8 stars who could be on the move after first-round NBA playoff exits

With the Cleveland Cavaliers' come-from-behind Game 7 win over the Orlando Magic, the first round of the NBA playoffs is officially over. Eight teams still remain in the fight for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, but before those series get into full swing, let's take a moment to examine the fallout from Round 1.

Part of the fun in following the ongoing soap opera that is the NBA is the constant player movement. No other sport sees as many star players change teams, and the chance of trading for a disgruntled superstar can occupy as much time for fans as following the games themselves.

Not every team will be making major moves this offseason, but there's no doubt that we'll see All-Stars on the move. Let's take a look at eight players that could feasibly be in a different place when next season rolls around.

8. Brandon Ingram

The 2023-24 season will be remembered by Pelicans fans as one that got away. Even in a loaded Western Conference, the Pels were a dangerous team with aspirations of making a deep playoff run, but a hamstring injury to Zion Williamson during a Play-In Tournament loss to the Lakers short-circuited any hope of New Orleans making noise in the postseason.

Zion showed the first real signs of fulfilling his considerable promise this year, so the question now becomes how will general manager Trajan Langdon build around his fellow former Blue Devil to create a legit title contender?

The answer may lie in trading another of Mike Krzyzewski's products away for pieces that fit better around Zion's unique skillset. Brandon Ingram has scored over 20 points per game for the past five years, but he's never shown he can be the go-to player, or even the second in command, on a serious contender.

There are many teams around the league that could use a scorer as reliable as Ingram, and with just one year left on his deal, now is the perfect time to get something of value for him. CJ McCollum is no stranger to the trade machine after years of being involved in trade rumors as a member of the Blazers, so perhaps Langdon could package him with Ingram to a team with an unhappy superstar.

7. Damian Lillard

Of all the teams that got knocked out in the first round, the Bucks have the best excuse to run it back next year without making major changes. Milwaukee took the Pacers to six games despite not having Giannis Antetokounmpo for the entire series. Dame Lillard did his best to carry the Bucks in the four games he suited up for, but it wasn't enough.

Should the Bucks want to keep the same core intact next year? Don't be so sure. The idea that Milwaukee would be one of the best teams in the league after trading for Dame never really materialized. Adrian Griffin was fired just 43 games into his tenure as Mike Budenholzer's replacement, and the team was arguably worse after Doc Rivers took over.

The Bucks transformed from a defensive team to an offensive one by replacing Jrue Holiday with Lillard, and they won nine fewer games and saw their net rating drop from 3.4 to 2.6 as a result. Giannis actually played 10 more games this year, so the disparity is even worse than it appears to be.

Lillard made it clear that he didn't love being in Milwaukee from a lifestyle perspective, and it's well-known that Miami was his first choice when he left Portland. The Bucks might realize that the ceiling of this team is much more limited than they thought it would be when they brought Lillard aboard, and Dame would be happy to make a move to a bigger market.

6. Paul George and 5. James Harden

The Clippers could look very different next season after falling to the Mavericks in six games. Paul George has a player option for next season, and James Harden, who the team acquired in October, is an unrestricted free agent. Kawhi Leonard was once again unavailable for the games that mattered, which will give George and Harden a lot to think about. Does he want to continue partnering with a guy who can't stay on the court?

George had a rough series against the Mavs. Outside of a 33-point explosion in a Game 4 win, the veteran forward was unable to live up to his self-given "Playoff P" nickname. In the decisive Game 6 loss, he was a game-worst minus-19 on 6-of-18 shooting.

Despite the way his season ended, George should have plenty of suitors on the open market if he opts out. This could give him a jumpstart on his next big contract while allowing him to choose his landing spot. The Knicks, Magic, and Sixers could all make sense from a basketball perspective.

Harden has become a basketball nomad, now playing for five NBA teams after forcing his way out of Philadelphia. Could a sixth be on the way? Even though George was great in Game 4, it was Harden who put the team on his back with 13 points in the fourth quarter. Just as he seemed poised to shed the label of being a playoff underperformer, though, he put up duds in Games 5 and 6, shooting 28 percent combined in the two games.

