Blockbuster NBA Trades for Teams Ready to Risk It All

We're about to see some all-in moves from NBA teams desperate to win this summer.

Older franchises like the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers will be looking for ways to keep their title windows open around aging stars, while the Philadelphia 76ers endured another early playoff exit yet have cap space and first-round picks to use.

The Cleveland Cavaliers could flip some of the young talent on the roster for win-now help around Donovan Mitchell, and the Denver Nuggets may need to shake up the roster if they lose to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round.

The pressure is on these five teams to get better, fast. These blockbuster trade ideas carry a lot of risk, but they would push each closer to a title.

Philadelphia 76ers Receive: F Mikal Bridges, F Dorian Finney-Smith

Brooklyn Nets Receive: 2024 first-round pick (No. 16 overall), 2026 first-round pick (least/less favorable of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets or Los Angeles Clippers), 2030 first-round pick, 2027 and 2028 second-round picks

Trading Bridges on draft night of 2018 after originally making him the No. 10 overall selection out of Villanova was a mistake Philadelphia should now try to correct.

With roughly $55 million in cap space this summer, the 76ers have the option to pursue free agents or take in salary from teams without having to send players back.

Getting Bridges to pair with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey should be at the top of Daryl Morey's wish list.

Bridges, 27, is the most durable player in basketball and averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his 82 games this season. His high-level defense and three-point shooting make him the ideal starting small forward between the Sixers' stars.

Landing Finney-Smith to be the team's starting power forward would be icing on the cake. The 31-year-old is a versatile defender who can space the floor and doesn't need the ball in his hands to make an impact on games.

The Nets do this to collect the three first-round picks and for the salary-cap savings. This trade would clear $38.2 million worth of salary off the books, making it more likely to re-sign Nic Claxton and pick up another impact free agent.

Golden State Warriors Receive: PG Dejounte Murray

Atlanta Hawks Receive: F Jonathan Kuminga, SG Moses Moody, G Gary Payton II, 2025 first-round pick (unprotected)

The Warriors should be operating like a desperate team this offseason after finishing 10th in the West and missing the playoffs.

Stephen Curry still has a few prime years left in which he can be the alpha scorer of a team, but he'll need some more help running the offense and putting the ball in the basket.

A Curry-Murray backcourt is both compatible and fun to say. The latter would function as the point guard in this scenario on offense while defending the opponent's shooting guard. He averaged 21.1 points and 9.2 assists as the lead guard with the San Antonio Spurs in 2021-22.

Curry would still get to defend the smaller backcourt opponent and focus more on shooting (always a good thing for him) and less on making plays for others. Klay Thompson can still serve as the team's starting small forward if he re-signs, which may be best as he enters his age-34 season.

Giving up some of the young talent is necessary to get an All-Star talent like Murray, and the Warriors still get to keep Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis.

Atlanta retools the roster around Trae Young with big, two-way wings as the Hawks get younger and more athletic overall. The Warriors' first-round pick next season could become quite valuable if Curry, Draymond Green and others continue to show their age.

Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: F Lauri Markkanen

Utah Jazz Receive: F/C Evan Mobley, G/F Isaac Okoro (via sign-and-trade), 2024 first-round pick (No. 20 overall)

Getting Donovan Mitchell to agree to a contract extension is the only thing that really matters for the Cavaliers this summer before the All-Star guard becomes a free agent in 2025.

Cleveland has tried to grow its young core of Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro around him, but only Allen has become a reliable force who looks playoff-tested.

Giving up on Mobley this early in his career hurts, although bringing Markkanen back as a floor-spacing, second offensive option would be the perfect fit around Mitchell, Garland and Allen. The 26-year-old Finn was part of the Mitchell trade in 2022 and has since thrived in a bigger role in Utah.

The Cavs need Markkanen's scoring more than ever. Mitchell is putting up 29.3 points per game in the 2024 postseason, with Allen's 17.0 per night coming in a distant second.

Allen is limited offensively and isn't a shot creator, something this offense needs to take pressure off of Mitchell. A starting lineup of Garland, Mitchell, Max Strus, Markkanen and Allen with Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, Dean Wade and Sam Merrill off the bench would solve Cleveland's spacing issues and get them closer to a championship.

