5 NBA Draft Day Trades That Should Happen
New York: Anthony Davis and Solomon Hill
New Orleans: 3rd Pick, Dennis Smith Jr., Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, Lance Thomas, Dallas’ 2021 and 2023 1st Round Picks.
Shams reported last week that Anthony Davis has not backed off his trade request and that he wants out of New Orleans. That means the Pelicans will have teams lining up trade packages. I wrote about this in the past why the Knicks makes the most sense but here it is again. The Knicks are in the East, Davis will sign a long term deal there, and the Knicks have real assets. Teaming Duke teammates Zion Williams (1st Pick) and RJ Barrett (3rd Pick) would be a great direction to restart the franchise.
Phoenix: Mike Conley Jr.
Memphis: 6th Pick, T.J. Warrren, and Josh Jackson
The Suns have been one of the worst teams in the league for the past 4 years and its time to start getting better. They have have a but load of young players and zero reliable point guards. Memphis is in full rebuild mode and expected to take Ja Morant 2nd overall. That means Conley Jr. is expendable. By acquiring Conley, the Suns finally get the veteran play-maker to go with Booker and Ayton. That could make the Suns a sneaky playoff team.
LA Lakers: Bradley Beal
Washington: 4th Pick, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart
The reality of the Anthony Davis situation is that the Pelicans want nothing to do with the Lakers. Because of that, the Lakers have to look for the next best player on the market. Bradley Beal is a good place to start. Washington has no real future assets and is on the hook for John Wall over the next 5 years. By getting the 4th pick and Brandon Ingram, they at least have a new direction to go in. As for the Lakers, they get the 2nd star next to LeBron while holding onto Kyle Kuzma.
Boston: 9th Pick
Washington: 14th, 20th, 22nd Picks
If the Wizards decide to move on from Beal, then here’s another trade they should do. It may be better for them to grab as many draft picks as they can and see what sticks to the wall in a rebuilding season. As for the Celtics, they don’t need this many draft picks so they might as well go for the home run and get into the top 10.
Atlanta: Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson
Detroit: 8th, 10th Picks, 2021 1st Round Pick, Kent Bazemore, and Miles Plumlee
There’s no smoke to this but I feel like Detroit should blow it up. The Pistons under performed in Blake Griffin’s 1st full season and they don’t appear to have a high ceiling. By trading Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson, the Pistons get 2 expiring contracts and 2 top 10 picks to rebuild the roster properly around Griffin. As for the Hawks, they’re a team on the rise and adding Drummond next to Trae Young and John Collins would propel the Hawks to the playoffs. It’s worth it even if they have to take on Reggie Jackson’s contract.
-Steve Santoro (SVS_1993)
