With the NBA trade deadline so near, the drama is in full swing, as it appears even a former two-time league MVP might be on the move in the coming days.
Well, today, as a fun exercise, we decided to rank the players who have appeared most often in trade rumors of late by what we believe their values as trade assets are.
The finisher at No. 1 is perhaps obvious, but we did have some difficult decisions to make in the rest of the ranking.
To see for yourself which NBA players are appearing most often in trade rumors as we get closer to the 2025-26 NBA trade deadline, just check out our automatically updating Trade Rumors Rankings page.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee)
It would seem Giannis Antetokounmpo's time in Milwaukee is just about wrapped up. In fact, some believe he's already played his final game with the Milwaukee Bucks, as he's currently out while nursing a calf injury. That's unfortunate, because Antetokounmpo clearly values the fans in Milwaukee, but there's no doubt the team isn't ready to compete for any sort of championship hardware due to roster limitations, and that's even with a healthy Greek Freak out there.
It's obvious why we have Antetokounmpo ranked as the player in trade rumors with the highest trade value, even with his injury, as the Greek superstar remains one of the best players in the world when he's out there. Antetokounmpo is putting up 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game on 64.5 percent shooting in 2025-26, ranking third overall in BPM and third in WS/48 and producing an enormous amount of two-way value.
And not only that, but he's extension eligible in October, so whichever team does trade for him is about to be able to lock him into a massive long-term deal, making the prospect of acquiring Antetokounmpo all the more appealing.
Put together Giannis Antetokounmpo deals at our NBA Trade Machine
2. Trey Murphy (New Orleans)
Just because a player shows up on this list, it does not mean we expect them to be traded.
That's the case with New Orleans Pelicans swingman Trey Murphy, as Pelicans shot-caller Joe Dumars is reportedly set against trading Murphy or any other valuable player on the Pels. Apparently, that's because the Pistons legend wants to get a longer look at the roster before making any big decisions. (What more Dumars needs to see out of a 12-37 roster is more difficult to surmise, but that's besides the point.)
Regardless, Murphy is one of the most valuable trade assets coming up in trade rumors, in our estimation, as he's still just 25 and putting up 21.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game on 36.9 percent shooting from three, to go with his 1.6 nightly steals. Murphy is a prototypical modern two-way swingman, one blessed with more scoring juice off the dribble than the purely 3-and-D swingmen of yesteryear.
Adding to his value as a trade asset is the fact that Murphy is locked up through 2028-29 on a very team-friendly contract, at least for a player of his caliber. Murphy will be owed just $31 million in 2028-29, which is a low number considering how the NBA salary cap is expected to continue to grow over the coming years.
If the Pelicans did reverse course and put Murphy on the trade block, with teams like the Golden State Warriors reportedly interested, they'd surely land a pretty penny for the former Virginia standout.
Put together Trey Murphy III deals at our NBA Trade Machine
3. Domantas Sabonis (Sacramento)
It's been a disastrous season for the Sacramento Kings, and that extends to their best player, Domantas Sabonis, who missed weeks with a partially torn meniscus and hasn't quite looked the same since returning from the injury. Since his return, Sabonis has put up just 12.6 points, 9.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game on 62.1 percent shooting over seven appearances.
Even so, the Toronto Raptors continue to have an interest in him, according to reports, though Sacramento is holding out for a first-round pick in exchange for the big Lithuanian. In our estimation, the Kings are right in holding out for a valuable return in exchange for Sabonis, as we think he's one of the best trade assets available right now.
Not only is Sabonis one of the best rebounding and playmaking centers in the game today, but he's only signed for two more seasons after this one, so teams picking him up can add him as a two-season rental to see if he can improve his impact on winning with a different surrounding. (Despite Sabonis' ridiculous individual output, there's a legitimate question as to how far a team can go if he's one of your two best players.)
Sabonis is owed $45.5 million next season and $48.6 million in 2027-28 before he's eligible to hit unrestricted free agency, meaning a team picking him up won't be saddled with a ridiculous long-term contract that has the risk of becoming an albatross if Sabonis' impact on winning doesn't improve.
Despite all that negativity, Sabonis does produce All-Star - if not All-NBA - level output, and perhaps with a more defensive-minded roster around him, he can dispel notions regarding his impact to winning.
Put together Domantas Sabonis deals at our NBA Trade Machine
4. Kel'el Ware (Miami)
The Miami Heat's patience might pay off if the team is actually able to pick up Antetokounmpo, as has been rumored.
