This deal starts with the Knicks getting their superstar in Donovan Mitchell, without having to give up any of their supposed big 3 in Jalen Brunson, R.J. Barrett, and Julius Randle. The Knicks have reportedly offered 5 firsts, with 2 being unprotected. Utah has said no so far, but they do like Obi Toppin, Quentin Grimes, and Quickley. Here, the teams by compromise by having the Knicks still give up the same number of firsts (with again only two being unprotected), but being willing to add Toppin and Grimes. However, the Knicks do get to keep the best of that trio in Quickley, and still keep Cam Reddish as well. This team would have a great offensive backcourt of Brunson and Mitchell, a former "star" looking to regain form in Randle now that he won't have to carry the load himself, a good defender and connector in Barrett, and a hyperefficient rim protector in Mitchell Robinson. Derrick Rose and Quickley are both still here as one of the best offensive bench backcourts in the league, and Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims have proven themselves as capable rotation bigs. The wing position is a little light, with really only Cam Reddish here. But the Knicks gave up a first to get him, so they should give him the opportunity to be their backup SF with consistent minutes, and they can always find a new forward at the deadline if absolutely necessary. This deal isn't one I'd do for them personally, but it is a compromise between what the Knicks and Jazz have asked for so far (and closer to the Knicks' price than the Jazz's), so something like this might be what happens.

The Lakers are essentially trading only one rotation player and getting four in return, and all fit much better than Russ ever did. Bojan Bogdanovic and Rudy Gay are proven vets on the wing, and though both are aging, they give a very small and inflexible Lakers team a lot more possible lineup contructions, especially with both Gay and LeBron having some experience as small-ball 5s. Bojan is really underrated, as his 18 ppg last year was essentially the same as what Russ did, but Bojan did it on significantly better efficiency (and in fewer minutes). Evan Fournier is a bit streaky, but he still hit 38.9% of his nearly eight 3pt attempts per game last year, and is a competent defender. His contract isn't amazing, but since they're moving of Russ's even worse deal, it's an easy concession to make. Clarkson brings a different skillset than the other 3, but one that's much needed. The best playmaker behind LeBron on the Lakers (now that Russ is gone) are probably Patrick Beverley or Anthony Davis, and neither can really be counted on to carry bench lineups. Jordan Clarkson just won sixth man of the year, and can do the same here, carrying a heavy offensive load when LeBron is out of the game. LA could start Beverley, Fournier, LeBron, Bojan, and Davis. That would give them a balanced lineup around LeBron that has no poor shooters (outside of maybe Davis), and no real defensive liabilites. The bench could rely on Austin Reaves defending to cover for Jordan Clarkson, with Rudy Gay and Thomas Bryant holding down the frontcourt. Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr., Damian Jones, and Juan Toscano-Anderson could all play decent minutes in case of injuries or a specific matchup as well. Reportedly, the Lakers are hesitant to give up two firsts for Buddy Hield and Myles Turner, but this deal moves Russ and gets them four heavy rotation players instead of just two. It's unsure how many good years LeBron has left in him, but this deal immediately returns them to contention status, at least for now; I think it's a no-brainer.

It's not worth spending too much time on the Jazz's potential lineup configurations, as they're clearly tanking hard right now. It's a bummer for them that they arguably don't get any true star-potential players back in the deal. However, let's not knock Toppin or Grimes; they both look like good NBA players at the very least. They could rehab Kendrick Nunn's trade value and move him at the deadline, and a potential Russ buyout would save them even more than the 10 million they're saving by doing this deal already. Most importantly, they get 7 firsts, four of which are wholly unprotected. A short while after trading Gobert for 5 firsts and a few decent prospects, the Jazz will now get to move Donovan Mitchell (and a few other vets that didn't have a long-term place on the team) for 7 firsts and some even better prospects. That looks like a pretty darn nice way to start a rebuild to me.