Official Trade Thread Part XLVII

[nate33]

I think I just discovered Nate's podcast

Watch on YouTube

I've aged well!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Who u think we'd have to give up?

What would we have to give up to get them to trade LaMelo? He's a legit all-star, and potential franchise player,

I get the sense that Lamelo's stock is dropping rapidly. If Charlotte has another sub-30 win season with Lamelo scoring inefficiently or missing a ton of games, I wouldn't be surprised if Charlotte moves him at a fairly low cost, just to get off of his contract.

I don't really care for Lamelo's style of play and he comes across as not-so-bright in interviews, which concerns me at the PG position. But I can at least see why Dat2U is targeting him as an interesting reclamation project. I think he might become very available, and he does have a lot of talent. He has an "it factor" that nobody on our roster currently has.

I'm hoping that we can land a better "it factor" guy in the 2026 draft, but if we don't, it may be desperation time to find a star before our tanking window closes. And Lamelo might be one of the few guys obtainable.

I don't care if LaMelo's dumb as rocks.

Others can and will hold him accountable. He's at a Zach Randolph portion of his career only Melo has already been an All-Star. I totally agree with Dat2U, he's a great reclamation project.

[TGW]

CCJ—your boys Almond and Millsapp are on nbatv right now.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Whaaaaat?

Whooooo?

Why were they on NBATV? Both have to be 40 years plus.

[TGW]

Whaaaaat?

Whooooo?

Why were they on NBATV? Both have to be 40 years plus.

They were showing a throwback summer league game. I was at a bar and saw it pop up. Almond was being guarded by KD, and scored an AND1, and I immediately thought of you

[payitforward]

Nice!

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Whaaaaat?

Whooooo?

Why were they on NBATV? Both have to be 40 years plus.

They were showing a throwback summer league game. I was at a bar and saw it pop up. Almond was being guarded by KD, and scored an AND1, and I immediately thought of you

Nice!

That is neat!

What's crazy is that Morris Almond is now 40 years old, while KD is still a championship-caliber player.

[dckingsfan]

Trae Young also has a player option. Hawks are set up well though and he probably wouldn't leave Atlanta to come here, unless Atlanta didn't want to pay him. We also have the Schlenk connection.

I'd take Ball too but we'd need to trade a lot to get him - Bub and Bilal and a couple future picks? Probably something like that. We'd still have Tre, George, Cam, and Sarr to form a pretty decent (assuming they all develop) starting 5. Plus Champagnie and a handful of other young guys.

Ball would not cost that much with his injury history. If he did, then hell no. I wouldn't pay it. You only go after Ball if Charlotte has given up on him and is basically trying to dump him while saving face.

I have no interest at all in Trae Young. I don't think you can win with him, but if you were to try, you would need to build a very specific type of defense to protect him. It would definitely not be the switch-everything style we are currently building. You would want an elite drop big like Gobert. I actually think Atlanta has finally put together a roster this year that may be pretty well-suited to protect Trae defensively. If they can't make it work, I wouldn't want the Wizards to try.

Going to be one of the interesting question for the east this year. I also think Asa Newell has played pretty darn well - nice pick.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Trae Young also has a player option. Hawks are set up well though and he probably wouldn't leave Atlanta to come here, unless Atlanta didn't want to pay him. We also have the Schlenk connection.

I'd take Ball too but we'd need to trade a lot to get him - Bub and Bilal and a couple future picks? Probably something like that. We'd still have Tre, George, Cam, and Sarr to form a pretty decent (assuming they all develop) starting 5. Plus Champagnie and a handful of other young guys.

Ball would not cost that much with his injury history. If he did, then hell no. I wouldn't pay it. You only go after Ball if Charlotte has given up on him and is basically trying to dump him while saving face.

I have no interest at all in Trae Young. I don't think you can win with him, but if you were to try, you would need to build a very specific type of defense to protect him. It would definitely not be the switch-everything style we are currently building. You would want an elite drop big like Gobert. I actually think Atlanta has finally put together a roster this year that may be pretty well-suited to protect Trae defensively. If they can't make it work, I wouldn't want the Wizards to try.

Going to be one of the interesting question for the east this year. I also think Asa Newell has played pretty darn well - nice pick.

Even today, if you ask me to choose for the Wizards between Will Riley and Asa Newell, I think I would say Asa.

I really like the Will Riley pick.

I think Newell and Jase Richardson will both greatly exceed their draft positions. They each might be even better than Riley.

Newell would have been absolutely perfect next to Sarr.

[dckingsfan]

Ball would not cost that much with his injury history. If he did, then hell no. I wouldn't pay it. You only go after Ball if Charlotte has given up on him and is basically trying to dump him while saving face.

I have no interest at all in Trae Young. I don't think you can win with him, but if you were to try, you would need to build a very specific type of defense to protect him. It would definitely not be the switch-everything style we are currently building. You would want an elite drop big like Gobert. I actually think Atlanta has finally put together a roster this year that may be pretty well-suited to protect Trae defensively. If they can't make it work, I wouldn't want the Wizards to try.

Going to be one of the interesting question for the east this year. I also think Asa Newell has played pretty darn well - nice pick.