Part of that patience included letting their young players, like big man Kel'el Ware, develop into coveted trade chips. Miami missed out on previous major trade targets due to its trade asset cupboard being pretty dry, but Ware's development has immensely helped in that regard.
It's pretty cut and dry why Ware has great trade value. He's still just 21, for starters. Moreover, he's under team control at least until 2028-29, when, at worst, he'll hit restricted free agency, so it will be very difficult for another team to snatch him away from Miami, or whoever else he may play for at that point. And that entire time, Ware's salary will never be higher than $10.7 million, an extremely team-friendly number.
On top of that, Ware has a load of potential as a player, a 7-footer with a 7-foot-5 wingspan with the ability to protect the rim on one end and shoot threes on the other. The former Indiana Hoosier is hitting an impressive 42.2 percent of his three-point attempts this season.
Young, on a cheap deal with and blessed with big-time upside, Ware is quietly a fantastic potential trade chip for the Heat.
Put together Kel'el Ware deals at our NBA Trade Machine
5. Karl-Anthony Towns (New York)
The New York Knicks have turned things around of late, winning four games in a row at a pivotal point where their season could have gone in one of two directions. Prior to that, the team was sitting at a mediocre 25-18, a massively disappointing early result after bringing in a brand-new head coach in Mike Brown and basically announcing they had title-or-bust aspirations.
The team's starting big man, Karl-Anthony Towns, is enjoying a solid season in which he's averaging 20.2 points, a league-leading 11.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists, while shooting 46.2 percent from the floor. But there's no doubt Towns has taken a step back after his 3rd Team All-NBA campaign in 2024-25.
Some of that might have to do with Towns getting rattled by the trade talks surrounding New York, which have only intensified since it became clear Antetokounmpo is as close to being traded as he ever has been:
If you saw Towns after Wednesday night’s game — or really, if you’ve seen him at all this season — you know that hearing his name in trade talks has come at a cost. Feelings are hurt. Egos are bruised. And maybe trust is gone. This is the business they’ve chosen, to paraphrase “The Godfather Part II.” They’re well compensated and with little control for most of their careers. That doesn’t change the fact that feelings get hurt.
Towns claims he's not letting the trade scuttle get to him...
Towns sat in front of his locker after almost all of his teammates had cleared out of the locker room. When he was asked about the trade rumors, he insisted he wasn’t giving it a thought. You read the quotes and tell me if you believe it. “I feel like I’ve been in trade rumors a lot for a lot of times, for [a] year . . . ,” Towns said. “That don’t matter to me. I’m not looking at social media or none of that stuff. I focus on the job at hand, which is trying to get wins every single night. As long as I do that, I do my job, I go home happy and I feel accomplished. I’m not worried about what anybody got to say or people write or anything like that.”
...but we're not entirely sure how true that is.
Still, we believe in Towns as a trade asset a whole lot more than some of the big names coming up behind him in this ranking, as he only just turned 30 years old, he just had a fantastic 3rd Team All-NBA campaign and he's still putting up impressive numbers this season, even with his shooting stroke abandoning him a bit. In fact, it could be argued that Towns is a regained shooting stroke away from getting back to his All-NBA level, which, again, came just last season.
Towns' contract is a bit of a detriment as far as his value as a trade asset, as the former Kentucky Wildcat has a player option on the final year of his deal, 2027-28, worth over $61 million, but even then, if he gets back to his star-level form, that number won't be anywhere near as daunting. Plus, Towns' game should age well, as he's not super dependent on elite athleticism to make an impact.
Put together Karl-Anthony Towns deals at our NBA Trade Machine
6. Anthony Davis (Dallas)
If former No. 1 pick Anthony Davis were healthy right now, not only might he rank higher, but he might have missed the list altogether, as he may have been traded by now. But Davis' injury, which will likely keep him out for weeks longer, has put a wrench into any potential plans the Dallas Mavericks may have had on that front. And Dallas won't trade Davis just to trade him, according to reports:
Anthony Davis was thought to be off the list of top trade candidates because of his wrist injury. But, as ESPN's Shams Charania reported earlier this month, Dallas has renewed talks regarding the 32-year-old forward. That doesn't mean Mavs governor Patrick Dumont and the front office are rushing to deal Davis within the next nine days. "Patrick is not going to sign off on a deal just to do a deal," a source told ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "Ownership doesn't feel any pressure to do an AD deal." If Davis is moved before the deadline, it would follow a recent pattern of "pre-agency," teams trading for injured players now for next season (although Davis could return in time for the playoffs).
