Portland Trail Blazers
Marquee player who needs a fresh start: Deandre Ayton
After how his first season with the team with, the writing should've been on the wall. However, it was fair for the Portland Trail Blazers to give Deandre Ayton the benefit of the doubt and to offer him another opportunity to prove his worth as a player. So far, that hasn't happened this season and there's a very real chance that Ayton's days in a Blazers uniform are numbered. In fact, the only thing that could stand in the way of Ayton's potential trade is his contract.
As he continues to struggle to find his way with the Blazers, his overall production has taken another hit. He's averaging career lows across the board as the struggling Blazers look for a path forward. Again, that could be difficult because of the $35.5 million he's due next season. But if there's a team that is willing to take on this reclamation project, you can bet the Blazers are going to jump at the shot of trading him. Ayton desperately needs a fresh start at this point in his career.
Sacramento Kings
Marquee player who needs a fresh start: Kevin Huerter
As the Sacramento Kings continue to try and solve their early-season issues, this is a team that is going to be open to some pretty big changes at the NBA Trade Deadline. Anything and everything could be on the table for the struggling Kings. One player who could very much find his way out in the next few weeks is Kevin Huerter. As the Kings look to upgrade the roster without blowing up their core, Huerter seems like a natural trade candidate that Sacramento could be offering on the trade block.
To be perfectly honest, that may not be that terrible of an idea for Huerter. Usually, having your name on the trade block could be stressful for an NBA player. However, the argument could be made that with how his role on the team has diminished over the last couple of seasons that he should embrace a potential fresh start at this point in his career. A Huerter trade could end up being beneficial for both sides heading into the new calendar year.