Draft pick trading forecast: Lakers may get the No. 8 pick, Thunder will exchange for future draft picks to continue their competitiveness

NBA offseason has officially arrived! The finals did not mean that all 30 teams had not made a phone call to try to figure out if there was a deal that could be reached.

There are still some key issues to be resolved, including the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers and the future of two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. And, there may be an unexpected big deal.

With the NBA Draft Day approaching and the free agent market will begin in a few days, the discussion in the league will only increase.

The following are our NBA insiders who believe that before Adam Xiao Hua announced the No. 1 pick, it may involve four deals in the first round of the draft, involving eight different teams.

The Grizzlies get a proven scorer

Brooklyn Nets get: guard Kentavius ​​Caldwell Pope, forward John Conchar, 16-pick draft pick, 2028 first-round pick (from the Magic), 2030 first-round pick swap (for the Grizzlies and Magic with poor pick)

Memphis Grizzlies get: forward Cameron Johnson, 27-pick draft pick

can be seen as an extension of the Grizzlies' trade on Monday, in the previous deal they sent Bain to the Orlando Magic for Pope, 16-pick draft pick and three future first-round picks. Now the Grizzlies can transfer three of these four draft picks, along with Pope, to the Nets in exchange for Johnson, who will replace Bain with the shooting ability for the Grizzlies at a lower cost. The Grizzlies should think this series of deals were successful. Although Johnson, 29, is older and unable to provide Bain's organizational offensive ability, he is also a shooter with a career three-point shooting percentage of 39%, and from a figure standpoint, perhaps more suitable for the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies can move Jaylen Wells to the shooting guard position, allowing him to partner with Johnson on the wing, and sometimes line up a small roster, consisting of Johnson and Jaylen Jackson Jr., to use their on-field space to put pressure on the opponent's big players.

Crucially, the Grizzlies will take the best of four draft picks from the Magic - a 2026 first-round draft pick, which is likely from the Phoenix Suns. And by adding Conchar to the deal, the Grizzlies will create nearly $13 million in cap space that they can use to provide Jackson with a long-term contract renewal through renegotiation. From the Nets' perspective, they will trade a veteran who doesn't quite fit its reconstruction schedule for a variety of draft assets.

raised this year's 27th pick to 16th pick, which in itself is equivalent to spending a draft pick in the final first round. Moreover, the Nets will also get an additional 2028 first-round draft pick, plus potential swap rights in 2030. And for Pope, who has experienced a season of shooting sluggish shooting with the Magic, the Nets may also re-enhance his trading value.

Because this transaction does not require cap space to complete, the Nets can first use their league's largest cap space to sign or other transactions to maximize their quotation capabilities, and then complete the transaction.

- Kevin Pelton

Bulls strengthen Barrett, the Raptors gain... About Giannis' potential trade flexibility

Chicago Bulls get: defender RJ Barrett

Toronto Raptors get: forward Patrick Williams, defender Jevin Carter, 12-pick draft pick

Bulls will get 25-year-old Barrett to add another scorer who averages 20 points per game to their young lineup, and this move also means they will give up Williams. The fourth overall pick in 2020 has retreated on the offensive end after signing a five-year $90 million contract.

The advantage for the Bulls is that they should be able to get much more stats from the Canadian left-handed player, especially in scoring, thereby improving the team's current offensive level at No. 20 in the league.

On the other hand, the Raptors, who have performed well in raising young wingers with outstanding arm-shows for many years, can start to train Williams, who is only 23 years old, with lower expectations.

Williams' salary is significantly lower than Barrett's $25 million, which is important because the amount spent on three players, Scotty Barnes, Brandon Ingram and Emanuel Quickley, will be as high as $142 million for the Raptors next season.

It is worth noting that will the Raptors use the 12-pick draft pick to choose a player, or will they trade it out to hoard future draft picks?

The latter situation is not too surprising, especially if the Raptors want to maintain flexibility to be one of the potential teams vying for him when Giannis Antetokounmpo makes a trade request.

