Even this deep into the offseason, NBA teams should be looking for ways to improve their outlooks.

Those competing for playoff spots or contending for a championship take a major risk if they do so with a hole in the starting lineup. Patience is important, but there's no guarantee that waiting until the trade deadline will bring better options.

On the flip side, teams with ill-fitting parts or unwanted contracts would be better served moving them before their season openers. Rebuilders need to clear the decks, open up opportunities for younger players and orient themselves toward their own goals, which often have very little to do with contention.

We've pulled together a few trade proposals to help both types of teams, each of which involves changing a member of a starting lineup.

The Jazz Swap Walker Kessler for Brandon Ingram

The Trade: New Orleans Pelicans acquire Walker Kessler and John Collins from the Utah Jazz for Brandon Ingram

If there were a premium-asset package out there for Brandon Ingram, the New Orleans Pelicans would have traded him by now. The former All-Star's desire for a $200 million contract makes him a daunting acquisition for any team, and it certainly appears the Pelicans don't want to be the ones inking that deal next summer.

Utah is one of the few organizations with the right combination of characteristics to take on Ingram. For Danny Ainge and Co., Ingram could be a buy-low candidate worth keeping on an extension or a player whose value it rehabilitates ahead of a trade-deadline flip. The Jazz are flexible, don't need picks and can afford to take chances other teams won't—on players exactly like Ingram.

The Jazz benched Walker Kessler for chunks of last season and have no use for Collins or the remaining $53.2 million he's owed through 2025-26. They come out of this deal with a worst-case scenario of...more cap space in the summer of 2025.

New Orleans already has Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III ready to take over the wing spots between Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson. Ingram's departure would still hurt, but not as much as it would if he walked away for nothing over the summer. The longer the Pels wait, the lower their return on Ingram may be. If they're not going to pay him, it'd be best to move him sooner than later.

Kessler would fill a major need at the 5 for New Orleans, and though he seemed to regress as a sophomore, the shot-blocking big man has been one of the best rim-protectors in the league since he turned pro. Team him up with Williamson, Jones, Murphy and Murray, and the Pelicans could find themselves among the league's stingiest units this season.

Memphis Upgrades the Center Spot

The Trade: Memphis Grizzlies acquire Robert Williams III from the Portland Trail Blazers for Brandon Clarke, a 2026 second-round pick (via LAC) and a 2027 second-round pick (via ATL)

Those with faith in rookie Zach Edey handling starting center duties for the Grizzlies are putting a lot of stock in a single Summer League performance.

Sure, Edey racked up 14 points, 15 boards and four blocks before calling it quits for the offseason because of an ankle injury. But rookies, even ones as decorated as Edey, a two-time AP Player of the Year, are notoriously unreliable in big roles. Considering Memphis has reasonable expectations to return to the 50-win level it hit in the two seasons prior to an injury-ravaged 2023-24, a little veteran experience might be worth exploring.

Williams' durability has been a major concern throughout his career, and losing all but six games of last season because of knee surgery certainly doesn't inspire confidence in his future fitness. But the Grizzlies are giving up their own damaged goods in Clarke—an undersized big who got by on elite athleticism before tearing his Achilles late in the 2022-23 campaign.

His contract runs one season longer than Williams', but is an almost identical match on an annual-salary basis. The Grizz send over a couple of seconds to make up the difference, with the Blazers glad to take back the lesser injury risk and possibly open up more playing time for rookie center Donovan Clingan.

Even if Williams only holds up for a couple of months, that might be all Edey needs to get up to speed before taking over the starting gig. And if Time Lord stays healthy while returning to the form he showed in landing an All-Defensive second-team nod in 2021-22, the Grizzlies will have made out like bandits.

Lakers Add Jerami Grant to First Unit

The Trade: Los Angeles Lakers acquire Jerami Grant from the Portland Trail Blazers for Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht, a 2029 first-round pick

Per Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report, the Blazers wanted two first-rounders for Jerami Grant when they discussed a trade earlier this offseason. Portland doesn't extract exactly that return from the Lakers in this hypothetical, but Knecht was a first-rounder a couple of months ago. Maybe he and an unprotected 2029 first would be enough to get the Blazers to bite.

