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Today, we introduce a new series in which we rank the 10 players who have most often appeared in theoretical trades on our trade machine of late.
Our trade machine is unique in that it allows fans to simply select the player they want their team to trade for, and our algorithm handles the rest. It figures out which packages work financially to make the deal possible. That means you don’t have to keep adjusting both sides of the trade until something works. We do that part for you. You can still build trades manually, and most users do, but the automated option is there when you want it.
Regardless, this is a fun exercise that shows which players fans want their teams to trade for and which players they want moved from their rosters. With so many players to discuss, let’s get right to it.
Share: 8.6 percent of trades on our trade machine
New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy has been a popular name on our trade machine, appearing in nearly one-tenth of the trades being inputted this weekend. Murphy averaged over 21 points and five rebounds last season on 37.9 percent shooting from three in his age-25 season. What's more, he's got three years left on his deal, peaking in 2028-29 at a reasonable $31 million, making him an enticing trade option.
Most of the deals involving Murphy have been about a deal to the Atlanta Hawks, a team in need of another high-level perimeter scorer on the wing. And most of the trades have included Murphy going to Atlanta in exchange for some sort of package centered around reigning Most Improved Player, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and former lottery pick big man Onyeka Okongwu.
The most recent reporting on the Murphy trade front came courtesy of our own Michael Scotto, who reported that Murphy is drawing trade interest from the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta (via HoopsHype):
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Trey Murphy trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Trey Murphy trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 8.6 percent of trades on our trade machine
Veteran big man Jakob Poeltl has four years left on his deal with the Toronto Raptors, with an annual average salary of $25.9 million. Whether or not that's an overpay isn't for debate here, but the center's salary is good trade filler for a star-level contract.
And that's how our readers have been using Poeltl's salary on our trade machine.
The teams Poeltl has most commonly been traded to by our readers are the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Poeltl has also most commonly been packaged with his teammate RJ Barrett in outgoing deals, as Toronto fans have used their combined 2026-27 salary of $49.1 million to go star-hunting in our trade machine. Overall, 84.4 percent of theoretical Poeltl trades in our trade machine have included Barrett.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jakob Poeltl trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jakob Poeltl trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 10.9 percent of trades on our trade machine
Despite getting up there in age and having to heal from two major injuries, future Hall-of-Famer Klay Thompson had a solid season last year as a specialist, knocking down 38.3 percent of his threes in 2025-26. Thompson also appeared in a respectable 69 games, making him reliable enough for potential contenders who might be interested in him on the trade market. Plus, Thompson has just one season left on his contract worth $17.5 million, which should also help his trade value.
The team our readers have been sending Thompson to most is Miami, which, as everyone knows, is in need of more shooting after trading so many players to land superstar wing Giannis Antetokounmpo. The salary swap between Dallas and Miami is pretty simple, too, as a straight-up Thompson for Nikola Jovic deal checks out financially. As does Jovic plus Myron Gardner, if the Mavericks wanted a little bit more sweetener for the deal.
Other teams that readers have been sending Thompson to are Atlanta and New Orleans.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Klay Thompson trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Klay Thompson trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 11.5 percent of trades on our trade machine
The Los Angeles Lakers have had quite a busy offseason, trading for promising big man Walker Kessler and signing the likes of Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili as free agents, as well as shipping out former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards after one subpar season for the athletic center in L.A.
All that action evidently hasn't been enough for Lakers fans, though, as four L.A. players make up this list, starting off with former Wake Forest standout Jake LaRavia.
Our readers have been using our trade machine to ship LaRavia mostly to Dallas this offseason, as part of a Lakers package for the more talented PJ Washington, who could still be a trade candidate this summer. Other players LaRavia has been getting traded to on our trade machine are Herb Jones of New Orleans, as well as GG Jackson and Olivier-Maxence Prosper of Memphis.
