I'm obsessed with this trade for everyone involved.

TL;DR

• The Hawks build a big 3&D line-up around Trae with roster depth

• The Nuggets get much needed shooting, depth, and roster flexibility

• The Nets go full rebuild and get a plethora of picks

• The Rockets get much needed shooting that can help them win now and grow with their young core

The Hawks Perspective

I think I like this trade best for the Hawks. They follow in the footsteps of teams like Boston and New York by getting a ton of quality 3&D wings to put around Trae. However, they don't sacrifice their depth like Boston and NYC.

Their starting lineup would look like

1. Trae Young

2. Dillon Brooks

3. Cam Johnson

4. Jalen Johnson

5. Clint Capela

with Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Onyeka Okongwu, Kobe Bufkin, Vit Krejci, and Zeke Nnaji off the bench- a ton of young players on low, long-term contracts.

Of this top 11, only Trae, Dillon, and Bufkin are shorter than 6'8". Pretty much everyone is an above average 3-point shooter for their position except the centers and Daniels (who is improving in that area and brings a ton of value outside of his shooting). Brooks and Jalen are also iffy, but Jalen will likely continue to improve and Brooks provides great size and defensive prowess at the 2 next to Trae- he's just a great fit. In addition, all of them are on long-term contracts except Daniels- a RFA next year- and Capela, who is not part of their long term plans anyway.

I think the Hawks core should focus on Jalen Johnson, Dyson, Risacher, and Onyeka Okongwu- all players between 19 and 23. Obvs they can't tank and focus on rebuilding around these young guys cause they don't have their first round picks for a few years, so they hold on to Trae Young and Clint for now. They also obtain Cam Johnson and Dillon Brooks- win-now players on front-loaded contracts- similar to the way Houston put veteran players around their young core. Following this model, about two years from now, when Risacher becomes a more consistent starting role player, Cam could be traded as an expiring on a fantastic contract for a great return to gain more value down the road. On the other hand, Dillon Brooks has spent his whole career on young defensive-minded teams, providing a mental intensity and focus for the young guys so he would be a great leader for this young team, but if circumstances call for it, he could be traded as well.

If the fit of the team works, and they attain some level of playoff success, then you keep Trae Young and see where that core gets you. But what's their plan after Trae Young? Well, perhaps they might find someone with a future pick or trade, but ideally, Dyson Daniels could take that role. Some might question Dyson being moved to the bench in this trade after his revelatory start to this season, but playing him as the backup point guard would give him more reps on-ball as the lead playmaker and distributor against other team's bench units. That way, if the Hawks end up deciding to trade Trae Young, Dyson can take that starting spot without it costing too many wins now while they're trying to get some playoff experience for their young guys.

Finally, they also get Zeke Nnaji who has virtually no trade value or supporters anymore, but I think he is secretly a really solid pickup for a young team, especially given that he is also on a front-loaded contract. Nnaji is a really solid defensive playmaker, makes good rotations, and protects the rim at a solid level. His first two years in the league, he played as a 4 and he shot over 40% from 3 and played excellent versatile defense. His underwhelming play started when Jamal Murray came back from injury and the Nuggets became championship contenders. First, his minutes in the following two years were more erratic because coach Michael Malone pulled him for any little mistakes. Second, the Nuggets also started playing him as the backup 5, which proved unsuccessful, because he is not a good defensive rebounder or screener. However, he is a very switchable, versatile defender who can guard all 5 positions, grab offensive rebounds, and contest shots at the rim. He needs to be on a younger team where he has the space to make mistakes and grow. I think he will show his value if traded to another team- one that plays into his skillset as a 6'9" 240lb forward who can shoot and defend 1-5 instead of directly counter to it. Play him alongside this tall Hawks roster where his weaknesses are covered in a context that's not trying to win the championship every year and I think you'll see his development really start to take off. There's a reason he got that "bad" contract after all.

The Nuggets Perspective

MPJ is a great player and fits what the Nuggets need very well, however his contract makes it almost impossible for them to fill holes in their roster which has become more and more of a problem. Sending out his big contract for three smaller ones provides more depth and flexibility for constructing their roster, now and in the future. In addition, Bogdanovic and DFS do a good job replacing the shooting lost by MPJ and KCP. DFS is a significantly better defender than MPJ and, while smaller than MPJ, can play up a position better than MPJ having played significant minutes as the Nets' backup center. I also think you’ll get the most out of Bogdanovic playing him next to Jokić as we saw in the Olympics this year. The Nuggets would have even more shooters on the bench lineup to put around Russell Westbrook opening the paint for him to drive and pass out to quality shooters. In addition, they reunite Steven Adams and Westbrook on the bench unit. Adams is an unbelievable fit on the Nuggets. Adams plays so similarly to Jokic in every aspect except scoring and the Nuggets bench never seems to know how to play any other style when Jokic is off the court, so Jokic's off-court minutes wouldn't be so debilitating. In addition, Adams would provide a ton of space off his screens for all the bench shooters. Perhaps most importantly, I think Jokic and Adams would get along so well. You would never get a rebound against the Nuggets, which works for them cause they can't shoot anymore anyway.

