The Philadelphia 76ers have finally done it. They've traded James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers in a deal that nets them two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a pick swap, and a whole bunch of expiring contracts. PJ Tucker and Filip Petrusev went with Harden to Los Angeles, with KJ Martin, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris and Nic Batum headed to Philadelphia.
This trade catapults the Clippers into the NBA Championship conversation and also puts an end to the ongoing Harden saga in Philadelphia. While Joel Embiid certainly won't be thrilled with the idea of trading Harden for a bunch of expiring contracts, the 76ers now have Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and a whole bunch of money and assets to get a third star to Philadelphia. The chances of him demanding a trade right now are still pretty low.
While Embiid leaving Philadelphia right now is unlikely, there are many stars that will follow Harden out the door from their respective teams. The order of this list is from most likely to be traded to least.
1. DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls
When DeMar DeRozan signed his three-year, $81.9 million deal to join the Chicago Bulls ahead of the 2021-22 season, many thought it was a massive overpay by the Bulls. Turns out, he's been worth every penny and then some for a Bulls team without much to celebrate in that time.
With DeRozan now in the final year of that contract, he's entered extension negotiations with the Bulls that have reportedly gone nowhere. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the two sides are apart in both years and dollars, which doesn't give Bulls fans much hope that an extension will be reached.
If no extension is reached for the 34-year-old anytime soon, Chicago needs to consider trading him. The core of DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic has done nothing in its time together, and they're only getting older.
Chicago had a players only meeting after just one game this season and currently sit on a record of 2-2. The Eastern Conference is a bit more open now after the Harden trade, but Chicago is still nowhere near as good as many top teams in the conference. Getting something for him and entering a rebuild is the best course of action for Chicago.
2. Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
The Raptors and Bulls are in similar situations. They were both Play-In teams last season and are most likely going to appear in the same situation this season, or be out of the playoff picture entirely. They're not good enough to finish with a guaranteed postseason spot in the Eastern Conference, and aren't bad enough to finish among the bottom couple of teams in the East.
Like DeRozan, Pascal Siakam is in the final year of his deal and will be an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason. While DeRozan is the only major free agent to be in Chicago, Siakam is one of many key players expiring this season in Toronto. OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. are going to join him on the market this summer.
Siakam and the Raptors reportedly have had no discussions on a long-term contract extension, leaving his future in Toronto very much up in the air. Assuming a deal doesn't get done anytime soon, the Raptors would be foolish to not explore trades for the 29-year-old.
The Raptors have begun this season going 1-3 after losing at home to the rebuilding Trail Blazers. The chances of them making real noise in the Eastern Conference are slim to none, and they can't risk losing Siakam for nothing this offseason as they did with Fred VanVleet. Get something before it's too late.
3. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised many NBA fans when they were the winners of the Donovan Mitchell sweepstakes prior to the 2022-23 season. Mitchell had a list of teams he wanted to go to and Cleveland was not one of them. Despite that, the Cavs made the move, and are one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference because of it.
While Mitchell has been playing fantastic ball for Cleveland, there are still questions about whether he wants to be there long-term or not. He doesn't have a choice right now, but Mitchell has a player option after next season which he will presumably reject to reach unrestricted free agency. Once that happens, he's free to sign anywhere.
The Cavaliers are a team trying to win a championship right now and won't trade Mitchell barring a request, but what if the team fails again this season? They lost in embarrassing fashion to the Knicks in the first round last year and are still a tier below teams like the Celtics and Bucks in the conference.
Eventually, if Mitchell chooses to not extend, the Cavs have to decide whether they want to risk losing Mitchell for nothing or get something for him before he likely walks in free agency. My guess is they'll choose the latter.
4. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Minnesota Timberwolves made one of the worst trades in recent memory, trading a slew of assets to the Jazz in a deal that landed them Rudy Gobert. The fit made little sense at the time with Karl-Anthony Towns already in Minnesota and one year into the experiment it's still awkward at best.
The Timberwolves won 42 games in the regular season last year and earned a playoff berth after their Play-In victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were then discarded in five games against the eventual champion Denver Nuggets. Their best-case scenario this season is likely another first-round exit with how stacked the top of the Western Conference is.
The Wolves are headed in the opposite direction of the rest of the NBA by playing two centers together while the league is playing smaller. With that in mind, parting with one of Towns and Gobert makes a lot of sense. Considering the fact that Minnesota just acquired Gobert and the fact that he has nowhere near the value Towns has, Minnesota parting with the 28-year-old makes more sense.
The Timberwolves should look to not only clear up the middle of the court for Anthony Edwards to go to work, but they should also look to clear up money for an Anthony Edwards extension. Minnesota would have to go deep into the luxury tax if they paid and kept all of Gobert, Edwards, Towns, Naz Reid, and Jaden McDaniels. A Towns deal would help Minnesota in a number of ways, while also allowing them to recoup much of what they lost in the Gobert deal.
5. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are another team that's really just stuck in the middle. They're not good enough to knock off a team like the Celtics and Bucks but aren't bad enough to be in the front of the lottery. The Hawks once again look like a team that will finish with a low seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and lose in the first round.
Not only are these Hawks not good enough to win anything anytime soon, but they're also stuck with the core that they've got. Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, De'Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Onyeka Okongwu are all locked in through the 2025-2026 season, and they don't really have assets or cap space to get much better than they already are.
Parting with Trae Young would give Atlanta the opportunity to kickstart a rebuild where they'd look for a player a bit better suited to be the top option on a championship contender. Young is an awesome player, but his defensive deficiencies and struggles from the field in big games really stick out. Young has shot 40.2% from the field in his postseason career, which is hard to overcome from a guy shooting over 20 times per game.
The Hawks parting with one of the best point guards in the game who is just 25 years old and locked in for a while is unlikely barring a request from Young. It's hard to move on from a franchise player even if it might be the right thing to do.
