NBA draft 2025 – 5 trades that would shake up the first round

The NBA offseason has officially arrived! Sure, Game 7 of the Finals is Sunday, but that doesn’t mean all 30 teams haven’t been working the phones, trying to figure out if there are deals to be made.

There are massive storylines yet to resolve, including the Los Angeles Lakers sale, Kevin Durant’s next team and two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future. And maybe there’s another blockbuster trade that comes out of nowhere.

With the NBA draft just days away, and free agency just days after that, league chatter is only getting louder.

Here are five trades, featuring 10 different teams, that our NBA insiders think could shake up the draft’s first round before Adam Silver even announces the first overall pick.

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Memphis lands proven scorer

Brooklyn Nets get: G Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, F John Konchar, No. 16 pick, 2028 first (via Orlando), 2030 first-round swap (for worse of Memphis and Orlando)Memphis Grizzlies get: F Cameron Johnson, No. 27 pick

Consider this Part 2 of the Grizzlies’ trade from Sunday that sent Bane to the Orlando Magic for Caldwell-Pope, the No. 16 pick and three future first-rounders. This deal redirects up to three of those four picks and Caldwell-Pope to the Nets for Johnson, who would replace the shooting Bane provided Memphis at a lower cost.

The Grizzlies should feel like that series of transactions is a win. Although Johnson is older, at 29, and doesn’t offer the kind of playmaking Bane did, he’s also a career 39% 3-point shooter and perhaps a better fit with Memphis from a size perspective.

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The Grizzlies could shift Jaylen Wells to shooting guard next to Johnson on the wing and play small lineups at times with a Johnson-Jaren Jackson Jr. frontcourt that would stress opposing bigs with its floor spacing.

Crucially, Memphis would pocket the best of the four picks coming from the Magic — a 2026 first-rounder that will most likely come from the Phoenix Suns. And by including Konchar in this trade, the Grizzlies would create nearly $13 million in cap space they could use to renegotiate Jackson’s contract in conjunction with a long-term extension.

From the Nets’ standpoint, they’d get a variety of draft assets in exchange for one of the remaining veterans who don’t quite fit their rebuilding timeline.

This year’s move up from No. 27 to No. 16 is worth a late first-round pick on its own, and Brooklyn would add a second first-rounder in 2028 plus another potential swap in 2030. It’s also possible the Nets could rehabilitate Caldwell-Pope’s trade value after a seasonlong shooting slump with the Magic.

Because this trade doesn’t require cap space to complete, Brooklyn could maximize its spending power by using league-high cap space on signings or other deals first, then complete this one. — Kevin Pelton

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Bulls add Barrett, Raptors get … potential Giannis flexibility

Chicago Bulls get: G RJ BarrettToronto Raptors get: F Patrick Williams, G Jevon Carter, No. 12 pick

The Bulls would, in the 25-year-old Barrett, add another 20-point scorer to their young lineup and in doing so move on from Williams, the 2020 fourth overall pick who has regressed offensively after signing a five-year, $90 million deal.

The upside for Chicago is that it should get far more nightly box-score production, especially in terms of scoring, from the Canadian southpaw, aiding the Bulls’ 20th-ranked offense.

On the flipside, the Raptors — who have thrived developing young, rangy wings over the years — get to work with Williams, still just 23, with fewer expectations.

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Williams’ salary is significantly smaller than Barrett’s $25 million, which matters as the team is set to pay Scottie Barnes, Brandon Ingram and Immanuel Quickley a combined $142 million next season alone.

What will be worth watching is whether Toronto selects a player with the No. 12 pick, or kicks it down the road to load up on future picks instead.

The latter wouldn’t be all that surprising, particularly if the Raptors want to stay flexible to be a team in the running for a potential megadeal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, should he request a trade. — Chris Herring

Lakers trade Knecht — again — and land starting center

Brooklyn Nets get: No. 11 pick (via Portland), 2031 unprotected first (via Los Angeles)Los Angeles Lakers get: No. 8 pick (via Brooklyn), No. 36 pick (via Brooklyn)Portland Trail Blazers get: G Dalton Knecht, 2027 top-4 protected first (via New York)

It should be noted that this trade is contingent on whether Duke’s Khaman Maluach is on the board when Brooklyn is picking.

If he is, then the Lakers have their starting center for the future, but at the cost of last year’s first-round pick, Knecht, and an unprotected first in 2031. It is the same package the Lakers sent to Charlotte in the failed Mark Williams trade last February, except the 2031 first-round swap is not included.

Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka made it clear after the season that acquiring a starting center is the priority.

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“I think when you make a huge trade at the deadline where you trade your starting center for a point guard, of course that’s going to create significant issues with the roster, and we saw some of those play out. We know this offseason, one of our primary goals is going to be to add size in our frontcourt at the center position.”

In Maluach, the Lakers get a lob partner for Luka Doncic, a rim protector and the paint presence they lacked in the first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Lakers could have waited until free agency to get a starting center, but they had only the $5.7 million tax midlevel exception available. Because of the first apron, the Lakers were also limited in taking back more money in a trade.

As for the Nets, they move back three spots to No. 11 but pick up a 2031 unprotected first from the Lakers. The Nets still have three firsts in the draft (No. 19, 26 and 27) along with 12 future firsts in the next seven years, including four unprotected.

For Portland, the trade is similar to one last June when they traded the 14th pick to the Washington Wizards for Deni Avdija and a future first. This time it is Knecht and a future first from New York. — Bobby Marks

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Bucks add youth to aging core

Milwaukee Bucks get: No. 15 pick and No. 24 pickOklahoma City Thunder get: 2031 first (top-1 protected)

Oklahoma City already has the NBA’s deepest roster, and the Thunder aren’t set to lose any players from this season’s team this summer. They also will add Nikola Topic, last year’s No. 12 pick, who fell in that draft and missed all of his rookie season with a torn ACL. So what is Sam Presti going to do with two post-lottery picks in the first round? His roster doesn’t even have room for them.

The Thunder’s enviable position means Presti could keep his picks and opt for a draft-and-stash player. He could bundle a few picks — either both from this year or some of his future hoard — to move up and target a specific prospect. Or he could trade the present for the future, knowing he doesn’t need more youngsters now but will once his team’s stars have all graduated to larger contracts and cap space will be at a premium.

Presti has already worked a bit in this latter direction when he traded a less valuable 2024 first-rounder for unprotected swap rights with the Mavericks in 2028. There’s a chance that swap will never materialize, meaning Presti would have traded a first-rounder for nothing — but there’s also a chance that Oklahoma City could reap greater rewards with a higher pick in 2028.

The same logic would apply in this trade: trade two guaranteed firsts of middling value to Milwaukee, which doesn’t have a 2025 first of its own and is in desperate need of a youth talent infusion, in exchange for a potentially juicier selection down the line, at which point Giannis Antetokounmpo would be entering his late 30s.

The same setup could work with any win-now team that has identified a couple of players it wants in the middle of the 2025 first round. For now, all of the Thunder’s extra first-rounders will be exhausted by 2029, so they’d do well to start pushing some of those selections farther into the future to help maintain a surplus indefinitely. — Zach Kram

Guard swap in the West

Houston Rockets get: F DeMar DeRozanSacramento Kings get: F Dillon Brooks, No. 10 pick

The Rockets were No. 2 in the West this season with a young, talented unit that was strong on defense but lacked individual scoring ability.

The latter was apparent in their first-round loss to the Golden State Warriors, as their leading scorer, wing Jalen Green, struggled as the focal point of the Warriors’ defense, and the Rockets weren’t able to find other ways to create offense.

Enter DeRozan, one of the league’s best isolation scorers, who is coming off his 12th straight season averaging more than 20 points.

DeRozan would provide a huge lift to the Rockets’ half-court offense with his ability to create consistent high-level shots off the dribble while also taking some of the burden off Green and Alperen Sengun. Plus, the Rockets have a plethora of talented defenders on the wing, including Amen Thompson and Tari Eason, to replace Brooks’ defensive abilities.

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Even without DeRozan, the Kings have plenty of scoring ability on the wing, with the additions of Zach LaVine and Malik Monk — a duo capable of combining for more than 40 points per game.

The Kings also have an offense-heavy frontcourt led by Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray.

Their biggest holes this offseason are on defense and point guard, after they traded away De’Aaron Fox to bring in LaVine. Brooks, with his aggressive 3-and-D game, would fit in well on the Kings’ wing. The No. 10 pick would also be an upgrade from the Kings’ 13th pick that they’ve traded away to the Atlanta Hawks.

Mock drafts project several point guard prospects could be available at No. 10, including Kasparas Jakucionis from Illinois and Egor Demin from BYU, who could develop into the Kings’ point guard of the future. — André Snellings