5 NBA Stars on the Wrong Team

Some NBA stars are already on the right teams.

Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray helped lead the Denver Nuggets to a championship last year. Stephen Curry is the face of the Golden State Warriors after winning four rings with them over the past decade. Jalen Brunson has transformed the New York Knicks this season.

Other stars, however, are still searching for their ideal homes.

Whether via a trade or free agency, the following five stars should switch teams this summer, finding a better fit for their skill sets and an improved role.

The last time Dejounte Murray got to be the lead point guard and primary ball-handler for a full season, he was named to the All-Star team while averaging 21.1 points, 9.2 assists, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He's the only player in NBA history to ever post those averages across a full season.

The Atlanta Hawks traded for Murray in 2022 and moved him to more of an off-ball role next to Trae Young, but it's been a failure for everyone involved. The Hawks went 36-46 this season, a seven-win drop from the year before they sent three first-round picks to the San Antonio Spurs for Murray.

Teams that need a high-level starting point guard should be relentlessly calling Atlanta this summer. The 27-year-old Murray is beginning a team-friendly four-year, $114 million extension and is still an elite defender who would thrive if he returns to an on-ball role.

The Hawks should be open to trading Murray to add better-fitting pieces around Young. A return to the Spurs would make a lot of sense for Murray, and teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic could be searching for a backcourt upgrade this summer.

Best Landing Spots: San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic

The Phoenix Suns largely used Mikal Bridges as a complementary three-and-D wing. On the Brooklyn Nets, he's been asked to do too much offensively.

The 27-year-old would fit best on a team where he can get more scoring opportunities than he had in Phoenix but doesn't have the pressure of being a primary offensive option like he does in Brooklyn.

It doesn't help that the Nets don't have a sense of direction at the moment. They went 32-50 this season, but they refuse to embrace a teardown because of how much future draft capital they owe to the Houston Rockets.

Trading Bridges now with two years left on his contract would help the Nets get maximum value for him, and it would give him a much better chance to return to the NBA Finals.

Finding a potential fit for Bridges isn't hard. Every team would love to acquire a 20 point-per-game scorer who defends at a high level and hasn't missed a single game in his six-year career.

The Philadelphia 76ers could undo their draft-night mistake of trading Bridges to Phoenix and look to acquire him again to play between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Atlanta Hawks will always need more defensive help around Trae Young, and a healthy Memphis Grizzlies squad is a star wing away from being one of the best teams in the West.

Best New Fits: Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies

After making a blockbuster trade for Bradley Beal last summer, the Phoenix Suns were swept in the first round of the playoffs. The deal should have never happened in the first place.

Beal averaged 18.2 points, 5.0 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game this season on a modest 22.7 percent usage rate while shooting a career-high 51.3 percent overall and 43.0 percent from three. His contract (three years, $160.1 million) is rough, but it would look better if he wasn't deferring to two other alpha scorers on a regular basis.

The Suns were only moderately better with Beal playing alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant (plus-7.5) than they were with Booker and Durant on the floor without him (plus-5.4). Not having a true point guard on the roster didn't help Phoenix, either.

Beal would thrive in a new situation where he gets more shot opportunities and can play alongside a pass-first floor general.

The Los Angeles Lakers could use Beal's scoring to help take pressure off LeBron James. The Golden State Warriors may need a new shooting guard if Klay Thompson leaves in free agency. The Sacramento Kings might be on the hunt for more star power alongside De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

Beal's contract is going to be tough to move, especially because he still has a no-trade clause. However, the three-time All-Star is still arguably a top-five shooting guard in the league who can help teams in need of scoring.

Best New Fits: Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings

DeMar DeRozan is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, so he's the only player featured here who has the power to choose his next team.

DeRozan's three-year tenure with the Chicago Bulls has been a bit of a mixed bag. The 34-year-old has thrived individually with two All-Star trips, an All-NBA nod and a 25.5 point-per-game scoring average. However, the Bulls have averaged only 41.7 wins per season and reached the playoffs only once, where the Milwaukee Bucks knocked them out in the first round in 2022.

The Bulls want DeRozan back. NBC Sports Chicago's K.C. Johnson reported that Chicago offered DeRozan "a two-year deal at a high annual salary, perhaps as much as $40 million per season." It's highly unlikely that DeRozan will get that kind of money anywhere else, although the opportunity to win a championship should trump money now that he's made over a quarter of a billion dollars in his career.

DeRozan isn't a perfect fit in any system, however. He's a ball-dominant wing who takes a ton of mid-range shots and isn't a high-level defender. DeRozan would be an ideal sixth man at some point with his instant offense, although the six-time All-Star should still be seeking starting opportunities.

A sign-and-trade might help DeRozan get more money than he could make signing outright as a free agent in most places and help get him to a contender. The Philadelphia 76ers will be on the search for wings this offseason, while the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat ranked 15th or worse offensively this year and could use DeRozan's scoring punch.

However, teams over either salary-cap apron can't acquire players via sign-and-trade, and both the Lakers and Heat are currently projected to be over the first apron next year, per Spotrac. They'd have some financial hurdles to overcome if they wanted to acquire DeRozan this summer.

Best New Fits: Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat

The Brandon Ingram-Zion Williamson partnership hasn't worked well enough for the New Orleans Pelicans to keep them together, especially with Ingram going into the final year of his contract.

New Orleans had a net rating of only plus-2.2 in the 2,239 total possessions that Ingram and Williamson shared the floor this season. The Pelicans' two most-used lineups with both players had negative net ratings.

Ingram can still be the 1A option on an offense. He's a 6'8" wing who's lethal from mid-range, is a good enough three-point shooter to draw a defense out and is an above-average passer (5.7 assists against 2.5 turnovers per game this season). New Orleans' starting frontcourt of Williamson and Jonas Valančiūnas doesn't offer much spacing, however.

Ingram would thrive with more shooters and a true point guard around him. Lots of teams can use a tall, offensively gifted wing to help run their offense. At 26, Ingram's best years are still ahead of him as well.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Pelicans could talk a deal based around Darius Garland. The Atlanta Hawks should entertain some sort of Dejounte Murray-Ingram swap. And the Indiana Pacers could shake up the East by going all-in on a new Big Three with Tyrese Haliburton, Ingram and Pascal Siakam.

A team with better spacing and with a true point guard would help maximize Ingram's potential.

Best New Fits: Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers