2025 NBA Offseason Trade Predictions For Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, More

The 2025 NBA offseason has a chance to reshape the basketball landscape.

And that's true in spite of the fact free agency looks light on both difference-makers and big spenders.

Because while free agency feels rather limited, the trade market is booming with possibilities. In-prime All-Stars are seemingly up for grabs, and there is no shortage of logical suitors for these potential fortune-changers.

Of course, when it feels like anything could happen, it can be tricky to project what actually will. That's the challenge of this exercise, though, so let's break out the crystal ball and predict how this summer's basketball blockbusters will play out.

Lakers Snag a Starting Center

Christina House/Getty Images

When the Lakers brokered their blockbuster deal for Luka Dončić, they created an Anthony Davis-sized void in their frontcourt. And when they later rescinded a trade for Charlotte Hornets big man Mark Williams, Dončić's preferred pick from a list of potential trade targets, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin,, L.A. wound up doing nothing to cover that absence.

The Lakers, who were clobbered by Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert in their elimination loss, don't plan on standing pat again.

"My focus is going to be on ... making sure next year we have the requisite size to have a team that can compete for a championship," Lakers president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka told reporters. "... We know we need a big man."

The Lakers have enough trade chips to fill this spot. And that's true even if they hang onto Austin Reaves, whom Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times reported would only be moved for "a top-tier big." L.A. has other expendable mid-sized salaries, plus an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, swap rights in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 and sharpshooter Dalton Knecht, last year's No. 17 pick, to sweeten an offer.

That's more than enough to find a suitable starter at center, and again, L.A. could always go even bigger if the right player shakes loose and convinces the club to rethink its stance on Reaves. What feels more likely is that Reaves is kept off-limits, and the Lakers land someone like Walker Kessler, Nic Claxton, Daniel Gafford, Robert Williams III or Mitchell Robinson.

Celtics Subtract Two Starters

Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

While Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has said more time is needed to determine the team's offseason direction, major changes are clearly coming for the Shamrocks. With repeater tax penalties included, they're staring at a nearly $510 million team for next season.

Maybe (but probably not) they could have tried justifying that massive amount had they entered the summer off back-to-back title runs. Instead, they're coming off a second-round loss in which they saw their best player, six-time All-Star Jayson Tatum, go down with a torn Achilles that threatens to derail his 2025-26 campaign.

Subtractions feel inevitable—and yes, we're using the plural for a reason. Boston's salary and tax situations are such that shedding one deal won't cut it. That feels especially true when some of the rotation regulars have questionable trade value.

So, who's booking the next flight out of Beantown? Well, Marc Stein recently relayed on Substack that Boston "is more apt" to trade Jrue Holiday than backcourt mate Derrick White. Stein added that rival executives regard Kristaps Porziņģis "as the most movable Boston vet."

In a vacuum, sure, those would probably be the Celtics' preferred trade candidates. But are teams really scrambling to get their hands on Holiday, who just averaged 11.1 points (the fewest since his rookie year), turns 35 next month and is owed $104.4 million for the next three seasons? And what about Porziņģis, who will make $30.7 million next season, has battled a mysterious, lingering illness and has cleared the 60-game mark just three times since entering the Association in 2015?

It's fair to wonder whether Boston would have to attach assets to either player just to get out from under those deals, and it's tough to tell the Celtics' willingness to stomach that kind of hit. If they want to add actual assets while clearing payroll, they might have to part with a more coveted name like White, Sam Hauser or even Jaylen Brown.

76ers Part with the No. 3 Pick

Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images

A disastrous 2024-25 season could've gone even worse for the Philadelphia 76ers had the draft lottery pingpong balls not bounced their way. They only had top-six protection on their pick, so there was a real chance that the Oklahoma City Thunder—not the 76ers—could've benefited from all those losses.

Philly did well to leave the lottery with the No. 3 pick, then, but what will it still hold that selection on draft night? ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported there's a sentiment among other teams that the Sixers could try packaging this pick with Paul George to target someone like Kevin Durant or Lauri Markkanen.

That sounds either sensible or reckless. It all depends on what the future holds for Philly's oft-injured center Joel Embiid, who's played just 58 games total since taking home the 2022-23 MVP award.

If the front office is somehow bullish about the big man's health, then it will operate in win-right-now mode. That type of mentality wouldn't allow for the requisite time and patience to bring a developmental project like Rutgers forward Ace Bailey—"widely considered this draft's third-most-talented prospect," per Givony—up to speed.

