NBA Players and Teams Desperate for a Breakup
Sometimes, NBA relationships just don't work out.
Teams and players come together with the best of intentions, but they often outgrow one another or realize the match isn't quite as perfect as it seemed early on. This isn't about blaming anyone, but rather acknowledging that a split can sometimes be the healthiest option for both parties.
So, you know, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks can look one another in the eye and simultaneously say, "It's not you; it's me." And they can both be right.
With free agency and trade season closer than you think, let's check in on some teams and players that need to go their separate ways.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks
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This relationship is already over, but the parties are still reluctantly cohabitating until they can find new living arrangements. All their mutual friends keep whispering about how they can't believe they're still together, and it's getting awkward.
That analogy will fall apart if the Milwaukee Bucks offer Giannis Antetokounmpo a four-year, $275 million extension before Oct. 1, as it would indicate a desire on the team's part to give this whole thing one more doomed shot in an "it might work for us" kind of way.
In reality, this thing was over last summer. Or at least it should have been. Years of win-now trades that resulted in a championship left Milwaukee scrambling for the nearest opportunity to mortgage its future, an approach largely brought about by Giannis conditioning his satisfaction on the team bending over backwards to build a contending roster.
Lines of communication are down, but this zombified relationship persists because nobody wants to be the one to officially call it off. Antetokounmpo won't outright demand a trade. The Bucks won't move him unless he makes them, which we seem fated to endure another offseason much like the last.
Here's hoping Antetokounmpo turns down the extension, where Milwaukee finally has the guts to ship him out. A split would be best for everyone.
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers
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It's worth wondering whether LeBron James' latest feat of basketball heroism—leading a Los Angeles Lakers team to a postseason series win at age 41—might be enough to rekindle this relationship.
With apologies to the romantics out there, don't get your hopes up. James' play doesn't change two key factors that have been pointing to a breakup for quite a while.
First, Los Angeles is clearly oriented around Luka Dončić now. James enjoyed success by taking on a lesser role during the season, a commendable move very few former superstars have been willing to make, but one that ultimately reflects his standing in the organization. The second factor, James' inability to secure a contract extension from the Lakers last summer, is concrete proof that he's not among the team's top priorities.
There's not really a bad guy in this situation. The Lakers have a younger centerpiece. It doesn't make sense for them to invest in the oldest player in the league when they can use their resources to surround Dončić with younger, more durable long-term support. James, too, is well within his rights to seek opportunities elsewhere—ideally where he can feel more appreciated or central to his team's plans.
Plus, it would somehow seem like less of a hit to James' pride if he signed for the midlevel or the minimum with another team this summer. He could frame his arrival to a new squad as a storybook last ride, whereas another year as the third option in L.A. might seem a little stale.
Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies
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The Memphis Grizzlies dealt Desmond Bane last offseason and sent Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz in February, but they have one more significant move to make in their teardown.
Ja Morant has got to go.
Earlier this season, The Athletic's Joe Vardon reported the Grizzlies intended to move Morant this summer, and that their failure to move him at the deadline had more to do with inability than unwillingness. To that point, ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted Morant had "negative value" as a trade asset.
Morant didn't suit up after the deadline, which meant he failed to increase his value in the market. The Grizzlies will have to hope that the passage of time, which means Morant now has just two years left on his deal, makes him more appealing. Ideally, Memphis will try to move its former cornerstone without attaching draft assets.
Whatever it takes, the Grizzlies need to move on. Morant effectively quit on the team this season. He has failed to improve on the court for several years and has had a hard time staying healthy. Everyone involved needs a change.
Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets
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The Houston Rockets got the full Kevin Durant experience in just one year.
KD showcased elite scoring and durability, but he'll have a very hard time appearing in another 78 games while averaging 36.4 minutes again. We know that because the only players in NBA history to log that much time at the age of 37 or older are Karl Malone and Michael Jordan.
Durant was an extremely high-volume contributor and often the sole source of late-game offense for a scoring-starved Rockets team. It's just not realistic to think he can do that again, which is part of the reason Houston might consider swapping him out for someone with more tread left on the tires.
Another part: Even if Durant can put together another incredible year, he might not be worth the trouble.
KD's "moodiness" reportedly wore on his teammates, and then there was the burner account scandal that feels indivisible from the bad vibes that hovered over the Rockets down the stretch.
If Durant departs, the Rockets will be the fifth team he's left worse off than he found it. Houston needs offensive punch, but it might be best to get it from someone who doesn't wear out his welcome in the span of a single season.
Zach LaVine and the Sacramento Kings
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Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan are also candidates here, but the former is firmly entrenched and mostly beloved, while the latter figures to escape via waiver sooner than later.
Zach LaVine is a special case. He's an offense-only gunner who could hit the market at a time when several high-end teams need exactly the kind of punch he can provide. Shoddy offenses in Detroit, Orlando, Houston, Portland and Toronto could all use LaVine's 39.1 percent career shooting from deep. The Kings didn't exactly light up scoreboards this past season either, but they should care more about getting veterans out of the way of youth in a rebuild.
That'll only become a higher priority if they select in the top four of June's draft.
LaVine's situation is tricky because he has a $49 million player option for 2026-27. There's no way he'll command a starting salary that high on a new deal, but he should also have no interest in returning to a Kings team that is going nowhere and only failed to trade him at the deadline because it wouldn't attach assets to sweeten the deal.
Would LaVine be willing to give up $49 million to sign a much cheaper, multiyear deal elsewhere? The Kings certainly hope so.
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 Bluesky and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
