It's time for another edition of our Trade Machine Rankings series, in which we rank the five players who have most often been plugged into our own Trade Machine.
Trade scuttle has been a bit quiet of late, but that hasn't stopped fans from plugging some star names into our Trade Machine. One such example is Kyrie Irving, who could be a trade candidate this season as the rebuilding Dallas Mavericks may decide to move him for more draft capital, in order to build around Cooper Flagg.
Below, check out Irving and four other players who have most often been plugged into our Trade Machine.
5. Zion Williamson (New Orleans)
Share: 2.60 percent of trades on our trade machine
Former No. 1 pick Zion Williamson hasn't popped up in many trade rumors of late, as the New Orleans Pelicans appear
set on giving their current roster another run before potentially blowing things up. Even so, fans have enjoyed putting Williamson in our trade machine of late to see what the results might show.
Williamson has most commonly been sent to Houston (8.1 percent), Dallas (7.7 percent) and Sacramento (6.8 percent). Meanwhile, the players most commonly getting sent to New Orleans for Williamson have been Irving (6.4 percent), Alperen Sengun (4.7% percent) and Jerami Grant (4.7 percent).
Again, this isn't foreshadowing of some Williamson deal set to come, but rather, just fans having fun with Williamson's name on our trade machine.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Zion Williamson trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Zion Williamson trade rumors and salary info.
4. Jarred Vanderbilt (LA Lakers)
Share: 3.0 percent of trades on our trade machine
A player who has been a constant in this series is Los Angeles Lakers swingman Jarred Vanderbilt, as Lakers fans are known for always wanting to find improvements to their team.
The most common trade idea that comes up in is Vanderbilt being traded to the Mavericks in exchange for PJ Washington, as Lakers fans appear to want more floor-spacing frontcourt help, a role the athletic Washington would fill well. 34 percent of Vanderbilt's trades have him going to Dallas, and 25.4 percent of them have Washington going to Los Angeles in return.
Other landing spots for Vanderbilt on have been Milwaukee (8.2 percent) and the Los Angeles Clippers (6.0 percent). Meanwhile, the other players who have been getting sent back to the Lakers for Vanderbilt have been Derrick Jones (9.0 percent) and Myles Turner (5.6 percent).
Clearly, L.A. fans want a floor-spacing power forward on the team's roster badly.
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.
3. Jimmy Butler (Golden State)
Share: 3.4 percent of trades on our trade machine
There hasn't been much scuttlebutt on a potential Jimmy Butler trade, though things might intensify if the Golden State Warriors get off to a slow start this season.
Even so, fans have been plugging Butler into our trade machine all offseason long, with a multitude of destinations in mind. 12.6 percent of the time, Butler has been getting traded to the Boston Celtics; 10.0 percent of the time, the destination has been the Miami Heat (that's never happening with the way things ended between the two parties); and 9.6 percent of the time, the Denver Nuggets have been the landing spot for the six-time All-Star.
The players that have been getting sent to Golden State for Butler have been Jayson Tatum (10.6 percent), Giannis Antetokounmpo (8.6 percent) and Nikola Jokic (8.3 percent). That's clearly wishful thinking on the part of Golden State fans and not all that likely to happen, we must say.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Jimmy Butler trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Jimmy Butler trade rumors and salary info.
2. De'Aaron Fox (San Antonio)
Share: 3.6 percent of trades on our trade machine
Another popular name in our trade machine all offseason has been veteran San Antonio Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox, which can be explained by his performance in the 2026 NBA Finals.
Golden State has been the most common landing spot for Fox, dating back to when Bill Simmons mentioned San Antonio swinging for the fences and trading Stephen Curry. After Curry's recent comments and the fact that he signed an extension with the team, we can firmly rule that out. Even so, 8.2 percent of trades have sent Fox to the Warriors. However, instead of Curry being the most common Warriors player going back to San Antonio for Fox, that player is now Butler at 5.4 percent. A healthy Butler would fit very well with the Spurs, and getting rid of Fox would open up even more playing time for the very promising Dylan Harper.
Meanwhile, 6.3 percent of Fox deals have him going to the Lakers, and another 6.3 percent have him going to the Cleveland Cavaliers. 6.6 percent of Fox deals have Evan Mobley going to the Spurs (that would be a fascinatingly versatile frontcourt between Mobley and Victor Wembanyama), and 6.0 percent have Luka Doncic going to San Antonio (that's never happening).
We don't think a Fox deal is on the horizon, but that won't stop Spurs fans and their wishful thinking.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect De'Aaron Fox trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest De'Aaron Fox trade rumors and salary info.
1. Kyrie Irving (Dallas)
Share: 3.6 percent of trades on our trade machine
Although there's been nothing coming out of Dallas to indicate a potential Irving deal, his name has popped up in a trade rumor recently, one from Jake Fischer that attached Irving to Miami:
Prominent NBA insider Jake Fischer believes the Miami Heat could be a potential landing spot for Irving this upcoming season, reporting that Miami has already shown interest in acquiring the Mavs' star guard. "There's already been some rumblings of the Heat having interest in him," Fischer said on Bleacher Report. "Miami with their point guard depth – are the early spots that people around the league are looking at as potential Kyrie Irving trade destinations."
Even so, the Heat have surprisingly not been one of the most common teams that Irving has been getting traded for. A whopping 16.7 percent of Irving deals on have him going to the Toronto Raptors. What's more, the three most common players getting sent to Dallas for Irving have all been Raptors: Immanuel Quickley (10.7 percent), Jakob Poeltl (6.0 percent) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (5.3 percent). Irving would be a fantastic addition for Toronto, one that could elevate the team to becoming a true title contender.
Other common landing spots for Irving have been Houston (6.9 percent) and Oklahoma City (6.3 percent), with the former particularly making sense as a potential Irving destination considering its need for more high-power scoring, particularly out of the backcourt.
Use our trade machine to figure out the perfect Kyrie Irving trade for your team.
Check our website for the latest Kyrie Irving trade rumors and salary info.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: NBA Trade Machine Rankings: Zion Williamson, Jimmy Butler and more
