With the NBA draft complete and most of the big free agents signed, all eyes turn to the trade market this summer.
The Damian Lillard watch is still on. While the superstar point guard reportedly prefers the Miami Heat, a number of other teams have inquired about his services, including one that could have a former teammate of Lillard's do some serious recruiting.
The future of James Harden is still up in the air, as is Pascal Siakam's with the Toronto Raptors.
The following trade ideas based on the latest reporting would find new homes for some of the biggest names in the news and create arguably the biggest threat in the West to the Denver Nuggets.
San Antonio Gets Jusuf Nurkic in Salary Dump from Portland
San Antonio Spurs Receive: C Jusuf Nurkic
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: C Khem Birch, $16.9 million trade exception
In addition to finding a Damian Lillard trade, the Blazers will likely want to find a new home for Jusuf Nurkic, as the 28-year-old no longer fits Portland's rebuilding timeline.
As HoopsHype's Michael Scotto writes, "Portland is also expected to discuss Jusuf Nurkic as part of trade packages surrounding Lillard, league sources told HoopsHype."
Trying to match salaries with Lillard, who's set to earn $45.6 million this upcoming season, is one thing. Adding Nurkic's money onto a deal brings the total to $62.4 million, as the veteran center still has three years and $54.4 million remaining on his own deal. Finding a separate deal for Nurkic would be far easier.
Without including Lillard, Portland and San Antonio work as trade partners for Nurkic.
The Spurs were interested in signing Jakob Poeltl this summer before he ultimately agreed to return to the Toronto Raptors. Having a big, physical center like Poeltl or Nurkic on the roster is smart, as it prevents Victor Wembanyama from having to defend opposing centers night after night.
San Antonio still has $26.1 million of cap space according to HoopsHype's Yossi Gozlan, the most of any NBA team. They can take on Nurkic without having to send any salary back at all if needed.
For Portland, swapping Nurkic for Birch saves the team $9.9 million immediately off the cap. Birch's expiring $7 million contract could go into an existing $8.3 million trade exception, which would create a new trade exception equal to Nurkic's $16.9 million contract. The Blazers would then have one calendar year to take in a player (or players) up to this amount without having to send salary back in return.
This would be a smart deal for both sides, as the Spurs get a quality center and some Wembanyama insurance with Nurkic while Portland saves nearly $50 million in salary moving forward and creates a significant trade exception.