Predicting NBA Players Who Will Be Dealt By the 2026 Trade Deadline

The 2026 NBA offseason has been, in a word, out of its freakin' mind.

From the Miami Heat's early addition of megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Philadelphia 76ers' late snag of verified GOAT candidate LeBron James, it's been one landscape-shifting surprise after the next.

Things should, at least in theory, slow down pretty soon. Once the wave of moves delayed by James' slow-and-steady decision-making progress breaks, rosters should mostly be in their regular-season form. After that, teams will need some time to assess what they have and identify their proper position in the trade market.

Reach that point, though, and the roster-reshuffling madness might return. Because even amid all of this activity around the Association, there are still some obvious (or at least logical) trade candidates who figure to relocate at some point between now and next season's deadline. Let's run through that list in reverse order of the excitement they figure to drum up on the market.

Jerami Grant, Memphis Grizzlies

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While Jerami Grant just joined the Grizzlies in June, his stay in Memphis doesn't figure to be a lengthy one. In a lot of ways, he already served his primary purpose for this franchise by helping the finances align for their split from Ja Morant.

Ideally, Grant has a good deal of veteran savvy to share with this young roster, and his support scoring should help ensure they don't have too much thrown their way too quickly. At a certain point, though, the clear timeline difference for him and this rebuilding group will prove untenable.

Maybe the young Grizzlies prove they're ready for more, and the front office growns convinced that the young players need the touches and floor time Grant is getting. Or perhaps some win-now shopper comes calling with a need for an established, versatile forward and a long-term asset or two to entice Memphis.

The how part of a Grant trade will be murky until it happens, but the why seems clear already. He has two-way abilities that can help a club win right now, but the Grizzlies aren't ready to do that. His contract, while still overpriced, is also easier to digest now that it's down to a $34.2 million salary for the upcoming season and a $36.4 million player option for 2027-28.

Cameron Johnson, Denver Nuggets

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Cameron Johnson cracked the league's short list of the most logical trade candidates entering this summer. To date, though, incoming calls "have been rebuffed" by the Nuggets, per HoopsHype's Michael Scotto.

So, why bother putting Johnson on this list? Two reasons.

First, Scotto noted that potential trade partners who called the Nuggets were "hoping they'd be willing to dump" Johnson. So, this resistance might have a lot less to do with Denver actually wanting to keep Johnson and a lot more to do with dissatisfaction in what's being offered for him. If those offers ever improve—and they should given his production, playoff experience and reasonable pay rate (expiring $23.1 million salary)—then these discussions should, too.

Second, the Nuggets still haven't solved the restricted free agency puzzle with Peyton Watson. Could that open the door to a possible sign-and-trade? In theory, sure, but how does Denver get better by moving its best perimeter defender (who just had his best offensive season by a mile)? The Nuggets "value Watson significantly," per The Athletic's Tony Jones, they're just going about this carefully, which restricted free agency allows them to do.

If Watson is eventually re-signed, they might have to shed some salary, and a Johnson trade might offer the best blend of bringing something back without causing too much disruption.

Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers

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Things haven't quite gone according to plan since the Blazers made Scoot Henderson the No. 3 pick of the 2023 draft. Fun flashes have been seen here and there, but his numbers have generally underwhelmed (career 13.5 points and 5.0 assists per game), and he just had more than half a season wiped out by the injury bug.

If that's all you knew about Henderson's situation, you might label him a clear change-of-scenery candidate. Once you lump in the Portland particulars, though, the trade possibility meter veers toward the extreme end of the high probability range.

Since last offseason, Portland has added three All-Stars at Henderson's point guard position: Damian Lillard (a franchise icon), Jrue Holiday and, most recently, Ja Morant. That trio, which will cost more than $90 million to employ this upcoming season, has accumulated 13 All-Star selections.

Who in that group is giving up minutes, touches and shots to help foster Henderson's development? And stepping outside of the point guard pecking order, where does Henderson even rank as a priority in an offense that, despite the guard glut, might still run through All-Star swingman Deni Avdija?

The Blazers reportedly don't feel the need to break up this guard group because they "believe the four guards can coexist," per The Athletic's Jason Quick. That feels exactly like the kind of belief you'd hope to communicate when everyone else can see your roster imbalance and use that as leverage against you in trade talks.

