5 NBA Draft Trade Proposals
The Pistons trading No. 1 ... Damian Lillard mega deal … and more hypothetical moves before the 2021 NBA Draft
(Note to readers: This is an excerpt of 5 NBA Draft Trade Proposals provided to free subscribers. To get potential trades 2-5 including a Damian Lillard 4 team deal and a big move for the Knicks you need to be a paid subscriber. Click button below to read the full version.)
As usual, NBA Draft trade rumors are swirling.
And we have seen major trades for lottery picks recently. Two high-profile examples in the past four years are the swaps of Luka Doncic for Trae Young and, a year earlier, the No. 1 pick (Markelle Fultz) for the No. 3 pick (Jayson Tatum).
Of course, most rumors don’t come true, but there are always surprises. And when they do happen, draft trades are part of what makes draft night so fun.
Here are five trades I think teams should consider. I am NOT reporting or even speculating that these trades will happen or are even being discussed. To follow the actual trade talks going on, I have a draft buzz column (coming Wednesday), a Mock Draft and a Big Board, each of which tracks the latest rumblings around the league.
These are five trades I’d like to see teams consider in the next 10 days:
Trade 1: The Pistons and Rockets swap top picks
Houston Rockets receive: No. 1 pick
Detroit Pistons receive: No. 2 pick; another lottery pick
The most likely scenario is that the Pistons will keep the No. 1 pick and draft Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham.
You’ve heard all the arguments why they should. He was the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft all season. As a wing, he plays the most important position in the NBA at the moment. He has an unflappable demeanor on the court that keeps him from feeling forced. He imposes his will on the game despite being the focal point of every opponents’ defense. Oh, and he surprised scouts this year by shooting 40% from 3-point range.
He has the highest floor of any player in the draft. At worst, he looks like a high-level starter in the NBA. His bust potential is extremely low.
How can you not say no to that?
Well, there are three reasons the Pistons should consider it:
The Pistons aren’t an ideal fit for Cunningham.
GM Troy Weaver used Detroit’s first-round draft picks last year on Killian Hayes, Isaiah Stewart and Saddiq Bey. Bey made first-team All-Rookie, Stewart showed a lot of promise and Hayes started to look more like a lottery pick toward the end of a rookie season (overcoming a shaky start and a hip injury). But while all three have promise, none is an elite athlete by NBA standards.
Adding Cunningham would do little to address the Pistons’ lack of athleticism among their best young players. With two elite athletes -- Evan Mobley and Jalen Green -- among the top three prospects in this year’s draft, the Pistons have to ask themselves, is Cunningham so much better than Mobley and Green that they should take him anyway?
The No. 1 pick is currently being overvalued.
Virtually every team in the league covets Cunningham -- which makes the pick extremely valuable. But as good as he is, any gap between Cunningham, Mobley and Green is small. In fact, Mobley and Green have higher ceilings.
Detroit can expedite its rebuild.
If the Pistons can move down one spot, grab Mobley or Green (I hear they prefer Green), and get a second lottery pick, they can fill out the roster with more of the kind of high-end talent that’s been missing for years. The Pistons haven’t had a winning record for five seasons and counting. Two lottery picks rather than one, such as Green and a young talent like Franz Wagner, Josh Giddey, Kai Jones or Ziaire Williams, would round out the roster more expeditiously.
Why would the Rockets do a trade like this? They are enamored of Cunningham and the idea of having him play the way James Harden did in Houston.
In addition to the second pick, the Rockets have the No. 23 and No. 24 picks and are trying to devise packages including those picks, Christian Wood and Eric Gordon to move up in the draft. Right now they don’t have the ammunition to get it done, but if they are able to land a second lottery pick (see one potential scenario in Trade 4 below), they might have what it takes.
Trade 2: The Damian Lillard Mega Deal
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(This is an excerpt of 5 NBA Draft Trade Proposals provided to free subscribers. To get potential trades 2-5 including a Damian Lillard 4 team deal and a big move for the Knicks you need to be a paid subscriber. Click button below to read the full version.
Paid subscribers will also get access to full scouting reports on all of the top players in the draft as well as the ability to comment on articles and special discussion boards, Zoom calls and more interaction with me in the coming weeks.)