The starting lineup would likely look like

1. Jamal Murray

2. Christian Braun

3. Dorian Finney-Smith

4. Aaron Gordon

5. Nikola Jokic

with Russell Westbrook, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, and Steven Adams to fill out the bench. They can flex Bogdan in for CB or DFS early to give him plenty of minutes with Jokic. CB plays incredibly well off of Jokic, but I think he would have a similar chemistry with Adams so he could play a lot of minutes with the bench unit as well. Murray has struggled early on, but having an elite screener on the court at all times could help him get open space to shoot and get downhill giving him better looks.

Personally, I love a lineup of Murray, Bogdan, Braun, DFS, Jokic or Strawther instead of Braun. Just all the shooters around Jokic. Or the same lineups with Adams and let his screens give them all miles of space to shoot.

The Nets Perspective

This is obvious. The Nets are reportedly looking to sell at this year's trade deadline, so here they offload a couple valuable contributors to winning basketball in return for a haul of picks including the rights to their own 2027 first back. This trade would leave them with five (yes, 5) first round picks this year- their own which they hope they can use to get Cooper Flagg and 4 mid to late firsts that they could package together to trade up for another high potential player in the coming year's stacked draft. They would then still have their own firsts back for the next two drafts to continue their rebuild as well as a plethora of other firsts and seconds from other teams now including the Nuggets' first in 2031- Jokic's age 37 season (which is top 5 protected, but doesn't have to be).

After this trade, they would have 10 players on expiring contracts or team options at the end of the year totaling $101.1 million. Now some of those players, like Cam Thomas or Jalen Wilson, they'll definitely re-sign or pick up their option, but they would have plenty of roster spots to bring in young talent and give players a shot to prove themselves as well as be able to save tons of money and sign whoever they want to reach the minimum team salary to provide veteran experience for the young guys or pick up players who would be valuable trade assets for more future picks. For example, they could offer BI a heavily front-loaded contract that would be a very valuable trade asset in 2 or 3 years- I doubt BI and Cam Thomas would win them many games and ruin the draft position for their rebuild. De'Andre Hunter is a great player to have for a rebuild- dependable enough to provide stability for the young guys but he's never gonna win you games, plus his contract kinda sucks so two years from now when he's an expiring, he could be used as matching salary in a trade.

The Rockets Perspective

The Rockets desperately need shooting on this roster. Dillon Brooks was good for the team in the role he played in his first year in Houston, but with the emergence of Amen Thompson as an on-ball defender, they don't really need his skillset anymore. MPJ is an elite shooter and fits next to pretty much every player on the roster. He's a great rebounder for small-ball minutes with Jabari at the 5. In his time with Denver, he also turned himself into a really solid team defender who would fit into the Rockets' defensive schemes. The Rockets would also acquire Hunter Tyson, a young shooting forward who could potentially become a quality rotation player who provides more shooting.

I think the starting lineup would then look like

1. Fred VanVleet

2. Jalen Green

3. Amen Thompson

4. Michael Porter Jr.

5. Alperen Sengun with Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, Reed Sheppard, Larry Nance Jr., Aaron Holiday, and Jock Landale coming off the bench. Some people may think MPJ should start at the 3 with Jabari at the 4 and Amen coming off the bench, but then the starting lineup wouldn't have a great point of attack defender. Either way, the overall shooting on the team is bolstered without losing any of their young core or seriously harming their options in a superstar trade down the road.

Some people may question sending out Steven Adams in return for Larry Nance Jr. In a vacuum, Steven Adams is a better center in my opinion, but Adams is coming off a serious injury and hasn't been playing many games to start the season, so they get a more reliable backup center in Larry Nance Jr., plus Nance has been hitting 3s like crazy this season, so they get a little more shooting on the roster. Larry Nance Jr. also provides a little more team defense and would fit better on the floor next to Sengun. He's more athletic than Adams so he could play the faster pace that the young Rockets guys like to play.

Alright, I know that was a lot, but this is probably the best trade idea I've ever had and I truly hope it happens in some form. Lmk what y'all think and if there's anything y'all would change or disagree with.