Three NBA Trades to Reshape the League and the Draft
Bradley Beal to the Hawks? Ben Simmons to the Kings? Warriors-Pistons swap?
Bradley Beal. Ben Simmons. Damian Lillard.
Trade speculation involving these three big names has loomed large over the NBA offseason.
And as we know, when a superstar is traded, it usually has a major impact on the NBA draft. In the past few years, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Anthony Davis have moved in massive trades that involved multiple draft picks.
This month I’ve been talking to NBA executives about what they expect to see happen before the season — or during the season. And one popular topic has been trades we might see.
I am not telling you that these trades are likely, or that the talks are happening at the moment.
Rather, this is what some NBA executives think could happen, or at least what they think would work.
Of the many trade ideas I’ve heard, three of them really caught my ear.
Note that none of these trades involve Lillard. That’s not because execs think he’s certain to stay in Portland, but rather because no one has presented a trade idea to me that I think would work for the Trail Blazers beyond what’s already been thrown out there.
Here are the three trades, with the pros and cons for each team:
Trade 1: Bradley Beal to the Hawks
(Note to readers: This is an excerpt of my Three NBA Trades to Reshape the League and the Draft provided to free subscribers. To get my take on all three of the trades … you need to be a paid subscriber.
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