Utah has to decide if Markkanen (27 on May 22) still fits the rebuild and if they want to give him a max deal next summer. If not, Mobley is an elite prospect who finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting a season ago. The 22-year-old is already one of the best defensive bigs in all of basketball who began shooting more threes toward the end of the season (45.8 percent over his final 12 games).

Okoro, 23, was the No. 5 overall pick in 2020 and is coming off his best offensive season (10.8 points, 39.2 percent from three in 42 starts). He's a tough and talented wing defender.

Utah gets another first-round pick from Cleveland, giving them complete control of the Cavs' draft picks for the next six years.

Denver Nuggets Receive: F Keldon Johnson, PG Tre Jones, F/C Zach Collins

San Antonio Spurs Receive: F Michael Porter Jr., F/C Zeke Nnaji, 2024 first-round pick (No. 28 overall)

We had questions about Denver's depth coming into the season after losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in free agency. If Jamal Murray is having an off-night (which certainly happens against a defense like the Minnesota Timberwolves), the Nuggets don't have players who can step in off the bench and deliver.

Denver is also becoming one of the most expensive rosters in the NBA. Nikola Jokić will be entering the second season of a five-year, $276 million contract. Murray will be an unrestricted free agent in 2025 and could get a max deal.

Porter is also due $115 million over the next three years (an average of $38.3 million per season). He has been a key piece of the Nuggets rotation, yet he isn't worth what he's making in this system.

Getting off the 25-year-old's contract while bringing in three starters/rotation players to replace him is the best way to build around Jokić and Murray moving forward while trying to dodge the second luxury-tax apron.

Johnson, 24, could take over Porter's starting spot and has a contract that actually decreases over the next three years ($19.0 million in 2024-25, $17.5 million in 2025-26 and 2026-27). He averaged 16.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 27 starts with the Spurs this season.

Jones and Collins would fill the backup point guard and center spots in Denver, giving this team a rotation that can go nine-deep in the playoffs once again.

San Antonio gets the best overall player in the deal and has a clean enough cap sheet to absorb Porter's contract and still retain cap space. His outside shooting would make a big difference for a Spurs team that ranked just 28th in three-point accuracy (34.7 percent) this season.

Los Angeles Lakers Receive: G/F Paul George, PF P.J. Tucker

Los Angeles Clippers Receive: G Austin Reaves, F Rui Hachimura, G D'Angelo Russell, F Jarred Vanderbilt, 2024 or 2025 first-round pick

Paul George has some big decisions to make this summer.

Staying home in Los Angeles should be the priority, but the Clippers consistently losing Kawhi Leonard in or before the playoffs year after year has to be wearing on him.

George, 34, can become an unrestricted free agent and sign with a contender like the Philadelphia 76ers, yet injury concerns surround Joel Embiid as well.

With leverage since he can walk out the door and leave the Clippers with nothing, George should request a trade to the Lakers instead.

The combination of LeBron James (who would be more likely to re-sign with the Lakers himself), Anthony Davis and George would become one of the best Big Threes in all of basketball, improving L.A.'s outside shooting and overall defense in the process.

The Lakers would still have first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 to try to fill in the roster around their stars.

Trading George isn't the Clippers' first choice (especially not to the Lakers), but it would be far better than seeing the nine-time All-Star leave in free agency with nothing in return.

With Leonard and James Harden (free agent) left to build around, the Clippers would still have a competitive core with the additions of Reaves, Hachimura, Russell (who would need to pick up an $18.7 million player option), Vanderbilt, Norman Powell, Ivica Zubac, Terance Mann and Russell Westbrook ($4.0 million player option).

They would be younger, deeper and more athletic overall and also get the Lakers' first-round pick in 2024 or 2025, whichever the New Orleans Pelicans choose not to take.

Although not common trade partners, the Lakers and Clippers have actually agreed on a pair of deals in the past five years. Pressure from George (who would need to pick up his $48.8 million player option) could get this trade done.