LeBron James won't be around forever. An ugly 2028-29 season could make that pick immensely valuable.

This move adds another high-end starter to the Lakers' first unit, as Grant would represent a huge upgrade over Hachimura, the current projected starter at the 3. Grant is a better defender, has averaged over 20.0 points per game in three of the past four years and would provide desperately needed spacing.

Hachimura shot a career-best 42.2 percent from deep last year, but he's never been a high-volume gunner. Grant was above the 40.0 percent mark on threes in 2022-23 and 2023-24. More importantly, he's averaged at least 7.4 three-point attempts per 100 possessions since 2020-21. Hachimura is at 4.7 for his career.

This move doesn't completely exhaust the Lakers' supply of tradable draft picks, but it still gives Portland enough to justify moving Grant out of a rebuilding environment he doesn't fit into anyway. Plus, Hachimura and Vincent could both theoretically be flipped for more flexibility or picks down the line.

Miami Brings in Kyle Kuzma

The Trade: Miami Heat acquire Kyle Kuzma from the Washington Wizards for Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jović, Josh Richardson and a 2030 first-round pick (protected 1-10)

There aren't many teams who've earned the benefit of the doubt like the Heat have, but it's hard to see how they're going to do much better than last year's first-round elimination if they run it back with roughly the same core and projected starting five.

Maybe a healthy season from Tyler Herro will help, and perhaps Bam Adebayo will finally turn into a moderate-volume three-point shooter. Then again, Jimmy Butler is a year older and approaching free agency, and it's not easy to find clear growth candidates anywhere else on the roster.

Kuzma is a demonstrated 20-point scorer with championship experience in his not-so-distant past. Stranded in Washington these past three years, he comes with the standard "good stats, bad team" concerns, but that might also mean the Heat could expect efficiency gains from him in a more functional, talent-rich environment.

The 28-year-old forward is on a declining contract and offers a ton of what Miami's offense, which ranked 21st last season, needs. A capable self-creator, solid passer (4.2 assists per game in 2023-24) and good enough catch-and-shoot threat (35.5 percent last year) to draw attention, Kuzma could juice the Heat's attack and take over a starting gig from Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr. or Tyler Herro, depending on what Erik Spoelstra thinks his first unit needs most.

The Wizards could push for swap rights in 2026 and 2028 if they don't want to wait so long for a pick to convey, or if they don't like the protections on the 2030 selection they're getting. But Jović is the kind of young, developmental piece Washington should chase, and Robinson could be flipped for value at this trade deadline or the next.

New Orleans Finally Adds a Center

The Trade: New Orleans Pelicans acquire Jalen Duren from the Detroit Pistons for Jordan Hawkins, 2026 first-round swap rights (via MIL) and a 2027 second-round pick (via CHI)

I personally like Jordan Hawkins' movement shooting more than any single thing Jalen Duren does on defense in the middle, but the latter's double-double production probably gives him more trade clout. Hence the picks going from New Orleans to Detroit along with Hawkins.

New Orleans needs a starting big man, and Duren has the makings of one. Meanwhile, Detroit desperately needs dynamic shooting next to Cade Cunningham because its other prospects—notably Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey and Ron Holland—don't provide any. Even if you're not convinced Hawkins is a better player than Duren in a vacuum, you have to concede his ability to get up tons of threes on the move means something extra to a team like the Pistons.

It's difficult to judge how Duren might perform in games with actual stakes, but he's a tremendous rebounder whose strength and athleticism would add even more explosive qualities to a Pelicans frontcourt that already gets a lot of that from Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III. Stick him in the dunker spot as Zion rumbles downhill, and the lob opportunities would be plentiful.

Duren has also shown flashes of intriguing passing, ranking in the 65th percentile among bigs in assist rate last year.

Hawkins faces a playing-time crunch behind Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado, Herb Jones and Murphy, so the Pelicans can afford to move him to address a key area of need.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.