Davis still holds some value as a trade asset, though, as he's only under contract for two more seasons after this one, the latter campaign of which has a player option on it, meaning he might just be under contract for one more year. So, for a team worried about committing long-term to an injury-prone player on the wrong side of 30, that concern is lessened a bit by the fact that Davis is not signed past 2027-28.
Plus, when healthy, Davis remains a top two-way big man, a player who can make difficult shots, finish above the rim, defend the paint on the other end and make a huge impact on offense and defense.
Put together Anthony Davis deals at our NBA Trade Machine
7. Ja Morant (Memphis)
Although Memphis is willing to listen to Ja Morant trade offers, it doesn't appear that the enigmatic floor general is garnering much attention at the moment, especially due to Antetokounmpo potentially also being available. Perhaps after Antetokounmpo gets traded (if that even happens this deadline), we might see more movement on the Morant front.
Even so, his level as a player is such that even now, currently dealing with a weeks-long injury, he still comes in as the seventh-most valuable trade asset currently being discussed in trade rumors. Morant looked like his star self when he was able to return for two outings in mid-January before getting injured again, putting up 23.5 points and 12.5 assists on 50.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Morant is also under contract for just two more seasons after this one, a stretch of his deal which will pay him $87.1 million through 2027-28, so whatever team does take a swing on him won't totally ruin their cap room for the long-term future. At worst, it's a two-year hit in which you took a swing on a player who was once of an All-NBA caliber, and who might be able to return to that in a different setting.
That's our logic in where we have Morant ranked in this exercise, because at first glance, you're looking at a former star who has been suspended multiple times, who is putting up his worst numbers since his sophomore season, who is embattled with his current head coach, and who is currently injured to top it all off - all factors that make Morant not such an appealing trade asset.
We believe in his talent level, though, hence, his spot here.
Put together Ja Morant deals at our NBA Trade Machine
8. LaMelo Ball (Charlotte)
Things are looking up in Charlotte, as the team has rattled off five wins in a row, all of which came in LaMelo Ball starts after the talented point guard had a stretch in which he came off the bench for the first time since 2021. In those five outings, Ball has put up 17.0 points and 7.8 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent from three, as the 24-year-old has done a much better job of letting the game come to him, setting up teammates for good looks and refraining from taking too many bad shots.
This recent successful stretch from Ball and the Hornets might explain why we haven't heard his name much in trade scuttle of late, after we heard a whole lot of noise on the matter in November and December. Regardless, we decided to use Ball for this exercise because he was mentioned a lot in trade rumors earlier in the season, and that smoke could return if this brief Hornets run turns out to be fraudulent.
We believe in Ball as a trade asset, at least more than anonymous executives apparently do...
Coaches, scouts and executives often roll their eyes when discussing Ball's tendency to launch long 3-pointers off one foot early in the shot clock. Ball's bad shot selection is a significant factor in his career-worst percentages (37.9% from the floor, 28.1% on 3s) this season. "He's definitely one of the top three most talented guards in the league," a West executive said. "But every [scouting] report I write on him has the word 'Globetrotter' in it." Added a West scout: "They all have their warts, but I don't think you can win anything with LaMelo."
...in part because of his talent level. Ball's ability to his ridiculous shots from all over the floor, even over good defense, is not easy to find around the NBA. He's also a visionary as a playmaker, with the ability to throw lobs or cross-court darts to open shooters, and run the floor in transition.
Granted, Ball's contract is a bit scary, as the Chino Hills native is signed through 2028-29, a season in which he'll be owed $46.4 million, but with the way the salary cap is expected to grow, that number might not look as bad in the future. After all, even OG Anunoby, a role player, will be owed more than Ball in 2028-29 ($48.4 million), so Ball's contract might not age all that poorly.
Especially not if this recent stretch - one that has seen Ball look like he's actually taking his job seriously - is any indication of how Ball's game is about to mature and develop.
Put together LaMelo Ball deals at our NBA Trade Machine
9. Zaccharie Risacher (Atlanta)
You'd think a former No. 1 pick in his second season, with years of team control left on his deal, would rank far higher on this list, but French swingman Zaccharie Risacher just hasn't been all that impressive thus far in the NBA. Risacher didn't even win Rookie of the Year as a first-year player, and even then, he's managed to regress in his second campaign.
Perhaps that has something to do with the way head coach Quin Snyder is using him in the Atlanta Hawks' offense, with Risacher often being tasked with standing in the corner or slashing to get his buckets, but still, we just haven't seen enough out of Risacher to rank him higher on this list. He's ranked even this high based on his fantastic contract and the fact that he's still just 20 years old, so the upside is still there.
