5 NBA Stars Who Could Dominate Trade Rumors This Season

The trade market scattered stars all around the NBA this offseason.

The upcoming 2026-27 campaign just might do the same.

Conditions remain perfect for some landscape-shifting deals. Not every trade candidate found a new hoops home, and not every talent-pursuing team closed a fortune-changing transaction.

So, what's coming next? Well, it's funny (and fortunate) you should ask, since we're here to examine five stars who could keep the rumor mill moving for reasons we'll detail as we discuss each one.

The Wizards only acquired Davis in February, and he hasn't suited up for them yet, so this would be a pretty speedy divorce. Then again, there were whispers about a possible split as soon as this summer, and the same particulars that spawned them remain in place.

The timelines are completely disconnected. Davis is 33 years old and very much in win-immediately mode, while the still-rebuilding Wizards are coming off three consecutive seasons with 64-plus losses. Washington could be markedly improved this season and still nowhere near the title chase; that just isn't the kind of carrot on the stake Davis wants to chase at this stage of his career.

His unsettled future plays a big part in potential trade talks, too. His contract features a $62.8 million player option for next season and nothing beyond that. Washington could try to extend him, obviously, but it could be pretty costly, as Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor relayed there were "rumblings [that Davis is] demanding that full max from Washington but would sign for less if traded to a contender."

Nothing feels particularly sturdy, then, when it comes to the foundation of this relationship. Other clubs can surely sense that, too, and might pester the Wizards with trade inquiries, especially if Davis looks healthy.

If he is up to form, he is worth a small fortune to the right suitor—even with tricky extension negotiations ahead. The last time he held up for 60-plus games (2023-24), he was an All-Star, an All-Defensive first-teamer and an All-NBA second-teamer that season.

His availability and contract concerns are real, but so is the fact that his 26.68 career player efficiency rating is fifth-highest in NBA history.

When the Clippers acquired Garland at this past trade deadline, they may have viewed him as a building block for their backcourt. But plenty has changed since, and it's easy to imagine that (or at least wonder if) plans with Garland have changed, too.

For starters, L.A.'s fortune at the draft lottery netted the team another young, offense-first guard in Keaton Wagler. While there's enough off-ball utility for the pair to function on offense, the defensive challenge could torpedo all of that production—and then some.

More importantly, though, the Clippers learned their punishments from the salary-cap circumvention investigation, and they were severe enough to impact whatever plans this group had of growing something organically. L.A. was stripped of five first-round picks, putting its future into an impossible predicament.

The Clippers have to be searching for ways to dig out of this draft deficit, and a trade involving Garland almost assuredly promises the most relief. The right offensively limited suitor could potentially fork over multiple first-round picks to land the 26-year-old, two-time All-Star.

He is shifty with his handle, deep with his shooting range and reliable with his playmaking. He has flirted with 50/40/90 efficiency before, routinely has a sizable gap between his assists and turnovers and seems capable of more than the 20-ish points he has averaged in multi-creator offenses.

There might be a movie executive or three hoping Herro's return to his home state of Wisconsin plays out in superheroic style befitting of his Boy Wonder nickname. A franchise gutted by the forced exit of its best player in history gets miraculously saved by, essentially, a hometown hero? Yeah, the script sort of writes itself.

Unfortunately, there a number of different ways in which that scenario gets reality-checked toward something a lot less exciting. Even Herro acknowledged this uncertainty when telling The Athletic's Eric Nehm that his homecoming might last "for two months, two years, whatever it is."

While Herro should clear the two month threshold soon, he is hardly guaranteed a full season-plus stay in the Badger State. The Bucks, for one, might be too far removed from any kind of competitive window to justify hanging onto a 26-year-old All-Star over flipping him for, perhaps, a midsize pile of long-term assets.

Or maybe the Bucks just aren't inclined to commit anything beyond Herro's current contract, which expires at season's end, to such a one-way contributor. Especially when his offensive value could be muted by the backcourt presences of Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr. and lottery pick Brayden Burries (not to mention playmaking forwards Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Nate Ament).

Any number of factors could push Herro into the rumor mill, and he could generate a good amount of buzz upon his arrival. His defensive flaws are real, but his offensive punch is powerful. He is one of only six players to average at least 20 points, four assists and 2.5 three-pointers in each of the past five seasons.

The Mavericks keep insisting they have geniune interest in seeing how Irving operates alongside reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg. Folks just aren't buying it, or at least not buying the concept of that interest holding greater appeal than the chunk of assets Irving could return in a deal.

As NBA insider Marc Stein put it, rival teams "continue to wonder aloud about how firmly Dallas will stick to that stance once the season begins and the next in-season trade deadline on Feb. 11 gradually approaches."

Even if that skepticism features a bit of optimism, it's still warranted. Irving and Flagg just might harmonize on the hardwood, but there's no way to unite the timelines attached to the 34-year-old Irving and the 19-year-old Flagg. And since the franchise's focus should be absolutely affixed to Flagg's future, Irving's present value to the organization may only extend to wherever the trade market sets it.

The good news is that Irving should have at least a decent market. He has his warts—a spotty injury history, a few bridge-burning breaks from his ex-employers and an unsettled financial future —but his resume is rich enough to outshine them all, especially for suitors shopping for scoring, shotmaking and all kinds of creativity.

The last time Irving played—he missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL—he earned All-Star honors while averaging 24.7 points on 47.3/40.1/91.6 shooting with 4.6 assists against 2.2 turnovers. And he did so while navigating around the wrecking ball that was the disastrous Luka Dončić deal.

Of all the myriad ways in which the Bulls could've used their cap space this summer, investing a big chunk of it into Powell ahead of his age-33 season didn't appear on most Bingo cards. Yet, they both decided that was the best course of action—perhaps a reflection of (and reaction to) what was and wasn't available to them.

Chicago following Powell's $21.5 million salary for this season with a $22.8 million team option for 2027-28 seems an admission from both parties that this relationship could (and arguably should) be short-lived. The Bulls are still sketching out their rebuilding blueprint and have, as Powell told FadeawayWorld's Mark Medina "the potential to be really good" but also "the potential to be really bad."

Oddsmakers think it'll be the latter , which could put a ticking clock on Powell, who had an All-Star case in 2024-25 and then an All-Star selection this past season.

As an efficient support scorer (21.8 points on 47.7/40/81.6 shooting over this stretch) with a fiery three-ball, loads of playoff experience and some self-creation chops, he'd be a real get for a win-now shopper needing an offensive lift. Even as a partial-season rental, he'd bring something of value to the Bulls.

A one-piece-away near-contender could legitimately view Powell as the final addition that pushes it over the proverbial hump. Chicago just happens to need something completely different than he can offer, though it will surely appreciate any veteran wisdom he can share with this young locker room and whatever it is he brings back in a midseason trade.