5 biggest NBA storylines going into the 2021-22 season

NBA storylines: 1. Which NBA star will get traded next?

Seemingly every year there is a significant All-Star player who gets traded.

Last season was the four-team blockbuster deal that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, in 2019 Jimmy Butler was sent to Philly after staging a coup in Minnesota and DeMarcus Cousins in 2017 was shipped out to New Orleans during the All-Star break.

This season there are some players who fit that criteria and could be on the move.

Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal

Both players are in similar situations, both Lillard and Beal are superb talents on small-market teams that sit in the playoff limbo category — good enough to make the playoffs but never good enough to win a championship.

Lillard and Beal are also both very loyal, despite the media’s insistence that they should/want to be traded both have remained loyal to their originations. Lillard is signed for four more seasons (with a player option in the last year) and Beal can sign a four-year $187 million dollar extension with the Wizards on October 1st according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Beal can also sign a five-year $235 million dollar deal next summer).

If Beal declines that may be the “I don’t want to be here” bat-signal that front offices have been wanting for. After October first (days before preseason) the media may jump on the Beal wants out train.

As for Lillard, requesting a trade with three-plus seasons on the contract may set an ugly precedent for the NBA, especially if Lillard is traded to a glamor market.

Both players remain loyal, but as we saw with Harden things can change quickly – and given both the Wizards and Blazers rosters it’s hard to see both teams being true contenders.

Ben Simmons

You know it’s going to happen, I know it’s going to happen, Simmons will make it happen and Daryl Morey knows it’s going to happen.

With the preseason a month away and the Inquirer’s Keith Pompey reporting that Simmons won’t be attending the Sixers training camps it’s hard to see the All-NBA Aussie on the team going into next season.

There are a handful of teams who could satisfy Morey’s expectations for returns and in Pompey’s report, he stated that Simmons would prefer a team in California – if you asked me the only two teams that work is the Golden State Warriors or the Sacramento Kings.

As we know, there are always surprise trade requests, we could see one of these three traded or someone else we might not expect?

Either way, expect the trade mongering to continue all season from the media – especially until Simmons is traded.