The Brooklyn Nets are currently the closest squad to a super team in the NBA. With Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant slated to be teammates next year, the Nets should be heavily favored to win the championship in 2022.
The Lakers and Warriors are on the verge of forming a super team, but with injuries to some of their best players and question marks over freedom of action, the Nets have the tightest squad of any team in the league.
While the teams try to improve their respective teams in the off-season, three super teams could be formed to challenge the Nets for the title. By analyzing the top blockbuster deals across the league, here are three teams that could be put together with the best chances of beating the hotly contested nets this season.
Lakers super team: LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Damian Lillard
Damian Lillard Trade Pack: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Talen Horton-Tucker (Sign-and-Trade), Alex Caruso (Sign-and-Trade), Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, 2027 First Round Pick
The Lakers are expected to lose Dennis Schroder to the free agency, which means the team will have a huge hole in point guard. Schroder is expected to ask for a salary between $ 15 million and $ 20 million. The Lakers are nearing the luxury tax line and cannot afford to bring Schröder back. To fill the point guard position, but also to form a super team, the Lakers can let Schroder run and swap for Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.
There is growing uncertainty that Lillard will want to stay in Portland after Terry Stotts is removed. Even with a new head coach at Chauncey Billups, Lillard hasn't publicly stated that he wants to stay in town. With this package, the Trail Blazers could stay competitive as Billups got wet feet in the early years of his coaching career.
Horton-Tucker and Caruso would have to be sign-and-trade deals, while Harrell would have to take his player's option. Caruso could take the position of point guard while Caldwell-Pope, Horton-Tucker and Harrell would add depth to a team that lacks it. As for kuzma, he could start or come off the bank.
Lillard, LeBron, and Davis would make a tempting trio. With the amount of all-star appearances and all-NBA selections these three have, it would be hard to stop this team. With a two year window at LeBron and his contract, that deal would give LeBron the help he needs to secure his fifth and sixth championships.
Heat Superteam – Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Bradley Beal
Trade package for Bradley Beal: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson (Sign-and-Trade), Andre Iguodala, Okpala Concentration Camp, 2024 First Round Pick
After reaching the NBA Finals last season, the heat fell on their faces this season. The team didn't look consistent and was eventually swept in the first round of the playoffs. Victor Oladipo hasn't played more than four games since joining the team and he appears to be around the corner. There are questions about how much longer Jimmy Butler would like to stay. So if the Heat were to try to survive in the east, they would need another star player.
When the Heat made it to the NBA Finals last year, Durant wasn't playing and Harden wasn't part of the team. A super team must be eliminated by another super team. The addition of Bradley Beal, the NBA runner-up in the scoring race, would allow the Heat to maintain their defensive identity but add an established goalscorer to help Butler.
Sniper Duncan Robinson would have to be signed and acted, while Iguodala would have to be relocated for wage reasons. The package would revolve around Tyler Herro, who averaged 15.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists in his sophomore season. The 21-year-old has many high scores from his rookie year, in which he averaged 13.5 points and 4.1 rebounds, but was the team's second best scorer on the way to the NBA final.
The Wizards have a rebuild on the horizon so Herro would be a young player to build the team around. The same applies to Robinson (27) and a future first-round pick. As for the heat, this would give the franchise a more complete team.
Warriors Superteam – Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Joel Embiid
Trade Pack for Joel Embiid: Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, No. 7, No. 14 Selection
The Warriors have the feeling of "last dance". Steph Curry is 33 years old while both Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are 31 years old. After five consecutive NBA finals and winning three titles, the past two years have been plagued by injuries that missed the playoffs every three and two years.
Thompson hasn't played a full season in two years, so there's no realizing he's a fraction of his all-star self. The combination of curry and green is not enough to put this team in 8th place in the Western Conference ranking. Between the injury and the story, the Warriors must find a way to get a player to mate with this group in order to bring the Warriors back to the NBA Finals.
That player would be Philadelphia's Joel Embiid. The Warriors need a center and Embiid would fit well into that group. When he's healthy, Embiid is an MVP candidate who averaged 28.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and shot over 37% from a three-point range. James Wiseman has the potential to be a great player in this league, but the Warriors now have to win and can't wait for Wiseman to grow up.
The 76ers have to decide if the team wants to roll another year with Ben Simmons and Embiid. If they think Embiid would get more in return, the Warriors could offer Andrew Wiggins, Wiseman, and two first-round picks from this year's draft.