Trade rumors are swirling as we have arrived on draft day, as the uncertainty of every team behind the Suns at the top of the draft has led to a mad scramble of teams looking to put together a package that can get them into the top 5.
The two players most teams further down the lottery (or even outside of it) seem to covet are Luka Doncic and Mo Bamba, who, ironically, couldn’t be more different as prospects. There seems to be a consistent group of teams that is being active in trade up conversations, as many of the same teams reported to be in conversation with the Hawks to move up to No. 3 are also being rumored to want to move up to No. 4, where Memphis sits.
The Grizzlies have even more motivation to move the fourth pick than the Hawks do to move the third, as they have been told, point blank, by Mo Bamba that he’d prefer not to go there and they want to get out from under Chandler Parsons contract. The latter part of that equation means teams looking to land the fourth pick also must be able to match enough salary on Parsons to make a legal deal, but it does diminish the value of that pick.
According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, there are “several potential trade partners” in the mix for the Memphis pick, with the Mavs, Magic, Bulls, Knicks, Clippers, Nuggets, and Celtics all at least gauging the market. Givony also notes that Duke big man Wendell Carter is the apple of Memphis’ eye in a trade back scenario, and given his projection as a top 6 or 7 pick in the draft, that would seem to give those first three teams an advantage in putting together a trade package.
It’s fascinating that Mark Cuban and the Mavs are in the running, given their history with Parsons, and while it seems strange on the surface that they’d trade one spot up to go after Doncic, it’s more of a preventative measure to stop other teams from doing so. The Magic can match salary with Bismack Biyombo (who they’d prefer to deal) or Evan Fournier (who Memphis prefers), while Chicago has enough cap space and a $9 million trade exception to make a trade work with just Robin Lopez, saving Memphis $10 million next season, and if Chicago’s willing to package another pick that could very well get the job done.
The job of putting together a deal gets tougher after that. We’ve already looked at what the Knicks can offer here, and the Clippers can hit the reset hard with a package including 12, 13, and Tobias Harris, but they’d really have to believe in Doncic. The Nuggets would need to send multiple picks, but do have Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur’s expiring deals to match up on Parsons. Boston seems like a longshot and would need a third team involved willing to take Parsons, but we know they have the future assets (including next year’s Memphis pick that they could return to the Grizz) to possibly entice a team with space into joining a deal.
As with Atlanta at No. 3, it’s highly unlikely anything gets done involving a deal with Memphis until the Grizzlies are on the clock because the value of the pick is determined by who is available. Should Doncic and Bamba still be there when Memphis’ turn arrives, their phones will be ringing off the hook and it wouldn’t be a shock if they move on back.
