Every year NBA teams prop up their lottery selections, and far too often they don’t pan out to be what they envisioned. At times, the verdict is evident rather quickly. There are also instances where an unheralded player has an encouraging season and then the rotation changes, therefore shunning out that player.

There are many who fall into one of the aforementioned scenarios. Here are five young NBA players who need a trade to right their respective careers.

Mo Bamba, Orlando Magic

We’re on year three with Bamba as Orlando’s backup center. He was the sixth selection in the 2018 NBA Draft and has one career start. Why? He plays behind franchise royalty and one of the most productive centers in the game, Nikola Vucevic. Please do something here, Orlando.

Bamba is a capable starter, as he possesses the modern-day skill set for an NBA center. He finishes in the paint, can stretch the floor, and defends the paint well. It sounds so simplistic. At the same time, such a skill set in a rotation where Bamba can play 25-30 minutes a night would bring out a more productive and impactful player.

Yes, the Magic would be trading a former lottery selection who they maybe feel is a reliable rotation player. Concurrently, they would get reasonable value for the University of Texas product. Maybe they get a former lottery selection at a different position who could get more minutes with the Magic, essentially swapping rotation casualties? Another option could be trading Bamba to a contender for a future first-round draft selection.

Bamba and the Magic will never peak together, only apart.

Jarrett Culver, Minnesota Timberwolves

This marriage has been a complete disaster. The T-Wolves traded up in the lottery for Culver in 2019, he underwhelmed in his rookie season, and the organization drafted Anthony Edwards, another wing, with the first pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. For his sake, Culver needs a change of scenery.

Culver can still be an impactful NBA starter. He can score off the dribble, has sturdy form on his jump shot, and is a competitive defender. Culver is a fundamentally sound two-way player; there’s always a place in the sport for that skill set.

There’s a lot of parity in the T-Wolves rotation. Culver, Edwards, Malik Beasley, and Josh Okogie are all versatile wings who take time away from each other. Minnesota would benefit from balancing out their rotation to better complement D’Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Culver is still young enough to be fine-tuned and pitched as a reclamation project to teams via trade. The Texas Tech product entered the NBA as a smooth player and has the skillset to become such a player at said level. He’ll never be a rotation mainstay in Minnesota.

Sekou Doumbouya, Detroit Pistons

To date, Doumbouya is yet to establish an identity in the NBA. There have been some highlight reel plays, but he has struggled to garner consistency. Furthermore, the Pistons have dug the youngster’s grave.

Free-agent signees Jerami Grant, who has been one of the best scorers in the NBA thus far this season, and Mason Plumlee, who’s head coach Dwane Casey’s starting center, are taking precious playing time away from Doumbouya. Meanwhile, rookies Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart are also manning high-minute roles. In some cases, especially Grant’s, they’re rightfully playing over Doumbouya. But that’s the point: he’s not getting the chance to develop.

He won’t grow as a player by barely playing 11 minutes per contest. On another rebuilding team, ideally, one where the organization isn’t heavily invested in several frontcourt players, Doumbouya could come into his own. Maybe he becomes a shutdown defender? How about a dangerous slasher? As the years go by, maybe he grows into a steady scorer.

Doumbouya needs a new home. He’s blocked in Detroit.

Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls

Markkanen was once the best thing the Bulls had going for them. Now he’s the elephant in the room.

With the team selecting Patrick Williams with the fourth pick in November’s NBA Draft, Otto Porter Jr. healthy, and Wendell Carter Jr. continuing to progress, there’s little room for Markkanen to man an efficient, high-minute role. Meanwhile, Coby White and Zach LaVine occupy head coach Billy Donovan’s backcourt and are integral pieces to the offense.

Markkanen can play inside and out offensively and has been a model of consistency on that end of the floor. Across his four-year NBA career, he’s averaging 16.2 points per game while shooting 35.9 percent from beyond the arc. He has showcased a continued ability to be an offensive catalyst. The issue is Williams is a jack of all trades-type player, and Carter operates inside the arc. Markkanen’s best bet with the Bulls is being an outside threat; he’s a forced fit at this juncture.

The big man can be a versatile frontcourt scorer in most NBA offenses. He’s currently a starter on a team with a grouping of players who don’t fit around him. Markkanen can be a standout scorer elsewhere.

Kendrick Nunn, Miami Heat

One year ago, Nunn was a feel-good NBA story, serving as a vital source of offense for the Miami Heat after spending the previous season in the G-League. Now he has been phased out of their rotation and is basically nowhere to be found since the suspension of the 2019-20 NBA season.

Last season he averaged 29.3 minutes per contest. In the postseason he averaged just 15.9 minutes, and so far this season he has been playing 12.2 minutes per contest. Last season Nunn averaged 15.3 points per game. He fearlessly attacked the rack, had a respectable jump shot, and was one of the driving forces of Miami’s offense.

If Nunn isn’t going to be utilized the way he was last season, the Heat need to trade him. He’s a capable go-to scorer who could fetch the Heat a reasonable return via trade. Opportunity is scarce in the NBA, and Miami can’t afford to have Nunn playing a minor rotation role when they can add depth to other parts of their roster and/or future draft capital.

Nunn can score. It just appears that the Heat feel many others can bring more to the table than he can. The two parties would benefit from a divorce.