At this stage of the offseason, the huge trades are more than over, but that doesn’t mean the trade market is dead. This is usually the part of the summer where teams begin staring at their payroll, roster count, and apron situation, trying to clean up the last few problems before camp.
We’ve already seen plenty of that. The Nuggets just let Peyton Watson go to the Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade rather than committing to his new contract due to second-apron restrictions, while several contenders (especially the Thunder) have spent the summer moving important players simply because keeping everybody has become almost impossible under the new CBA.
There are still a few situations that look pretty obvious, and none of these three trades has been directly reported as being discussed. They’re simply frameworks that match what each team needs financially right now, and all three feel like the type of late-offseason deal that could suddenly happen without much warning.
3. Wolves Create More Room After Signing Jonathan Kuminga
Minnesota Timberwolves Receive: D’Angelo Russell, Kris Murray
Memphis Grizzlies Receive: Josh Green
Jonathan Kuminga choosing the Timberwolves was a really nice win for Minnesota, but now comes the annoying part. The Wolves still need to shed a couple of million to officially land Kuminga after agreeing to a two-year, $12.4 million deal.
Josh Green immediately stands out. He’s making around $14.7 million on an expiring deal, but after averaging only 4.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists last season, it’s hard to see him having a huge role on this roster. Minnesota has too many perimeter players ahead of him, and keeping that salary for somebody who could be the eighth or ninth man doesn’t make much financial sense.
This trade would turn Green into two smaller expirings. D’Angelo Russell is at roughly $6.0 million, and Kris Murray around $5.3 million, so the Wolves save a little over $3.0 million immediately without taking back any long-term money. That might not sound massive, but the difference lets the Wolves get Kuminga for their open power forward role.
Russell coming back to Minnesota again would also be pretty funny, but he wouldn’t need some huge reunion role. He could give them another veteran ball-handler behind Ball, play 15 minutes some nights, and potentially become a buyout candidate later. Murray probably fits the actual roster better as a cheap 6-foot-8 forward who can defend, rebound, and survive without many touches.
For the Grizzlies, it’s basically a consolidation move. They just went 25-57, Russell doesn’t really appear to be part of anything long-term, and Murray is already fighting through a packed young roster for minutes. Josh Green is only 25, expires after the season, and has shown before that he can be a pretty nice two-way wing in the right role.
2. Lakers Turn Two Roster Problems Into A Solid Scorer
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Saddiq Bey
New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Jaden Hardy, Dalton Knecht
The Lakers missing out on Kuminga wasn’t a huge deal for them, but they’re still going into the season with one more player than allowed. They could still use another scoring forward around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and they currently have 16 guaranteed contracts when the regular-season limit is 15. So at some point, somebody has to go anyway.
That’s why Saddiq Bey feels like such a good fallback in my view. Bey has other tools, but he also isn’t getting paid anything close to the money Kuminga wanted. He’s on an expiring deal worth around $6.4 million after averaging 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 45.1% from the field and 36.7% from three last season. For that salary, that’s ridiculous value.
He’d also be very easy to use next to Luka. Bey can stand in the corner, shoot above the break, attack smaller defenders, and score without needing many touches. The Lakers already have defenders like Jarred Vanderbilt, Quentin Grimes, and Matisse Thybulle for harder assignments, so Bey wouldn’t need to suddenly become their main stopper.
The roster math is probably even more attractive than the basketball fit. Jaden Hardy makes roughly $6.0 million and Dalton Knecht around $4.2 million, so Los Angeles would send out about $10.2 million and take back only $6.4 million. That’s around $3.8 million saved, and two roster spots become one. Suddenly, the Lakers are at 15 players without waiving somebody for nothing.
Neither Hardy nor Knecht looks guaranteed to have a major role anyway. Hardy averaged 6.9 points in limited minutes last season, while Knecht fell all the way to 4.2 points in Year 2 after a much more promising rookie campaign. Both still have enough offensive talent to be interesting somewhere else, but Los Angeles doesn’t really have time to keep waiting for every young guard to figure it out.
The Pelicans have a reason to think about it too. Bey is 27, becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer, and New Orleans already has Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Bennedict Mathurin, Micah Peavy, and other wings needing touches and minutes. Instead of possibly losing Bey for nothing, they get two younger scoring bets.
For the Lakers, though, this is almost too convenient. They lose two guys who might be buried anyway, fix their roster-count issue, save money, and add a forward who just averaged nearly 18 points. After losing Kuminga, that’s a pretty nice Plan B.
1. Nuggets Finally Move Zeke Nnaji
Denver Nuggets Receive: Cam Christie, Baba Miller, 2031 second-round pick
LA Clippers Receive: Zeke Nnaji, 2032 second-round pick (via Kings)
Denver’s offseason has made one thing pretty clear: the Nuggets are trying to get cheaper wherever they can without touching the core around Nikola Jokic.
The Peyton Watson situation showed that perfectly. Watson just had a breakout season, but Denver couldn’t afford to match the $88 million contract Cleveland eventually gave him, as they were already deep in the second apron after re-signing Spencer Jones. The Nuggets instead turned his departure into future draft capital and moved on, so Zeke Nnaji feels like the next obvious salary to clean up.
He’s making around $7.5 million this season and another $7.5 million in 2027-28 after averaging just 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.0 minutes last year. That’s simply too much money for somebody who isn’t part of the playoff rotation, especially for a team already paying Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun huge money.
The Nuggets also don’t really need him. They have Jokic, Gordon, DaRon Holmes II, Marvin Bagley III, Trevon Brazile, and several other frontcourt options. Losing Nnaji wouldn’t create a huge rotation hole.
The Clippers are a much more interesting fit because their center depth still has some uncertainty. Brook Lopez is 38, Yanic Niederhauser is still working his way back from a long-term injury, and Isaiah Jackson can’t be expected to handle every backup minute if somebody goes down.
Nnaji isn’t exciting, but that’s kind of the point. He’s 25, 6-foot-10, has NBA experience, and can give the Clippers another actual body at both frontcourt spots while Niederhauser gets healthy.
The trade just needs a little extra salary coming back because the Clippers already used most of the trade exception they created in the John Collins deal. Cam Christie and Baba Miller get Denver close enough while also lowering the Nuggets’ payroll significantly.
Christie and Miller combine for roughly $4.0 million, so Denver saves around $3.5 million immediately. Once the luxury-tax impact is included, the real savings become much larger. Denver can also send the 2032 second-round pick via the Kings they just picked up in the Watson deal. Nothing premium is changing hands. It’s basically Los Angeles getting compensated a little for helping Denver escape a contract it clearly doesn’t need.
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