Trying to work with a couple rumours out there.
Heat are interested in John Wall
Pelicans are looking to trade No.10 for vet help
Luka and KP are not getting along
---PELICANS---
Finding vet help for No.10 makes sense and i can imagine a lot of teams being interested. Finding a team with vets that's able to take on the horrible contracts of Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe may be a bit harder.
Thats where the Rockets come in. They take on their contracts, move a playoff experienced vet in Eric Gordon, No.24 and essentially Porzingis (more on that later) for a salary dump and No.10. New Orleans can throw a Max contract at Lonzo too.
The fit is interesting to me. Gordon can slot right in next to Lonzo where together, their stingy defense could make for one of the better defensive backcourts in the league. KP next to Zion may sound strange, but they are basically the antithesis of each other. Zions and athletic freak who can bully his way in anywhere on the court. Porzingis is a physical freak who can stretch his game out to the perimeter. The more i think about it. I really like this pairing.
Where this might fall apart is the tax. Taking on KP, Gordon AND paying Lonzo take them juuust over the tax threshold. Gordons contract in Non Garunteed the 3rd year so that should help before having to pay Zion but in saying that, paying the luxury seems to be the price you pay to make a playoff run.
Starting line up:
Lonzo/Gordon/Ingram/Zion/Porzingis
---MAVERICKS---
While not the sexiest move to get off Porzingis' contract, Dallas finds themselves with a bunch of vet help that could help settle the team and give Luka the role players he needs. Its long been rumoured that Luka would want to play with his countryman Dragic, and they also pick up some wing help which seems to be the key to Playoff sucess. Unfortunately theybare trading Porzingis at an all time low, so getting a star back seems unlikely. If this doesnt work out, all 3 guys come off the books next season which will open up a bunch of cap in what should be a far better FA class than this years.
If the Mavs think they could get more for Porzingis, then this might cause hesitation for them. Or if the Pelicans think Porzingis is enough of a vet talent then they could deal with the NO directly.
Starting line up:
Dragic/Luka/Iggy/Finny-Smith/Powell
---ROCKETS---
This is an ultimate rebuilding team move. Trade assests for picks or young talent. They jump on the chances at moving Wall and Gordon and capitalise on teams who could very much use them. They also use their cap room (which they make more of BTW) and become a hub for other teams bad contracts. The trade in my mind works more like 3 trades in one. Wall for Dragic and Iggy. Dragic, Iggy and House for Porzingis and Porzingis, Gordon and No.24 for Bledsoe, Adams, No.10 and No.34.
Ideally my personal picks (if the players are still there) would be No.2 - Jalen Green. No.10 - Jalen Johnson. No.23 - JT Thor. No. 34 Quentin Grimes.
Starting line up:
KPJ/Jalen Green/Jae'sean Tate/Jalen Johnson/Christian Wood
---HEAT---
This one is pretty simple. They want Wall (apparently). They get him for basically nothing. Wall and Dragic overlap positions and Iggy can be replaced by resigning Ariza on a much more team friendly deal.
Starting line up:
Wall/Herro/Butler/Ariza(or Precious)/Bam