Portland snapped a four-year playoff drought this past season and then traded for a two-time All-Star entering his age-27 season. This looks like a club aiming for another step up the competitive ladder. Henderson's developmental hiccups could work agains that goal, making him a prime candidate to join a younger, more future-focused franchise.

Norman Powell, Chicago Bulls

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Norman Powell, who turned 33 in May, had an All-Star argument in 2024-25 and an All-Star selection this past season. He just took his talents to a 51-loss Bulls team that is otherwise showing a complete (and long overdue) commitment to the long-term future of this franchise.

That's an eyebrow-raiser for sure. While the Bulls had an opening for a perimeter scorer and enough wiggle room to budget for Powell's two-year, $45 million pact (team option on the second season), this signing effectively went against their timeline—and his own.

While Powell sought in free agency to "make the most money that I can," as he told The Athletic's Joel Lorenzi, Powell also coveteed "winning and wanting to get back to that championship stage." As awesome as No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson looked in Summer League, Chicago could be years away from competing at anything close to that level.

This might be, then, a short-term marriage of convenience. Powell gets a fat paycheck and presumably all the touches he can handle, while the Bulls get a sage veteran who can educate this locker room on the ins and outs of the league while effectively auditioning for trade deadline suitors.

And those shouldn't be hard to find. By the NBA's economy, a $21.5 million salary is a steal for someone who spent the last two seasons posting 21.8 points per game on 47.7/40/81.6 shooting. Powell figures to be a priority among win-now shoppers during the next iteration of trade season.

Multiple Mavericks Veterans

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Is this a cowardly cop-out? Some might call it that. The bold move would've been to just position Kyrie Irving as the pick here, but there keeps being pushback on that notion. Most recently, ESPN's Vincent Goodwill reported that the Mavericks showed "no interest" in engaging the Cleveland Cavaliers in Irving trade talks, and that "Irving is believed to be comfortable where he is."

So, rather than spotlight Irving for maximum boldness, a broad-strokes nod toward the entire veteran portion of Dallas' roster feels more appropriate. Because something almost certainly has to give here with the Mavericks still employing both 19-year-old centerpiece Cooper Flagg and a host of holdover veterans left from their days of championship-chasing with Luka Dončić.

That competitive-window disconnect is the reason why Irving himself seems a logical relocation candidate, even if the Mavs seem generally interested in having him alongside Flagg. Of course, Dallas would gain nothing (and lose plenty of leverage) by acknowledging Irving's availability, so it's fair (if not advisable) to be skeptical of those claims.

Even if Irving is actually off-limits, though, the same almost certainly doesn't apply to other veterans like Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington and Klay Thompson. In fact, NBA insider Marc Stein named those three specifically as "the veterans that the Mavericks are seen as most open to trading."

Some movement appears certain for the Mavericks, it's just a matter of how much they'll overhaul things. And the answer could wind up being more than people think, since the organization has a major draft asset deficit and a clear need for more young talent around Flagg.

Anthony Davis, Washington Wizards

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Much like the Mavericks with Irving, the Wizards have tried their best to stiff-arm any trade speculation around Anthony Davis. During a June appearance on ESPN, Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said simply, "(Davis) wants to be here, and we want him here."

End of story, right? Obviously not. Because Davis' happiness in The District might be determined by the dollars involved. Come August 6, he will be eligible for a four-year, $281 million extension, and there are "rumblings he's demanding that full max from Washington but would sign for less if traded to a contender," per Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor.

It doesn't take the world's shrewdest tea-leaves reader to wonder whether Davis, then, is fully convinced that the rebuilding Wizards are his best fit. And why would he be? As a 33-year-old with a detailed injury history, his competitive window looks awfully narrow, and Washington has been—objectively speaking—the league's least competitive club over the last three seasons (NBA-worst 196 losses).

The Wizards did, of course, up their competitive outlook by adding both Davis and Trae Young last season, then snagged No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa this offseason. So, their future should be many shades brighter than their recently putrid past.

Bright enough to convince The Brow that contention is possible any time soon? That feels incredibly optimistic, if not outright doubtful. So, despite anything you might hear the Wizards claim to the contrary, Davis is very much a candidate to be moved between now and February.