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The astronomical map of NBA stars is constantly being redrawn.
That's due in part to the perpetually changing ranks of both falling and rising stars. It's also because star movement across the basketball galaxy is anything but uncommon.
Just ask Damian Lillard and James Harden, the league's latest stars requesting—and now awaiting—a scenery change. Or ask the myriad elites before them who made known their relocation desires.
Or you could even ask the following five players, who loom as the likeliest name-brand ballers to be the next to stars who demand a ticket out of their current digs.
Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Back in April, ESPN's Tim MacMahon brought word of a "fear" existing within the Dallas Mavericks organization that Luka Doncic "could consider requesting a trade as soon as the summer of 2024 if Dallas doesn't make significant progress by then."
It's conceivable the 24-year-old may not even wait that long, since the Mavericks, who didn't even make the play-in tournament this past season, could once again struggle to gain traction in the competitive Western Conference.
Dallas' offseason has been a bit of a mixed bag. Re-signing Kyrie Irving was a must, but anyone claiming to know what Uncle Drew's future holds is being willfully ignorant about his past. The Mavs got Grant Williams on a good deal, but he's more of a helpful role player than a difference-maker. Signing Seth Curry was puzzling; he's a good player, but this team desperately needed defense, not an undersized scoring guard.
What is Dallas' plan to enter the championship conversation? The Mavs went 5-11 when Doncic and Irving played together last season, so counting on them alone to figure this out is asking a lot. Can they afford to wait on the growth of Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, or will they trade what little youth they have for established talent?
Dallas is in a tough spot, which is where no team with a megastar of Doncic's ilk should ever wind up. The Mavs have rarely resembled a championship contender during his five-year tenure—they have as many series wins as lottery trips (two apiece)—and if he can't see their vision coming together, he may soon want out of it entirely.