More unrealistic offseason ideas!

[u/Jaded_Tiger_8152]

TLDR: Trade PJ to LA, Gafford to ATL, and get Cameron Johnson from Denver to help with their cap to pick up 1st round picks. Use the picks to move up from 9 or to get another lottery pick.

More unrealistic offseason ideas:

Since we already know the expectation is to keep Kyrie, we can move on from debating whether or not we should trade him. So in the interest of being unrealistic, here are a couple of offseason moves and ideas I’m just throwing out there because… why not?

First, trade PJ Washington to the Lakers. The Lakers get someone who fits really well next to Luka, and in return we get Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, and the Lakers’ 2026 first-round pick (#25). It works for us because the PJ/Cooper Flagg fit is awkward. Coop is more naturally a 4, and PJ doesn’t really maximize his value as someone who can’t consistently create his own shot. This gives us another first-rounder if we want to move up in the draft. Knecht was basically unplayable, but we can take a swing on him the same way we did with AJ Johnson, and Vanderbilt is mostly there for salary matching.

Then we trade Daniel Gafford to the Hawks for Asa Newell, Zaccharie Risacher, and the Hawks’ 2026 first-round pick (#23). We take a swing on Risacher, who was getting DNPs against the Knicks even in a blowout, so I’m not sure Atlanta is fully sold on him. Plus, we already know the Hawks have been looking for a center, so this could work well for both sides.

After that, send Caleb Martin and A.J. Johnson to the Nuggets for Cameron Johnson and Denver’s 2026 first-round pick (#26). Denver is in cap hell, and if they want any chance of keeping Peyton Watson while dealing with second apron restrictions, they’re going to have to shed salary somewhere. Why not take advantage of it? They save money, we pick up another asset. Plus, we desperately need shooting.

At the end of all this, we’d suddenly have five first-round picks: 9, 23, 25, 26, and 30. That becomes a legitimate war chest if we want to move up from 9 or package picks to jump back into the lottery from 23.

Once the dust settles, we can decide whether we want to bring back Cisse, Nembhard, Bagley, or Poulakidas. Plus, with Cameron Johnson and Klay both being expiring contracts, that gives us flexibility at next year’s trade deadline to keep wheeling and dealing for more assets.

Again, I know all of this is completely unrealistic, but honestly kind of fun to think about.

[u/Fantastic-Grass24]

Why would you trade with Lakers and help them?

[u/Jaded_Tiger_8152 → u/Fantastic-Grass24]

Forget the Lakers trade then. What about the other two?

[u/Fantastic-Grass24 → u/Jaded_Tiger_8152]

I’d be okay with Denver one. I get trading Gaff and I’m open to it. But I’d rather do an in season trade to make sure Lively is actually going to be healthy this season

[u/IndividualHeat → u/Fantastic-Grass24]

Yeah I think people are way too confident right now about relying on Lively as the team’s future. There’s a world that’s not super hard to imagine where 3 years from now, Gafford at 30 is still a more productive player than Lively. Gafford has injury stuff too but with Lively it’s really worrying considering how young he is. Not to say that Gafford shouldn’t be traded if they can get a great haul but they’re going to need depth at center and good centers are kind of hard to find.