If the Sixers expect more of the same availability issues with Embiid, though, then resetting the roster around the No. 3 pick, Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain might be the move to make. And if they could ever manage to keep Embiid upright while also helping George recover from a rough first go-round in Philly, the pieces could theoretically be in place to win now and later.

Still, between the aggressiveness of Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and the sky-high ceiling of a healthy Embiid, another attempted acceleration feels likely for Philadelphia. Tack on the possibility that the 76ers could try trading down for a more polished prospect (albeit one with less potential) than Bailey, and the tea leaves are pointing toward someone else making the No. 3 pick.

Kevin Durant Goes Back to Golden State

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

While the Golden State Warriors couldn't find a way to survive Stephen Curry's absence in their second-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, they did find answers to a few pressing questions about this franchise moving forward. Chief among them, a healthy Curry still seems capable of leading a championship run, and Jimmy Butler fit this group like a tailored suit.

With their two stars still capable of winning at a high level but also facing the ticking clock that comes from being on the wrong side of 35—descriptors that all fit defensive anchor Draymond Green, too—Golden State could operate with a sense of urgency to upgrade the roster around them. On that end, ESPN's Shams Charania reported the Warriors will be "incredibly aggressive in the marketplace" to find the missing pieces of their championship formula.

Could that propel Golden State toward making another run at Kevin Durant? The scoring forward nabbed two rings during his previous three seasons with the team, but he rebuffed their attempts for a reunion at the deadline. However, he doesn't sound as if he's wholly against the idea.

Maybe the Dubs weren't Durant's preferred choice then, but that might change this summer. The Phoenix Suns seem stuck, and Durant's trade market looks a little murky. Teams that could've normally had interest may want to hold out and see what happens with Giannis Antetokounmpo first. Or see who gets caught up in the Celtics' exodus. Or maybe even see if Phoenix is as resolved to keep Devin Booker as it claims.

As great as Durant is, he'll be 37 before next season tips and doesn't have the cleanest injury history. It'll take a specific kind of suitor to want what he brings, afford him in a trade and also believe it will have enough left over to contend for a title with him already next season.

The Warriors potentially check all of those boxes—assuming, of course, the Suns would be interested in their draft picks, pick swaps, young players (like Moses Moody or Brandin Podziemski) and a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade. That's a big assumption for now, but our crystal ball thinks that's the best Phoenix can do in a Durant deal and also believes the 15-time All-Star will come around to the realization that he won't find a better hoops home than his previous digs.

A Texas Team Wins the Antetokounmpo Sweepstakes

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

While not all offseason smoke sparks actual fire, the buzz about Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially wanting out already feels like an uncontrollable blaze. The actual report, courtesy of ESPN's Shams Charania, states that the two-time MVP "is open-minded" about exploring a trade, but if a franchise lifer is at the point of wondering whether the grass is greener elsewhere, they probably want to find out for sure.

And it's not like Antetokounmpo's arguments for sticking with the Milwaukee Bucks stem from anything other than blind loyalty. The Bucks have been bounced out of the opening round three years in a row. Their roster is old and expensive, and it was looking undermanned even before Damian Lillard was lost to a torn Achilles.

If Antetokounmpo wants to win, he has to realize Milwaukee can't give him that chance. You know who could, though? How about a youth-heavy Houston Rockets team that just won 52 games without him? Or a San Antonio Spurs squad featuring the league's next cheat-code great in Victor Wembanyama?

Know what else those clubs have in common? They both have the trade chips to satisfy whatever the Bucks demand and still have substantial supporting casts in place. Maybe the Rockets have to part with one of Alperen Şengün or Jalen Green, but they aren't losing both and would still have Amen Thompson leading their young core and, most likely, the championship-experienced Fred VanVleet leading the roster. The Spurs, meanwhile, wouldn't touch the Wembanyama-De'Aaron Fox tandem and could potentially also keep two of Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and the No. 2 pick.

It'll take plenty to get Antetokounmpo away from Milwaukee. The Bucks are "going to go for blood," as The Athletic's Sam Amick put it, and there are only so many clubs capable of meeting that price without gutting the roster. The two most equipped just happen to reside in Texas, meaning the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes will boil down to a battle of the Lone Star State.