Five NBA Players That Should Be Traded to Contenders

Some of the league’s top talent could benefit from a change of scenery.

As the summer reaches its hottest point, the NBA offseason has cooled off considerably. Players are traveling the world. Coaches are retreating to whatever dark rooms they go to in between games. Fans are waiting for the release of the latest version of NBA2K. That doesn’t mean we can’t imagine, though! So even if most of the transaction talk has gone dormant, here are five players I hope are soon traded to contending teams.

Gary Harris

The 28-year-old is currently toiling away in Orlando, where he’s been since 2020, when he was shipped from Denver in the Aaron Gordon trade. The Magic will be frisky next season. Still, Harris is a black sheep of sorts in a young backcourt built around Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs. Harris isn’t a meaningful part of the future there, and he would be great on a team with legitimate Finals aspirations.

Early in his career, it was Harris—not Jamal Murray—who first established a slick two-man game with Nikola Jokić. Harris is a capable defender who has shot 37% from three in his career. Even if he’s become more of a shooter than a shot creator, on the right team he can provide more than simply spacing. On an expiring deal worth an incredibly team-friendly $13 million, Harris’s talent would be better served on a roster more prepared to contend right now.

Alex Caruso

Caruso is one of the best role players in the NBA. He is an elite defender who plays within his means offensively and has championship experience. You could plug Caruso next to practically any star in the league, and he would find a way to thrive. He’s currently stuck on the Bulls, a play-in team from last season that didn’t make any meaningful upgrades this summer. If Chicago does decide to finally head in a different direction (which doesn’t appear to be the case as of now), everyone should be clamoring for Caruso. And once again, his contract is an absolute steal at slightly under $10 million for the next two years.

Kyle Kuzma

Let's stay with the former Lakers. Kuzma re-signed with the Wizards this summer on a four-year, $90 million deal. Washington doesn’t seem in a rush to move Kuz, but its current plan is murky at best. Washington is filled with guys—Kuzma, Tyus Jones, Danilo Gallinari, Landry Shamet—who don’t quite make sense for a full-blown rebuild.

Kuzma is coming off the best scoring season of his career (21.2 points per game), and he’s versatile as a defender. The contract he just signed will decline in salary over the next four years, which makes him especially valuable in the second-apron era. And at 28 years old, it would be frustrating to watch Kuz play out his prime on a middling Wizards team. He should yield a decent return for Washington while being playoff-ready for whichever team acquires him.

Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby

The Raptors were bounced in the first game of the play-in tournament last season, and so far this summer have swapped out Fred VanVleet for Dennis Schröder. With a new coach, it’s going to be an uphill climb for Toronto just to get back to where it finished in 2022. Siakam and Anunoby were hot names at the most recent deadline, and the Raptors may regret that no deals came to fruition. That’s because both players can be free agents this summer, potentially cooling what teams could offer for them now.

Still, both are talented enough that this could be a win-win situation. Siakam and Anunoby could both make a significant impact on title odds depending on where they end up. And what Toronto receives in return should help the franchise build out properly around Scottie Barnes. It’s difficult to give up on talent. The issue is the Raptors have seemingly hit a ceiling with their current core, and one of the important pieces from their recent success (VanVleet) is gone. If the Raptors are still middling by the upcoming deadline, it would be very exciting to see both Siakam and Anunoby thrown into the upper echelon of the title chase.