NBA Players Who Will Dominate the Trade Rumor Mill This Season | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report

Oct 31, 2024

At this time last year, we had an ongoing saga involving James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers, and everyone was wondering where the Toronto Raptors would trade potential free agents Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.

We endlessly discussed those names and others right up until the moment all three were dealt away.

With a fresh season just beginning, we need to assess which players will take over similar spots in 2024-25.

Strangely, it feels as if we have more candidates this year than last. Contract situations in Golden State and New Orleans could lead to moves involving Jonathan Kuminga and Brandon Ingram, respectively. And Zach LaVine has been part of the league's transactional scuttlebutt for months.

Let's see what other names we should expect to hear thrown around in trade chatter this season.

As long as interested teams view the unserious play that has defined Kyle Kuzma's last couple of years with the Washington Wizards as a symptom of the situation and not the player himself, the 29-year-old forward is going to spend every second of this season in the rumor mill.

Kuzma is a reliable 20-point scorer at a premium position who has demonstrated the ability to fill a smaller role in the past. His championship with the 2020 Los Angeles Lakers still counts, and it's reasonable to expect more efficient, balanced play from him if he finds himself on a team that doesn't need him to occupy a high-usage role.

Paradoxically, Kuzma will be a better player when he doesn't have to average 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game like he did with the 2023-24 Wizards.

The contract is a major factor as well. Kuzma's deal will pay him $23.5 million this year before declining by about $2 million per season through 2026-27. That's a fair compensation rate for a high-end backup in today's NBA economy, so Kuzma should outperform his contract pretty easily if he lands in a situation better than the one in Washington—which is basically anywhere else.

The Wizards are in the infancy of their rebuild and have every reason to turn Kuzma into as many picks and future assets as possible. If they can get a first-rounder and expiring salary from a contender, Kuzma will be packing his bags.

Take the Kuzma situation in Washington, amplify most of the key elements—cost, quality of player, fit issues, etc.—and you've got a grip on what Zach LaVine and the Chicago Bulls are facing this season.

LaVine has three years left on his contract and plays for a team that needs to move him in the interest of collecting rebuild-appropriate assets, but the dollar figures are far greater and the potential drawbacks of continuing to roster the two-time All-Star are more pronounced. Kuzma's remaining $64 million pales in comparison to the $138 million LaVine will collect over the next three seasons. What's more, Chicago, unlike Washington, has developmental alternatives at the same position.

Kuzma isn't really in the way of anyone important with the Wizards, but LaVine (deservedly) is going to get shots and minutes that might otherwise go to Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Josh Giddey and perhaps even rookie Matas Buzelis if he's destined for the wing.

Chicago not only needs to rid itself of as much of LaVine's salary as possible, but it also has to open up opportunities for players that might actually figure into its future.

LaVine had no trade market after going down with injury last year, but now that his foot is healed there's a great chance the league will come back around to appreciating what he can do. Maybe he doesn't bring much on defense, and perhaps he leaves something to be desired in the "make others better" department, but LaVine is a bona fide bucket-getter who can score on his own or feast on feeds from teammates.

Guys who average at least 23.0 points per game and hit over 37.0 percent of their threes for five consecutive years, which LaVine did from 2018-19 to 2022-23, don't exactly grow on trees.

It'll take a few weeks of proof that he can actually stay healthy, but oft-injured big man Robert Williams III is bound to be the subject of trade chatter this season.

Start with his price point of just $12.4 million this year and an additional $13.3 million in 2025-26. That's a backup salary for a player who, when last healthy for close to a full season, started for a stellar Boston Celtics team and finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Maybe that's still too costly if you assume you're only getting a third of a season from RWIII, but the bargain potential is going to be hard to resist.

The Portland Trail Blazers should be motivated sellers. They have a logjam at center that they're more likely to clear by moving Williams than the more expensive Deandre Ayton, and opening up minutes for rookie big man Donovan Clingan should be a major priority. The Blazers know better than most that Williams' health is far from guaranteed, and that his market value could crater quickly. The second he looks fit, Williams should get tons of showcase minutes designed to gin up offers.

Another factor to consider: the somewhat surprising need for centers around the league.

The New York Knicks are thin with Mitchell Robinson sidelined, the Memphis Grizzlies are entrusting a starting role to rookie Zach Edey and the New Orleans Pelicans are dying for a starting-caliber 5. That's not to say the Blazers will have a bidding war on their hands, but the clear voids on a handful of teams will pair with Williams' easy-to-match salary figure to open up a pretty broad suite of options.

Jonathan Kuminga will have a chance to join the litany of fellow 2021 draftees who signed massive deals this offseason, but he'll have to wait until next summer to do so after failing to come to terms with the Golden State Warriors on an extension.

Per Anthony Slater of The Athletic: "Kuminga's representation and the Warriors were never all that close in negotiations. ... It's possible Kuminga would've accepted a contract below max value, but the Warriors never upped their offer (somewhere near the $30ish million per year range) into an appealing enough ballpark."

The Warriors will retain match rights on Kuminga in restricted free agency, a powerful tool that keeps them in the driver's seat. But there's still a danger in letting another team set the market, so Golden State should at least entertain the idea of trading Kuminga if the price is right.

Remember, there's already tension here that extends beyond the Warriors' and Kuminga's differing assessments of his value. Just last year, in a calculated move to earn a starting spot, Kuminga's camp leaked that he'd lost faith in head coach Steve Kerr.

Golden State still clearly has a high opinion of Kuminga, whose athleticism and rising production suggest he has a superstar ceiling. It reportedly wouldn't include him in offseason talks with the Utah Jazz about Lauri Markkanen. But one can understand the Dubs' reluctance to max out a player who hasn't shown the ability to defend at a high level or make his teammates better.

If Kuminga takes a leap and performs like a max-level player, the Warriors will happily pay him accordingly next summer. If he struggles or appears unhappy with his role, Golden State would be wise to shop him.

Plenty of teams around the league will show interest if that's the way things go.

The New Orleans Pelicans extended Trey Murphy III for four years and $112 million, a decision that should remove any doubt whatsoever about Brandon Ingram's long-term future with the team.

Based on the way things went over the summer, there probably shouldn't have been much uncertainty left anyway.

With free agency coming this summer and the Pelicans showing no signs of offering the $200 million extension for which Ingram was eligible, the former All-Star skipped a voluntary camp in Los Angeles and did some unsubtle venting on social media.

Per ESPN's Chris Herring, "It was no secret around the league that New Orleans, reluctant to give Ingram a max extension, made the one-time All-Star available this summer."

New Orleans should be motivated to move Ingram before an official trade request further diminishes his market value, but it's not exactly a secret around the league that this union has been approaching dissolution for a while.

The reason Ingram has lasted this long in New Orleans: His extension expectations will follow him to his new team. It doesn't seem like anyone wants to be on the hook for Ingram's next contract.

That said, Ingram will still be an intriguing target around the league. He's a high-end offensive starter who can get his own looks and could add massive value if he swaps out some of his pet mid-rangers for threes. The return coming to New Orleans may not be all that impressive, but there's little doubt Ingram will be the subject of a ton of speculation until he's inevitably moved.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Accurate through games played Oct. 28. 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.