In this deal, the Wizards finally cash in their chips to get a team that can really win. Beal and Lillard would be a completely unstoppable duo, easily the best backcourt since Steph and Klay, and one might argue even better offensively. Harrell, Gafford, Bryant and Zeller is a deep and versatile big man rotation, and having three decent backup guards in Schroder, Neto, and Holiday is nice too. They’d be pretty light on forwards, with only the undersized KCP and new addition Robert Covington really playing there, but they did get to keep Corey Kispert as their lone young guy, and do add Tony Snell in the trade, so they’d be able to cobble together a decent enough rotation there. Maybe Bryant could even play spot minutes at the 4, since he’s a decent shooter. Regardless, depth is the price to pay for going all in, and a backcourt that can go punch-for-punch with any team in the NBA is a heck of a way to do it.

The Celtics make this move because they have the talent to contend right now with Jaylen and Jayson, but their roster doesn’t play together. They’re planning on starting Smart at PG, but he simply isn’t a high level distributor. McCollum isn’t a true lead guard either, but he has shown the ability to lead units by himself, averaging 23-5-7 without Lillard this year, and a wicked 27-5-6 the year before (probably because he didn’t have Norman Powell around to carry the load). Playing off the Js would allow him to become exactly what they wanted Kemba to be: a solid distributor who can play within the flow of the offense, who can run a secondary pick and roll when everything breaks down, and is still gonna get 20 points a night even when he’s not in a featured role. Giving up Horford doesn’t hurt much, since it clears the logjam so that Robert Williams can start, and Nurkic is so good that he might take that starting job for himself. Losing Schroder and Nesmith is a bummer, but this move would also push Smart back to the bench (assuming Juancho starts at the 4), who’s better than Schroder anyway. A bench with Smart, Pritchard, Josh Richardson, Langford, Grant Williams, and Nurkic is still very deep. Giving up two firsts to move essentially 3 backups for a borderline all star and another solid starter is a no brainer.

The Blazers of course only do this if Dame wants out. They could trade him for a young star like Ben Simmons if he’s still on the market, but there aren’t any other huge names out there right now. Unless Ayton or SGA or someone else prominent becomes available, a slew of picks and a grab bag of young talent might be the way to go. The Blazers could simply trade Dame and rebuild around CJ, but if Dame could barely get them past the eight seed most years, CJ sure ain’t doing it; it makes sense to do a full teardown. Here, the Blazers trade Dame, CJ, and Covington and Nurkic (who are both expiring and would likely leave this rebuilding team). In return they get four firsts, four pick swaps, and a gaggle of young guys. Kuzma is at least a solid role player, if not a low-level starter. Nesmith was the best shooter in last year’s draft, and has progressed a ton on defense in only one year. Rui has shown flashes of go-to scoring potential, and Avdija was the #9 pick just last year, though an inconsistent role did hamper his development. With Dinwiddie and Powell (who could both be flipped for more assets too) handling a decent chunk of the ballhandling and primary scoring load, and Horford, Bertans, and Larry Nance Jr. providing some dirty work and shooting, it would be an ideal environment for the young wings (and Anfernee Simons) to focus on whatever part of their game needs development. Like I said, if they could get a real blue chip guy like Brandon Ingram for Lillard, that would be preferable. But in the absence of a massive “great prospect + picks” offer, this offer of “many prospects + picks” might be the best they can get; odds are at least one of those 12 young guys or picks will end up being a stud!