As you'll see, there's a theme coming up with Lakers fans trying to figure out how to add two-way, defensive-minded forwards, like Jones, to their team using our trade machine.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jake LaRavia trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jake LaRavia trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 11.5 percent of trades on our trade machine
Bouncy center Daniel Gafford has a team-friendly deal (he's still owed just three years and roughly $54 million) and plays in a crowded Dallas frontcourt, which has only gotten more crowded since the Mavericks added Santi Aldama this summer, making him a logical trade candidate.
Our readers appear to agree, as Gafford has been included in a lot of theoretical deals in our trade machine lately, mostly to Utah, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Clippers, with most of the deals being to the former two squads. That checks out, as Utah could use a difference-maker at the 5 since shipping Kessler to the Lakers, and the Hawks could use an upgrade at the position as well.
Most of the deals on our trade machine involving Gafford have been complex multi-team deals, so our readers have been getting creative about how to add the athletic big man to their favorite teams.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Daniel Gafford trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Daniel Gafford trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 12.4 percent of trades on our trade machine
As we mentioned in the Poeltl section, Barrett and Poeltl have been getting packaged together by Toronto fans in search of (pretty unrealistic) star upgrades using our trade machine. This isn't a case of fans having their hopes set on one player, but rather just figuring out what stars a combined Barrett/Poeltl package can get them.
Some of the players tied to Barrett in our trade machine include Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Murray, Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant. We're pretty comfortable in saying Edwards, Doncic and Mitchell will absolutely not be traded by their teams, while Denver and Houston would likely need to be wowed by an offer to trade away Murray or Durant.
Barrett and Poeltl don't really qualify as Wow! trade offers, truth be told.
The Raptors did already mortgage a good amount this summer (two unprotected first-round picks and a first-round pick swap) in trading for their 2019 Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard, back from the Clippers, so the asset chest in Toronto is a bit emptier this summer, making it very unlikely they'll be trading for another star this offseason, even if Barrett and Poeltl's salaries do match up pretty well for one star-level salary.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect RJ Barrett trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest RJ Barrett trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 13.4 percent of trades on our trade machine
If there's one player Heat fans would love to trade this summer, apparently, it's fifth-year forward Nikola Jovic, a former first-round pick who just hasn't developed in the same way other, less talented, players have for Miami.
Making matters worse for the Heat is that the team just signed him to an extension last summer, so Jovic has four years left on his contract now, which will owe him $62.4 million through 2029-30. For a team that can use all the cap space it can get right now to fill out the roster post-Antetokounmpo, Jovic's salary is really a thorn in the Heat's side, hence why Miami fans have been using our trade machine so heavily to find the Serbian forward a new home.
As we mentioned in the Thompson slide, Jovic has most commonly been getting shipped to Dallas on our trade machine, in exchange for Thompson, a player who fits what the Heat needs better than Jovic does.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Nikola Jovic trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Nikola Jovic trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 18.7 percent of trades on our trade machine
As mentioned in the LaRavia slide, Laker fans are desperate to figure out how to add wing depth, primarily for defensive help, this summer. Los Angeles already has a plethora of guards on its roster, making Hardy, whom the team picked up as part of the Ayton trade, and his $6 million salary very expendable.
According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan, the Lakers can immediately aggregate Hardy's salary to another trade if they officially acquire him while under the salary cap:
Laker fans have been trying to find Hardy a new home using our trade machine, with players like Jones, Washington and Dorian Finney-Smith often being the other side of a potential Hardy deal.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jaden Hardy trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jaden Hardy trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 20.3 percent of trades on our trade machine
The same things we wrote about LaRavia and Hardy can be said about third-year forward Dalton Knecht, another player that Laker fans have been feverishly shopping on our trade machine.
A lot of the theoretical deals put together on our trade machine involving Knecht have been package deals including Hardy and the player coming up at No. 1 in this ranking, but almost 20 percent of them have been just Knecht deals, and for obvious reasons, as the Lakers badly need wing defending. Plus, Knecht had a poor second season, one that saw him average just 4.2 points and 1.4 rebounds on 34.2 percent shooting from three, so L.A. fans probably aren't all that enamored with him at the moment.
