3 NBA All-Stars who will be traded by next season and where

The 2025 NBA trade deadline was among the most chaotic in recent memory.

My brain still has not fully processed the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap. Meanwhile, De'Aaron Fox, Zach LaVine, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, and Khris Middleton — all former All-Stars — also switched teams. It was a major reshuffling of the deck, and a sign of how desperate front offices are around the league.

The NBA has not seen this much parity in a while. It felt like there might be a Boston Celtics juggernaut percolating last season, but the Celts look at least beatable right now. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder, the top seeds in their respective conferences, have orchestrated thrilling breakthroughs, but neither feels unimpeachable on the postseason stage.

New CBA be damned, front offices are clearly willing to take risks in the name of winning (or, in certain cases, rebuilding). It's hard to trade an All-Star, but it's certainly not impossible, and there will be a few names at the upcoming All-Star Weekend worthy of your attention next summer.

Here are the 2025 All-Star who will end up on the trade block this offseason — and where they might end up.

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3. Damian Lillard, Milwaukee Bucks —> Miami Heat

The Milwaukee Bucks are five games above .500 and toiling around the middle of the pack in the East. We know Doc Rivers teams do not perform in the playoffs. There is undeniable talent at the top of that roster between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but the Bucks are too old and not deep enough. The Kyle Kuzma trade was a step back, not forward, and this team is going to flame out in the postseason.

At a certain point, Antetokounmpo will need to think long and hard about his future in the Bucks organization. What is clear, however, is that Giannis will co-sign blockbuster trades involving his best teammates. Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton have been dealt in back-to-back years. If Milwaukee's best path to building a more sustainable future around Giannis is trading Lillard for multiple contributors and draft picks, Antetokounmpo will probably let it happen.

The Bucks would absolutely prefer to move Dame before smashing the reset button and siphoning off Giannis. Lillard is enjoying a bounce-back season individually, so he ought to have suitors in the offseason, should Milwaukee decide to move on. Why not the team that originally wanted him a couple summers ago, the Miami Heat? Lillard is friends with Bam Adebayo, and Miami has the capital to make it happen.

2. Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers —> Dallas Mavericks

This comes out of left field, but the odds of the Indiana Pacers underperforming in the playoffs feel awfully high. Tyrese Haliburton has been a major disappointment all season, with Pascal Siakam doing a lot of the heavy lifting to keep Indy so competitive. The Pacers are a good, fun unit, but this roster does not feel like a contending roster. At a certain point, Indiana might need to consider mixing it up, if not completely tearing it down.

Siakam, now on the wrong side of 30, feels like a sneaky strong trade candidate. His new four-year, $188 million contract looks fine now, but it might look less fine in 2026 or 2027. Siakam's skill set does not figure to age well. If the Pacers can cash in for a couple first-round picks and a smattering of solid contributors, it might be the right time to sell high on the two-time All-Star.

We know the Dallas Mavericks are still looking to add — aggressively — after the Doncic-AD trade. Siakam fits their sudden commitment to size and versatility on the defensive end, and he'd be a nice complement to Kyrie Irving with his constant slashing and secondary shot creation from the wing. If the Mavs want to build a package around P.J. Washington and a couple picks, perhaps Indiana takes their call.

1. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns —> Golden State Warriors

Kevin Durant effectively shot down a trade to the Golden State Warriors at the deadline. He heard tell of those rumors and put a swift end to them, clearly not satisfied with how his prior tenure in the Bay ended. There are hard feelings there — nobody can deny that — but just because Durant isn't in Golden State right now, that doesn't mean he won't end up in a Dubs uniform again when all is said and done.

The Phoenix Suns are going to split up with Durant in the offseason. With Bradley Beal effectively immovable, the only path to freeing up roster flexibility and changing something about the foundation of this team is trading Durant. Phoenix and Devin Booker don't appear ready to end their partnership, and Booker is a far more sustainable building block long term. Next season is the final year of Durant's contract. The end is nigh.

Golden State ought to come knocking once more. All the trade assets that could've made a Durant deal possible at the deadline, such as Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Brandin Podziemski, are on the roster today. Feelings can change and soften over time. Durant would also get to partner with Jimmy Butler; or, perhaps Golden State builds its trade package around Butler. There are new dynamics at play here, and the Warriors still present one of the clearest paths to title contention for Durant.

We are going to circle back to this. Book it.