Where should — or shouldn’t — some top rumored NBA Draft Day trade candidates go?

People pay more attention to these rumors than the games, it seems. You believe that shit?

The draft itself — as in, the process of selecting the actual rookies — has some intrigue, especially for teams finding themselves in the lottery, be it for the first time in a while or yet another consecutive season. But what many others will be paying attention to are trades. Not necessarily trades to move up, down, and around the draft board, but ones that shuffle the moving organizational pieces in hopes of being closer to a championship. And, in 2021, we’ve been reaffirmed that the NBA is more wide-open than it’s been in recent memory. There are a bunch of All-Star and rising standouts reportedly available for trade, so let’s go through a few of ‘em.

He’s only 22 years old and doesn’t turn 23 until January 4, word to every Capricorn you know; 24.3 points and 4.4 assists while shooting 48 / 37 / 82 splits in the third season of his career.

You throw those out there blindly, and it sounds like a guy who’s a max player on the surface. You analyze deeper. You begin curiously peeling back the layers and develop a number of reservations. He’s only 6-foot-1. He’s not really a point guard. His team’s only won 19, 19, and 22 games in each of those three seasons. His advanced analytics aren’t really good. Is that entirely his fault, or is it the organization? Does he even want to be there or just want the contract?

This is everything being asked regarding Collin Sexton right now as the Cavs determine whether or not to disband their young backcourt featuring him and Darius Garland — Sexland. The Miami Heat are interested. The New York Knicks are interested. The Cavaliers might want to attach Kevin Love’s contract to him. And on it goes. Sexton is owed $6.3 million this upcoming season and will need to be extended later this year, otherwise he’ll be headed for free agency next summer.

Stay or go: It’ll be dangerous for a team to trade him and not extend him, but are you sure, as a playoff hopeful, that you want to use whatever blue chips you have to land someone that’ll enter camp as an uncertainty? Sexton is an extremely talented scorer, but having not been brought up in a winning situation, you’ll have to make the play, and the dollars, work. It’s a big ask for the Heat, Knicks, or anyone else. And for Miami, in particular, Tyler Herro could be part of a bigger package.

Hold for now, Cleveland. You have the No. 3 overall pick, and ideally, you’d make it Evan Mobley (if not selected No. 2) to start him with Sexland, Jarrett Allen, and Isaac Okoro.

The 28-year-old sniper averaged 16.6 points per game with a career-best 3.6 assists and shot 39 percent from three. For his career, Hield’s a 40.6 percent three-point shooter, which is where more than half (2,847 of 5,214) of his career field goal attempts come from. He’s been in trade rumors for a few years, so this isn’t new to him, but this time it seems that it might actually happen. Hield is owed a descending roughly $60 million over the next three seasons: $22.5 million next year, followed by $20.5 million, then $18.6 million.

The Lakers have been offering a package led by Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to “nearly everyone in the league,” Adrian Wojnarowski says, which includes Sacramento. Montrezl Harrell is being dangled on the market as well. The Philadelphia 76ers have also made inquiries, but it’s unclear to what extent.

Stay or go: Does trading Hield make Sacramento better if you’re getting back Kuzma and KCP? Does throwing in Harrell and whatever else is needed to make it work on your end help? Maybe Harrell is your potential Richaun Holmes replacement if he leaves, but it doesn’t sound a good deal better than keeping Hield and extending Holmes for now. For the Lakers, Hield does make perfect sense next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as he does next to Joel Embiid for Philadelphia. A deal built around Tobias Harris and Hield has been an internet rumor for at least a year, and could help better space the floor for Embiid, especially if you’re able to get back Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum in a possible Ben Simmons trade. These teams should go hard after Hield, but not as their primary move, of course. And, for the Kings, if you’re not getting a substantially better or younger player worth building with, at least get a pick if possible, as tough as it could be to come by.

So, about Simmons …

Bradley Beal, formerly of Team USA, became a walking 20 points per game in 2016. He then became a walking 30 points per game in 2019. In the current five-year stretch he’s on, the recently turned 28-year-old is averaging 26.1 points, 4.7 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game on 47 / 37 / 83 shooting. Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard says Beal has not requested a trade, but. Beal trade rumors have been floating around for years. They grew increasingly louder on the social media streets when it was reported that the Lakers could land Russell Westbrook this summer. Logically, Beal would be next, if not first, if the Wizards decide to suicide dive into a rebuild. The Warriors and Heat are among those who are interested if Beal becomes available, according to reports. Beal ($34.5 million) and Westbrook ($44.2 million) are entering the final fully guaranteed year of their respective deals. Both have player options for next season for approximately $3 million more than their 2021-22 salaries.

Stay or go: Lotta questions Sheppard and the Wizards will need to answer, but realistically, they’re not a championship contender this year, and it’s worth asking how likely is it they extend one or two of Beal and Westbrook and if that’s even the route the organization should go. If you’re keeping them, you might make the playoffs, but between the Bucks, Nets, Celtics, Heat, 76ers, and Hawks, not to mention the wild cards featuring the Knicks, Hornets, Pacers, Bulls, and Raptors, where does that leave Washington for this year? Which group are they in or closer to? Their best-case scenario is probably another one-and-done playoff showing, and they needed a superhuman several weeks of Westbrook to end the season to even get there.

Beal would get more in return than Westbrook would. Westbrook lands you the Laker package in some form around Kuzma and Talen Horton-Tucker as the best young guys coming back to you probably. Miami’s may look something like Herro, Duncan Robinson (sign-and-trade), Precious Achiuwa, and or whatever picks they could assemble. The Warriors have Nos. 7 and 14 in this draft, plus James Wiseman, and that’s one of the best starting points you could hope for in this discussion. Washington should see what else Golden State is willing to give and explore that, but if the Heat could find enough draft capital, that’s worth monitoring on their end as well; it’s just a more difficult path by comparison.