5 NBA trades we WANT to see, featuring Anthony Davis to the Bucks

Key word: WANT. These are not rumors. But if we were GMs, we’d want to see these deals. (Scroll to the end for a special bonus one).

The NBA Trade Deadline is here, and we’re expecting movement all the way up until Thursday’s soft deadline of 3:01 p.m. We know that Anthony Davis to the Lakers is a trade that may or may not happen, and we know other key players that are likely to be moved.

But let’s have some fun. Here are a few trades we’d like to see in a perfect world, even if they never actually end up happening.

1. Anthony Davis to Milwaukee

Pelicans get: Three MIL first-round picks*; MIL second-round picks in 2020, 2022, 2024; Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, D.J. Wilson, Donte DiVincenzo
Bucks get: Anthony Davis, Solomon Hill, 10 years of championship favorite odds

Forget the Lakers. That’s boring. Put Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis on the same team. That’s basically hanging banners in the Fiserv Forum for the next half-decade or longer.

The Bucks take back the Solomon Hill contract, which has one more year worth $12.7 million on it (Hill is playing so poorly right now). They give the Pelicans three first- and three second-round picks. Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe are immediate contributors. Donte DiVincenzo can play ball. So can D.J. Wilson.

This trade fast tracks the Pelicans’ rebuild by giving them two players who they can either re-sign or let walk this summer and free up cap space instead, plus a bunch of future picks. New Orleans isn’t dealing with Los Angeles, at least not yet.

Send AD to the Bucks. Give the Lakers the finger.

— Kristian Winfield

*: The Bucks owe a first-round pick to Phoenix via the Eric Bledsoe trade, which is unlikely to convey this season. So these three picks must be worded as every other year starting two years after the Suns pick conveys. That would likely be 2022, 2024, and 2026.

2. Mike Conley to the Pistons

Grizzlies receive:Reggie Jackson, Langston Galloway, Khyri Thomas, DET conditional first-round pick (top-10 protected in 2019, top-5 protected in 2020, unprotected in 2021), 2019 second-round pick
Pistons receive:Mike Conley

The trade should get the damn disappointing Pistons into the playoffs. Detroit traded for Blake Griffin, and he’s having a fantastic year, but this is a guard driven league, and Detroit’s two best players are at the power forward and center position.

Enter Conley, a battle-tested, battle-proven veteran who is a floor general and crunch-time scoring option. He has a lengthy injury history, but understand this: The Pistons are aleady capped-out to the highest of high-heavens. They just traded both Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson because they can’t afford to keep them when they become restricted free agents this summer.

This trade shores up the Pistons point guard slot for as long as Conley remains healthy. Conley plus two athletic, play-making bigs is the basketball Detroit deserves to see.

Memphis, meanwhile, blows it up and builds around Jaren Jackson Jr. That’s the plan. Reggie Jackson only has one year left on his deal after this season. Langston Galloway is a shooter, who also only has a year left on his deal worth $7.3 million after this season. Khyri Thomas was Detroit’s second-round pick last season, so it’s worth seeing what he has to offer.

And Memphis gets the Pistons’ first-rounder this year if they either make the playoffs or don’t vault into the top-10 of the draft in the lottery. Cap relief after 2020 and a future lottery pick is a come up in this situation.

— Kristian Winfield

3. Markelle Fultz to the Wizards

Wizards receive:Markelle Fultz, Justin Patton
76ers receive:Trevor Ariza

Gauging Markelle Fultz’s value on the market is nearly impossible right now, so maybe either side would have to throw in some type of protected pick.

But this trade seems to work on both ends. Philadelphia has expedited its championship window, and Fultz doesn’t fit it. In swapping Justin Patton— who doesn’t play — and Fultz for a vet like Trevor Ariza, the Sixers can get the bench depth they need to supplement a top-heavy roster. Ariza defends the perimeter and shoots well, and has proven to fit seamlessly just about anywhere. This move pushes them further towards a title.

Washington needs to blow the damn place up and tank. They needed to do this last year and maybe the year before too, but John Wall’s now-ruptured achilles is the final call. It’s sale time.

As an expiring contract, Ariza is a commodity for title-now teams, and scoring Fultz, who could be great or awful, is a high-risk, high-reward move a team like the Wizards should be willing to take.

— Matt Ellentuck

4. Nikola Mirotic to Brooklyn

Pelicans get:Allen Crabbe, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, 2019 first-round pick via Denver
Nets get:Nikola Mirotic, Wesley Johnson

The Pelicans are shopping Nikola Mirotic, and the Nets have a need for a streak-shooter at the four. Rodions Kurucs has played incredibly well on the wing, but Brooklyn could use some firepower at that forward spot and Mirotic is a flamethrower.

The Pelicans should be stockpiling picks. If they’re blowing it up in preparation of an Anthony Davis trade, this is a trade that works for them.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson doesn’t shoot 3s, but he’s a diet version of Julius Randle. Randle has played well in his role in New Orleans, but if the Pelicans indeed trade him or decide he’ll be too expensive to retain this summer, Hollis-Jefferson can be a young player who fills his spot.

Crabbe is a streaky shooter who hasn’t had the best season in Brooklyn, and has one year left on his deal after this one worth almost $19 million. But the Pelicans don’t project to be players in free agency this season, though. They’ll be in asset hoarding mode for a couple years.

This is a trade that helps Brooklyn and gives the Pelicans an extra pick in this year’s draft. The Nets could also include a future second-round pick, so long as it is not New York’s in 2019.

— Kristian Winfield

5. Bradley Beal to the Spurs

Spurs get:Bradley Beal, Jeff Green
Nets get:Pau Gasol, Marco Belinelli, Lonnie Walker IV, DeJounte Murray, 2019 first-rounder (via Toronto), 2021 first-rounder (via San Antonio)

Let’s get weird on here for the heck of it. Two things are clear more than halfway through this season: San Antonio doesn’t have enough, and Washington needs to hold a fire sale, especially after dealing Otto Porter to the Bulls.

This may seem like a lot to give up for Beal at first glance, but it makes sense. In Beal and Green, the Spurs beef up its rotation with win-now pieces at a time where DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge aren’t getting any younger.

The Wizards, meanwhile, can start with a blank slate next year if they ship Beal and let the dice role as Wall is sidelined. Absorbing Gasol’s contract stinks, but that money isn’t going to be used on anyone great in free agency, anyway. With Wall on the sidelines, Murray can get a chance to thrive running Washington’s offense. We don’t know what Walker, or any of the future picks could turn into. But the Wizards need to embrace a rebuild, and do so immediately.

— Matt Ellentuck

6. Let’s get REAL nuts

Lakers get: Anthony Davis, Solomon Hill
Pelicans get:LeBron James

LeBron James doesn’t have a no-trade clause, so he can’t stop this. AD + the Lakers kids is more built to last for the future, and the Pels get to sell fans on LeBron being on their team. I’m just saying.

Can you imagine?

— Mike Prada