The L.A. Clippers were hit with the harshest penalty in NBA history for willfully circumventing the NBA salary cap to sign Kawhi Leonard. That includes a $30 million fine and five confiscated first-round draft picks, plus suspensions for Steve Ballmer and L.A.'s top brass.
A long and difficult road lies ahead for the Clippers. With their own trade capital now tanked, let's go through the entire conference and cook up realistic trades every team can make to help drive the nail into the coffin.
Oklahoma City Thunder: Olivier Maxence-Prosper
Oklahoma City has picks coming out the wazoo and an incredibly deep (and expensive) roster already in place, so any trades will be purely marginal at this point. Why not call up the rebuilding Grizzlies about Olivier Maxence-Prosper, whose future in Memphis is uncertain after drafting two first-round power forwards in Cameron Boozer and Karim López?
O-Max offers athleticism and physicality on defense, and OKC could use his size in the wing rolodex. He made 40.5 percent of his 3s last season and shows promise as a slasher and clean-up finisher on the interior. OKC shouldn't expect much creativity from Prosper, but he plays his role with tremendous energy and enthusiasm.
Memphis takes a stab at former lottery pick Nikola Topić, who's buried in the OKC guard room.
San Antonio Spurs: Bilal Coulibaly
You can't really have too many quality two-way wings, but Washington has a lot of 'em — and Bilal Coulibaly, entering the final year of his rookie contract, is clearly the most expendable. That presents a golden buy-low opportunity for the Spurs, who happen to roster Coulibaly's former French teammate. His name is Victor Wembanyama.
Coulibaly's offensive development, or lack thereof, has disappointed, but he's a stout, rangy defender who can give the Spurs some much-needed size and athleticism on the wing. He made 45 percent of his corner 3s last season, at the very least. San Antonio can find a role for Coulibaly and hope his built-in chemistry with Wemby unlocks a higher gear. This trade also allows them to potentially offload Luke Kornet's contract after drafting three centers.
Denver Nuggets: Kasparas Jakucionis
The Nuggets' guard room behind Jamal Murray leaves much to be desired. The front office's complete lack of aggression since Denver's title run in 2023 has become unacceptable. The Bucks present an intriguing opportunity. Milwaukee has excess backcourt depth and a need to continue stockpiling draft assets after the Giannis trade.
Kasparas Jakučionis came over in the Giannis trade. He played a limited role as a shooter, but he's a knockdown shooter and a savvy pick-and-roll operator, although turnovers were a problem and he can't really finish at the rim. He's a worthwhile development project for the Nuggets; he can run the second unit or spot-up off of Jokić and connect dots. This trade also helps Denver offload Zeke Nnaji's bad-money contract, while the Bucks add a few picks for the future.
Los Angeles Lakers: Ryan Dunn
The Lakers need to beef up their wing rotation and improve defensively, both of which Ryan Dunn accomplishes. The Suns are going to struggle to find minutes for Ryan Dunn, Koa Peat and Rasheer Flemings, as Phoenix clearly has a type in the draft. They also traded for Miles Bridges. Dunn is a phenomenal defender, no doubt, but his offensive limitations are diffcult to game plan around.
Los Angeles can put him in a pretty optimal setup, collecting lobs, put-backs and the occasional spot-up 3 playing off of Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves. There's some overlap between Dunn and Lakers free agent signing Matisse Thybulle, but they tend to occupy different areas of the floor and L.A. can stagger them for some fun defensive lineups anchored by Walker Kessler.
Houston Rockets: Saddiq Bey
Saddiq Bey put together a quietly excellent season in New Orleans, and he's been a winning player for a while. He's acquired taste, but Bey can get downhill or space the floor, with solid defense on the wing. He averaged 17.7 points on 57.9 percent true shooting. The Rockets lack real scoring punch on the perimeter beyond Kevin Durant, Fred VanVleet and Reed Sheppard. Bey is a simple fit and could be worth a late first-round pick in a bad draft, especially if Houston can strike up extension talks.
For the Pelicans, it's a chance to clear up reps for newcomer Bennedict Mathurin while adding to their draft stores for a long rebuild ahead.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Noa Essengue
Noa Essengue was FanSided's No. 4 prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft. He since missed the majority of his rookie season due to injury and fell out of the Bulls' Summer League rotation as a sophomore, with Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis clearly ahead of him on the pwoer forward pecking order. That unlocks an easy, virtually risk-free upswing swing for the Wolves.
Cody Williams was acquired on the cheap from Utah in a salary-cutting move. Williams is another former lottery pick who hasn't really panned out. The Bulls can invest in Williams, who aligns a bit more with their positional needs, while the Wolves look to Essengue as a cheap fix at a position of need. He probably won't contribute much next season, but there's significant defensive upside. He'd join fellow countrymen Rudy Gobert and Joan Beringer in Minnesota's frontcourt, so it should be a welcoming environment.
Portland Trail Blazers: Ron Holland II
Portland may opt to keep Scoot Henderson as valuable guard depth. Shaedon Sharpe is already hurt, while Ja Morant, Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday are all vets with mounting injury concerns of their own. That said, Henderson enters his final year under contract without much hope for a lucrative extension in Portland.