Even today, if you ask me to choose for the Wizards between Will Riley and Asa Newell, I think I would say Asa.

I really like the Will Riley pick.

I think Newell and Jase Richardson will both greatly exceed their draft positions. They each might be even better than Riley.

Newell would have been absolutely perfect next to Sarr.

Fully agreed. And Jase has been pretty darn good in SL as well. I think he is a perfect backup to Trae. Of course as nate points out - it still might not be a strategy that works, we will see (as the faux proverb goes).

[closg00]

Paul George out again after knee surgery, totally washed at this point, I wonder if we could take on his salary for their 2026 FRP…

[Dark Faze]

Paul George out again after knee surgery, totally washed at this point, I wonder if we could take on his salary for their 2026 FRP…

The only reason they'd do it is if they felt strongly that they could have a competitive post season with the trade, in which case the pick isn't that valuable.

We need to have a max cap space worth of money available each summer at this point moving forward imo. Sometimes decent talent is allowed to walk and it may happen more often with the cap realities that exist now. We need to be positioned to take advantage of that.

[9 and 20]

I'd want 3 first round picks to take on PG. Or maybe we package up Smart, McCollum and Middleton for PG and Maxey. Sixers reset around McCain and Edgecomb and probably another lottery pick.

[penbeast0]

With New Orleans having paid so much for Queen, I wonder if there is a deal for Missi we could make.

[Dat2U]

What would we have to give up to get them to trade LaMelo? He's a legit all-star, and potential franchise player,

I get the sense that Lamelo's stock is dropping rapidly. If Charlotte has another sub-30 win season with Lamelo scoring inefficiently or missing a ton of games, I wouldn't be surprised if Charlotte moves him at a fairly low cost, just to get off of his contract.

I don't really care for Lamelo's style of play and he comes across as not-so-bright in interviews, which concerns me at the PG position. But I can at least see why Dat2U is targeting him as an interesting reclamation project. I think he might become very available, and he does have a lot of talent. He has an "it factor" that nobody on our roster currently has.

I'm hoping that we can land a better "it factor" guy in the 2026 draft, but if we don't, it may be desperation time to find a star before our tanking window closes. And Lamelo might be one of the few guys obtainable.

I don't care if LaMelo's dumb as rocks.

Others can and will hold him accountable. He's at a Zach Randolph portion of his career only Melo has already been an All-Star. I totally agree with Dat2U, he's a great reclamation project.

LaMelo is not dumb ... if anything he's too gifted! Anyone calling LaMelo dumb is not watching him play. The way he see and processes the floor is like no other. The anticipation, the timing, the creativity in his passing is incredibly special. People get stuck on the interviews not thinking that most of these guys hate to be interviewed and tend to be robotic and emotionless when a mic is held in front of them.

[Dat2U]

Ball would not cost that much with his injury history. If he did, then hell no. I wouldn't pay it. You only go after Ball if Charlotte has given up on him and is basically trying to dump him while saving face.

I have no interest at all in Trae Young. I don't think you can win with him, but if you were to try, you would need to build a very specific type of defense to protect him. It would definitely not be the switch-everything style we are currently building. You would want an elite drop big like Gobert. I actually think Atlanta has finally put together a roster this year that may be pretty well-suited to protect Trae defensively. If they can't make it work, I wouldn't want the Wizards to try.

Going to be one of the interesting question for the east this year. I also think Asa Newell has played pretty darn well - nice pick.

Even today, if you ask me to choose for the Wizards between Will Riley and Asa Newell, I think I would say Asa.

I really like the Will Riley pick.

I think Newell and Jase Richardson will both greatly exceed their draft positions. They each might be even better than Riley.

Newell would have been absolutely perfect next to Sarr.

Jase, if he can play PG, will likely exceed his draft position. I loved him early in the draft process but the height measurement really made it tough to draft him as an off-the-ball guard and he still needs to prove he can go right - if he's going to become more than a good role player.

Asa gave me Marvin Bagley III vibes so I think he's an NBA player and can have a solid career but he's small for C, less skilled than Alex Sarr and lacks high level defensive upside. I'm not sure he can outrebound or defend Cs or have enough skill for the 4.

[dckingsfan]

Going to be one of the interesting question for the east this year. I also think Asa Newell has played pretty darn well - nice pick.

Even today, if you ask me to choose for the Wizards between Will Riley and Asa Newell, I think I would say Asa.

I really like the Will Riley pick.

I think Newell and Jase Richardson will both greatly exceed their draft positions. They each might be even better than Riley.

Newell would have been absolutely perfect next to Sarr.

Jase, if he can play PG, will likely exceed his draft position. I loved him early in the draft process but the height measurement really made it tough to draft him as an off-the-ball guard and he still needs to prove he can go right - if he's going to become more than a good role player.

Asa gave me Marvin Bagley III vibes so I think he's an NBA player and can have a solid career but he's small for C, less skilled than Alex Sarr and lacks high level defensive upside. I'm not sure he can outrebound or defend Cs or have enough skill for the 4.

Well, it is only summer league but... Newell played really well at the PF position. He had good form on the 3 and wasn't afraid to let them fly, showed the ability to drive in the lane (for later in his career), grabbed rebounds and played solid defense.

