The NBA is a crazy place, and sometimes NBA superstars end up getting traded. We saw it with Kawhi Leonard, we saw it with Anthony Davis, and most recently, we saw it with James Harden.
It’s not often that top-tier NBA talent gets dealt, but it has happened in the past. With how wild this NBA season has been so far, there’s no reason some blockbuster NBA trades couldn’t happen to shake up the league.
When superstars are traded, it’s extremely difficult to determine what the price would be. Oftentimes they are seen as untouchable, so drawing up trades is close to impossible.
That being said, here are three NBA trades to give some superstars a new home. What do you think of these three deals?
NBA trades to give superstars a new home: Damian Lillard trade to the Boston Celtics
Celtics receive: Damian Lillard
Trail Blazers receive: Jaylen Brown, Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard, 2022 First-Round Pick, 2024 First-Round Pick
Both of these teams have had their fair share of struggles to start the season. In this case, the Boston Celtics would be adding a top-15 player in the NBA in Damian Lillard.
Lillard, who got off to a slow start this season, has been picking things up lately. He would join Jayson Tatum in Boston in the quest to bring the city its 18th title.
Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers would be finally breaking up the long-time duo of Lillard and CJ McCollum. Instead, they shift gears towards the future, adding a potential centerpiece in Jaylen Brown.
Brown and McCollum would, theoretically, still be enough for the team to compete for the playoffs, and he would also improve their horrific defense. They would also receive two young players and two draft picks as well.
NBA trades to give superstars a new home: Karl-Anthony Towns to the Washington Wizards
Wizards receive: Karl-Anthony Towns
Timberwolves receive: Rui Hachimura, Corey Kispert, Daniel Gafford, Davis Bertans, 2022 First-Round Pick, 2024 First-Round Pick, 2026 First-Round Pick
Karl-Anthony Towns recently liked a Tweet talking about “freeing him” from Minnesota. While he would go on to claim that he was hacked, the thought of it doesn’t sound too crazy.
The big man has been in Minnesota for his whole career, and the team has only made the playoffs once. With the Washington Wizards, he would be competing for the playoffs every season.
Washington has made huge strides this season with their added depth. Throwing Towns into that mix could set them up for a big-time playoff run.
The Wizards could roll out a starting lineup of Spencer Dinwiddie, Bradley Beal, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, and Karl-Anthony Towns, with Montrezl Harrell and Deni Avdija off the bench. That’s elite.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves would hit the reset button a bit, while also adding some quality young talent to pair with Anthony Edwards. The cream of the crop in this deal is Rui Hachimura.
Though he has yet to play a game this season, Hachimura balled out last year and played super well for Japan in the Olympics this summer. He has some serious potential.
Minnesota would also get the perfect shooter to put alongside Edwards in Kispert and a great roll man/paint protector in Daniel Gafford. Add in the three first-round picks, and that adds up to quite the haul.
NBA trades to give superstars a new home: Russell Westbrook to the New York Knicks
Knicks receive: Russell Westbrook
Lakers receive: Evan Fournier, Kemba Walker, Alex Burks
Talk about an insane trade. There’s very little chance this would ever happen, but there’s an argument that both teams would benefit from a deal like this.
Russell Westbrook would step in and take over as the primary ball-handler on the Knicks. He’d have some great weapons to dish to in Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and the lob-threat of Mitchell Robinson.
He would no longer have to share ball-handling duties with LeBron James. Plus, it’s not like Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker have done much to keep them safe.
At the same time, however, it’s very possible that the two are just going through a slump. With the Lakers desperate to change things up, this could help them in the long run.
Despite their struggles, this trade would undoubtedly improve the spacing on their roster. Alec Burks has been killing it, and Fournier and Walker could turn things around at any point in time.
NBA trades are always hard to iron out, and even this one seems a bit crazy, but it might just work. The Knicks would finally get a legit starting point guard to run the offense and the Lakers would get some additional floor spacing.