Knecht only has one year left on his deal, which will pay him $4.2 million in 2026-27, before he has a team option for 2027-28, so his contract and potential upside as an outside shooter could make him decent enough trade sweetener.
Some of the players at the other end of Knecht deals on our trade machine are Jones, Washington, John Konchar and former Duke standout Kyle Filipowski.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Dalton Knecht trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Dalton Knecht trade rumors and salary info.
Share: 26.2 percent of trades on our trade machine
The fourth Laker on our list, over one-quarter of the trades logged into our trade machine of late have included Jarred Vanderbilt, a 27-year-old defensive-minded forward.
Vanderbilt has two years left on his contract, worth $25.7 million, with a player option on the second year. That's not a grossly offensive salary, but it's also not some major value deal, either, not with the way Vanderbilt produces. Vanderbilt averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds on 29.3 percent shooting from three last season, and made the Lakers (-0.8 swing rating) slightly worse during his time on the floor.
So it only makes sense that Laker fans have been using our trade machine to find Vanderbilt a new home this summer.
Vanderbilt has most often been put in package deals on our trade machine, with his contract being the main salary-filler piece, as the Houston native is owed $12.4 million for 2026-27. The same names that other Lakers players have been getting traded for on this list - Washington, Jones, Jackson and OMP - apply to Vanderbilt.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jarred Vanderbilt trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jarred Vanderbilt trade rumors and salary info.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: NBA Trade Machine Rankings: Jarred Vanderbilt, Klay Thompson and more
Continue reading...
Our trade machine is unique in that it allows fans to simply select the player they want their team to trade for, and our algorithm handles the rest. It figures out which packages work financially to make the deal possible. That means you don’t have to keep adjusting both sides of the trade until something works. We do that part for you. You can still build trades manually, and most users do, but the automated option is there when you want it.
Regardless, this is a fun exercise that shows which players fans want their teams to trade for and which players they want moved from their rosters. With so many players to discuss, let’s get right to it.
10. Trey Murphy (New Orleans)
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Share: 8.6 percent of trades on our trade machine
New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy has been a popular name on our trade machine, appearing in nearly one-tenth of the trades being inputted this weekend. Murphy averaged over 21 points and five rebounds last season on 37.9 percent shooting from three in his age-25 season. What's more, he's got three years left on his deal, peaking in 2028-29 at a reasonable $31 million, making him an enticing trade option.
Most of the deals involving Murphy have been about a deal to the Atlanta Hawks, a team in need of another high-level perimeter scorer on the wing. And most of the trades have included Murphy going to Atlanta in exchange for some sort of package centered around reigning Most Improved Player, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and former lottery pick big man Onyeka Okongwu.
The most recent reporting on the Murphy trade front came courtesy of our own Michael Scotto, who reported that Murphy is drawing trade interest from the Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers and Atlanta (via HoopsHype):
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Trey Murphy trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Trey Murphy trade rumors and salary info.
9. Jakob Poeltl (Toronto)
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Share: 8.6 percent of trades on our trade machine
Veteran big man Jakob Poeltl has four years left on his deal with the Toronto Raptors, with an annual average salary of $25.9 million. Whether or not that's an overpay isn't for debate here, but the center's salary is good trade filler for a star-level contract.
And that's how our readers have been using Poeltl's salary on our trade machine.
The teams Poeltl has most commonly been traded to by our readers are the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Poeltl has also most commonly been packaged with his teammate RJ Barrett in outgoing deals, as Toronto fans have used their combined 2026-27 salary of $49.1 million to go star-hunting in our trade machine. Overall, 84.4 percent of theoretical Poeltl trades in our trade machine have included Barrett.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jakob Poeltl trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jakob Poeltl trade rumors and salary info.
