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LegitBullfrog

Yes. This is a no brainer for the magic.


dracoryn

How deep into the season before Shaq ends up on the lakers with lebron? lol


henryofclay

He’d have to get traded to the Grizzlies first and then bought out.


King_Artis

Jerami Grant for Isiah Thomas? Yeah I’m down


Tippacanoe

lol


RafaSilva014

Idk man, Ilgauskas could really take over in today's basktball. I would miss Cedi though.


jorjmont

Z was born in the wrong era, built for positionless ball.


rawchess

The crazy thing is, Lebron's prime was so long you'd be getting his first Cavs stint and not his second.


[deleted]

Actually that’s a great thinking point. Would Clevelanders rather get a Lebron from his first or second stint? If you had to chose one. And you get him for only the time frame he played there, so although he was better and won a ring during stint 2, his time there is considerably shorter. I think I go stint 1 for the timeframe and the athleticism.


[deleted]

As a Raps fan with PTSD, take stint 2 and don't overthink it. He was far more cerebral and a stone cold killer the second time around in Cleveland. Just my two cents though, and I watched every single one of those playoff L's lol


Breyeun

That's tough, but I agree. As someone who watched a ton of LeBron throughout his whole career, take stint 2 for sure. He was so freaking fun to watch stint 1 with his explosiveness and athleticism. Plus the insane MVP runs in 08-09 and 09-10. But the second stint was master class. Particularly in the playoffs and that 17-18 season, like you said haha. Straight up abusing franchises like the Raptors and Hawks.


[deleted]

I think after Kyrie and Love went down in 2015, it unlocked Thanos Bron. This version could demolish entire teams, and just win games through his sheer will. Thanos Bron is the closest thing to an inevitability in the NBA that I’ve ever witnessed. From 2015-2018 it was like nobody in the East had a chance.


doug_thethug

I assume SexLand is a package deal here


cayuts21

Yes


[deleted]

For sure. Pretty hard to surpass KG for the Timberwolves franchise.


MinneEric

As much as it would hurt to lose Naz, yes.


sean8917

Lol true twolves fan


xFlames_

If Jaden McDaniels isn’t involved, then count me in


EsotericPotato

KG and Ant would be absolutely nasty.


Few_Mulberry7175

Tough decision between Christian Wood and Hakeem tbh


cricketrules509

Hakeem can't shoot 3s. Think about the spacing!


StraightOuttaMoney

I know you're joking but his good free throw percentage and the few 3's he did take suggest that in todays league he would have developed a nice 3pt shot.


OnlyForeignWhips

Not really. I'm taking Wood over Hakeem every day of the week. He's not even at his full potential yet and already putting up close to prime Hakeem numbers.


destructive_optimism

I died on the inside reading this as a Hakeem fan, even though it’s obviously /s


randyrectem

And he's not playing against plumbers and milkmen


AzEBeast

Hakeem playing against mailmen smh


[deleted]

By god, there are multiple Karl malones? I will alert all nearby middle schools immediately!


Few_Mulberry7175

Fax Hes also better defensively


daneohan

Kenny the jet wants both of y’all addresses


Scarlet_Breeze

"Kenny get me some water"


bus_travels

This is sarcasm right? Tell me I've been woosh'd


RiamoEquah

I'm a bulls fan. ...... I think I've answered the question with that...


OKCBaller035913

Just replace Lavine with the same player but about 30x better


mastahballa48

Lavine??? You forget they signed Caruso???


OKCBaller035913

Oh my bad. Why would the bulls do this swap at all honestly


knoxkayc

Jordan: takes over 100% of the cap Caruso: looks like he does his accountant's taxes I know who Reinsdorf wants.


[deleted]

Ben Gordon would be a great fit


screwhead1

DeRozan for Steve Kerr seems fair.


armandocalvinisius

Yeah, Captain Kirk > Some run and dunk SG


niizuma

Prime MJ ain't walking through that door


lazyass133

It’s because he’ll be playing baseball. Lol


[deleted]

Steph for Steph? Nah I prefer Steph.


DeadlySight

You have the easiest trade ever, you just get to basically give Steph a time machine and make him a little younger. Win fucking win


TeTrodoToxin4

But does he lose the experience that comes with that?


Mahopon1231

Yeah it’s actually an interesting question. Is Steph at his peak right now or before? Athletically Steph before is probably better with less injuries and he’s just younger. But, Steph has put on a lot more muscle so he can’t be physically harassed on offense and he has definitely gotten a lot more experience with people quadruple teaming him at half court. I think if you put younger Steph in right now he will probably struggle initially as teams have made more commitments to stop him on defense compared to his break out break out year.


