New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Sabonis to Warriors, Kuminga to Kings, Hawks Add Shooting

One of the more intriguing stories of the upcoming NBA offseason is what the Warriors will do in regards to building up their roster around the pairing of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler. They took care of a young Rockets team in seven games before ultimately faltering against the Timberwolves in the second round. A significant reason for being eliminated was due to Curry's injury. Without him, the Warriors lacked a true initiator for their offense and couldn't keep up with Minnesota.

Accordingly, it would add a different complexion to their team if they were to bring in another star player capable of initiating their offense alongside Curry. One star that could be avaliable for the right price is Kings center Domantas Sabonis. The Kings have Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Keegan Murray, but is that even worthy of a play-in spot in a stacked Western Conference? It might be worth turning the All-Star big man into long-term players and draft capital capable of ushering in the next era of Kings basketball.

Atlanta is going to be a team worth watching due to their financial flexibility. Due to the moves they made at the deadline, they have $40 million in cap space flexibility under the luxury tax threshold. Of course, they could bring back one or multiple of Caris LeVert, Clint Capela and Larry Nance Jr. Even so, it shouldn't eat into their avaliable cap room by too much. They can attach themselves to a big deal and add some pieces to their bench if they opt to move forward with a starting five of Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu. Before next season, the Hawks need interior defense, frontcourt depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. It's possible they could solve one of those needs by being part of a Sabonis trade.

Given the state of all three rosters, what would a trade between them look like? Here is one possible framework.

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: Buddy Hield, 2026 1st round pick swap (via GSW)

Warriors Receive: Domantas Sabonis, Vit Krejci, Keon Ellis, 2026 2nd round pick (via SAC), 2027 2nd round pick (via SAC)

Kings Receive: Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga (S&T to 4-YR, $121M contract), 2027 1st round pick (via GSW, unprotected), 2031 1st round pick swap (via GSW),

Why the Hawks do this trade: Hield is a proven high-volume shooter that shot 37% from deep on 6.7 attempts per game and was pivotal in the Warriors' Game 7 win over Houston, scoring 33 points to close the Rockets out. When his three-point shot is on, he can power an offense and excels as an off-ball shooter that takes advantage of the gravity created by stars. Trae Young is not Steph Curry, but it's easy to extrapolate how Hield might work with an elite playmaker like Young from his success this year with the Warriors. His defense is limited, but there's little doubt that he can help Atlanta's shooting. Furthermore, he's under contract for the next three seasons and could be used as either matching salary for a star if the move doesn't work or he could be flipped to a contender if he plays especially well next season.

Why the Hawks do not do this trade: Hield has moved around a lot because he doesn't bring a lot of value if his shot isn't falling. He is a neutral defender at best, but he does give a lot of effort on that end. The problem is that unlike the Warriors, Atlanta does not have the defensive infrastructure to make up for his defensive lapses. Adding another iffy defender to an already questionable defense would be a problem in 2025-26. Krejci isn't a great defender either, but he at least has the size to stay in front of forwards while also being able to occasionally guard ball-handlers.

Why the Warriors do this trade: The two-man game of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis was vital to the Kings' success when they made the playoffs two seasons ago - swapping out Fox for Curry would take that to new heights. Even at 37, Curry still demands an enormous amount of attention and his ability to function on and off the ball frees up Sabonis to serve as a playmaker. Sabonis took strides as a shooter from deep this season (career-best 40% on 2.2 attempts per game) and had the best rebounding season of his career. He isn't a true floor spacing center, but his playmaking, rebounding and ability to create offense for himself alongside Curry and Jimmy Butler give the Warriors three legitimate scoring options while allowing Draymond Green to be freed up from serving as a full-time center. Green will also have additional defensive help in the form of Keon Ellis - he's one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and forces turnovers due to his active style of defense. Krejci isn't a household name, but he shot over 40% from three for the second straight season, going for a career-high 43.7% this season on an average of 3.6 attempts per game. In fact, Krejci ranked in the 92nd percentile in three-point accuracy per Cleaning the Glass. He was a deadly accurate shooter and should fit well in the Warriors' system.

Why the Warriors do not do this trade: Sabonis struggles on defense and can easily be targeted in isolation. There is also the possibility that adding three players who are at their best initiating the offense might be too much to handle. Furthermore, the Warriors would be giving up a significant amount of their future draft capital in this deal, including an unprotected pick in 2027.

Why the Kings do this trade: Kuminga was not maximized in the Warriors' system, but there's a chance he could be a more effective player with greater opportunities in Sacramento. He's only 22 years old and he's an excellent finisher at the rim, shooting 72% from that range (87th percentile among all forwards). Furthermore, Kuminga is excellent at drawing free throws, finishing in the 94th percentile among all forwards for drawing contact after being fouled on 16.5% of his shots. That is often an indicator of star upside and even though Kuminga hasn't consistently shown that, he did score 30 points for the Warriors when they needed him in Game 3 against the Timberwolves. If he can improve his shooting and develop a respectable three-point shot, he could be a very useful player for the Kings for years to come. Moody is a solid guard who spaces the floor well, shooting 37.4% from deep while taking 4.6 threes per game. Considering the Kings finished 19th in 3P% last year, adding a shooter like Moody would be helpful for their offense. Sacramento also gets a good amount of draft capital to add more cost-controlled talent to their roster in the next iteration of their franchise.

Why the Kings do not do this trade: This is a massive bet on Kuminga's potential to be at least a second option on their team for the foreseeable future. He would be under a new contract in this deal and the Kings wouldn't have an easy way to get off of it should their gamble fail. Fortunately, they do retain control over all their draft picks going forward, so they can go into a full-scale rebuild if the team does not meet expectations. Losing a talented, young defender like Ellis when they already had significant defensive issues would also be tough for the Kings to handle.

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