters who can score off motion and add a dab of on-the-deck escapism don't suddenly implode. Unless Hurter's medicals are disastrous, Charlotte should pounce at the opportunity to add a 6'7" marksman to its current core. Especially when he'll be just 26 at the start of next season.

Sacramento is selling relatively low to moderate on Huerter here. But it is increasing its flexibility beneath the luxury tax—potentially important for midseason trades—while deepening the core of its rotation.

Williams adds stretch to the front line with perimeter defensive chops the Kings won't get from Trey Lyles. He can play next to any of the team's bigs, and Sacramento can try getting frisky in non-Domantas Sabonis minutes and downsize with him at the 5.

However he's deployed, Williams' shooting stroke is a breath of fresh air for a rotation that just added the ball-dominant, mid-range heavy DeMar DeRozan. And the three years, $40.9 million remaining on his contract are ultra-reasonable.

Martin has battled a ton of injuries over the past two seasons. But going on 29, he's not that far removed from a 2021-22 season in which he was extremely plug-and-play on the offensive end while checking advantage creators at the guard and wing spots.

If he's healthy, the Kings unearth a recycled gem under team control for the next two years. If this doesn't pan out, Martin can be viewed as an expiring deal, since his 2025-26 salary is non-guaranteed.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.

Unless otherwise cited, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac. Draft-pick obligations via RealGM.