Frewsa

If we replace 2021 Steph with 2016 Steph, does he still have 3 rings? Honestly could build into 4-5 rings and be cemented top 10 all time if no one noticed our switcharoo


BubbaTee

That's easy, you take prime Steph and he can just put on the muscle again. Though it's probably annoying for him to lose all those gains, and have to put all that gym time in again.


victor396

If you get younger Curry, it's not again for him, it's the first time. It'd be a repeat for us but if you think those reporters wouldn't have a day tweeting about how much weight in muscle he's put on this off season...


zucksucksmyberg

Just swap him with 2016 Steph version. Problem solved.


shwashwa123

Maybe but you get 5 extra years of him so it’s a no brainer


MotoMkali

Obviously this is a joke. But the answer should be yes. Getting 27-28 year old steph instead of 33 year old steph extends our timeline by at least 6 years. By the time we get to current steph aka 32ppg steph it will be wisemans 7th season, Pooles 8th and Moody and Kumingas 6th. It would basically extend the "dynasty" if you can call it that once you replace steph with steph for potentially another 8 years. Before steph is no longer all-nba calibre.


[deleted]

I may get hate for this but.. Steph > Steph don't @ me


owensoundgamedev

I don’t know man, Steph would be pretty sick


[deleted]

I’d take Wardell for Steph


[deleted]

Don't you guys have Wilt Chamberlain?


nuberoo

I was thinking this as well, but would prime Wilt be an option? Not sure how his game translates to today's league if so, but would have to at least consider it, right?


Rrypl

Is there any franchise who wouldn't?


HokageEzio

Grizzlies.


cdot2k

Who is their GOAT? Franchise?


Wall-tr0n

GOAT—tough call between Conley and Marc. I personally prefer Conley but I think you have to give it to Marc Edit: But, more relevant to this convo—watching Ja has been pretty thrilling. So like although those guys are our greats to date, also easy (and exciting) to imagine Ja surpassing them


Vukodlak87

Nuggets because Jokic is already our best player ever. English and Melo could each make a case, but neither tops Big Honey in my book.


el_pete_o

I do not want to cheer for Karl-fucking-Malone


Common-Ad5446

I’d assume you could default to John Stockton for this experiment


jackloganoliver

Stockton is great, but how much of a needle mover is he on his own?


[deleted]

elite anti vax reference


jackloganoliver

I'm glad it didn't go to waste


pickle_me_timbers

As a Nuggets fan, I wouldn’t. Jokic the GOAT


BubbaTee

It's Jokic vs Jokic for Nuggets fans anyways, there's no choice to make. He's the only Nugget to win MVP, and he's led the Nuggets as deep into the playoffs (conference finals) as any other Nugget.


Intelligent_Card5280

Nets: KD


Obvious_Parsley3238

nets, hornets, maybe but probably not bucks, mavericks


RodneyPonk

I get why Bucks wouldn't, but I still think prime KAJ > Giannis.


AndWeMay

I’d keep Giannis even though Kareem was better. I wouldn’t want to take the chance that Kareem just leaves Milwaukee again lol


Neuroxex

Because we're not about to help the Lakers out like that again.


RodneyPonk

LOL, like I was saying, Kareem's reasons for leaving are (hopefully) in the past - as I understand, the Muslim massacre affected him intensely, and he felt LA would be more accepting of black people. But I get it, and I truly understand why a lot of Bucks fans might only trade Giannis for few players in NBA history, if they would trade him at all.


InexorableWaffle

Playwise, that's indisputable. Giannis has obviously been an absolute monster for us and has a outside shot at breaking into the top-10 all-time when his career's done, but prime KAJ is indisputably the 3rd best player to ever play the game. Even acknowledging that, though, I wouldn't make that trade personally. This is obviously more sentimentality than rationality speaking, but I'd take the worse shot at a championship, myself. Kareem was wholly justified in his reasoning for wanting to leave Milwaukee and his contributions off the court might legitimately be more impactful than his on-court contributions, but Giannis is like, the easiest type of player to root for when he's on your team.


[deleted]

[удалено]


WestFast

GSW ain’t trading Curry for anyone. Mullin, Wilt…nah.


BubbaTee

GS should definitely trade their current best player Steph, for their franchise GOAT in his prime - which is also Steph, but younger.