The Blazers could flip him to Detroit — a contender with a dire need for more shot creation — and recoup several second-round picks, plus a fun developmental swing on the wing. Ron Holland hasn't broken out in Detroit, but the former top-five pick offers an intriguing blend of herky-jerky, downhill scoring and pesky defense on the wing. He needs to figure out his 3-point shot, but Portland would get two years of Holland on a rookie-scale contract before deciding on his future.
Phoenix Suns: Dejounte Murray
Just about everyone on the Pelicans roster should be available. The Suns could use a point guard with size and defensive chops to complement Devin Booker. Dejounte Murray's value is in the dumpster after a couple injury-plagued campaigns, but he still generates turnovers on defense and proficiently sets the table on offense, with some serious mid-range scoring chops, to boot.
The Suns might as well kick the tires and see if Murray can revert to prime form in a more competitive desire. It shouldn't cost much. Jalen Green is on a similar contract; both have overpriced player options for next season. But Green is four years younger and could appeal to New Orleans with his volume shooting and off-ball scoring chops, which better complement Zion Williamson in theory.
Golden State Warriors: Michael Porter Jr.
Jimmy Butler will miss the first few months of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL, which leaves the aging Warriors in a severely compromised state. Michael Porter Jr. is almost a decade younger and he's coming off of his best individual campaign to date. He can help the Warriors from the jump.
Both are on expiring contracts. Golden State can probably feel better about potentially extending Porter. Brooklyn, meanwhile, gets Terance Mann's contract off the books and a first-round pick for their troubles. Plus, who's to say Butler can't return midseason, help the Nets win a few extra games and then stick around for a couple years as a bridge piece. Butler was still extremely impactful before the injury and he'd add real veteran leadership and work ethic to the Nets locker room.
New Orleans Pelicans: Liam McNeeley
The Pelicans shouldn't be mortgaing future assets on this roster, but pouncing on cheap, buy-low targets like Liam McNeeley is just good business. The Hornets' 2025 first-round pick is buried even deeper on the depth chart after their offseason acquisitions of Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale. While there's not much of an NBA track record to speak of, McNeeley fits a role-playing archetype the Pelicans need.
New Orleans has a lot of ball-dominant players who suck up oxygen, such as Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Jeremiah Fears and Bennedict Mathurin. McNeeley built his reputation on sharpshooting from the perimeter. He can stake out a low-usage role and potentially develop into a long-term contributor for the Pelicans.
Dallas Mavericks: Trey Murphy III
Dallas will probably take a more patient approach to building around Cooper Flagg, but there's a case for pushing a few chips in now. Trey Murphy III is still in the middle of his prime and locked up for three years on a team-friendly contract. He fits the Masai Ujiri archetype as a big, skilled wing. His 3-point range and volume could work wonders with Flagg and Kyrie Irving carving up the interior.
The Pelicans add two future first-round picks and two immediately impactful rotation pieces in Daniel Gafford and Max Christie, both of whom could start. The Mavs replace Gafford with Yves Missi, whose rim-running and shot-blocking should play well in short bursts behind Dereck Lively. This trade could benefit both sides tremendously in the long run.
Memphis Grizzlies: Zach LaVine
Sacramento will probably end up buying out Zach LaVine, as the market is nonexistant for his expiring $48.9 million contract. That said, Memphis should absolutely inquire about swapping Jerami Grant, who has a $36.4 million player option for 2026-27. Getting off that money a year sooner, to add a better player, could hardly hurt.
LaVine is still a talented secondary scorer who could fit in nicely with Memphis' batallion of long, two-way wings and their new playmaking engine in the frontcourt, Cameron Boozer. For the Kings, the chance to take a flier on Kris Murray (brother to Keegan Murray) while backfilling their second-pick pick coffers could be incentive enough to pull the trigger. Grant's expiring deal should be easier to move next summer, and he could offer some short-term value as a rangier defender whose scoring profile aligns with Darius Acuff and Domantas Sabonis.
Sacramento Kings: Nolan Traoré
This is a pure upside swing for the Kings. Dylan Cardwell was phenomenal as an undrafted free agent, but Sacramento still has Sabonis at center, with Maxime Raynaud probably taking priority in their developmental pecking order. Traoré was a first-round pick. He struggled to score efficiently as a rookie, but it's rare to find point guards with his blend of size, speed and court vision.
Traoré's rim pressure and up-tempo style, combined with solid defense on the perimeter, could pair nicely with Acuff in the backcourt long term. For the Nets, Cardwell offers functional frontcourt depth. He will rebound and do the dirty work, with a pathway to starting if Day'Ron Sharpe does not take the leap Brooklyn hopes for.
Utah Jazz: Jaylin Williams
OKC has spent all summer cutting costs on the margins by turning quality role players into draft capital. Jaylin Williams is beloved in the locker room and might be too valuable a person to give up, but he's also blocking recent first-round picks Aday Mara and Thomas Sorber in the center rotation. Should the Jazz come with a strong enough offer — including talented scoring wing in Brice Sensabaugh and a first-round pick — OKC will at least need to listen.
The Jazz aren't without decent options at center; Jusuf Nurkić was born anew last season, while Kyle Filipowski and Jaxson Hayes are serviceable backups. That said, Nurkić is no long-term solution, and Williams has a chance to pop in a more expansive role. His funky playmaking and off-beat scoring pair nicely with Will Hardy's offensive scheme. He would also be well-protected on defense in lineups with Jaren Jackson Jr.
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