Risacher has seen his name mentioned in some trade scuttle over the past month or two, primarily as part of reported discussions between Atlanta and Dallas over Davis, but most reports state that the Hawks do not want to include him in any such trade, indicating that the franchise still believes in its No. 1 pick from the 2024 draft.
Put together Zaccharie Risacher deals at our NBA Trade Machine
10. Michael Porter Jr. (Brooklyn)
How you view Michael Porter Jr. as a trade asset really comes down to how much you believe in his form this season.
Sure, he deserves to make an All-Star appearance for the first time based on his play, as the talented scorer is putting up 25.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists on 39.8 percent shooting from three on the year, impressively making star-quality shots from all over the floor during this impressive breakout. But at the same time, he's doing that for a 12-34 squad, so maybe some might view him as a good player, bad team sort of guy.
At the same time, it should be noted that the team's roster is quite weak, and that Porter Jr. makes them better by 11.7 points per 100 possessions during his time on the floor, something that interested teams surely have made note of.
Regardless, it would be hard not to expect Porter Jr.'s numbers to take a hit if he lands on a contender at the trade deadline, as we have years of evidence from his time in Denver to indicate how much he produces on great teams. Plus, the next team he lands on is going to have to pay him, as Porter Jr. is only signed for one more season after this one, and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2027.
There's no doubt that hurts his value as a trade asset. After all, are you going to want to pay the player who was putting up roughly 16 points per game in Denver a huge contract based on a 38-game sample size in Brooklyn?
Probably not.
As much as we have enjoyed this Porter Jr. breakout (his shot-making truly looks KD-esque in 2025-26), his value as a trade chip just isn't as high as some of the other players on this list, even if that does look questionable on first glance, just judging by all these players' numbers.
Put together Michael Porter Jr. deals at our NBA Trade Machine
11. Herb Jones (New Orleans)
As was the case with Murphy, the Pelicans have also indicated they don't want to trade two-way swingman Herb Jones this season. But that doesn't mean we can't discuss Jones' value as a trade asset, in case New Orleans reverses course on that stance.
Jones recently returned from an injury-related layoff, but during his time on the floor this season, he has remained the monstrously impactful defender, averaging 1.6 steals per contest. Jones' shooting remains a hindrance, however, as the former Crimson Tide player is shooting just 30.4 percent from three over the past two campaigns. Even so, Jones is such an impactful defender that he's made New Orleans 7.7 points per 100 possessions during his time on the floor over the past two seasons, which is why teams are still interested in him despite his mediocre outside stroke.
Jones is also signed to a long-term, team-friendly deal, one that will peak in 2029-30 when the former second-round pick will be owed just $24.2 million, a steal considering his impact and how much other players signed through that season will be making.
He's a role player through and through without star potential, but his defending and his contract make him a valuable trade chip nonetheless.
Put together Herb Jones deals at our NBA Trade Machine
12. Coby White (Chicago)
A player who has been in trade rumors a whole lot over the past couple of seasons, Coby White could see the streak finally end in 2025-26, culminating with an actual trade. Or not. Who knows what the Chicago Bulls under this current regime are ever thinking? Sometimes, we're not even sure they know.
We say that because the Bulls have been stuck on a mediocre hamster wheel for years now, one that they would be wise to get off by pushing the restart button and trading away some of their more valuable trade chips... White.
White has been one of the few positives in Chicago of late, as over the past three seasons, he has done well to develop into a solid starter in the NBA, one who has put up 19.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists on 44.9 percent shooting since 2023-24.
The time for Chicago to capitalize and get as much value in exchange for White as possible is now, as the former UNC standout is on an expiring deal, one paying him just $12.9 million this season, making the salary-matching part of a trade quite easy. It'll also allow White's next team to audition him for cheap before deciding how aggressively they want to pursue him in unrestricted free agency this summer.
If White were signed to that team-friendly of a deal with another season or two left on it, he'd probably rank even higher on this list, but, of course, the Bulls weren't savvy enough to pull the trigger on a White deal up to this point, which will only hurt their potential return. White was an even more valuable trade chip last season/offseason when he was putting up similar numbers with more time left on his contract.
Who knows? Maybe the Bulls' plan is to just lose him in free agency for nothing?
Put together Coby White deals at our NBA Trade Machine
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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Ranking the NBA players appearing in trade rumors by their trade value
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