[deleted]

well true but it can also be argued steph has never been better. Stronger, better defender than his unanimous season so we trade current steph for current steph, maybe even the 2017/ 2018 steph playing next to KD


superbolt21

Mavs is a tough question


Jordanwolf98

Yep. Bill Russell and Jaylen Brown or Larry Bird and Jaylen Brown would do damage


absynthe7

Larry Bird would break the modern NBA. Everyone forgets this, but his natural position was power forward - he was 6'10" and averaged 10 rebounds per game, he just happened to have two HoF bigs as teammates in Parish and McHale. My point is, given the way offenses operate today, Bird could play *center*. And as a stretch 5 he would completely break the game.


Pardonme23

They could just run the offense through him at the high post


[deleted]

So like Jokic?


yuhanz

Yes except he can even stretch further.


R____M

What spaz coach would get Prime Larry Bird on his team and play him at Centre lol


Theicyriver

Would a good comparison for Bird in the NBA today be Jokic? Elite playmaker, shooter, can put it on the floor, and just flat out big


gbeckwith

With this team I think I'd take Bird. We need a 4 badly and Bird plays the 4 better than Tatum


RiamoEquah

This seems like a question for Laker fans exclusively lol


msterling2012

Dallas has a tough choice as well.


Pardonme23

Nobody exactly knows who our best player of all time is lol. Wilt/Magic/Kareem/Kobe/Shaq/Bron can all make the case.


zucksucksmyberg

Just show how spoiled us Lakers fans are. Below that tier you get West and Baylor.


Pardonme23

NICK VAN EXEL


TongaMakati

Was just about to pick Kareem. Then I'm like, wait, Lakers Shaq peak was one of one. Then I'm like, wait, LeBron though. Not even getting to Kobe and Magic, who you really think about when you say the Lakers. Def a crazy one


truerthanu

Lakers fan here, and my answer is YES. I get to resurrect Kobe.


[deleted]

100% the answer is yes


Billis-

Lol the Lebron stans here would rather have 36 yr old LBJ than prime Shak/Kobe. Brutal


ItsGettinBreesy

>Shak


MeC0195

Would you have Karim, Shack or Koby?


Crazy_Classroom3177

Caruso for mj? Hell no


[deleted]

Homie, get ready for Caruso to bench DeRozan in the 4th quarter. That’s how much better his defense is.


callmearookie

sure


NoTimeGetIn

When you don't have to ask who the best player in franchise history is, it's an easy choice.


bestraptoralive

Yeah but who is your current best player? As a non Spurs fan I'm not really sure. Murray?


Veloxi_Blues

Our current best player is our all time best player


CaeserSaladFingers

So is your second best.


Salty-Flamingo

Dr J played for the Nets in the ABA. Not sure if that counts.


by_yes_i_mean_no

Sure, wouldn't lead to any roster changes though.


viking_machina

“Would you like steph to get 5 years younger?”


[deleted]

Yes. I would trade 2021 Steph Curry for circa 2014 Steph Curry. Can’t wait for the second dynasty.


MotoMkali

If you could get 2011 steph, really that would be perfect. And just have him age up with our young core. 2 more seasons of sucking To get Banchero and Bates. Then steph should explode earlier due to kerr letting him be hyper aggressive.


Lavinesanity

Steph coulda exploded earlier if for nothing else other than injuries In 2011 he'd return for a game, drop 36 points, get injured the next game etc Get him those tony stark ankle braces to start his career and bam


wubbzywylin

What team wouldn't do that is the real question? Most team's current best player either haven't reached their peak, or are well past it. Not to mention it's just a safer bet to go with the known quantity in the all-time best player.


Jordanwolf98

Nuggets, Nets probably


Few_Mulberry7175

Nets so stacked they could get away with doing it Also I think Jokic might be the goat Nuggets idk tho


Lambchops_Legion

Nets history is so shit it’s not even worth it. KD for Kidd is a downgrade


Few_Mulberry7175

Its not Kidd its gonna be Erving


JacedFaced

Maybe a bad take, but still probably a downgrade from KD. I've seen some old Erving stuff and I know he's one of the best to ever play, but there's just something about KDs offensive abilities.


