Trades to Get Dame, Luka, Zion Back to the NBA Playoffs

Can we find a way to guarantee Luka Dončić, Damian Lillard and Zion Williamson get back to the NBA playoffs next year?

Well, we’re about to try.

One assumption will guide us through this fake-trades process: Luka, Dame and Zion are all staying put. None of them have requested a change of scenery, and their teams won’t be moving them unless (until?) they do.

This, in turn, means we’re tasked with getting the three superstars back to the postseason without sending them elsewhere—hardly an impossible task.

Every deal proposed here will be cobbled together from the perspective of the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans or Portland Trail Blazers. That’s not to say they will be one-sided. These are just the best offers I’d dangle against every return if I were running the team(s).

Please assume these deals are going down in the new league year. All 2023 draft picks sent out will be valued based upon their projected slot. Any jumps (or tumbles) in the lottery order that could materially change the framework of these packages will be mentioned wherever appropriate.

Dallas Mavericks Receive: O.G. Anunoby

Toronto Raptors Receive: Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr., No. 10 pick*, 2026 first-round pick (unprotected; becomes 2027 first-rounder if Dallas’ 2024 obligation to New York doesn’t convey)

(*If Dallas drops outside the top 10 of the lottery, its pick goes to New York, in which case this offer would feature firsts going to Toronto in 2024 and 2026 instead.)

Defense must be the prevailing theme of Dallas’ offseason even if it doesn’t re-sign Kyrie Irving. This team struggled to get stops before its midseason shake-up. The issue was merely exacerbated in the aftermath of moving Dorian Finney-Smith, the squad’s best defender.

Rim protection and general perimeter juice top the Mavs’ shopping list. Anunoby brings both. He can guard the opponent’s best scorer pretty much regardless of position while sizing up and making plays around the basket. Only 10 other players standing under 6’10” contested as many looks at the rim and limited shooters to a sub-60-percent clip.

Whether this package gets the Raptors to part with Anunoby is debatable. Hardaway’s deal (two years, $34.1 million) might make them flinch. It shouldn’t. He adds much-needed three-point volume, and they should still have the surrounding infrastructure to play him substantial minutes. Green made serious defensive strides this year while scoring at hyper-efficient clips in a limited offensive role.

Toronto reportedly turned down three first-round picks for him at the deadline. Were any of them guaranteed lottery picks attached to another unprotected selection? Probably not. Anunoby is also now functionally on an expiring contract (2024-25 player option) and not guaranteed to sign an extension. This offer is…