New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Kevin Durant to Toronto, Hawks Acquire Elite Shooting

The offseason is here for 28 teams in the NBA. The NBA finals have arrived and there are only two teams left alive with hopes of making it to the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Heading into this offseason, the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, and Phoenix Suns are all searching for the next steps to take as a franchise, which is different for all three.

Atlanta is going to be a team worth watching. Most will point to a potential Trae Young trade, but that does not appear likely (for now) and Atlanta may move forward with this core of Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu. If the Hawks decide to do that, they need to improve their bench in a big way this offseason. Due to the NBA's CBA and apron rules, you are going to be seeing a lot more three-team trades between teams so salaries can move around. Atlanta could try to attach themselves to a big deal and add some pieces to their bench if they opt to move forward with this starting five. The Hawks need interior defense, frontcourt depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. This is not a great free agent class to be filling those needs, so could the Hawks look to the trade market? NBA insider Marc Stein has already reported that Atlanta could look to be facilitators this summer in the trade market due to their financial flexibility, depending on if the team brings back any of Caris LeVert, Clint Capela, or Larry Nance.

Phoenix is in perhaps the bleakest situation in the entire NBA. They do not control their own draft picks for the rest of the decade, they are in the dreaded second apron and have little means to improve, and are stuck with the Bradley Beal contract, which has a no-trade clause. It seems like the only way that the Suns can improve their team is if they decide to trade one or both Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, with Durant being the far more likely option. What kind of return would Durant get the Suns given his age and injury history? It is one of the more fascinating questions in the NBA.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Durant "is expected to have a robust market of approximately four to six seriously interested teams this offseason, sources said."

Charania added on NBA Today that the Suns "will work with Durant and his business partner, Rich Kleiman" to find a new home for the 15-time All-Star.

Toronto is always an interesting team to watch and there are already rumblings of them trying to chase a star player, with most pointing to Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially being the target. If Antetokounmpo does not want to leave though, what will the Raptors do? Stand pat or go after another star to put around their interesting collection of wing players? According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Raptors are a team that is interested in acquiring Durant.

So how about a trade where each of these teams tries to fill a need?

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Hawks Receive: Grayson Allen and Royce O'Neale

Raptors Receive: Kevin Durant

Suns Receive: Jakob Poeltl, RJ Barrett, Terance Mann, Vit Krejci, a 2027 top-five protected 1st round pick (via TOR), a 2027 2nd round pick (from ATL, via CLE), a 2029 2nd round pick (from ATL, via CLE), and a 2031 2nd round pick (from ATL, via TOR)

Why the Hawks do this trade: They add two knockdown shooters to address one of their biggest problems from last season. Both Allen and O'Neale shot above 40% from three last season and would give the Hawks a big boost there. O'Neale is a solid defender and has plenty of familiarity with Quin Snyder from their days in Utah. This is about getting more knockdown shooters to put around Trae Young. They are still under the luxury tax after this deal. Atlanta gets off the Mann contract, keeps Kobe Bufkin, and keeps both first-round picks. Their bench is set up to help them win more games.

Why the Hawks don't do this trade: None of these players are on expiring deals and in a year or two, they might age poorly. Perhaps Atlanta would rather have the extra first-round pick plus the second-rounders. None of the players they acquire are game-changers and can be targeted on defense.

Why the Suns do this trade: It has been reported the Suns want a center back in any Durant deal and Poeltl is a solid option. Barrett is a good player on a reasonable deal while Krejci and Mann help replenish the bench. This move also gets the Suns under the second apron.

Why the Suns don't do this deal: They think they could get more in a deal for Durant with another team. In a loaded Western Conference, this does not even make them a playoff team in all likelihood.

Why the Raptors do this deal: If Toronto got Durant, they are probably a safe bet in a down Eastern Conference to at least make the playoffs. They get to keep the 9th pick of the draft and have plenty of other draft assets to make another move if they wanted to.

Why the Raptors don't do this deal: This is an oddly put together team. What would the starting lineup look like and does Toronto have a viable bench? Durant is still very good, but is 37 and has had injury problems in the past. This move comes with considerable risk for a team that is far removed from being a contender.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hawks as New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Kevin Durant to Toronto, Hawks Acquire Elite Shooting .