8. Klay Thompson (Dallas)
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Share: 10.9 percent of trades on our trade machine
Despite getting up there in age and having to heal from two major injuries, future Hall-of-Famer Klay Thompson had a solid season last year as a specialist, knocking down 38.3 percent of his threes in 2025-26. Thompson also appeared in a respectable 69 games, making him reliable enough for potential contenders who might be interested in him on the trade market. Plus, Thompson has just one season left on his contract worth $17.5 million, which should also help his trade value.
The team our readers have been sending Thompson to most is Miami, which, as everyone knows, is in need of more shooting after trading so many players to land superstar wing Giannis Antetokounmpo. The salary swap between Dallas and Miami is pretty simple, too, as a straight-up Thompson for Nikola Jovic deal checks out financially. As does Jovic plus Myron Gardner, if the Mavericks wanted a little bit more sweetener for the deal.
Other teams that readers have been sending Thompson to are Atlanta and New Orleans.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Klay Thompson trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Klay Thompson trade rumors and salary info.
7. Jake LaRavia (LA Lakers)
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Share: 11.5 percent of trades on our trade machine
The Los Angeles Lakers have had quite a busy offseason, trading for promising big man Walker Kessler and signing the likes of Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes and Sandro Mamukelashvili as free agents, as well as shipping out former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton to the Washington Wizards after one subpar season for the athletic center in L.A.
All that action evidently hasn't been enough for Lakers fans, though, as four L.A. players make up this list, starting off with former Wake Forest standout Jake LaRavia.
Our readers have been using our trade machine to ship LaRavia mostly to Dallas this offseason, as part of a Lakers package for the more talented PJ Washington, who could still be a trade candidate this summer. Other players LaRavia has been getting traded to on our trade machine are Herb Jones of New Orleans, as well as GG Jackson and Olivier-Maxence Prosper of Memphis.
As you'll see, there's a theme coming up with Lakers fans trying to figure out how to add two-way, defensive-minded forwards, like Jones, to their team using our trade machine.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jake LaRavia trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jake LaRavia trade rumors and salary info.
6. Daniel Gafford (Dallas)
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Share: 11.5 percent of trades on our trade machine
Bouncy center Daniel Gafford has a team-friendly deal (he's still owed just three years and roughly $54 million) and plays in a crowded Dallas frontcourt, which has only gotten more crowded since the Mavericks added Santi Aldama this summer, making him a logical trade candidate.
Our readers appear to agree, as Gafford has been included in a lot of theoretical deals in our trade machine lately, mostly to Utah, Atlanta and the Los Angeles Clippers, with most of the deals being to the former two squads. That checks out, as Utah could use a difference-maker at the 5 since shipping Kessler to the Lakers, and the Hawks could use an upgrade at the position as well.
Most of the deals on our trade machine involving Gafford have been complex multi-team deals, so our readers have been getting creative about how to add the athletic big man to their favorite teams.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Daniel Gafford trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Daniel Gafford trade rumors and salary info.
5. RJ Barrett (Toronto)
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Share: 12.4 percent of trades on our trade machine
As we mentioned in the Poeltl section, Barrett and Poeltl have been getting packaged together by Toronto fans in search of (pretty unrealistic) star upgrades using our trade machine. This isn't a case of fans having their hopes set on one player, but rather just figuring out what stars a combined Barrett/Poeltl package can get them.
Some of the players tied to Barrett in our trade machine include Anthony Edwards, Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Murray, Luka Doncic and Kevin Durant. We're pretty comfortable in saying Edwards, Doncic and Mitchell will absolutely not be traded by their teams, while Denver and Houston would likely need to be wowed by an offer to trade away Murray or Durant.
Barrett and Poeltl don't really qualify as Wow! trade offers, truth be told.
The Raptors did already mortgage a good amount this summer (two unprotected first-round picks and a first-round pick swap) in trading for their 2019 Finals MVP, Kawhi Leonard, back from the Clippers, so the asset chest in Toronto is a bit emptier this summer, making it very unlikely they'll be trading for another star this offseason, even if Barrett and Poeltl's salaries do match up pretty well for one star-level salary.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect RJ Barrett trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest RJ Barrett trade rumors and salary info.
