Since the NBA off-season is pretty much dead, our best hope for any news is now via the trade market.
With so many teams having to adjust to the new CBA, I decided I was going to dive into the Trade Machine to see which teams qualify for certain deals, and I finally got a decent understanding of what the trade ramifications are if you are a "Second Apron" team. On FanSpo, they give a good example of how we can expect to see trades be or not be made due to these new rules, "second apron teams are prohibited from combining multiple players’ salaries into trades. Phoenix, as a specific example, could not trade both Jusuf Nurkić and Nassir Little for one player making $24.8 million. Second-apron teams also can’t utilize trade exceptions from previous years or send cash to help get deals over the finish line"
After about an hour of using the trading tool, I was able to find five deals that I believe are realistic and would make sense for both sides. That being said, some players appear to be untradeable at this point as either there is not a proper fit, or it just doesn't make sense for a team to take on that contract in a salary dup (cough, cough, Zach Lavine).
Here is a quick list of the players I could not find deals for:
Zach Lavine
Trae Young
D'Angelo Russell
Tyler Herro
Ben Simmons
Now, onto the trades I was able to find (the order means nothing)
Magic & Nets Make a Deal:
The Trade:
Nets: Receive: Cole Anthony, Jett Howard, 2026 Round 1 Pick Swap
Magic Receive: Cam Johnson
Kings Add Size, Lakers Add Spacing:
The Trade:
Lakers Receive: Kevin Huerter, 2025 2nd Round Pick
Kings Receive: Rui Hachimura
Spurs Speed Up The Timeline:
The Trade:
Jazz Receive: Keldon Johnson, Jeremy Sochan, 2025 First Round Pick (Top 3 Protected), 2026 First Round Pick, 2028 First Round Pick
Spurs: Receive: Lauri Markkanen, Drew Eubanks
Cavaliers & Pelicans Shake Up Their Cores:
The Trade:
Cavaliers Receive: Brandon Ingram, Matt Ryan
Pelicans Receive: Jarrett Allen, Georges Niang, 2025 2nd Round Pick, 2027 2nd Round Pick, 2029 2nd Round Pick
Nuggets Trade Shooting for Depth, Jazz Continue to Stockpile Picks:
The Trade:
Nuggets Receive: Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler
Jazz Receive: Michael Porter Jr., Zeke Nnaji, 2026 & 2028 Unprotected First Round Picks
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