Though the season will reach its conclusion soon, for a number of teams, it is already time to look to the offseason and plan potential moves. For a lot of teams in the league, change is on the horizon, and the league could end up looking a lot different after this off-season.
This article features a 4-team trade involving the Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, and Golden State Warriors that would help each team with their goals. This scenario helps the Bulls, Hawks, and Mavericks make win-now moves to improve their chances of winning a championship while giving the Chicago Bulls a young cornerstone for the future.
Chicago Bulls Receive: Jordan Poole
Atlanta Hawks Receive: Christian Wood (Sign-And-Trade)
Dallas Mavericks Receive: DeMar DeRozan
Golden State Warriors Receive: John Collins, 2027 First-Round Pick (CHI), 2023 Second-Round Pick (NOP via ATL), 2024 Second-Round Pick (MIA via ATL)
There are good reasons for all four teams to follow through with this deal, and we will discuss how each team will benefit from making this trade. Though obviously the framework itself can be adjusted slightly by the teams, this core framework is a good foundation for a multi-team trade where each party can walk away happy.
Chicago Bulls Get A Young Guard To Pair With Zach LaVine
The Chicago Bulls are a team that went all-in on veteran players like DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic prior to the beginning of the 2021-22 season. This has clearly not worked out for them, as they are currently the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference, despite the expectation at the time that they would be a perennial playoff contender.
The solution for the Chicago Bulls would be to get younger and try to retool around Zach LaVine. They already have some young talent waiting in the wings like Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu, and adding a proven player to their core could benefit them in the long run.
Guard Jordan Poole is averaging 20.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 4.6 APG for the Golden State Warriors this season, though he has been inefficient, only shooting 42.8% from the field and 32.6% from the 3PT range this season. He is the sort of young talent that the Bulls could take a chance on in the hopes of building a solid long-term team around LaVine. They would have an elite starting frontcourt, which could potentially make some noise in the Eastern Conference.
In this deal, the Bulls would have to move DeMar DeRozan’s expiring contract, along with draft compensation. Though DeRozan is a good player, his value is lower since he is on an expiring contract, meaning that to get a young player of Jordan Poole’s caliber, the Bulls would have to throw in extra assets.
Atlanta Hawks Get A Floor Spacing PF
The Atlanta Hawks have been trying to move on from John Collins for quite some time, and it is clear that the PF isn’t a good fit for the team’s current scheme. Collins is better fitted as a center on the offensive end, as he is a pick-and-roll big man that has elite athleticism. However, the Hawks already have an elite roll man in Clint Capela, which makes Collins the odd man out.
Getting Christian Wood in this four-team deal makes a lot of sense for the Atlanta Hawks. Obviously, the big man would have to agree to go to the team for this deal to work. In theory, the Hawks would be appealing to him: he would be able to go to a team where he is a starter and be the No. 3 option behind Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. His skillset would also work well on the Hawks, as he would be allowed to take a high volume of 3PT shots from the PF position, something that he excels at.
Moving off of John Collins’ contract while also getting a starting-caliber replacement would be a fantastic move for the Atlanta Hawks. They would have to send some second-round picks to the Golden State Warriors for taking on John Collins’ contract, but it is worth it to add a better-fitting player in Christian Wood to the roster.
Dallas Mavericks Add An Elite Shot Creator
The Dallas Mavericks are trying to build a contending team around Luka Doncic, and the key to doing so is adding star power to the roster. They have already added an elite No. 2 option in Kyrie Irving this past trade deadline. If they manage to retain Kyrie Irving on a long-term basis, then another difference-maker could give them a legitimate shot to come out of the Western Conference. There are many that are confident in the team’s chances of retaining the guard.
DeMar DeRozan has had a stellar season for the Chicago Bulls, averaging 24.9 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 5.1 APG while shooting 51.0% from the field. If he were to join the Dallas Mavericks, he would give them a three-headed offensive monster that would have the firepower to compete against teams such as the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference, or the Boston Celtics in a potential Finals matchup.
This deal would be a no-brainer for the Dallas Mavericks, as all they would have to do in this scenario to acquire DeRozan is facilitate Christian Wood’s sign-and-trade to the Atlanta Hawks. The relative lack of assets that the Dallas Mavericks would need to send out for DeMar DeRozan is the key appeal here, even if the star could end up walking at the end of the season.
Golden State Warriors Add Size And Get Future Assets
The Golden State Warriors have not been a consistent team this season, and it is clear that they need to make some changes to the team after this year. One of the issues with their roster construction as of right now is that the team simply has too many guards and a lack of size. This trade could potentially help them address that issue.
John Collins hasn’t had the best year, but perhaps he could end up doing better within the Golden State Warriors’ system. He would add size to their team, and could potentially be a solid small-ball center at 6’9. The Warriors currently run Kevon Looney and Draymond Green as their bigs. If Draymond Green leaves in free agency, then the need to add size will be even more prominent.
Moving Jordan Poole in a John Collins trade makes a lot of sense. It is hard to see them moving Klay Thompson since he is a franchise legend and an All-Star level player this year, and Poole’s struggles and contract make him the obvious candidate to be traded in this scenario.
With that being said, Jordan Poole is a better player than John Collins, and the Warriors would be getting some draft compensation to reflect the difference in value between the two players. The first-round pick would obviously come from the Bulls (the team acquiring Poole), and the second-round picks would come from the Atlanta Hawks for taking on John Collins’ contract. Getting draft compensation would help the Warriors potentially make other moves in the same offseason, or in the future.
Overall, this trade for the Golden State Warriors is about moving for a better positional fit and adding draft compensation. Adding a mobile big man who can be a lob threat could pay huge dividends for the team, and moving Poole makes their guard rotation more straightforward.
This Is A Good Trade For All Four Teams
For all the teams involved, this deal makes a good bit of sense. The Hawks and the Warriors would be adding players who would be good fits on their respective rosters while moving players that have struggled this season on their team. The Dallas Mavericks would be getting a star-level player in a win-now move, and the Chicago Bulls would get a key young piece to have a bit of a reset.
It will be interesting to see if the teams do end up making a trade with this framework in the future. Though multi-team deals are more frequent in the modern basketball era, they are still tough to execute, and we’ll see what ends up happening in the future.
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