Not saying Riley wasn't a good pick. This was more a comment on Atlanta and how well they have done during the off-season surrounding Trae with defenders. It is still an experiment to see if you can have one player like Trae that can't play D and still get it done.

[tontoz]

I get the sense that Lamelo's stock is dropping rapidly. If Charlotte has another sub-30 win season with Lamelo scoring inefficiently or missing a ton of games, I wouldn't be surprised if Charlotte moves him at a fairly low cost, just to get off of his contract.

I don't really care for Lamelo's style of play and he comes across as not-so-bright in interviews, which concerns me at the PG position. But I can at least see why Dat2U is targeting him as an interesting reclamation project. I think he might become very available, and he does have a lot of talent. He has an "it factor" that nobody on our roster currently has.

I'm hoping that we can land a better "it factor" guy in the 2026 draft, but if we don't, it may be desperation time to find a star before our tanking window closes. And Lamelo might be one of the few guys obtainable.

I don't care if LaMelo's dumb as rocks.

Others can and will hold him accountable. He's at a Zach Randolph portion of his career only Melo has already been an All-Star. I totally agree with Dat2U, he's a great reclamation project.

LaMelo is not dumb ... if anything he's too gifted! Anyone calling LaMelo dumb is not watching him play. The way he see and processes the floor is like no other. The anticipation, the timing, the creativity in his passing is incredibly special. People get stuck on the interviews not thinking that most of these guys hate to be interviewed and tend to be robotic and emotionless when a mic is held in front of them.

Lamelo is one of the biggest chuckers in the league. Only SGA took more shots per game than Lamelo. Nobody else was even close. That is ridiculous given his Kuzma level efficiency.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Even today, if you ask me to choose for the Wizards between Will Riley and Asa Newell, I think I would say Asa.

I really like the Will Riley pick.

I think Newell and Jase Richardson will both greatly exceed their draft positions. They each might be even better than Riley.

Newell would have been absolutely perfect next to Sarr.

Jase, if he can play PG, will likely exceed his draft position. I loved him early in the draft process but the height measurement really made it tough to draft him as an off-the-ball guard and he still needs to prove he can go right - if he's going to become more than a good role player.

Asa gave me Marvin Bagley III vibes so I think he's an NBA player and can have a solid career but he's small for C, less skilled than Alex Sarr and lacks high level defensive upside. I'm not sure he can outrebound or defend Cs or have enough skill for the 4.

Well, it is only summer league but... Newell played really well at the PF position. He had good form on the 3 and wasn't afraid to let them fly, showed the ability to drive in the lane (for later in his career), grabbed rebounds and played solid defense.

Not saying Riley wasn't a good pick. This was more a comment on Atlanta and how well they have done during the off-season surrounding Trae with defenders. It is still an experiment to see if you can have one player like Trae that can't play D and still get it done.

Precisely as I saw Newell, dckf.

I see a PF with 3FG range.

[dckingsfan]

Jase, if he can play PG, will likely exceed his draft position. I loved him early in the draft process but the height measurement really made it tough to draft him as an off-the-ball guard and he still needs to prove he can go right - if he's going to become more than a good role player.

Asa gave me Marvin Bagley III vibes so I think he's an NBA player and can have a solid career but he's small for C, less skilled than Alex Sarr and lacks high level defensive upside. I'm not sure he can outrebound or defend Cs or have enough skill for the 4.

Well, it is only summer league but... Newell played really well at the PF position. He had good form on the 3 and wasn't afraid to let them fly, showed the ability to drive in the lane (for later in his career), grabbed rebounds and played solid defense.

Not saying Riley wasn't a good pick. This was more a comment on Atlanta and how well they have done during the off-season surrounding Trae with defenders. It is still an experiment to see if you can have one player like Trae that can't play D and still get it done.

Precisely as I saw Newell, dckf.

I see a PF with 3FG range.

And when you look at it this way, it was an INCREDIBLE draft by the Hawks.

In the 2025 NBA Draft, the Hawks made an impressive trade with the New Orleans Pelicans to move back 10 spots and acquire an unprotected 2026 1st round pick (most favorable of New Orleans or Milwaukee) and Georgia forward Asa Newell with the No. 23 pick, and he has been nothing short of sensational so far. In four games, Newell averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds on 51% shooting from the field and 42% shooting from three-point range, while being a reliable force on both ends of the court. He was consistently in highlight reels on social media for his replay-worthy defensive stops and electrifying dunks.

https://www.si.com/nba/hawks/news/asa-newell-is-making-his-case-a-rising-force-in-hawks-summer-league-play-01k07atysht4

And they are ready to compete today:

PG: Young/Krejci/Bufkin
SG: NAW/Kennard
SF: Risacher/Daniels/Djurisic
PF: Johnson; Newell/Gueye
C: Porzingis/Okongwu

They have two picks in the '26 draft. Their cap situation is in a pretty good place and now they have a set of forwards (Johnson, Risacher and Newell) to anchor them for quite some time to see if the Young experiment with defenders around him works out.

To me - they had the best off-season in the east this year.