Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The NBA offseason is approaching, and teams are preparing to offload costly, problematic contracts under strict CBA rules.
- This ranking highlights five players whose salaries and performance issues make them difficult trade assets, with varying degrees of potential upside.
- The top spot on the list belongs to a former MVP whose recurring injuries make his massive contract a major burden for any contender.
With the NBA Playoffs nearing its climax, the offseason is nearly upon us. Nowadays, the offseason might as well be renamed "the time that every team tries to off-load their bad contracts by any means necessary."
And given how restrictive the current CBA is on teams financial spending power, it feels like there are more teams than ever trying to get off of suboptimal contracts. Here are what we believe to be the five most toxic trade chips of the offseason, ranked.
5. Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis is a good player. However, he is also a highly-flawed one. He is a below-average defender at a position where defense is of the utmost importance, and he isn't a good enough offensive player to make up for it.
That would be manageable, if he weren't making roughly $94 million over the next two years. The Kings are going to look to move Sabonis this offseason, but his salary/limitations will make that hard to do.
Fortunately, for the Kings, Sabonis is still relatively reliable (before this year, he played 70+ games in each of the last three seasons) and capable of putting up some monster regular season numbers.
4. Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis hasn't even suited up for the Washington Wizards, and it seems like he already wants out. And while the Wizards seem like they want to compete next season, maybe they will decide they don't want to deal with someone who doesn't want to be there and move him to make more minutes for their youngsters.
The best version of Davis is a far greater playoff performer than Sabonis. However, we don't see the best version of Davis nearly as often as we do with Sabonis. Plus, he's three years older, and owed over $26 million more over the next two years (if he accepts his 2027-28 player option).
The reason that he isn't higher is because, unlike almost everyone else on this list, Davis has shown you can win with him eating up a lot of your salary, and he isn't under contract for that much longer.
3. Ja Morant
Once upon a time, Ja Morant was one of the most electrifying and effective players in the league. Unfortunately, nowadays he is, well, one of the more toxic members of the association, and the Memphis Grizzlies seem to be done with him.
In theory, that, coupled with the 87 million dollars he's owed over the next two years and his laundry list of career injuries, should put him at the top spot of our infamous list. However, Morant is the youngest player on this list (he'll be 27 to start next year). The chances of Morant rediscovering his old groove aren't zero, and if that happens, his next employer may have someone to guide them through the next half decade.
2. Zach LaVine
The Kings are clearly looking to clean house, and part of that entails moving on from Zach LaVine, who has a $49 million dollar player option for next season.
In many ways, LaVine carries the same baggage as Morant. He's an overpaid, athletic-based guard, who isn't as athletic as he once was. What makes LaVine's contract a little more toxic is that he's older (he'll be 32 before the playoffs next season), and even the best version of him wasn't as effective Morant. However, LaVine did play 74 games in 2024-25, which is more than we can say about the #1 spot on this list.
1. Joel Embiid
Joel Embiid is a former MVP. That is something that can't be said about anyone else on this list. But what can't be said about Embiid, though, is that he's able to go through a full season without getting hurt.
As sad as it is to say, Embiid's body just can't withstand the rigors of an 82-game season and a postseason run. This year, even with how good he was when he was on the floor, Embiid only appeared in 38 of 82 regular season games and seven of 11 playoff games.
If Embiid picks up his player option (hint: he will), the big man will be owed $188 million over the next three years. That is just too much money for any team that seriously hopes to contend to fathom for such an injury-riddled soul.
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