NBA Trade Rumors: 4 fun, realistic LeBron James trade ideas for 2023
By Dan Knitzer
The Trade: LeBron James to Denver Nuggets for Michael Porter Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, 2030 first-round pick swap, 2025, 2026, 2029, and 2030 second-round draft picks
The Denver Nuggets are even more pick-depleted than the Philadelphia 76ers, so come this summer, all they can offer is a 2030 first-round pick swap. Why then would the Lakers entertain this offer headlined by someone with back issues as serious as Porter Jr.?
Because he’s the most talented player being dangled in any of these trades, and teams always talk themselves into the best-case scenarios with guys like that.
Independent of Porter Jr., former Laker KCP (whose medium-range salary is necessary for this deal) will have value to them, or to any win-now team in need of 3-and-D guards. Perhaps in lieu of—or in addition to —the second-round picks, they’d demand Christian Braun, Zeke Nnaji, or another young, cheap bench player.
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For Denver, trading away two three-point marksmen would not be without its drawback, but LeBron is still LeBron, and the Denver Nuggets would be fools to take their championship window for granted.