More than a month into free agency, the NBA finds itself at a standstill thanks to two stars waiting to be traded. Both the Portland Trailblazers and Philadelphia 76ers are in the process of moving on from stars Damian Lillard and James Harden, respectively, but the process has been slow.
At the moment, the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers are the two most likely teams to land Lillard and Harden. Be that as it may, the longer the process takes, the more likely it is for both Portland and Philadelphia to keep their stars. After all, offseason trades don’t normally take this long to happen, but a massive five-team deal would see both players traded and get the gears of free agency moving again.
The hypothetical five-team trade would be among the biggest in NBA history, with 13 players changing jerseys. With so many players included, it could dramatically reshape every team and the rest of the league as a result. Next, we will look at the specifics of the trade proposal and whether the Heat, Blazers, Sixers, Clipers, and Chicago Bulls would agree to this massive trade.
NBA Trades: The Trade
The Miami Heat receive Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkić, Amir Coffey, a 2028 second-round pick (via the Bulls), and a 2029 second-round pick (via the 76ers).
The Portland Trail Blazers receive Kyle Lowry, Tobias Harris, Jaime Jacquez, Nikola Jović, a 2026 first-round pick (via Miami), a 2028 first-round pick (via Miami), and 2030 first-round picks (via Miami). 2030 second-round pick (via the Bulls), 2024 second-round pick (via the 76ers)
The Los Angeles Clippers receive James Harden, a 2024 second-round pick (from the Blazers, via Atlanta), a 2024 second-round pick (from the Heat, via the Lakers, top-55 protected), and a 2028 second-round pick (from the Bulls, top-55 protected).
The Chicago Bulls receive Tyler Herro, Marcus Morris, a 2029 first-round pick swap (via the 76ers), a 2030 first-round pick (via the 76ers, top-5 protected), and a 2024 second-round pick (via the Blazers, top-55 protected).
The Philadelphia 76ers receive Zach LaVine, Nic Batum, and Robert Covington, a 2028 second-round pick (from the Blazers, via the Warriors), and a 2024 second-round pick (from the Heat, via the Lakers).
In total, 13 players would be moved in the five-team trade, and a boatload of picks would change hands too. Additionally, three all-stars in Lillard, Harden, and LaVine would be traded to the Heat, Clippers, and Sixers, respectively. With so many moving parts, the deal could fall apart. Next, we’ll take a look at whether each of the five teams involved in the proposed deal would actually agree to it or not.
NBA Trades: Miami Heat
In the mega-deal, the Heat would finally get their man in Lillard, but not without giving up a lot. The Heat’s roster would be gutted, with four players being moved in order to acquire Lillard. That would be in addition to two first-round picks, as well as letting two starters from last season’s NBA Finals team, Gabe Vincent and Max Struss, leave earlier this offseason.
In that scenario, Miami would have paper-thin depth beyond a good starting lineup and Nurkic, which could hurt them during their first year with their new star. Even then, Lillard, Jimmy Butler, and Bam Adebayo are a championship-caliber big three. Equally important, the Heat have proven more than capable of reloading their roster with a bunch of undervalued players on the fly. That decreases the potential downside of the trade for Miami.
The goal for Miami this offseason is apparently to raise their ceiling by adding a star, and they would do that in this trade. As to whether the Heat would agree to this deal for Lillard or not, they would almost certainly prefer a paired-down trade that would result in them giving up less. Even then, they may actually agree to the deal since it allows them to increase the ceiling of their team.
NBA Trades: Portland Trail Blazers
Despite giving up the best player in this trade proposal, the Blazers would still get plenty in return for their franchise player. Jovic and Jacquez were Miami’s first-round selections in the 2022 and 2023 NBA drafts and would be included in this potential deal. In addition to them, Portland would also acquire three Miami first-round picks and second-rounders from both the Clippers and Bulls.
They would even add Kyle Lowry and Tobias Harris and their $30 million and $39 million expiring contracts, which would allow them to easily get off of Lillard and Nurkic. Better yet, those big short-term contracts could allow them to take back other teams’ bad or unwanted deals in exchange for more assets.
With the equivalent of five first-round picks coming their way in addition to two big expiring deals, which they could flip for more assets, It is hard to see Portland saying no to this trade package as constructed. By agreeing to the trade, the Blazers would successfully reset their franchise, and they even have a potential star in Scoot Henderson to help them move on from Lillard.
NBA Trades: Los Angeles Clippers
With their title window seemingly closing, the Clippers need to acquire Harden to contend in the West. Thus far, they don’t seem motivated to pursue Harden considering he isn’t the same player that he was in Houston several seasons ago. Even then, his presence and playmaking would definitely help the Clippers in the regular season when they are without stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Adding Harden to a core that includes George, Kawhi, and Russell Westbrook may not make them better than the defending champion Denver Nuggets or even the Phoenix Suns, but it would potentially make them a top-4 team in the West. If healthy come playoff time, they have as good a chance as any team in the West to make the NBA Finals.
As to whether they’d agree to this trade proposal, giving up Morris, Batum, Covington, and two first-round picks should be an easy decision for the Clippers. At the moment, a healthy Clippers team would potentially be a low-end playoff team. This trade could change that.
NBA Trades: Chicago Bulls
The Bulls have been rumored to be considering trading star Zach LaVine this summer, but they would actually do so in this proposal for Herro, Marcus Morris, and picks. Herro’s name has come up a lot in trade talks of late, with only a few teams seemingly wanting him, but he is still only 23 years old and one of the better shooters in the NBA.
With the Bulls stuck in a weird spot where they have three stars but may not be a playoff team, moving one for a younger player with a lot of upside makes sense. It would also free them up to eventually move on from DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic.
In addition to Herro, the Sixers would add Morris, who is on a big expiring contract. Better yet, the Bulls would receive both a 2027 pick swap from Philadelphia as well as a 2030 first-rounder, top-5 protected.
Embiid would be in his mid-30s by then, and the Sixers probably won’t be any good, so those picks would be valuable assets for the Bulls. Ultimately, if Herro were routed to the Bulls, he is still young enough to be a part of a rebuild. Thus, as constructed, I think Chicago says yes to the deal.
NBA Trades: Philadelphia 76ers
With Harden seemingly deadset on playing elsewhere, this particular trade would net the Sixers a younger star in LaVine as well as Batum and Covington. That could be a great return for Philly since they would replace Harden with another talented offensive player while also adding two potential rotation players on expiring deals.
Considering the rumored trade proposal from the Clippers, getting LaVine would be a win for the Sixers, who would otherwise be looking at a dropoff were they to move Harden. LaVine is under contract for at least the next three seasons, and while he will make $128 million during that span, the rising salary cap could make that deal look better. It would need to since the Sixers are already paying Joel Embiid and will soon have to spend big on Tyrese Maxey.
Whether GM Darryl Morey would make this deal as a result is questionable, though I would probably lean toward yes. After all, a straight-up deal with the Clippers would pretty much be just rotation players on expiring contracts and a couple of first-round picks. At least this deal would keep the Sixers from taking a step back in the short term.
Overall, the trade is definitely viable, and each team would potentially say yes to such a deal. However, we don’t see many five-team trades for a reason: they are hard to pull off.