Your favorite NBA team probably doesn't have much cap space. Its payroll might be up against the luxury tax or one of those annoying aprons. Maybe it can find a way to add someone like Gary Trent Jr., Tyus Jones or Luke Kennard in free agency, but, if it's going to make a meaningful move, it'll much more likely be a trade.
Trades can be complicated, and the new collective bargaining agreement doesn't help in that regard. At this point in the offseason, though, there are more rotation-caliber players available on the trade market than on the free-agent market. Not everyone on this list will be traded, but there's at least reason to believe that they could (still) be. Let's start with the big domino that has to fall in Utah.
Markkanen mania
The Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz is a rare trade candidate: a 27-year-old star on a below-market contract. The Jazz, according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer, tried to pair him with Mikal Bridges and even dared to dream of adding both Bridges and Paul George this offseason, but are now considering going the other direction, just like the Brooklyn Nets did. To trade Markkanen, though, Utah would likely require a Bridges-esque haul -- or even more than that.
In reports about the Markkanen sweepstakes, no team has been more prominent than the Golden State Warriors. On Monday, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that they've proposed a package that includes Moses Moody, first-round picks, pick swaps and second-round picks, but Utah wants everything: Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Moody, plus picks.
If Danny Ainge's front office can't get what it wants, it could simply keep him around. Markkanen is by far the team's best player, and he's happy in Salt Lake City. On Aug. 6, the Jazz can offer him as much as $24 million in additional 2024-25 salary (using cap space), plus an extension of up to four years worth upward of $200 million. That date is important, as it is not only the first day that they can offer the extension but the last day that he can sign it while remaining eligible to be traded before the Feb. 6 deadline. (The extension would mean that he couldn't be traded for six months, so, if he signs an extension on Aug. 6, he can be moved on the day of the deadline and no sooner, per Marc Stein of The Stein Line.)
Markkanen is entering the final year of his contract. In situations like this, the player often will have more trade value after signing a long-term extension than as a possible rental. In this instance, however, that might not be the case, since Markkanen is currently owed only $18 million next season and that number could be twice as high in a renegotiate-and-extend scenario. For many teams, that $18 million salary is part of the appeal, even though everybody knows he's due an enormous raise.
If Markkanen is the first domino, who could follow?
The New Orleans Pelicans' Brandon Ingram, another former All-Star forward entering a contract year, is a few months younger than Markkanen. He has a higher salary ($36 million), though, and because he's been relatively reluctant to take catch-and-shoot 3s for the last three seasons, he's considered a trickier fit next to ball-dominant stars.
Ingram is eligible for an extension worth up to $208 million over four years. The Pelicans reportedly aren't willing to offer him the max, and, according to Marc Stein, they've empowered his camp to try to find a trade partner that is.
More than any other team in the league, New Orleans' offseason appears incomplete. After letting Jonas Valanciunas walk and sending Larry Nance Jr. to the Atlanta Hawks in the Dejounte Murray trade, it has surrounded franchise player Zion Williamson with an abundance of perimeter players -- Murray, Ingram, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Jose Alvarado -- but the only centers under contract are the recently signed Daniel Theis and rookie Yves Missi (unless you count Jeremiah Robinson-Earl as a center). Teams typically don't want to trade wings for bigs, but, for these Pelicans, swapping Ingram for a 5 would be ideal, in large part because Murphy is more than ready to be a full-time starter.
Which bigs could the Pelicans (and others) be after?
David Griffin's New Orleans front office was interested in acquiring Jarrett Allen (a one-time All-Star, just like Markkanen and Ingram) from the Cleveland Cavaliers before last season's trade deadline and that hasn't changed, per nola.com's Christian Clark. The Cavaliers, though, appear increasingly likely to bring back their pair of small guards (Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, the latter of whom just signed an extension) and their pair of bigs (Allen and Evan Mobley). Their new coach, Kenny Atkinson, was with Allen in Brooklyn at the beginning of the 26-year-old's career, and according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Atkinson doesn't want him to go anywhere.
Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. is another longtime New Orleans target, per nola.com and The Athletic's Will Guillory. In theory, Carter could be seen as expendable for Orlando, given that it brought back both Moe Wagner and Gaga Bitadze this summer, but that team definitely doesn't need another player like Ingram -- Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are similar -- and it could drive a hard bargain for Carter, who is still just 25 and is on an extremely team-friendly contract ($12 million next season, $10.9 million in 2025-26).
Last Thursday, The Stein Line reported that, while Atlanta's Clint Capela has been on the trade block "for more than a year," the newly acquired Nance has drawn more interest on the market. Both are on expiring contracts, but Nance's salary ($11.2 million) is about half of Capela's ($22.3 million).
The rebuilding Detroit Pistons and Portland Trail Blazers don't have to move any of their bigs, but both will have logjams when healthy. If Jalen Duren is Detroit's center of the future and the team doesn't plan on using Isaiah Stewart or the newly signed Paul Reed at power forward, then surely Stewart and/or Reed must be obtainable. Stewart is entering Year 1 of a four-year contract that will pay him a flat $15 million annually, and Reed is owed just $7.7 million next season and $8.1 million in 2025-26 (and his contract is non-guaranteed). Portland, meanwhile, may be saying all the right things about No. 7 pick Donovan Clingan and Deandre Ayton's future together, but it's hard to imagine coach Chauncey Billups finding minutes for both of them and Robert Williams III and Duop Reath (who quietly put together a nice season for the Blazers).
