NBA Trade Rumors: Predicting what superstars are the most likely to be traded by the 2025 deadline.
I wouldn't say that the 2025 NBA trade season has officially arrived but we're quickly inching closer and closer to it. The trade season probably begins once the holidays end and truly ramps up during the month of January. But less than three months away from the NBA Trade Deadline, it would be insane not to speculate about what could await us in February.
Looking ahead, there's a very good chance we could see some superstars on the move. Looking across the league, there are 10 who have the best chance of being traded by the deadline. In this article, we'll rank those superstars by how likely they are to be traded.
Of note, we're ranking these players not by skill set but by how likely they are to be traded. For example, the player ranked No. 1 on this list is the most likely star to be traded by the deadline and is not necessarily considered the best player of the group. Additionally, we were a bit loose with the phrase "superstar." With that, let's begin with our No. 10 superstar on this list.
10. James Harden, LA Clippers
Even though the LA Clippers are playing a bit better than expected so far this season, I don't believe they're completely out of the woods of a team that could end up embracing seller status at the NBA Trade Deadline. There remains no timeline for a potential Kawhi Leonard return and if this team falls into a four or five-game losing streak, this season could quickly get out of control for the Clippers. If that happens, I can't help but wonder if that could prompt the Clippers to explore the possibility of trading James Harden.
Odds of a James Harden trade: 5%
Even though Harden hasn't been posting huge numbers this season, he's still a very good player at this point in his career. He's played a big part in the Clippers success this year. If the Clippers' season does quickly go down the drain, there's reason to believe that there could be great value in potentially trading Harden - especially considering he's on a short-term deal with a player option for next season. I'd still put this possibility at an extremely low chance of playing out, but we've seen stranger things happen in the NBA before.