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While the NBA is known for hectic trade deadline moves, you never truly know when the next huge deal will happen. For example, The Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks completed a blockbuster trade that saw the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle moved just weeks before the start of the 2024 regular season.
Now, the regular season is here, and trade reports will start to ramp up again. The rookie scale-contract extension deadline on Oct. 21 saw a number of players receive new contracts, which further shakes up the NBA landscape, and teams will quickly figure out what is right and what is wrong with their roster after Oct. 22, which is opening day.
You can expect some more massive trades to go down at some point this NBA season, and a few players have already heard their names in trade rumors. Check out the gallery to see which five NBA players are already involved in trade buzz.
Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
Brandon Ingram is probably the most likely superstar to be moved this season. The team still hasn't extended him, and they are financially committed to Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, and now, Dejounte Murray, who they traded for in the offseason.
In theory, a front-court duo of Ingram and Williamson should be high-powered, especially on the offensive end. However, the two have struggled to stay healthy, especially at the same time. Now, New Orleans is at risk of losing Ingram for nothing in free agency this offseason if they don't trade him or find out a way to make a new deal work.
For teams interested, trading for Ingram means getting a near seven-footer who can drain jump shots over the top of anybody. The one-time All-Star has averaged over 20 points per game in each of the last five seasons, and he is still only 27 years old.
Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls
Zach LaVine has been involved in trade buzz for a while now. The Chicago Bulls star averaged 27.4 points per game as recently as 2020-21, and he was a 24.8 point-per-game scorer in 2022-23. LaVine has a rare combination of athleticism and skills, as he is one of the best highlight reel dunkers in the NBA, but he is also effective from three-point land.
Despite this, health, contract, and defensive issues have landed the guard on the trade block, especially because the big three featuring Nikola Vucevic and DeMar DeRozan has already been blown up. The Bulls are embracing a new era in Chicago, and they've been looking for trade partners to take on LaVine.
Unfortunately, LaVine has one of the worst contracts in basketball, which has prevented anyone from wanting to do business with the Bulls. Stars are hard to come by, though, and LaVine will be cheaper (from a trade perspective) than the average player of his caliber would be. It is very possible a team gets desperate for another star scorer and decides to trade for LaVine. Perhaps he will even boost his trade stock at the start of the new NBA season.
Cam Johnson, Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets underwent a massive rebuild in the offseason. They traded Mikal Bridges away in order to get a massive haul of draft picks in return. They were also able to re-attain their own draft picks that they had previously traded away. Now it is evident that it is tank season in Brooklyn.
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That means that more veterans are likely to be sold off. Cam Johnson could be next, and he might have the most trade value of anyone on Brooklyn's roster besides Nic Claxton. Johnson is a 6-foot-8 three-and-D player who would be coveted on almost any team around the league.
The Nets shouldn't rush into a trade involving Johnson, as he is under contract for two more seasons after this year, but if they get offered a huge deal, they should strongly consider taking it.
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
Reports suggested that Darius Garland might be traded if the Cleveland Cavaliers extended Donovan Mitchell. Now, Mitchell is under a new contract for the long run in Cleveland. The Cavaliers will likely try to make the backcourt pairing work, but there is still a chance that the Cavaliers will be forced to split this duo up.
Both Garland and Mitchell are a little bit undersized, and they both operate best on the offensive end with the ball in their hands. Additionally, the Cavaliers have a good team, but not necessarily a great one. There isn't a clear path to the Cavaliers competing for championships, yet they have an expensive core headlined by the two guards.
As of right now, Garland isn't necessarily in trade rumors, but he has certainly been involved in trade buzz in the past, and it wouldn't be a surprise if his name is brought back up in trade reports in the near future.
Deandre Ayton, Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have a center problem. The team took Donovan Clingan with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. The defensive anchor, who is coming off of back-to-back national championship victories in college, will be looked at as the center of the future.
Portland also has another great defensive center in Robert Williams. The ex-Boston Celtics is an injury risk, as was evident last year, but he is still a shot-blocking force when healthy. Even Duop Reath emerged as a rotation-caliber center as a rookie due to his ability to knock down three-point shots.
That leaves Deandre Ayton as the odd man out and the most likely player on the Trail Blazers roster to be traded. Ayton is a former number-one overall pick, and while he is uber-talented, he has never quite lived up to his potential.
