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With players demanding trades in the NBA, there have been seen some major shakeups in the league over the years.
It has become a common trend now, with more top players switching teams. There can be plenty of reasons why players want to be traded. One of the main reasons is to bolster their hopes of winning an NBA championship.
Many believe Damian Lillard could tread this route if the Portland Trail Blazers fail to build a title-contending team around him this season. He has indicated that he wishes to stay with the Trail Blazers for now, but things could change. A lot of superstars who were in the same situation as Lillard have gone on to hand in trade requests.
On that note, let's take a look at the top five superstars in the NBA who requested a trade in the 21st century. The reasons, which range from their desire to chase a ring or personal reasons, have shaken up the league. Without further ado, here's a look at five such players.
#5 James Harden
James Harden is one of the most recent examples of a top player requesting a trade/ That happened when he demanded the Houston Rockets to trade him during the 2020-21 NBA season. After multiple failures to win the championship at H-Town, Harden wanted to go to another team to bolster his chances of winning his first NBA championship.
Harden was a beast for the Rockets and had also formed partnerships with the likes of Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. However, he failed to get past the Conference Finals even once during his stint with the Rockets.
That led to him moving out of Houston and signing with the Brooklyn Nets in a four-team trade that included the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers. Although Harden did not win the championship last year, the Nets are one of the contenders this season. So there is a decent possibility that he might end up winning his first chip.
#4 Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard had a successful stint with the San Antonio Spurs, his first-ever team in the NBA. It did not end on a great note, though, as Leonard asked to be traded by the franchise in 2018.
The reason behind that was because of personal reasons, though, as Leonard was unhappy with the way the Spurs handled his quad injury. The LA Clippers forward played only nine games in the 2017-18 NBA season, which turned out to be his last with the franchise.
Leonard was subsequently granted his wish, and was traded to the Toronto Raptors. Reports at the time suggested he wanted a move back home to the LA Lakers, but the Purple and Gold were reluctant to let Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram depart.
So a deal never materialized, and Leonard ended up with Toronto, where he led them to an NBA championship win.
#3 Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony started his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets, where he has had some of his successful seasons in the league. He led the team to the playoffs every year he played for them. The Nuggets made it to the Conference finals in 2009, his best result so far in the postseason.
However, the Nuggets wanted to rebuild post that, which wasn't something Anthony wanted to be a part of at that stage of his career. So he requested a trade, and got traded to the New York Knicks.
He stated on a recent episode of 'All The Smoke Podcast' that he never wanted to leave the Denver Nuggets. But the franchise's stance on rebuilding led him to make the switch to New York.
#2 Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett started his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA, who drafted him #5 overall in the 1995 NBA draft. He led the team eight times to the NBA Playoffs in the 12 seasons he played with the team. Garnett made the Conference Finals in 2004, and also won his only MVP award with the team that season.
After the Timberwolves failed to make the postseason for the last three seasons of Garnett's time with the franchise, the 'Big Ticket' handed in a trade request that saw him join the Boston Celtics.
He formed one of the NBA's first modern-day super teams alongside Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, winning a championship in his first season with the C's in 2007-08.
#1 Kobe Bryant
The late great LA Lakers legend Kobe Bryant never played for any other team apart from the Purple and Gold. Bryant, though, had requested a trade several times during his stint with the team.
After the LA Lakers failed to build a solid team around Kobe Bryant to win a championship, the former MVP was frustrated and wanted a move away from the club in 2007. The Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls were in the fray to acquire Bryant had an agreement materialized between all parties.
While the Lakers were willing to trade Bryant to the Pistons, the player did not want the trade; his 'no-trade clause allowed him to decline that move.
The Bulls were the team Bryant was comfortable getting traded to, but did not want Chicago to trade Luol Deng in return to the LA Lakers for him. The deal eventually collapsed, and Bryant ended up staying with the Lakers, adding two more titles to his kitty in 2009 and 2010.
Guess the Lakers players!
