Trade rumor rankings: Damian Lillard, James Harden and more

The NBA trade market has been even spicier than we expected this summer with two stars players potentially on the verge of being moved at the time of this writing.

Of course, all eyes remain on Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard as it pertains to his trade request over the weekend with hopes of getting dealt to the reigning Eastern Conference champion, the Miami Heat.

Until that move is made (if it even is), however, the trade market could actually cool off for a bit, though another All-NBA-level guard is also reportedly on the block after negotiations on a new contract with his current team went poorly.

With so many big names to discuss, let’s jump right into the action.

Tyese Maxey (Philadelphia)

If one thing has been made clear by the Philadelphia 76ers over the past week, it’s that burgeoning star guard Tyrese Maxey is not available for trade.

Whether that’s 100 percent true or not remains to be seen but we’ve had multiple reports in the last seven days indicate just that.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said as much on a podcast, emphatically stating:

He also said so on the Hoop Collective podcast:

The same was reported by Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer, too…

…as well as by Marc Stein:

So we’ll see if that changes or not.

It could be posturing by Daryl Morey and Co. to keep things calm on the Maxey front before pulling a surprise trade for a certain superstar out of the Pacific Northwest. Otherwise, if the Sixers are so invested in Maxey, why not give him the max extension he’s eligible for this summer?

Or it could just be the flat-out truth. Maxey does have All-Star upside thanks to his elite quickness and high-level scoring ability. And he’s still just 22 and will be on a very team-friendly deal for another season, the type of contract that can help push a contender to grander heights if a player develops into an All-Star before getting paid like one.

For the latest on the Tyrese Maxey trade market, click here.

Kyle Lowry (Miami)

The Heat have been at the epicenter of trade discussion this week – and for obvious reasons.

That has led to some of their players finding their way onto the trade rumor rankings this week, led off by 2019 NBA champion Kyle Lowry checking in at No. 4.

The last we have heard on the Lowry front is that reports about Miami considering stretching and waiving his contract were way premature, according to Stein.

Besides that, the Miami Herald reported earlier in the week that the Heat had shifted their focus on finding a trade for Lowry as part of discussions for a big-name player:

Even if that deal falls through, however, Lowry getting traded this summer can’t be ruled out, not with his salary expiring and Miami looking to lower their luxury tax bill.

For the latest on the Kyle Lowry trade market, click here.

Tyler Herro (Miami)

It’s got to be a tough time to be Heat guard Tyler Herro.

Sure, his four-year, $120 million extension kicks in during the 2023-24 season.

But for what feels like the third consecutive summer, Herro finds himself at the center of trade talks and to make matters worse, what he continues to hear is about how teams aren’t interested in acquiring him.

That’s what the latest from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski indicates, at least, with regard to the Blazers:

Fischer reported similarly yesterday:

Herro has somewhat reacted on social media, even removing ‘Miami Heat guard’ from his Twitter bio.

If the Heat are to find a trade for their top target this summer, they might have to find a third team to take on Herro, their most proven young player. One team that might potentially be interested is the Brooklyn Nets…

…though it’s unclear if they’ll want to acquire draft sweetener to take on Herro’s contract, offload former Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons as part of a trade or just take on the former Kentucky standout because they like his game and believe he can help them win.

Regardless, Herro has seemingly accepted there’s a large possibility he’s being dealt this offseason:

We’ll see how this one turns out but one thing is clear: If Miami doesn’t trade its high-scoring 2-guard, it might have an awkward situation on its hands when training camp rolls around.

For the latest on the Tyler Herro trade market, click here.

James Harden (Philadelphia)

The trade request by former league MVP James Harden took the NBA world by surprise last week, though it would have been more shocking if this weren’t essentially his third trade request in the last three years.

Regardless, everything seemed to be trending toward Harden re-signing with the Sixers quickly and painlessly as soon as free agency opened up, only for the bearded star to opt into his deal with the end goal being a trade out of Philadelphia.

Two of the teams to have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Harden are the Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks.

Things have quieted down a bit on the Harden front, however, with the Lillard trade request probably having something to do with that. In fact, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported yesterday that the Sixers are hopeful to repair things with Harden and haven’t ruled out keeping him this offseason:

But if that’s to happen, they’ll have to repair their relationship with the playmaking guard, who is reportedly extremely upset with Philadelphia:

It’ll be interesting to learn who gets traded first this summer: Harden or the player coming up next on our list?

For the latest on the James Harden trade market, click here.

Damian Lillard (Portland)

Now, we get to the player everyone has been talking about this week as far as potential NBA trades, Lillard.

As has been reported consistently for days now, Lillard’s sole focus remains on landing in Miami to play alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

Lillard’s idea to join the Heat has been so steadfast (so far) that it has made his market smaller than it would be otherwise, with team owners reportedly reluctant to green-light a major trade offer for him for fear it might create an awkward situation if Portland were to accept, according to Fischer:

Shams Charania also reported yesterday that people around the NBA strongly believe Lillard-to-Miami is the likeliest outcome:

So we appear to be on a holding pattern, at least for the time being, one that could last weeks, according to a Portland-area reporter:

Miami also appears ready to wait on Portland to accept whatever its offer for Lillard is, as the team has reportedly been telling agents of potential minimum salary targets that it is in a holding pattern for now, waiting on the Lillard saga to culminate:

Is Lillard to Miami just a matter of time at this point? Would Portland truly go against its franchise GOAT’s wishes and ship him somewhere he doesn’t want to go? Will another team actually make a huge trade offer for a smaller guard who could earn $63.2 million in 2026-27, his age-36 season?

All unclear for now but we could be waiting a while for a resolution of this situation.

For the latest on the Damian Lillard trade market, click here.

Story originally appeared on HoopsHype