Pelicans get rid of two thirds of their big 3 and retool
Nuggets get a guy who can excel next to Jokic and make them a threat for a title
Lakers get scoring pop
Spurs pick up an elite spot up shooter to play off Wemby's gravity
Spurs
San Antonio get a perfect guy to have around Vic. MPJ is a top-tier spot up shooter who will benefit immensely by playing alongside a future MVP. Spurs add another piece to their long-term core alongside Wembanyama, Castle, and Vassell.
They only give up two expirings and Keldon Johnson who is just a worse MPJ.
Lineup
PG: Chris Paul / Stephon Castle
SG: Devin Vassell / Malaki Branham
SF: Michael Porter Jr. / Julian Champagnie
PF: Harrison Barnes / Jeremy Sochan
C: Victor Wembanyama / Zach Collins
Lakers
Los Angeles is not a very good team right now. They are just barely hanging on to the edge of the play-in and father time is catching up to LeBron. Admittedly, they are probably the only team here who I think might decline. Maybe they want to target Ingram directly and cut the other two teams out?
If they do want to actually try and compete this year though, I see this trade greatly improving them. CJ McCollum is an exceptional shooter and can be a secondary ball handler when need be. He is effectively just a straight upgrade over Russell who Lakers fans (and probably the coach) hate. The addition of McCollum can take some of the on-ball load off LeBron and his experience and leadership will be vital with a rookie coach.
Worst case, CJ will be an expiring next year and if they decide to blow it up without LeBron and focus around AD & Knecht, they will have a lot of cap space in the summer of 2026 when a lot of huge names will be available.
Lineup
PG: CJ McCollum / Gabe Vincent
SG: Austin Reaves / Max Christie
SF: Dalton Knecht / Cam Reddish
PF: LeBron James / Hunter Tyson
C: Anthony Davis / Jaxson Hayes
Nuggets
Denver is in a bit of a problematic situation. Murray and Porter Jr.'s contracts look worse and worse every day, and they are at a risk of wasting Jokic's prime years. While Jokic is putting up GOAT-level numbers, when he is off the court the Nuggets frankly suck. This trade lets them keep their current depth pieces while upgrading MPJ to a guy who can take a lot of on-ball load off Jokic when need be. BI is also putting up career numbers on 3PA and shoots almost 40% on catch and shoot 3s this year. That is all while being the only scoring threat for most of this year, and having his second best player be Brandon Boston Jr.
Next to the best passer in the NBA, he could very legitimately be an elite 3-point shooter near the level of MPJ while also providing much more in every other aspect of the game.
BI will also sign a $125M extension here as a 'prove it' 2+1 deal. He says he wants to be in a winning environment, and with how much he has shown a willingness to change this year along, I see him fitting in straight away alongside the best player in the world.
Lineup
PG: Jamal Murray / Russell Westbrook
SG: Christian Braun / Julian Strawther
SF: Brandon Ingram / Peyton Watson
PF: Aaron Gordon / Zeke Nnaji
C: Nikola Jokic / Daron Holmes II (eventually) / Dario Saric
Pelicans
New Orleans isn't exactly in a great spot. I think it is time to move on from Zion, Ingram, and CJ as your core. This trade sees them get some solid depth pieces to place around the future core of the team.
Depending on how the draft goes, the #1 on this team could be very different. To be clear: I love Zion. He is an incredible player and I have all the faith in the world that he will turn his career around and reach his potential. Whether that is in New Orleans or not is another question entirely. I think the easiest way for the team to make a decision on him, is to luck out and get the #1 pick this year. If Cooper Flagg is available, I say David Griffin should trade away Zion, and start anew with Flagg as the new face of the franchise. If not, they will still have a great pick which they can either keep, trade away for a 2nd or 3rd option level player, or package with Zion for a superstar (just some ideas).
In terms of what the trade for Zion might look like, I think a deal akin to this one makes the most sense. Though, this is all secondary speculation.
No matter what happens to the #1 conversation, the BI & CJ trade above makes tons of sense to me. First, New Orleans is able to duck the luxury tax this year (something which they should NOT be paying for the 15 seed). They also get some really good depth pieces for the bench, and a big expiring contract in Russell who can walk this summer which creates space for Trey Murphy's extension.
Note: Tre Jones also signs an extension for 3/40M. Note: Lineups below are for 2025 after Russell and Bassey walk
Lineup (Zion stays):
PG: Dejounte Murray / Tre Jones / Jose Alvarado
SG: Herb Jones / Jordan Hawkins (6M) / Antonio Reeves
SF: Trey Murphy III / Keldon Johnson / Brandon Boston Jr.
PF: Zion Williamson / Rui Hachimura
C: Yves Missi / Karlo Matkovic??
Lineup (Pels get Flagg and make this trade):
PG: Dejounte Murray / Tre Jones / Jose Alvarado
SG: Herb Jones / Jordan Hawkins (6M) / Antonio Reeves
SF: Trey Murphy III / Keldon Johnson / Brandon Boston Jr.
PF: Cooper Flagg / Rui Hachimura
C: Bam Adebayo / Yves Missi / Karlo Matkovic
Let me know what you think :)