Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and NBA Stars On the Wrong Team
If we know anything about the NBA offseason, it’s that stars will almost always be on the move. This summer won’t be an exception.
Heck, if anything, it’s shaping up to be even more chaotic than normal.
Closing windows, contract situations, warring timelines and general “This isn’t working anymore” situations are all paving the way for a lot of big-name movement. But which five stars are most out of place on their current teams?
That’s the question we’re here to answer.
Narrowing down the list will lean heavily on player-team relationships or directions. Not all of these names will necessarily be front-and-center in the rumor mill, but for reasons that’ll get explained, it doesn’t make long-term sense for them to stay put.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
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Giannis Antetokounmpo has yet to make a concrete decision about his future, and according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Milwaukee Bucks are trying like heck to sell him on a gap year while Damian Lillard recovers from a torn left Achilles that will likely sideline him for all of next season.
The basketball romantic in us all should be rooting for the two-time MVP to stay put. The part of us that wants to see superstars compete at the highest level, contending for titles, should be pulling for a change of scenery.
Gap years can make sense. This one doesn't. The Bucks do not control the fate of their own first-rounder until 2031, so there is no high lottery pick waiting at the end of a one-season break in “trying.”
Milwaukee isn’t speeding towards absurd flexibility, either. It will enter the offseason under the luxury tax, but that’s without a new contract for Brook Lopez, who remains critical to a relatively shallow rotation.
Waiting out Dame’s return also promises nothing. He and Giannis never really took off together. More than that, he will be 36 in 2026-27, working off a major injury, having not played in an NBA game (potentially) for over a year.
It raises the question: Where are the Bucks headed with Giannis? The answer is nowhere special—a jarring, sad, frustrating, borderline unfair fate that nevertheless feels unavoidable.
Anthony Davis, Dallas Mavericks
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Anthony Davis looked pretty out of place on a Dallas Mavericks team that gave up Luka Dončić to get him. Organizations never move 25-year-old superstars in the thick of their primes, and if they were going to, conventional wisdom suggests they should be prioritizing a youth movement rather than the acquisition of a 32-year-old with his own checkered health bill who can’t spearhead the offense.
This entire situation somehow looks even more bizarre less than six months later. Kyrie Irving is recovering from a torn left ACL that’s expected to sideline him at least until the New Year. Oh, and because the world makes no sense, the Mavs also won the 2025 NBA draft lottery, and the right to select 18-year-old phenom Cooper Flagg.
Competitive timelines are largely overrated when windows open and close so quickly nowadays, but the idea of Dallas figuring out how to contend while juggling the development of a star prospect roughly a decade-and-a-half younger than AD and Kyrie is all sorts of awkward.
This says nothing of a roster not currently designed to properly tee-up Davis on offense until Kyrie returns. The chances of Flagg being that guy from Day 1 are slim. The odds of the Mavs maximizing what’s left of Davis’ prime, as currently constructed, are even slimmer. A marriage that felt risky, if not needless, in the first place now seems like even more of a disjointed fit—for both player and team.
Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
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Attempts by the Phoenix Suns to hold under-the-radar Kevin Durant trade talks leading into last February’s deadline eventually went public, and now the two sides are expected to work on finding a new home for the two-time Finals MVP over the offseason.
Who could have seen this coming, except for absolutely everyone?
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line recently reported that Phoenix hasn’t ruled out keeping KD. Good luck to new general manager Brian Gregory with that. There is no going back once trade talks or demands go public. Durant also turns 37 in September and is entering the final year of his contract, making him both far from a sure-fire investment and potential flight risk.
This Suns era, whatever you want to call it, is an abject failure. There is no path to title contention for them next season, and KD belongs on a team that has one. The Suns only stand to exacerbate their already-bleak future by holding onto him and subjecting themselves to the risk of losing him for nothing next summer—or even just being forced into moving him at the 2026 trade deadline, when the midseason bidding for the expiring contract of an aging star won’t be nearly as robust.
Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz
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Lauri Markkanen continues to look out of place on a Utah Jazz team that has yet to enter the middle stages of its rebuild. The awkwardness used to be endearing, when it was helping fuel his ascent into All-Star territory. It is now simply…weird.
This has little to do with Markkanen’s contract, though that’s certainly part of it. He has four years and $195.9 million left on his deal, a steep price point for someone who can’t be the primary on-ball option and doesn’t play alongside other stars.
Utah can stomach the cost. Its “core” players remain cheap, the overall cap sheet is pretty clean, and even rebuilding squads have to spend money somewhere.
Still, the distance between the Jazz and a win-now window remains large, and the absence of other reliable centerpieces is starting to take a toll on Markkanen's impact.
After averaging 24.5 points through the previous two seasons while downing over 57 percent of his twos and 39 percent of his threes, the now-28-year-old saw his efficiency dip this past year to 52.5 percent inside the arc and 34.6 percent from beyond it.
Despite his perimeter leanings, Markkanen is an elite play-finisher at heart. The Jazz don’t have the pecking order in place to put him in the most ideal role.
Though this isn’t a “Trade him for anything” situation, the optics of Markkanen’s contract are already starting to shift. His value isn’t what it was this time last year. And failing seismic changes to the roster around him before next season, it may only continue to tumble.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
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