The NBA trade deadline is less than a month away and teams will be looking to make a playoff push or embrace the tank. The southwest division features young teams on the rise, multiple contenders, and one of the league’s worst teams.
All trades are created using Fanspo.
Rockets Receive: Bruce Brown
Raptors Receive: Jeff Green, Jock Landale, Jae’Sean Tate, 2026 2nd Round Pick, 2027 2nd Round Pick Via Memphis, 2031 2nd Round Pick
The Rockets are in a position where they can truly make a move for a superstar, or they can continue letting their young core develop and build around it. By adding Bruce Brown, they opt for the latter option.
Brown is the perfect plug-and-play option for the Rockets. They can use him in multiple ways, and he fits their culture. He competes on defense and is a connector on offense. Houston is already 9-10 deep as is, so adding Brown just gives them another chess piece for the playoffs. The picks are the most valuable asset they are sending out, with the three players all on expiring contracts that match Brown’s salary.
The former Nugget is set to be a free agent this off-season, so it is unlikely he will be moved for a first-round pick. This makes him seemingly a rental. The deal has no major risk for the Rockets, as Brown is a proven playoff producer on an expiring contract. He won’t disrupt the development of the players and he won’t cost much.
Three second-round picks and expiring salaries is a great return for the Raptors since Brown is not a part of their future and he will walk in free agency for nothing this summer. Toronto is in the early phases of their rebuild, so all the picks matter, because they can be used to select a player, or they can be used in a trade down the line. The Raptors could even wind up flipping one of Jae’Sean Tate, Jeff Green, or Jock Landale for additional draft capital if they want.
Grizzlies Receive: Jerami Grant
Trailblazers Receive: Marcus Smart, Luke Kennard, 2025 Top 8 Protected 1st Round Pick
The Grizzlies are an awesome team. They are young, and fun, and they go 12 deep. Despite that, it feels like they are missing one more piece that can truly put them over the top.
Jerami Grant has been one of the more underrated players in the league for quite some time. He was a great defender with offensive upside when he was on the Thunder and Nuggets in the early portion of his career. Since 2020 his role has flipped, and he has scored 20 points per game every season but one. His teams have not been good, though.
With the Grizzlies, he will be able to return to more of a 3-and-D role on the wing, while offering upside as a secondary scorer. Due to his contract, he won’t cost as much as other players with a similar skill set, but Portland has been clear that they won’t move him if a first-round pick isn’t involved. Memphis is a lock to make the playoffs this season, so the protection on the pick is irrelevant.
With the Western Conference full of young emerging teams, the time is now for the Grizzlies to make a move. They are a young team full of talent as well, but young teams like the Spurs and Rockets will only get better each year, and the Thunder and Mavericks are already elite teams led by young stars. Adding Grant would give Memphis a starting lineup of Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jermai Grant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Edey. That is a lineup that can make some real noise in the playoffs, not to mention the Grizzlies are one of the deepest teams in the league.
As for Portland, moving Grant is a no-brainer as he doesn’t fit their timeline. He is 30 years old and is only taking away minutes from younger players who need experience at this point. He fits best on a contender, and the Blazers need to add assets and develop their youth. Along with the first-rounder, both Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard can be moved for extra picks or young players buried on depth charts. Portland needs to cash in on Grant before it gets too late, and this deal makes a lot of sense, as they get off of his contract, and they pick up assets.
Mavericks Receive: Matisse Thybulle
Trailblazers Receive; Maxi Kleber, 2025 2nd Round Pick Via Denver or Philadelphia
The Mavericks made their big additions in the off-season with Klay Thompson and Naji Marshall. Their core fits so well together, and making a large move could mess that up. Adding Matisse Thybulle doesn’t affect the Mavs’ core rotation at all, and it gives them a great perimeter defender that they can use in certain matchups. The Mavericks’ biggest weakness is their lack of strong perimeter defenders, so if they were to add anything at the deadline, that would be the player archetype to look for.
The contracts are an identical match between Thybulle and Maxi Kleber, as both make $11 million a year and are expiring in 2025-2026. If Dallas wants to make a bigger move, they can, since they have multiple contracts within the $10-$20 million range, but making a small move makes more sense. For Portland, this deal just gives them another draft pick for a player who is not a part of their future. They can also use Kleber’s contract in the future, with only two seasons left on it, including this one.
