The NBA is about a month into the 2025-26 season, and hope is already starting to die for some teams. Most mainstream outlets had the Dallas Mavericks as a playoff team in the Western Conference over the summer, but now they’ve fired Nico Harrison and appear ready to tank for the 2026 NBA Draft. The Memphis Grizzlies thought they could compete in the West even after trading Desmond Bane over the summer, but their season is quickly going off the rails while so many key players have been sidelined with injuries. The East still looks wide open, and it’s possible that one good move could take a team from the play-in tier to the top of the conference.
The next month will inform most of the conversations around February’s trade deadline, but it’s already becoming apparent who might be available for the right price. With a loaded draft class looming and what feels like an open championship race coming this summer, both buyers and sellers will have plenty of motivation to stay out of the middle.
Here are seven NBA stars who could be traded by the deadline, ranked by who is most likely to be moved.
7. LaMelo Ball, G, Charlotte Hornets
LaMelo Ball’s ankle injuries are starting to feel chronic, and it’s slowed any chance of building momentum for the ultra-talented point guard. Ball can blend scoring and playmaking at an elite level when he’s at his best, but he just isn’t reliable enough for a player on a max contract. We are now in year six of Ball scoring at below league-average efficiency, and he’s currently tied for the worst relative true shooting percentage of his career, so it isn’t improving. The Hornets suddenly have many other reasons for optimism thanks to their fantastic rookie class headlined by No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel while also getting solid contributions from second-rounders Ryan Kalkbrenner (I told you he’d be a sleeper) and Sion James. With another high lottery pick likely coming this year, perhaps the Hornets would be motivated to get off Ball at a lower asking price, which might make another team more willing to take a chance on him. The Hornets have signs of a good thing going with this rookie class even without LaMelo. That might mean this is the time to move him.
6. Ja Morant, G, Memphis Grizzlies
Ja Morant’s one-game suspension hasn’t turned around his play. The Grizzlies star is really struggling with his scoring efficiency since coming back, culminating in brutal 46.9 percent true shooting that is an unfathomable -11.4 percent below league-average. The Grizzlies have lost four in a row entering the week, and it’s becoming apparent this team’s future is much more about Cedric Coward and Zach Edey than it is about Morant. The point guard’s play and reputation have both taken such a big hit this season that his trade value feels like it’s at an all-time low. Maybe Memphis has just had enough of him at this point, but I still think another desperate team would be willing to take a chance on a 26-year-old this talented. I already did a breakout piece on potential Morant trade suitors. The market should be there if the Grizzlies are ready to give up on this era of the team.
5. Trae Young, G, Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are won seven of their first nine games since Young was sidelined with a sprained MCL that will keep him out at least a few more weeks. Granted, the schedule has been soft (four of those wins have come against the Jazz, Kings, Clippers, and Pacers), but Atlanta is playing a much more free-flowing style without the ball dominant Young in the lineup. Atlanta’s massive fourth quarter comeback win against the Suns on Sunday night provided more proof that this team really might be better without its star point guard. Young is a free agent this summer after failing to reach an agreement with the team over the offseason, and if Atlanta is ready to move on, trading him at the deadline before they lose him for nothing would be in their best interest. I still think it’s possible that Atlanta needs Young to be the best version of themselves this season — let’s wait to see how this team performs when the schedule gets tougher — but if this hot play continues, and if Jalen Johnson fully grabs the reins as the leading man, then moving off Young before free agency becomes more and more likely.
4. Zion Williamson, F, New Orleans Pelicans
The skinny Zion era was supposed to finally help the Pelicans star stay healthy, but it hit a road block after the fifth game when he was sidelined with a lingering hamstring injury. For the first time, Williamson no longer feels like the future of the Pelicans. Rookies Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears will be the faces of this franchise as interim head coach James Borrego takes over for Willie Green, who was fired over the weekend. Queen and Williamson like to work from the same spots on the floor, and I’m skeptical the front court defense and shooting can be good enough long-term for it to be a workable partnership. Zion’s injury issues are just really disheartening, and if dropping so much weight over the offseason can’t keep him healthy, it’s possible nothing will. Is there a team out there willing to roll the dice on Zion at this point? I still believe in his talent if he’s healthy, but he’s going to have to put together a sustained stretch of great play to even conjure up a market by the trade deadline. The Pelicans have zero incentive to lose with their first-round pick in the hands of the Atlanta Hawks, so a Williamson trade is probably more likely in the summer. New Orleans has been loyal to him to this point, but it feels like a fresh start is best for both sides.
