Who’s the Next Disgruntled Superstar?

The NBA playoffs are in full swing with stars displaying their full complement of talents. Teams that might not be championship contenders are constantly looking for that disgruntled superstar to add to their team to be considered a title contender. Some teams that might be looking for another superstar include the Knicks, Nets, Lakers, and many others. In this piece, some stars may ask for a trade from their team to look for more championship success.

1. Damian Lillard

For his whole career, Damian Lillard has been on the Portland Trail Blazers with very minimal team success. He has been a superstar in the league averaging 32.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. This year his team finished 13^th with a 33-49 record and nowhere close to the play-in tournament. Lillard has come out and said that there might need to be some tough decisions to be made. "Not only will I have the decision to make, but I think the organization will too," he said. Lillard might ask to be traded to the Knicks or Lakers which could use another guard to put them over the top.

2. Luka Doncic

Doncic might be the most interesting name on this list because of how young and good he is. Even though he is you he is one of the superstars in the league. Doncic is on this list because of how the Mavericks have been running recently. They first lost Jalen Brunson who is now looking like a bigger loss than they would have thought. They tried to add a superstar next to him by adding Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline. By adding Irving they gave up too much of their team to help them get into the playoffs. Doncic led his team to the Western Conference finals last season not even making the play-in tournament. Doncic is signed through 2027 but if he does not if there is no change to the lineup to help them compete in the Western Conference he might request to get out of Dallas.

3. Jaylen Brown

Jaylen Brown has been the sidekick to Jayson Tatum since 2017. Even though he has been a sidekick to Tatum he is considered a superstar in the league. During his career, he has averaged 17.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, but this season he really had a great year averaging 26.6 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game, and 3.5 assists per game. He has come out and told The Ringer that he does not know if he wants to be in Boston and that it is not up to him if he stays there. In a New York Times article, he discusses how he wants to get more into activism and Boston might not be the place for him to do that.  According to a Bleacher Report article John Granato of ESPN 97.5 reported that the Rockets will be pursuing him in the 2024 offseason. That would be a huge signing for the young Rockets team but they might pursue him to do a sign and trade this offseason.

There might be other players that could come out and request trades in the coming months as the summer months come. Other interesting players that I would mention include Zion Williamson, Jimmy Butler, and Karl Anthony Towns. These three players might look for the possibility of getting on a playoff team. Especially, Butler who is looking for his first championship and is starting to become an aging veteran star.

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