Predicting the Next Wave of NBA Stars to Hit the Trade Block
The NBA moves in transactional cycles, and we just wrapped up one of them with the passage of the trade deadline.
That means we've already begun another.
New names will soon populate the rumor mill, and we'll speculate about them throughout the rest of the 2024-25 season, ahead of the draft and over the summer.
We've got some starry inclusions here, and if you think any of them are too far-fetched, try telling that to Luka Dončić, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, De'Aaron Fox and the bevy of other All-Stars who changed teams over the last couple of weeks.
Based on recent precedent, the safest prediction about the next wave of trade candidates would have been "literally everyone."
LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
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The Charlotte Hornets traded 23-year-old starting center Mark Williams, a seemingly strange move for a future-focused rebuilder currently sporting the fourth-worst record in the league.
That deal was undone by a failed physical, and Williams will now return to a deeply awkward situation in Charlotte—one that apparently has a much longer view of its roster-building plan than anyone expected. The highlights in the return from the Los Angeles Lakers included two distant first-round picks (one was a swap) and rookie Dalton Knecht, who's older than Williams but under team control for longer.
The Hornets' attempt to turn Williams into cheaper, more speculative assets could have been an isolated move. But in conjunction with their focus on collecting other future firsts at the deadline, it suggests they're a long way from win-now mode.
What might that mean for Ball, who's been highly productive when healthy but who has also had more than his share of injury issues and is already earning his rookie-scale max?
Ball would be an ideal fit on several teams that are actually trying to win, led by the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic. Those squads have the kinds of assets Charlotte seems to prize, and Ball could apply some exit pressure from his side if he views his team's moves as an indication success is a long way off.
Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
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Jalen Johnson was already out for the season when the Atlanta Hawks sent away De'Andre Hunter (having a career season) and Bogdan Bogdanović (playing poorly but a fifth-place finisher in Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24) at the trade deadline.
You have to wonder what Trae Young thought of all that.
Atlanta could defend its moves by arguing Hunter was at the apex of his value. Bogdanović, 32 and moving poorly all season, may not have been worth the $16 million he was due in 2025-26. But the Hawks made their series of deadline moves with an obvious intention of ducking the luxury tax—not necessarily improving a roster that doesn't control its first-round picks through 2027 and therefore has no incentive to get worse.
Young has been in the rumor mill plenty of times before, but he wasn't much of a presence during the 2025 trade cycle. Whether because he agitates for a trade away from a team that puts success second to finances, or due to Atlanta deciding a Young deal is the only way to get back some draft capital, that's going to change.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
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Averaging a career-high 31.8 points and on track to finish among the top five in MVP voting for the seventh straight season, Giannis Antetokounmpo is as dominant as ever.
His Milwaukee Bucks aren't keeping up.
With just one postseason series victory since that 2021 championship, Milwaukee is aging around Antetokounmpo and has taken desperate swings over the last few seasons. The trade that sent Khris Middleton to the Washington Wizards at the deadline further disrupted a title-winning core that had already swapped in Damian Lillard for Jrue Holiday and changed coaches twice since moving on from Mike Budenholzer.
Antetokounmpo has the kind of stature that precludes the Bucks proactively trading him unless he requests it, and he's resisted taking that step for much longer than many in his position would have. Including him here is a bet that his patience won't be infinite.
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
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In the wake of being blindsided by the Phoenix Suns including him in talks with the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat last week, Kevin Durant is perhaps the most obvious next-in-line trade candidate in the league.
That should have been true a while ago, as KD is one of the only ways for the Suns to get themselves out of the half-decade of purgatory staring them in the face. If Devin Booker isn't on the table, and Bradley Beal refuses to dump his no-trade clause, Durant is the only asset Phoenix can use to rein in costs, recoup draft capital and get itself off the bullet train to nowhere.
But now that Phoenix has irked one of the league's most mercurial stars, the writing's on the wall.
Per ESPN's Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective, "it is reasonable to forecast that Durant will be breaking up with the Suns in the summer."
This relationship is over. The only question is when that'll become official.
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
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Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is all about championship equity, and he might be getting closer to concluding Joel Embiid no longer provides enough.
Embiid was ineligible to be traded at this year's deadline because of the $192 million extension he inked over the summer, but that restriction expires after the season. In light of Embiid telling ESPN's Lisa Salters that he may need another surgery and long recovery on his left knee, it'd be understandable if Morey and the Sixers decide to take drastic action this summer.
Philly has never reached a Conference Finals with Embiid, who'll turn 31 in March and who has never once stayed healthy through an entire season and playoffs. Forget whatever advanced metrics Morey and his staff use to calculate championship equity; this is a simple question of probability.
What are the odds a player at Embiid's age, with Embiid's injury history, will buck a decade-long trend and finally hold up for a full campaign?
It doesn't take much deep thinking to conclude they're not good. Once the Sixers embrace that truth, their focus will turn to moving on from the former MVP.
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.
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