There will now be only a handful of regular-season games left in the NBA.
This begs the question, which NBA stars should be traded during this off-season?
Trae Young
“Ice Trae” has spent the last 7 years of his career playing for the Atlanta Hawks, and truthfully speaking, the only time where he had a great run in the Playoffs was during the 2020-21 season, and that’s it.
During the trade deadline, the Hawks’ front office once again failed to give him actual help in order to improve their chances of making the postseason. They traded away their solid starting Forward De’Andre Hunter in exchange for rotational players from the #1 seeded team in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Terrence Mann and George Niang.
They’re now #8 in the East with a record of 37-41 as this trade slightly helped them to assure a Play-In Tournament ticket, but making the actual Playoffs is what matters the most. And even if they do so, it’s also somewhat guaranteed that they will get eliminated during the 1st round.
Trae is leading the league in assists with 11.6 per game along with his 24.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Aside from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals almost 4 years ago, his team got knocked out in the 1st Round during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. He is a great player on a mediocre team and it’s not his fault for the team not returning to the ECF and making the NBA Finals, it’s really the management.
My suggestion? Trade him and make the Hawks go to a full-on rebuilding stage. After all, they still got their #1 overall pick from this year’s draft, Zacchaire Rissacher, to replace Trae as the face of the franchise.
Domantas Sabonis
The Basketball Forever Facebook Page posted that Domantas Sabonis may request a trade as reported by Brett Siegal if the Sacramento Kings “are unable to gain a sense of direction this offseason”.
I agree. The Kings have failed to make it to the postseason ever since breaking their 16-year playoff drought during the 2022-2023 season. It’s either making the Play-In Tournament or early elimination for the Kings for the past few seasons, despite Domas leading the league in double-doubles per game.
Since last season, Sabonis has been able to take care of both the scoring and rebounding departments for his team. Even during this season’s trade deadline, where his teammate and arguably the face of this franchise, De’Aaron Fox, got traded to the Spurs, Sabonis still stood his ground and won plenty of games.
As Sacramento sits at the #9 spot in the talented Western Conference with a record of 38 wins and 40 losses, they can somewhat see themselves battling in the Play-In Tournament again.
My suggestion is for him to be traded to any contending Eastern Conference team this off-season in order to have an assurance that he’ll make the most out of his double-double performances as it could easily translate into Playoff success.
Cam Johnson
In my “Which NBA team should draft Cooper Flagg?” story, I’ve discussed how the Brooklyn Nets are willing to trade any of their borderline superstars just to get the potential number one overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft. One of the players that can be traded to a contending team is Cam Johnson.
This year, he is averaging 18.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.4 APG, almost 1 steal per game, while shooting 47.5% from the field and 39.0% from the 3-point area. He has become an integral part of the Nets’ offense along with D’Angelo Russell, Nic Claxton, and Cam Thomas. But it’s obvious that the team is tanking, as they have only won 25 games and lost 53 games.
Having this year as his highest scoring output makes him a great asset to any championship-contending teams both from the East and West as he transforms himself into a reliable forward.
Kevin Durant
This one is “written in the walls” and feels like it is “bound to happen” this off-season. KD’s Phoenix Suns have been incredibly disappointing this season despite having their Big 3 of Devin Booker and Bradley Beal playing more games together compared to last year.
Scoring 26.６ points per game is actually #6 in the entire league. With any type of offense, KD’s shooting will strive and find success. He had an all-around game and can play multiple positions. He also averages 6 boards per game, 4.2 dimes, 1.2 blocks with an incredible 52.7% shooting average on the floor and 43.0% from 3-point range. You would think that they are at least in the Top 6 in the West, but no.
The team is #11 spot, and KD’s growing frustrations on how the team is built have become a concern on his “possible departure” this off-season. Though it’s kinda funny to think about how some of the trades that the Suns made in the past were actually all because of Durant’s requests and demands.
They wanted a third star, so they traded for Bradley Beal. They wanted a solid big man, so they traded their assets to Jusuf Nurkic. When Nurkic didn’t play well, they traded him for another big man, Nick Richards. They needed more shooters, so they got Cody Martin and Vasilije Micic.
Every wish that Durant dreamt of, the Suns management granted him, and all they got in return was a 1st round appearance in last year’s Playoffs, where the Minnesota Timberwolves swept them.
Maybe the one move that the Phoenix Suns must make is not to trade any more rotational players but rather to give Kevin Durant his “new home” before the start of the next NBA season.