- Chris Herring

Lakers trade Kneckett again - and get the starting center

Brooklyn Nets get: 11 pick (from the Trail Blazers), 2031 unprotected first-round pick (from the Lakers)

Los Angeles Lakers get: 8 pick (from the Nets), 36 pick (from the Nets)

Portland Trail Blazers get: defender Dalton Kneckett, first-four pick (from the Knicks, now belonging to the Nets)

It should be noted that this deal depends on whether Duke's Carman Maluach has not been selected yet when the Nets drafted.

If MaluAchi is still there, the Lakers have their future starting center, but at the cost of giving out last year's first-round pick, Knector, and a 2031 unprotected first-round draft pick. This is the same chips that the Lakers gave to the Charlotte Hornets in a failed deal last February, except that it does not include the first round swap rights in 2031.

Lakers basketball operations president Robert Pelinka made it clear after the season that introducing a starting center is the top priority.

"I think when you make a big deal on the trade deadline, and you trade your starting center for a point guard, that certainly brings big problems to the lineup, and we've seen some of these problems appear. We know that one of our main goals this offseason will be to bring height to our frontcourt at the center."

Getting Maluarch, the Lakers found an all-match partner, a rim guard for Luca Doncic, and the inside presence they lacked in the first round of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers could have waited until the free agent market opened before looking for a starting center, but they only have a luxury tax special case of $5.7 million. Due to the constraints of the first rich line, the Lakers' ability to accept more salaries in the trade has also been limited.

As for the Nets, their draft picks retreated by 3 picks to the 11th pick, but got a 2031 unprotected first-round pick from the Lakers. The Nets still have three first-round picks (No. 19, No. 26 and No. 27) in this draft, as well as 12 first-round picks in the next seven years, including four unprotected picks.

For the Trail Blazers, the deal is similar to a deal last June, when they traded the 14-pin draft pick to the Washington Wizards for Deni Avdia and a future first-round draft pick. This time it was Kneckett and a future first-round pick from the Knicks.

- Bobby Max

The Bucks have supplemented young blood to the aging core lineup

The Milwaukee Bucks get: 15-pick and 24-pick pick

The Oklahoma City Thunder gets: 2031 first-round picks (first picks protection)

The Thunder already have the deepest lineup in the NBA, and they are not expected to lose any players of the season this summer. The Thunder will also welcome Nikola Topic, the 12-couple rookie who fell in the draft at the time and missed the entire rookie season due to a torn ACL. So, how will Sam Presti deal with the two non-loto first-round draft picks this year? There isn't even their place in the Thunder's roster. The enviable situation of the Thunder means that Presti can retain his draft pick and choose a player who does not take up the roster for the time being after the selection. Presti can pack up trades to several draft picks — whether it’s these two this year, or some hoarded in the future — to trade upwards to lock in a particular rookie. Or Presti can trade the present for the future because he knows that there are no more young people needed now, but once the Thunder stars renew their larger contracts and the salary space becomes very valuable, they will need young people.

Presti has made some efforts in the latter direction. He once exchanged a 2024 first-round draft pick with the Mavericks in 2028 with a low pick. This swap right may never be realized, which means Presti will give away a first-round pick for nothing but only get air - but the Thunder may also get a higher pick in 2028 and get a bigger reward. The same logic applies to this deal: the Bucks have no first-round pick this year and need to inject young talent urgently, so the Thunder can trade them two first-round picks with a value of medium in exchange for a possible more valuable pick in the future, as Giannis Antetokounmpo will be close to 36 years old.

The same solution can also apply to any "win-in-the-current" team that has been determined to win several players in the middle of the first round of 2025. Currently, all the extra first-round picks from the Thunder will be exhausted in 2029, so they'd better start by extending some of these picks to the further future, thus maintaining the surplus of assets as much as possible.

—Zach Kram

Author: NBA insiders

Translator: GWayNe