WHY DETROIT

Instant playoff team with a very good starting lineup. Mitchell has 4 years on his contract and Ayton would also. Two lob threats for Cade and Spyda in Bagley/Ayton would be superb. The 3 point shooting on the wing 1-3 would be of great quality as well.

Starting lineup

Donovan Mitchell (who has never missed playoffs) Cade Cunningham Saddiq Bey Marvin Bagley DeAndre Ayton

WHY UTAH

Replacing Mitchell will be hard but this year’s draft has loads of potential in the lottery from 1-15. The type of players and depth that can be obtained with a top 5 pick (Shaedon Sharpe?) while players like Ty Ty Washington, Ochai Agbaji, Mark Williams (Gobert replacement in rebuild?), AJ Griffin, Johnny Davis, Jeremy Sochan, and Nokila Jokic could all be available at the other two spots. Could they strike gold with pick #15 again as they replace Spyda?

Starting Lineup hard to predict due to the picks and the 2022 draft depth….

WHY CHARLOTTE

Offensive firepower and defensive prowess. There may be some usage issues as far as sharing the ball but these are 4 fiery players all on the floor together and a serviceable big man who has already played with Jerami Grant in Detroit. Grant’s best position is small forward and putting him back at that spot helps him. There is a lot of size on this team and the defensive versatility would be any team’s dream. The Hornets would be taking a bad contract and two picks from the back end of the lottery and turning it into the acquisition of a player who has been a borderline all star when healthy.

LaMelo Ball Terry Rozier Jerami Grant Miles Bridges Mason Plumlee