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The NBA regular season is officially over. Twelve teams clinched their spots in the postseason, and eight more will battle it out in the Play-in Tournament for the seven and eight seeds in the playoffs. The other 10 teams have nothing to look forward to but offseason improvement. These teams, as well as teams that end up disappointing in the playoffs, will use free agency and the 2025 NBA Draft to add talent to their respective rosters, but in the modern NBA, the trade market is more popular than ever before.
Blockbuster trades involving superstar players are the norm these days, and the Luka Doncic trade to the Los Angeles Lakers proved that nobody is safe. So, check out the gallery to see the five NBA superstars who are the most likely to be traded this offseason.
1. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns were supposed to contend for NBA championships with what should have been one of the best big threes in the NBA. This trio, of course, included Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. However, the team failed drastically in comparison to expectations, as they didn't even make the Play-in Tournament in 2025.
A lack of depth and untimely injuries were contributing factors to Phoenix's failures. However, Beal's regression was the biggest reason that this Suns' core didn't pan out. The Suns would love to move Beal, and they were looking for trade partners ahead of the NBA trade deadline. However, Beal has both a no-trade clause that he has been unwilling to void and one of the worst contracts in the NBA.
Beal is making over $50 million in each of the next two seasons, yet the former All-Star had arguably his worst season since his rookie year. The shooting guard also hasn't played in more than 60 games in a season since 2018-19. Teams don't want Beal on their roster, but the Suns have to blow things up. That means that Durant is the player most likely to be moved this offseason.
Durant is not only one of the best players in the NBA still, but he is also one of the greatest NBA players ever. The near-seven-foot-tall wing averaged 26.6 points per game this season. He can score anywhere and over anybody, and that unicorn skill set would fit alongside any set of teammates on any roster in the league.
The Suns were interested in moving Durant before the NBA trade deadline as well, but a deal now seems inevitable this offseason. Durant has made it known that his next team will be his last team, and considering his play hasn't regressed despite major injuries and an increasing age, that expected loyalty should make him the most coveted trade target this offseason. Changes are coming in Phoenix, especially because the team just fired head coach Mike Budenholzer. Durant is probably next to go.
2. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
While Durant is more likely to be moved, the Suns could look to trade Booker as well. Booker is only 28 years old and has spent his whole career in Phoenix, so the Suns may keep him around as the face of the franchise for the team's next era. They could also decide that a full-blown rebuild is the only way to improve in the long run, though.
If that is what Phoenix decides, then Booker will hold immense trade value. The Suns are depleted of depth and future draft capital, so they could restock in a big way by moving their star guard. Booker's trade value should be at an all-time high. Not only is the Kentucky product a career 24.4 point-per-game scorer, but he improved his playmaking in a big way in 2024-25. Booker averaged a career-high 7.1 assists per game.
Trading Booker will be a much tougher pill for the Suns to swallow than trading Durant would be. However, trading Durant only partially solves the problems in Phoenix, and the Suns would get a much bigger haul for the younger player. They'd be smart to completely blow things up.
A Booker trade to the Houston Rockets makes sense because the Rockets are interested in the shooting guard, and they own some of Phoenix's draft capital. If the Suns could get some of their picks back, they could more easily tank/rebuild in the future.
3. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
Expectations were sky-high for Zion Williamson when he was drafted first overall in 2019. He was widely regarded as one of the greatest prospects ever coming out of Duke. When Williamson has been on the floor, he has been great. The problem has been health for the former number-one pick, and the New Orleans Pelicans have to be running out of patience.
The 2024-25 season was Williamson's sixth straight season with injury issues. In fact, he only played in 30 games, and he was even shut down for the tail end of the season because of a back contusion. That was just one of many injuries Williamson dealt with this season, and it doesn't help that the rest of New Orleans' roster was filled with hobbled players as well.
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At some point, enough will be enough for the Pelicans, and they will be forced to move on from the exceptional dunker. The Pelicans just fired executive vice president David Griffin, and a new front office could want a clean slate when it comes to roster construction. Because Williamson is only 24 years old, he still has tons of potential, so interested teams could be hopeful that he will get healthy and turn his career around.
4. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
Now for a team that wasn't already eliminated from playoff contention. Trae Young's Atlanta Hawks are the eight-seed in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks went 40-42 in 2025-25, and team mediocrity has been a problem in Atlanta during Young's tenure. Many blame this on Young's lack of defense.
The guard from Oklahoma is clearly one of the best offensive players in the NBA, evidenced by his 24.2 points and 11.6 assists per game averages this season. That assist mark led the entire NBA. Young is undersized, though, and he hasn't shown much improvement at all on the less glamorous side of the basketball court.
Because of that, Young has often been rumored in the trade market in recent years. Now is perhaps the least likely time he'd be dealt because the Hawks have finally paired some players around him that mask his weaknesses. Notably, backcourt partner Dyson Daniels was in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation this year because he had a historic season stealing the basketball.
Even with Daniels, the Hawks were still average overall and below average on defense. Atlanta's ceiling might be capped with Young on the roster, and if the Hawks realize that to be the case, they could finally decide to move him this offseason.
5. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings made one of the biggest trades during the regular season when they sent De'Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. The move also brought in Zach LaVine. That was an interesting move that leaves the Kings without a clear direction going forward. Right now, Sacramento seems to be stuck in purgatory, so they could eventually decide to embrace a rebuild. If they do that, then Domantas Sabonis will be their best trade chip.
Sabonis' struggles on defense have contributed to Sacramento being unable to find postseason success. He is a double-double machine that teams can run their offenses through, though, so there would certainly be interested teams if he were put on the trading block.
Plenty of other superstars have been included in trade rumors, too. Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies and Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets were automatically mentioned as offseason trade targets when their respective coaches, Taylor Jenkins and Michael Malone, were fired by their teams. However, Morant has been playing his best basketball in years over the closing stretch of the Grizzlies season. Likewise, after a rough stretch for the Nuggets, while Murray was sidelined due to injury, Denver has gotten back on track heading into the postseason.
Lauri Markkanen has been viewed as a potential trade candidate for years now, but the Utah Jazz have been unwilling to trade him so far. The Charlotte Hornets already tried to deal Mark Williams, but he returned to the team after a failed physical. Perhaps he could be shipped again this offseason. The Brooklyn Nets could look to trade some of their best players, including Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton, and there is still a logjam at the center position in Portland, meaning Deandre Ayton could be on the move sooner rather than later. There are huge trades involving superstars every NBA offseason these days, so other players will certainly be rumored as trade candidates once the postseason concludes.
