This trade would revamp LeBron’s contention efforts in LA while giving the Jazz the largest pick package since the Paul George trade from OKC. The Knicks help to fund the necessary picks by swapping Julius Randle for Anthony Davis.

LAL: LeBron and Davis have struggled to recreate the success they shared in the bubble, and this trade would allow the Lakers to revamp their core with a final “all in” move for LeBron. With LeBron as the alpha, Donovan Mitchell could become a hyper-efficient secondary threat, similar to how Kyrie fit in Cleveland. Although Randle is worse than Davis, he’s a sufficient catch & shoot threat to be a third option, and the additional picks from swapping the two would be needed to get Mitchell. Lastly, Spida and Randle could form a solid core for the post-Bron years, as they’ll enter their primes. Lastly, Mike Conley and to a lesser extent, Kemba Walker, could be useful veteran guards to add depth in the backcourt as the roster fills out.

UTA: For the Jazz, this would only make sense in the event of a complete roster tear-down. On his own, Mitchell would likely return 2-3 picks with up to 2 additional swaps (most contenders don’t have more than 2 tradable picks) whereas this package offers 5 picks and 1 swap in the next 6 years. Such a package reflects the inclusion of Mike Conley, as well as the value of taking on Russell Westbrook. Although Russ would be a frustrating addition, it represents a one-year friction to clearing nearly $30mm of 2023-24 cap space from Mike Conley and Rudy Gay.

NYK: This trade successfully rids the Knicks of Julius Randle, adds another star, and avoids paying an “all in” cost. Although Davis is slightly older than the current core, he’s a star player that when healthy, significantly upgrades the roster. By retaining all of the Knicks’ young pieces and most of their draft capital, New York would be well-positioned to continue hunting for another star-level trade while RJ & The Gang continue to develop. Additionally, by swapping Kemba Walker for Kendrick Nunn, the Knicks create a fallback at PG to lessen the pressure to splurge on Brunson or Jones this offseason.