Using Maxi Keleber’s contract to upgrade the backend of their rotation should be the only move the Mavs make. A player such as Cody Martin makes sense as well, because he isn’t the same level of defender as Thybulle, but he is better offensively.
Spurs Receive: Brandon Ingram, Karlo Matkovic
Pelicans Receive: Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, 2025 Unprotected 1st Round Pick Via Atlanta, 2029 Top 10 Protected 1st Round Pick
The Spurs might not want to make the playoffs this season, but they have a path, currently just 1 game out of the play-in at the time of this being written. Victor Wembenyama has ascended even faster than some may have anticipated, and it has sped up the Spurs timeline. They aren’t contenders yet, but they will be sooner than later, and adding a star in Brandon Ingram will speed up their timeline even more.
Ingram is set to be a free agent this off-season, and his future in New Orleans is up in the air, which makes him one of the bigger names on the trade market. He is a 3-level scorer, averaging 22 points a game this season, and a strong secondary playmaker averaging 5 assists a game. He is a smooth scorer from the mid-range, and when locked in, he is tough to guard, shooting over everyone with his high release point. Ingram would instantly become the Spurs’ second-best player next to Wemby, and he would make them a true contender for one of the top eight seeds out west.
By trading for Ingram, it is expected the Spurs would sign him to a long-term max contract extension, to pair him with Wemby for the next 4-5 years. The Spurs would still be in a position to add another star if one becomes available, and a big three of Wemby, Ingram, and another top 20-30 player, along with the rest of the roster, would be scary for the rest of the league.
Keldon Johnson and Harrison Barnes are good rotation players, but Ingram is a major upgrade from both. The first-round picks are the dealbreaker here, as the Pelicans don’t want to take on any long-term money. Johnson is under contract through 2026-2027, and Barnes is under contract through 2025-2026.
Due to the long-term money being acquired for an impending free agent, New Orleans needs multiple draft picks in return. The Atlanta pick should be in the late lottery, or right outside of it this year, and the future Spurs pick will likely be late, but it is still a first-round pick. New Orleans would then have plenty of draft capital, currently owning nine first-round picks between their own and other teams. The two Spurs picks would give them 11 tradeable first-rounders, as well as moveable contracts in Barnes and Johnson. The Pels can’t let Ingram walk for nothing, but they also shouldn’t just trade him to trade him.
Pelicans Receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Isaiah Stewart, 2028 Top 5 Protected First Round Pick, 2027 2nd Round Pick, 2029 2nd Round Pick Via Milwaukee
Pistons Receive: C.J. McCollum
Brandon Ingram is the hot name to watch for the Pelicans during the trade deadline, but C.J. McCollum should be a sneaky name as well. He is a crafty three-level scorer, who has shot 40% from three for his career, but is 33 years old. He would be much more helpful to a team looking to make the playoffs in the Pistons, rather than an eight-win Pelican team.
The Pistons are looking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018-2019, and McCollum would be a major boost. Detroit recently lost Jaden Ivey for an extended period of time, and while they have managed to win without him, adding a proven scorer in C.J. would go a long way. He would take a large amount of pressure off Cade Cunningham, by giving the Pistons a secondary ball handler and shot creator.
Detroit wouldn’t be a contender by any means, but making the playoffs after being a bottom-five team in the league for multiple years would be great for the franchise. When Ivey returns from injury, he can either take over as the team’s sixth man, or he can play alongside McCollum and Cade, since Cunningham is big enough to guard forwards. Detroit would have a trio of scoring guards who all fit next to each other.
For the Pelicans, moving McCollum shouldn’t be a priority, but they need to consider it. They are one of the worst teams in the league and they need to gather assets for the future. Tim Hardaway Jr. is on an expiring deal, so New Orleans would shed future salary by taking him back. Isaiah Stewart is a young solid backup big, something the Pelicans desperately need, but the 2028 pick is the centerpiece of this deal for the Pelicans.
The Pistons have had a nice season, but they haven’t been past the first round of the playoffs since 2007-2009, and they have only made the playoffs three times since then. No one knows what they will look like in 2028, and the pick may be very high based on Detroit’s history. The pick could also be late, as the Pistons have a young nucleus that is starting to gel. Regardless, the pick headlines the deal for New Orleans as they need to re-tool this roster, and adding future picks will help with that.
This deal sheds future salary for the Pels, brings in a much-needed backup big, and gives them more draft ammo for the future. It is a deal that they shouldn’t think twice about.
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