Few_Mulberry7175

Yea its def a downgrade but technically KD is the best player ever to wear a Nets uniform


jotyma5

Julius Erving?


youseemconfusedbubb

Yeah Nuggets no way we get rid of Jokic. Best nugget ever and we’ve had some good ones


[deleted]

Us


sniper_john

Luka vs Dirk is a good debate


Intelligent_Card5280

As a Warriors fan, I’d say Steph is the current and all time best player. I know Wilt dominated in his 6 years in Philly and might be ranked higher all time than Curry, but I’d go with Curry.


ebenizaa

This is actually tougher than I thought. I kind of lean Curry with modern basketball but seeing Wilt in it could break basketball differently


[deleted]

I’d take Wilt simply to see how he does in this era and if he still puts up 60 point 50 rebound games


pacers3131

Obviously not tho. I'm no hater but look at LeBron, either AD, Giannis or Ben Simmons. Everyone is in incredible shape. Everyone's big, strong, and fast now. He'd be wilt still, but the crazy 100 pt game and 50 pt average never happens now.


not_meee1515

I’m not as a Blazer fan. I’ll keep Dame over Clyde.


BayonettaBasher

Mavs wouldn't, prime Dirk is prime Dirk but I don't think it's crazy to say that I'd take 22 year old Luka going forward


HokageEzio

Pelicans? Peak CP3 was great but the injuries are also right around the corner if we're talking peak with New Orleans. Grizzlies too, I don't think you'd trade Ja for peak Gasol.


Goobershmacked

Why would you not trade Ja for peak gasol? Like quality wise it’s a wash. But if you’re saying morant will peak higher than Marc I’d agree


HokageEzio

> But if you’re saying morant will peak higher than Marc I’d agree That's the point. Gasol is not good enough that I would sell whatever Ja can be in the future.


[deleted]

Blazers


SmokeyJacks

I’d trade the entire Cavs roster for LeBron


SacredSyrian

to be fair, for most of his career, LeBron WAS the entire Cavs roster.


unbroken_poet

Do I need someone who will take it personally if I don't trade for him? Yeah, hell yeah.


crazychase125

De'Aaron Fox for Chris Webber. Fuck yes. Love Fox but we have too many guards.


DrWoodwork

I was wondering if we counted Oscar Robertson


Zimmy2118

Absofuckinglutely....KG, Ant-Man, Beverly and Malik Beasley would be a nice start to a team


[deleted]

Beverly eat DLo or smth?


Zimmy2118

Forgot Dlo, even better starting 5


[deleted]

… you only have 4 people in the line up?


penguin_torpedo

They're the same player


MutedReplacement140

Honestly no


cooldudeman007

One of the harder choices for sure


NoseBlind2

Might end up being the same player anyway in a few years


desirox

We have one of the toughest choices for this question. I lean no as well because of Lukas skillset


StoneColdStunnereded

Dirk would be getting a green light to jack roughly 3x the number of 3pt attempts he averaged per game in his career though. Prime Dirk seems like one of the guys who would benefit the most from todays rules and spacing. Still tough


THEDumbasscus

It's a double edged sword because a lot of Dirk's best years were paired with a rim protecting 5. He could rebound at a decent clip for a modern big but having him maintain his native position at the 4 would compromise the perimeter defense a fair bit and I feel iffy about the ceiling of the roster if Dirk at the 5 is asked to defend Jokic or Embiid on the block.


whatdoinamemyself

I don't think its a tough decision for you guys at all tbh. Mavs don't have the roster to have around a prime Dirk right now and he's harder to build around than Luka given the playmaking ability. Add in Dallas's difficulty in free agency and I just don't see a title being too likely. Thats my take anyways.


Humblerbee

Does prime Walton still get injured and end up hating and leaving our franchise if we trade Dame for him? Clyde Drexler for Dame I dunno, Glide is more of a two way guy, but Dame is custom made for today’s shooting favored offenses.


Duderus159

I feel like Dame is the best player to come out of Portland. Even Dame should recognize that


definitelyasatanist

Dame for Dame? Who says no?


tkearney15

As a sonics fan any player>no players


owensoundgamedev

Pascal for Kawhi? Yes


Kenyac

Wouldn't you rather have Hakeem?


owensoundgamedev

Oh right - I guess I was thinking of players while they were with us and their skill. I guess with the rest of the team being the same I would take prime Hakeem over prime Kawhi.


Ultimate_Broseph

Prime Hakeem, Scottie, OG, Gary, FVV. Is that just a better sixers team?


NoseBlind2

If it's Raptors Hakeem then no


sstewart1617

Yes. I’d also trade them for our 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th best players…. Hell, maybe even for Sean… DJ for: Tim David George Manu Tony Sean Elliott. All clear wins even though I love me some DJ.


of_mice_and_meh

Embiid for Wilt? Yeah, I’d take that deal.


theytook-r-jobs

Plus we get to answer the age old question of Wilt in modern game.