Harden won't have as easy a time as George finding a new home if he opts to leave L.A., but there will still be a market for a guy who averaged 16.6 points and finished fourth in the league in assists, even if he has left each of his teams acrimoniously.

Maybe one of George and Harden will return to the Clippers next year, but it would be surprising if they both do.

4. Kevin Durant and 3. Devin Booker

Little Orphan Annie once sang that the sun will come out tomorrow, but she must not have known that Phoenix's salary cap and draft pick situation was more dire than the conditions in the Hudson Street Orphanage where she once resided. To put it more succinctly, the Suns are screwed.

The trade for Bradley Beal has been an abject disaster, and Kevin Durant isn't getting any younger. The considerable amount of money that Suns owner Mat Ishbia is spending on Durant, Beal, and Devin Booker has made it impossible to surround them with NBA-level talent. Ishbia now has two choices, both of which are grim. Run it back with his big three and hope for a better result than a first-round sweep, or blow it all up and plan for the future.

If the goal in Phoenix is to win a championship, then blowing it up is the only real option, because as currently constructed, this team can't beat the best teams in the league in a seven-game series. Half-measures won't do either, not with how lacking the Suns' future collection of picks is, so it doesn't make sense to trade just one of Durant or Booker, it has to be both (Beal has a no-trade clause).

There are already rumors out there of Booker and Durant eyeing their next stops, so the idea of trading them from a situation that clearly wasn't well thought out isn't as preposterous as it would have seemed earlier this season.

The Suns should strip the team down to the studs and leave Beal to pilot a club that could be dubbed "Wizards West." It'll require patience on the part of the owner and fans, but it's better than the alternative.

2. Joel Embiid

There was a time when it would have been unthinkable to see Joel Embiid in any uniform other than the Sixers'. The face of the "Trust the Process" movement outlived the Ben Simmons era and has an MVP award in his trophy case, but the six-game series loss to the Knicks exposed some tension between Embiid, the team, and the fans.

Embiid called out the Philly faithful for their showing in a Game 4 loss when Knicks fans nearly took over the Wells Fargo Center. Whether he's right or wrong, it's a bad look to publicly call out your own team's fans like that.

Embiid has to wonder if he'll ever have a real chance at a championship in Philly. Tyrese Maxey won the NBA's Most Improved Player award and is on the doorstep of becoming a superstar, and he saved the Sixers' season with his late-game heroics in Madison Square Garden in Game 5. The rest of the roster, though, is old and increasingly ineffective, and Embiid's on-court/off-court numbers this series were truly depressing, with the Sixers somehow losing by more than a point per minute when he sat.

Tobias Harris pulled another playoff disappearing act, Buddy Hield has been a major disappointment since GM Daryl Morey traded for him in February, and Kyle Lowry and Nic Batum are not far from the retirement home. Unless Morey can work some magic and bring in some serious help for his two best players, Embiid might try to force his way out.

1. LeBron James

When it comes to speculating about NBA player movements, LeBron is always going to be at the top of the list. The four-time champ has swapped jerseys three times during his 21-year career, and with the Lakers' most recent instance of coming up short against the Nuggets, there's a decent chance that LBJ could be packing his things for a fourth time.

We've written about some of the best potential fits for LeBron if he decides to leave L.A., which has become a distinct possibility in the wake of King James' refusal to speak about his future in the wake of being eliminated.

While a first-round playoff exit sounds bad on the resume of one of the greatest players of all time, it's not as damning an indictment as it appears to be. The Lakers led big in every one of the five games in the Nuggets series, and could very well have had a 3-2 series lead if not for two late Jamal Murray hero shots in Games 2 and 5.

Head coach Darvin Ham has already taken the fall for the Lakers' demise, and if LeBron is happy with his replacement, he could easily convince himself that staying with Anthony Davis in L.A. gives him the best shot at another ring. With a player option on his contract though, LeBron has all the power, and could easily move to another contender with just a few strokes of the pen.