4. Nikola Jovic (Miami)
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Share: 13.4 percent of trades on our trade machine
If there's one player Heat fans would love to trade this summer, apparently, it's fifth-year forward Nikola Jovic, a former first-round pick who just hasn't developed in the same way other, less talented, players have for Miami.
Making matters worse for the Heat is that the team just signed him to an extension last summer, so Jovic has four years left on his contract now, which will owe him $62.4 million through 2029-30. For a team that can use all the cap space it can get right now to fill out the roster post-Antetokounmpo, Jovic's salary is really a thorn in the Heat's side, hence why Miami fans have been using our trade machine so heavily to find the Serbian forward a new home.
As we mentioned in the Thompson slide, Jovic has most commonly been getting shipped to Dallas on our trade machine, in exchange for Thompson, a player who fits what the Heat needs better than Jovic does.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Nikola Jovic trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Nikola Jovic trade rumors and salary info.
3. Jaden Hardy (LA Lakers)
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Share: 18.7 percent of trades on our trade machine
As mentioned in the LaRavia slide, Laker fans are desperate to figure out how to add wing depth, primarily for defensive help, this summer. Los Angeles already has a plethora of guards on its roster, making Hardy, whom the team picked up as part of the Ayton trade, and his $6 million salary very expendable.
According to cap expert Yossi Gozlan, the Lakers can immediately aggregate Hardy's salary to another trade if they officially acquire him while under the salary cap:
Laker fans have been trying to find Hardy a new home using our trade machine, with players like Jones, Washington and Dorian Finney-Smith often being the other side of a potential Hardy deal.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jaden Hardy trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jaden Hardy trade rumors and salary info.
2. Dalton Knecht (LA Lakers)
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Share: 20.3 percent of trades on our trade machine
The same things we wrote about LaRavia and Hardy can be said about third-year forward Dalton Knecht, another player that Laker fans have been feverishly shopping on our trade machine.
A lot of the theoretical deals put together on our trade machine involving Knecht have been package deals including Hardy and the player coming up at No. 1 in this ranking, but almost 20 percent of them have been just Knecht deals, and for obvious reasons, as the Lakers badly need wing defending. Plus, Knecht had a poor second season, one that saw him average just 4.2 points and 1.4 rebounds on 34.2 percent shooting from three, so L.A. fans probably aren't all that enamored with him at the moment.
Knecht only has one year left on his deal, which will pay him $4.2 million in 2026-27, before he has a team option for 2027-28, so his contract and potential upside as an outside shooter could make him decent enough trade sweetener.
Some of the players at the other end of Knecht deals on our trade machine are Jones, Washington, John Konchar and former Duke standout Kyle Filipowski.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Dalton Knecht trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Dalton Knecht trade rumors and salary info.
1. Jarred Vanderbilt (LA Lakers)
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Share: 26.2 percent of trades on our trade machine
The fourth Laker on our list, over one-quarter of the trades logged into our trade machine of late have included Jarred Vanderbilt, a 27-year-old defensive-minded forward.
Vanderbilt has two years left on his contract, worth $25.7 million, with a player option on the second year. That's not a grossly offensive salary, but it's also not some major value deal, either, not with the way Vanderbilt produces. Vanderbilt averaged 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds on 29.3 percent shooting from three last season, and made the Lakers (-0.8 swing rating) slightly worse during his time on the floor.
So it only makes sense that Laker fans have been using our trade machine to find Vanderbilt a new home this summer.
Vanderbilt has most often been put in package deals on our trade machine, with his contract being the main salary-filler piece, as the Houston native is owed $12.4 million for 2026-27. The same names that other Lakers players have been getting traded for on this list - Washington, Jones, Jackson and OMP - apply to Vanderbilt.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jarred Vanderbilt trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jarred Vanderbilt trade rumors and salary info.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: NBA Trade Machine Rankings: Jarred Vanderbilt, Klay Thompson and more
Continue reading...
