Predicting seven likely NBA trade block candidates who could get moved before the midway point of the 2024-25 season.
With the start of the 2024-25 NBA season practically here, with the first pre-season games taking place in the next few days, it's only a matter of time until the NBA rumor mill starts back up again. After not a ton of action in the rumor mill over the past month and a half, once games begin that is soon to change.
And that will only continue to be the case the closer and closer we get to the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline season. But before we even get there, several trade block candidates could be moved before then. In this article, we'll explore seven players who could end up being moved before December.
Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks
Even though the Milwaukee Bucks have said all the right things when it comes to a potential trade of Brook Lopez, as he enters the final year of his contract with the team, it would be foolish to think that he may not emerge as a natural trade candidate this season. Even more so considering he's 36 years old and the fact that the Bucks could schematically be looking to move in a different direction at the center position under the first full season of head coach Doc Rivers.
I can't help but wonder if the Bucks could get off to a slow start to the season and quickly get to a point where they want to play smaller and need to pivot away from Lopez. At that point, with plenty of teams in need of a center, Lopez could emerge as a popular trade candidate. A Lopez trade to a team such as the New York Knicks wouldn't be all that surprising after the first 20 games of the season.