NBA Teams Tanking For Wembanyama Could Force A Buyer’s Trade Market

With the hype around 2023 NBA Draft prospect Victor Wembanyama reaching almost unreasonable levels, teams around the association are gearing up for what could be the tanking of our lifetimes post the trade deadline.

That, in fairness, makes sense. Wembanyama is the most intriguing prospect since LeBron James and projects as a clear-cut franchise superstar, health permitting.

An interesting subplot to the inevitable tanking will be that of the trade market. In order to be as bad as possible, teams will need to sell off quality pieces, especially their veterans, which means competitive teams could find themselves in a buyer’s market.

Below are three teams that should all be aggressive on the trade market later in the season, in order to upgrade their roster.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls are clearly trying to win, having signed former All-Stars Andre Drummond and Goran Dragić to contracts over the summer, adding them to the established core of veterans, led by Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vučević.

What the Bulls also have in their possession, somewhat interestingly, is a fair chunk of young players. Patrick Williams, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Dalen Terry are all on cost-controlled deals for this season.

Williams has yet to break out as the team had hoped for, but does still offer a strong 6’8, 225 frame with two-way upside. Dosunmu proved to be a young starting caliber guard, who like Williams has two-way upside, but unlike Williams is closer to realizing it.

Terry is untested, but an energetic spark plug who does a little bit of everything, and could find himself in a rotation not long from now due to his size (6’7 with a 7’1 wingspan), and positional flexibility that allows him to play three positions.

For rebuilding teams, moving out veterans for young players should be attractive, especially as youth is rarely tied to winning. Last year, Harrison Barnes was an often rumored name for the Bulls prior to the deadline, and he could resurface in trade talks if the Kings are dead in the water in the middle of the season.

It’s also not inconceivable that the Detroit Pistons spend half the year building up the trade value of Bojan Bogdanović, only to flip him later for another young piece, in which case the Bulls could make for an attractive destination.

There are options for the Bulls on the trade market, as long as they’re willing to go all-in. Given that they gave up most of their future draft picks for Vučević and DeRozan, logic dictates they should at least be willing to explore.

Los Angeles Lakers

While Russell Westbrook is rumored on a daily basis to find himself in another uniform, it might behoove the Lakers to hang onto the point guard until the midway point of the season, and letting teams get desperate for a proper tank commander.

Right now, teams are demanding the Lakers relinquish two first-round selections for them to take on Westbrook’s contract, but that price could get pushed down if a team like the Spurs are finding themselves slightly too good near the trade deadline.

Acquiring Westbrook at this stage of his career, and letting him do whatever he wants on the floor, is not going to improve any roster. He’ll put up a lot of numbers, but do so inefficiently, while piling up turnovers.

The Lakers, who are in drastic need of quality depth around James and Anthony Davis, would likely settle for a group of role players, as long as they needn’t relinquish draft capital.

One team the Lakers should keep an eye on are the New York Knicks, who could go either way during their season. They have a talented roster, but the individual pieces have yet to work collectively. Would the Lakers be interested in swinging a deal centered around Westbrook and Julius Randle?

Perhaps the Lakers could also give Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier a strong look in Charlotte, as they could be looking to get substantially worse in the coming months.

Regardless, the Lakers may have a more attractive trade piece on their hands in Westbrook than most assume, and it’s all due to Wembanyama.

Miami Heat

As I wrote about recently, the Heat need to do something. They stood path during the summer when everyone around them got better, and their roster is still screaming for a talent injection.

The challenge for Miami is that they have very little to offer in any deal. Tyler Herro, due to his contract extension, now has Poison Pill status which makes him difficult to trade, and the mid-tier contracts they do have, in Duncan Robinson, Victor Oladipo, and Caleb Martin simply aren’t going to fetch a ton.

This might force them to explore what they can get for rookie forward Nikola Jović and their 2023 first-round selection, should they be willing to fork over those two assets.

(Miami owes their 2025 first-rounder to Oklahoma City, and are thus not able to attach their 2024 or 2026 selections.)

Of course, giving up Jović is no small thing as the 6’10 forward has vast all-around upside, not to mention a knack for putting the ball in the basket. It’s almost ironic that he fits what Miami needs, only years from now.

The Heat could be looking at similar players as the Bulls, given they also have a positional need at the power forward position. Both Bogdanović and Barnes would instantly improve Miami’s offense, and provide them with some much needed punch in the playoffs.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.