The 2023-24 NBA season is finally upon us with the defending champion Denver Nuggets fending off their Western Conference Finals foes Los Angeles Lakers in the opener that tipped off the new year. The fresh start does not devoid the league of NBA trade drama, with the James Harden situation in Philadelphia spearheading the headlines. Aside from the Harden trade rumors, there are other players who are likely to be traded during the season. But there are also some guys who could sneakily end up on another team at some point during the year. Here are the 10 best players who could be traded during the 2023-24 NBA season.

Spencer Dinwiddie

Spencer Dinwiddie is back with the Brooklyn Nets after being acquired in the deal that sent Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks. Since getting traded, Dinwiddie has assumed the starting point guard role for Brooklyn and opened the new campaign alongside Ben Simmons in the first-unit backcourt.

However, the star of the Nets' season opener turned out to be incoming third-year guard Cam Thomas, who erupted for 36 points off the bench in Brooklyn's narrow loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Thomas' huge scoring night could raise some eyebrows in the Nets front office and prompt them to let Thomas loose on the offensive end. That could prompt the Nets to try to find a deal for Dinwiddie and recoup some more future assets as they enter into a transitionary phase in their rebuild following the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving era.

Dillon Brooks

The Houston Rockets inked Dillon Brooks to a four-year, $86 million contract this summer. With the massive deal, it would seem unlikely for the Rockets to trade Brooks during the 2023-24 NBA season. But the Rockets could realize sooner than later that they overpaid the Mississauga, Ontario native.

With contract extensions looming for Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun in 2024, and Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason the summer after, Houston could look to unload Brooks' salary as soon as they can — and that could be this season.

D'Angelo Russell

D'Angelo Russell returned to the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year $36 million contract despite getting demoted to a bench role near the end of their Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets. Russell did draw the start in their season opener against the defending champs, which shows the Lakers still value the former No. 2 overall pick. Nonetheless, if the Lakers feel like they need to add another star — ehem, Kyrie Irving — D'lo will be the main piece that they will feature in a package.

If the Mavs and Lakers don't play up to par midway through the season, perhaps both teams may go a different direction and potentially orchestrate a deal that will reunite Irving with LeBron James. Of course, there are other deals the Lakers can do to bring in perhaps a more defensive-minded guard to pair with Austin Reaves in the backcourt.

Dejounte Murray

The Atlanta Hawks have been involved in trade rumors throughout the offseason as they look to get back to the level they were at two years ago when they made the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. The Hawks have paired a defensive-minded All-Star in Dejounte Murray alongside Trae Young. However, Atlanta didn't make the jump it anticipated and was eliminated in the first round as the 8th seed for the second consecutive season.

The Hawks are optimistic that a full camp under new coach Quin Snyder, who was hired in February, can turn things around. Atlanta could very well be buyers as it looks to improve its roster and boost its chances to compete in a top-heavy Eastern Conference. But if the Hawks don't progress and get off to a slow start, there could be a world they trade Murray at some point during the 2023-24 NBA season.

Jarrett Allen

While the East is largely a two-way race between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still regarded a dark horse team that could be a surprise contender in the conference. Cleveland's success hinges largely on its All-Star backcourt of Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, as well as its fearsome frontcourt featuring Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. The Mobley-Allen duo anchored the Cavs to the best defensive rating in the NBA last season.

However, there are rumblings that Cleveland might look to split the pair up and trot out a more modern-NBA starting unit with Mobley at the center position, where he could potentially flourish more on the offensive side of the floor. That leaves Allen as the odd man out and a potential trade candidate that the Cavaliers can move for more pieces that can complement a big three of Mitchell, Mobley, and Garland.

Julius Randle

The New York Knicks had a stellar 2022-23 campaign that saw them win their first playoff series in a decade and do so decisively by eliminating the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. With Jalen Brunson getting a year under his belt and adding solid pieces like Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, the Knicks expect to take the next step this season. However, that hinges on Julius Randle playing at an All-Star level once again. The lefty hasn't put together consistently good campaigns and if the trend continues, this season projects to be a down year for the 6-foot-8 forward.

If the Knicks are not at the level they expect to be midway through the season with Randle underperforming, they could look to move on from the 28-year-old. The Knicks have assets to go after a big name like Karl-Anthony Towns or even Joel Embiid. Randle should be the main piece in any trade package for one of those two stars.

DeMar DeRozan

Tempers are already flaring in the Chicago Bulls locker room after their abysmal opening night loss at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Zach LaVine has been more involved in trade rumors among Chicago's stars. But DeMar DeRozan could potentially be shipped as well if the Bulls' season opener is an indication of how their 2023-24 campaign will go.

The 34-year-old is nowhere close to slowing down after averaging 26.2 points per game in his first two seasons in Chicago. DeRozan could be a prime trade target for a young team needing another star to take them to the next level. Maybe OKC could swoop in and try to pair the 6-time All-Star alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Karl-Anthony Towns

The Minnesota Timberwolves remained adamant that they still intend to trot out a frontcourt featuring Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns  even though it goes against the modern-day NBA lineup, where having two traditional bigs on the floor at the same time is no longer the norm. Minnesota has every right to “wait and see” just how this pairing would work, considering they only played just 27 games together during the 2022-23 regular season.

Both were available during the 2023 NBA Playoffs, where the Timberwolves were eliminated in five games by the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. Minnesota struggled with the two big man lineup, but it's still a small sample size to make any conclusions regarding Towns and Gobert's ability to co-exist on the floor. Nonetheless, if the Timberwolves do start slow to begin the season, you'd have to think Minnesota's front office considers breaking up the two. The Timberwolves would want to recoup some of the assets they lost from acquiring Gobert the previous summer. They could get that by trading away KAT and completely giving the reigns of the team to Anthony Edwards.

Kyrie Irving

The Dallas Mavericks were able to retain Kyrie Irving during the offseason and have all the intentions to return to playoff contention with the moves and signings they made in the offseason. The Mavs, led by two of the best offensive maestros in the league in Luka Doncic and Irving, are optimistic that they can be one of the best teams in the NBA.

Still, it would be hard to count out the possibility of a Kyrie Irving trade during the 2023-24 NBA season if Dallas flames out and gets off to a rough start to the season. The Mavericks missed the playoffs last year — a massive step backward after making the Western Conference Finals a year ago — even though they traded for Irving midway through the campaign. Dallas went just 5-11 with both Doncic and Irving in the lineup.

Joel Embiid

The Joel Embiid trade rumors have already begun to brew. But it would be shocking if the Philadelphia 76ers actually trade their superstar center during the 2023-24 NBA season. Still, don't count out that thought especially if the Sixers are unable to recover from the James Harden trade saga that continues to cloud the franchise into the regular season.

There's no knowing just when or how Philly navigates around the Harden situation. But if they get a subpar return for the former league MVP, that could leave the reigning NBA MVP disgruntled and there is a possibility he could ask out to go to a real contender or to a better situation. Embiid has been linked to the New York Knicks or the Miami Heat as a potential trade destination.