3. Lauri Markkanen, F, Utah Jazz
The Jazz’s first round pick is top-8 protected, otherwise it gets sent to the Thunder for the 2021 Derrick Favors salary dump (gulp). The Jazz essentially need to be no worse than the fourth worst team in the league this year to guarantee they keep the pick, and the incentive to lose could make them more willing to trade their best player, Lauri Markkanen. The 28-year-old is having a monster season as a scorer, averaging 30 points per game on scorching scoring efficiency with a minuscule turnover rate so far. He’s wasting the best years of his career in Utah, and he doesn’t fit the timeline for whenever the Jazz plan to be good next. Markkanen’s high-volume (more than nine three-point attempts per game) and highly-accurate shooting (better than 39 percent from three) should be appealing to a wide range of suitors despite his huge salary, owed about $150 million over the next three years after this one. Utah’s rebuild is showing signs of life with Keyonte George leveling up and rookie Ace Bailey showing flashes, but the season-ending injury to center Walker Kessler is further proof that tanking is the best move. Markkanen’s value may never get higher than it is right now, so I’m guessing Utah finally pulls the trigger on a deal.
2. Domantas Sabonis, C, Sacramento Kings
The Kings are the NBA’s fourth oldest and fifth-worst team so far this season, which is never a good combination. No one should be surprised that reuniting Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan failed to produce winning basketball in the Western Conference, and now it feels like it’s time to blow it up and let first-year GM Scott Perry put his imprint on the team. Trading Sabonis would be painful for Sacramento fans because he’s been so durable and productive since arriving in the regrettable Tyrese Haliburton trade, but he deserves to be spending the rest of his prime years on playoff team while the Kings need future assets for another rebuild. It’s hard to say what the market for Sabonis could look like, but his incredible rebounding, improved three-point shooting (until regressing again early this season), and reliable playmaking will still interest teams looking for an upgrade in the front court. Sacramento obviously doesn’t need to trade Sabonis to tank, so they have the luxury of waiting for the right deal. It just feels like Sabonis will have a bigger market than LaVine and DeRozan, and there really isn’t much point in holding on to him amid more losing seasons.
1. Anthony Davis, C/F, Dallas Mavericks
Nico Harrison’s grand plan went bust, and the Mavericks have no choice but to trade Anthony Davis and pray for another round of lottery luck. Davis has been deeply disappointing since arriving in Dallas in the doomed Luka Doncic trade, missing most of his games with injury and showing up overweight and out of shape this season. As he works his way back from a calf strain, Davis’ value feels like it’s at rock bottom, and the only way it can be rebuilt it is by getting back to the dominant form he showed with the Lakers last season before the trade. At his best, Davis is still a dominant big man who combines rim protection, defensive mobility, and consistent scoring punch. His reluctance to play center full-time could limit his value, but if AD is healthy and bought in, he’s the type of player any middle tier playoff hopeful could use to try to go up a level. It feels like Davis needs to prove himself all over again with at least a couple months of sustained high-level play. The Mavericks better hope they get it, because they need to trade him either way. Dallas owns its 2026 draft pick, but it doesn’t control its first-rounder in 2027 (top-two protected to Charlotte), 2028 (swap to OKC), 2029 (swap to Houston), or 2030 (swap to San Antonio). It’s possible the Luka trade was so bad that it’s going to damn the Cooper Flagg era, too. To save it, Dallas needs to nail its 2026 draft pick, ideally by getting one of the three no-brainer prospects (Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa) sitting at the top of the class. A big haul of assets for Davis probably won’t be on the table, but Dallas still needs to make the best trade it can and finally put the Doncic deal behind them.
