u/Coll_MindElectric

Denver uses the seconds they have to get out of the 2nd apron.

Nuggets get a decent PG in Porter Jr, athletic wing in Tomline, and protected first for Watson.

Nuggets two young players with good athleticism and size to match their new roster identity. They also dump Nnaji to get under the 2nd Apron. You can also put Strawther into this trade to compensate for Nnaji and Lonnie Walker possibly getting the vet min.

Cavs get Watson and dump Schroder for essentially a 2nd round pick. They retain Strus to trade at the deadline to fill any observed needs.

Hornets get some capital for taking on Schroders contract whilst exchanging some 2027 draft surplus to 2028.

DEN: Watson is not going to get his initial asking price of 25M from anyone due to how wary GMs of his health and the 2nd Apron. He then is S&T to the Clippers on a friendlier deal for Dunn, two 1sts and a 2nd. The Nuggets then use their seconds to trade for Champagnie and offload Nnaji to Brooklyn. They are now able to trade their own firsts or the picks from the Clippers for additional moves going forward and have +10M in cap space for other FA signings.

LAC: Clippers get a team friendly deal on Watson and an expiring on Clowney. I suspect the contract will have some kind of team option or player option in the 2nd or 3rd year.

WAS: Wizards ensure playing time for both of their promising wings in Will Riley and AJ Dybantsa in their rebuild while also getting some more 2nds through trading Champagnie who would be stripped of minutes next season. They also get an expiring rookie in Strawther who they can choose to develop or trade at the deadline for more draft capital.

BRK: Nets use their cap space to get more draft capital as they continue their rebuild. Nnaji's contract should have no bearing to their roster construction for the next two seasons and is not large enough to warrant more than two seconds.

DEN: Nuggets S&T Watson to the Clippers for DJJ and a few picks which open the ability to trade a first. They also acquire Jackson (athletic PG), Filipowski (upside PF/C), Mykhailiuk (vet shooter), and KCP (vet defender) from the Pacers and Jazz to create a cheap but solid bench.

LAC: Clippers get Watson. Rumors say they are interested in Kuminga but imo he is a walking drama mill that the organization should just avoid.

IND: Pacers are offered a solid guard in Strawther and some good picks for Quenton Jackson who is expected to have limited minutes with how many guards there are in IND. This is probably a overpay so I might change this to be one second instead.

UTA: Jazz get a valuable first for taking on some contracts that can be shipped or waived in a year, Filipowski and Svi who will be on limited minutes with their stacked frontcourt, and two seconds in next years weak draft class which they have too many of.

Denver: They need a PG to lead the bench and Rollins is an amazing piece as a 6th man. They also look to improve their defense by trading for Champagnie for a few valuable seconds and Strawther.

Milwaukee: The Bucks do a straight swap for Watson in their rebuild with Burries and Jakucionis being their new young backcourt in their rebuild.

Washington: Champagnie is going to lose minutes and his age does not match the timeline of this new youth roster. So Denver offers some very good firsts and an expiring but fine player in Strawther who they can keep or let walk.

DEN: The Nuggets reset their depth with multiple tool wings and a serviceable PG. This lowers their ceiling as a contender but secures more pieces who can slot into various roles over the course of the season.

LAC: Clippers get Watson for some expiring veterans in their soft rebuild.

WAS: Wizards get more picks in their war chest for Champagnie who will lose minutes to Dybantsa and Riley.

BOS: Celtics get a better wing in Cameron Johnson for Hauser and a low quality pick. Cam will be a very good piece in Boston's position less offense.

Nuggets offload salary to sign Watson on a "prove it" deal and for a serviceable 3&D player in Grant Williams that can come off the bench. They also look to build wing depth by trading for Julian Champagnie who will lose a lot of minutes between AJ, Riley, and now Middleton. Julian Strawther is a good scorer but I think Denver is looking to build defensive depth around Jokic moving forward.

Hornets take on Cameron Johnson as both a tradeable piece they can flip to another contender and as a stable piece that can mentor Kon and Bridges.

Wizards look to accrue more valuable seconds via Champagnie who will have a hard time getting minutes now with their current direction. Strawther is an oversized SG they can extend on a cheap deal and develop into a microwave scorer off the bench.

With a lot on the line, Denver looks to shakeup the roster's identity to focus on surrounding Jokic with defense and more athleticism. Starting with Murray, Denver trades him and Cameron Johnson for FVV, Jabari, and DFS to give both the PG and PF positions some additional defense and size. This trade lowers the ceiling of the team but improves defense and retains playmaking in FVV. For Aaron Gordon, The Nuggets get a excellent player in Vassell and move up in the draft to get either more slashing in Dailyn Swain or high upside bigs in Chris Cenac Jr. or Jayden Quaintance. Braun is then made into a solid 6/7th man whilst resigning key players in Watson, Jones, and Brown.

For the Rockets, they look to fill the offensive gaps with upside in both Murray and Cameron Johnson who help give more shooting that covers the issues of both Sengun and Amen. This trade also give them more ball handling as Cameron Johnson has shown solid secondary playmaking chops when paired with Jokic.

Lastly, Nuggets dump Nnaji as per rumors to the Bulls for some seconds that they may use in future trades.

The Nuggets look to retool the roster to involve more defense around Jokic, trading up in the draft as rumors have circulated, and open cap space to resign key players. To do this, they send out Cameron Johnson and Aaron Gordon (+the 26th pick) to the Pistons and Spurs respectively and receive PJ Washington, Isaiah Stewart, and the 20th pick in the draft which they use to draft Dailyn Swain. They also dump Nnaji's contract to the rebuilding Mavs.

Spurs look to raise their ceiling at the PF position and bet on one of the most impactful role players in the league in Aaron Gordon for Devin Vassell. AG's injury history is risky but his upside to stretch the floor, defend multiple positions, and rebound is something I think the Spurs ought to bet on alongside Wemby who often gets gassed having to shoulder most of those duties. I also trust the personnel of the Spurs to better manage AG than the Nuggets. Also, the 26th pick they receive may be used to draft another defender like Zuby Ejiofor or Tarris Reed Jr.

Pistons are expected to use Beef Stew to look for premier shooting to pair alongside Cade through Cameron Johnson who shot 40% from three this season whilst being a pretty good defender.

Mavericks are getting a great deal in this trade by receiving Vassell and taking on Nnaji while dumping Caleb Martin's contract for PJ and 2 seconds. I think they could give a first instead but idk.

Nets act as a salary dump for Caleb and Tolu for a SRP. Denver could add another second here or maybe the DET 2027 SRP could be added.

Credit to u/MasterP_istons for the Detroit-Denver Trade concept,

Overview:

The Pistons trade for Cameron Johnson who would be their new staring PF for LeVert, Sasser, and their 2029 FRP which goes to the Nets. The Pistons can use more shooting and ball handling and Cam is a versatile player who can provide both without being a cone defensively. Despite his lower counting stats this season, his efficiency as a 3-point scorer and solid ball handling would help raise the floor of the Pistons who desperately need more people who can help Cade in the offense.

The Nuggets look to save as much salary as possible while receiving some decent guard depth and some cheap seconds in this years draft by trading Braun, Johnson, their 2026 FRP (#26) and SRP (#49). Getting Mann, LeVert, and Sasser would (hopefully) solve the guard depth issue and open more cap space to resign Watson who would be the new starting SF alongside Levert at SG.

The Nets get another FRP in this years draft and another FRP in 2029 from the Pistons in exchange for taking on Brauns contract and sending Mann to the Nuggets. To be honest, I am unsure of how many picks the Nets need to take on Braun so I'm leaving it at two for now.