Before the draft, both The Action Network's Matt Moore and HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported that Nets center Day'Ron Sharpe could be moved, and both linked him to the Memphis Grizzlies specifically. Sharpe, who turns 23 in November, is in the last year of his rookie contract and is eligible for an extension.
It seems unlikely, by the way, that Utah's Walker Kessler will be traded. Arizona Sports' John Gambadaro and SNY's Ian Begley both reported that the Jazz have turned down multiple offers for Kessler that featured two first-round picks.
Who are the sellers?
The trade market will largely be dictated by teams that are either in a full-blown rebuild or something of a reset:
- Post-Bridges, the Nets are in rebuild mode, so they're likely not too attached to Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dennis Schroder or Bojan Bogdanovic. "If I'm here, I'm here," Finney-Smith said Sunday, via the New York Post's Brian Lewis. "If I'm not, I'm not." The vets may still be there at the beginning of training camp, but it's difficult to imagine all of them lasting past the trade deadline. (Schroder and Bogdanovic are on expiring contracts, and Finney-Smith effectively is, too, as he has a $15.4 million player option in 2025-26.)
- According to Rose Garden Report's Sean Highkin, the Portland Trail Blazers didn't want to send Jerami Grant to the Los Angeles Lakers without getting two first-round picks in return, partially because Portland wasn't psyched about the salaries it would have to take back in such a deal. Rose Garden Report also noted that, back on draft night, general manager Joe Cronin said the team was "committed" to rebuilding around Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, a comment that didn't exactly bode well for Anfernee Simons' long-term future with the Blazers. That there has been such little buzz about Simons is a reflection of the sheer amount of talented guards in the league right now; he's only 25 and has developed into a real weapon on offense.
- Zach LaVine is too good to be treated as a toxic asset, but NBC Sports Chicago's K.C. Johnson reported earlier this month that the Chicago Bulls had "presented upwards of 15 proposals to teams" and nothing had come together. On Sunday, Bulls executive VP Arturas Karnisovas told reporters, "We expect him to be with us at the start of training camp," per NBC Sports Chicago. Maybe no one will take on LaVine's contract (which will pay him $43 million this coming season, $46 million the next and $49 million in 2026-27) before seeing how healthy he coming off foot surgery, but it's a bit surprising to me that nobody's made a play for 29-year-old guard Jevon Carter, who is owed just $6.5 million in 2024-25 and has a $6.8 million player option for the following season.
- The Toronto Raptors picked up Bruce Brown's $23 million team option, but he's been on the trade block since the moment they acquired him in the Pascal Siakam deal. Everybody remembers what he meant to the Denver Nuggets two years ago.
- Is anyone going to go get Malcolm Brogdon? The guy won Sixth Man of the Year two years ago, and it's weird that he's been chilling on rebuilding teams ever since. Kyle Kuzma is another Washington Wizards trade candidate, and his contract -- $23.5 million in 2024-25, then $21.5 million, then $19.4 million -- makes him a natural target for capped-out contenders … provided they are willing to compensate Washington accordingly.
- Atlanta doesn't appear to be having a fire sale -- and there's no incentive to do that, since the Spurs have control of their picks for the next three years -- but it is not in win-now mode, either, so why would Bogdan Bogdanovic be untouchable? He was my runner-up for 6MOY in 2023-24, and he turns 32 in August.
- Jordan Clarkson, who turned 32 in June, is also on a team that hasn't quite picked a direction. If the Jazz move Markkanen, would they also move Clarkson and try to bottom out completely? Collin Sexton would presumably have trade value, too, and this wouldn't be a trade candidates column if it didn't mention John Collins.
Who else could be on the move?
Some more notes:
- The Warriors pulled Andrew Wiggins from the Canadian national team right before its training camp was about to start, and it's no secret that they were trying to trade him. They've reportedly been much more reluctant to trade Kuminga, who is eligible for a rookie extension, but I wonder how many opposing GMs have their eyes on another member of the 2021 draft class: Moody.
- D'Angelo Russell's $18.7 million expiring contract makes him a trade chip for the Lakers. If they warm to the idea of giving up multiple future first-round picks, they could theoretically turn him (and/or Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt) into some kind of upgrade. Theoretically.
- After Russell Westbrook picked up his $4 million player option with the Los Angeles Clippers, he was linked to the Nuggets in trade rumors almost immediately. Westbrook could still end up there eventually, but it's notable that the two sides have not been able to work out a trade. The Athletic reported Monday that the Clippers still plan to trade Westbrook, and that the Nuggets are a "front-runner" to sign him if he's waived, echoing DNVR's Harrison Wind.
- Ziaire Williams, the No. 10 pick in the 2021 draft, hasn't turned 23 yet, but could already be a second-draft guy: the Grizzlies are weighing their trade options with him, per The Athletic.
- On Sunday, Garland told cleveland.com's Chris Fedor, "I don't want to be traded. Those are just rumors." He also said that he was "excited" when Mitchell signed his extension with the Cavaliers and enjoyed his dinner with Atkinson last Friday, in which they talked about how he'd be used next season. This does not guarantee that Garland will spend his prime in Cleveland sharing playmaking duties with Mitchell, but it suggests the team at least plans to give the pairing another shot.
- The Milwaukee Bucks have had a quiet offseason. If they were to do so something significant, though, it would basically have to involve one or more of Brook Lopez (who is on a $23 million expiring contract), Bobby Portis (who has a $13.4 million player option for 2025-26) and Pat Connaughton (who has a $9.4 million player option for 2025-26). It doesn't seem like anything is imminent with the Bucks, but, this time last year, nobody was saying that they were about to trade Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard.