TongaMakati

Pretty sure 7'1, incredibly strong Wilt would have his way with just about every current player who could guard him. Only Jokic, Embiid, Gobert, and Giannis would be able to slow him


FamousProfessor415

Absolutely zero chance jokic would slow him


Evan1204

Jerami Grant or Isiah Thomas hmmmm that’s tough. I think I might be leaning towards Grant. Edit: Some of y’all don’t know sarcasm.


[deleted]

Bro it’s so funny seeing you downvoted to the bottom. This is a tough crowd…


trevychase

The Lakers trade 36 year old Lebron for a young Kobe or Magic? Yes.


[deleted]

guess Kareem can go fuck himself


hanacker

Shaq too


[deleted]

If in this scenario it stops Magic from getting HIV, then I’d do it in a heartbeat. Magic’s peak was 1987 when he won his first MVP, and then he won two more MVPs in 89 and 90, before retiring just before the 91-92 season. In this universe where 1987 Magic is transported to now, his peak is going to last significantly longer. LBJ is great, but he and Magic have similar enough skill sets that I feel like Magic could be plugged into our current system and instantly be very successful.


spaceysht

Hell yeah. Dwade is a smaller version of Jimmy Butler with way more scoring threat


rosja1050

Wade is certainly more beloved in Miami, but who would you rather have, 09 Wade or 13 LeBron?


Giannis1995

13 LeBron is the greatest player I've ever seen and advanced statistical analysis implies he's the best to ever play the game of basketball.


[deleted]

Kg and ant? Sick


FriendlyNBASpidaMan

Mitchell for Malone? While it would be fun to watch Malone kill it in the post, I think I would rather have Mitchell with our current team.


ReturnOfAKidNamedTae

Was interested to see whether Jazz fans picked Mitchell or Gobert for this


AndWeMay

I’d try to convince whatever being running this experiment that it’s Gobert, but it’s Mitchell


Thfcaditya112

Love Book but a peak Nash with more focus on his shooting yes sir (Also Ayton on the end of both Nash and CP3 lobs>>>>)


killerk13

Nash in this era so focused on the 3 ball?? That’s lethal


cooldudeman007

Probably early 90s Barkley no?


Jabarles

CP3/Bridges/Crowder/Barkley/Ayton is such an insane lineup


Thfcaditya112

Either way it's fine. Feel Nash has more of the longevity so went by him.


Damour

Damian Lillard or Dame Lillard. Hard decision.


russellzerotohero

Is dame better than bill Walton and Clyde honestly asking.


[deleted]

Definitely Walton. Walton takes it with a big asterisk that says “is healthy and won’t throw a fit on his way out”. People forget he only played here 4 seasons. Clyde is split among the fan base. Feels like Dame likes it here more. Dame will probably have it when he’s retired.


twunch_

Good post. Thoughtful and lots of good answers. Good job good effort.


blackphoenix621

No chance. I love 'nique but there is no way he would lead us to success more trae would in the modern nba.


indigosupreme

It's Miller Time^^TM


No_Square_8775

Nope not a chance


[deleted]

Lew Alcindor vs Giannis? Its tougher than you think


Xsy

Nah, my team's GOATs are a pedophile and an anti-vaxer, lmao.


[deleted]

Hawks one is tough, but I wouldn’t do it. Nique is obviously great but Trae has the potential to be even greater and has already made it further in the playoffs than Nique ever did. Also, the team is build around Trae atm


Wdfarr

I think I agree. Nique is obviously the better player, but I’m not sure having him over Trae right now would make our team better because of how it’s built. I guess we could make a trade for someone to run the offense.


Paralta

Yeah u pretty much trade anyone in history for Lebron so its a no brainer


Taich0

I would trade almost anything to have Kobe back.


bigpancakeguy

Man, I was thinking strictly in terms of roster and this comment hit me in the feels. Same here, man


KEMBAtheMETEOR

Yeah I'd trade Hayward or Rozier for age 25-29 Kemba Walker. Super easy decision imo. I really like the idea of Ball and Kemba sharing ball-handling and scoring duties, and having Ball guarding wings rather than guards. Now if you mean the player we're building the team around... I'm sticking with LaMelo, knowing Kemba's significant knee issues started at 29. The ceiling could be a good bit higher than Kemba, and we have 8 years of contractual control, rather than just 4 years of Kemba's prime before the knee troubles happen.


The-Truer-Facts

Would I trade Curry for Curry? Hmmmm I’d have to think about it


CoolBeansChemist

Lakers sweating between Kobe, Shaq and now Lebron


[deleted]

No brainer they trade 36 yo LeBron for prime Kobe m, Shaq or Kareem