4 NBA Stars Who Would Benefit From New Surroundings

In today's basketball environment, players sticking with one team are a rarity. Fans might only have themselves to blame for the constant movement. Everything changed when the deciding factor of greatness became "how many rings does he have." But all the movement has indeed created a new level of excitement.

Greatness is on display throughout the league, but some players would be better off joining the wave of movement, especially in the never-ending quest of a title, which can make or break legacies.

Bradley Beal
Somewhat overshadowed by the John Wall roller coaster, Beal has taken center stage in D.C. with Wall out of the picture. Granted a contract extension earlier this season, Beal has responded with over 30 points per game. In this era of load management, Beal's durability (a full 82-game slate over the last two seasons) is quite novel. Simply put, he deserves to have his talents showcased on a grander stages. The Wizards are currently mired in the depths of the Eastern Conference and don't appear to be joining the championship run our nation's capital has enjoyed with the Capitals, Mystics, and Nationals. It's understandable that the Wizards may be ready to build around Beal, but it'd a shame to see his prime wasted in a rebuild.

Blake Griffin
In an era where every other thing on television or the big screen features an old superhero or two coming out of retirement, it was great to see Griffin join the fold with a career-best season. Left for basketball dead by some after a midseason trade from the Clippers to Detroit Pistons, Griffin responded with a resurgent season to a tune of a new career-best in points (24.5 PPG) and earned a nine-rebound average for the first time since 2014. But, with a title absent from Griffin's expansive resume, a trade away from Detroit would seem to be in order. The Pistons remain fringe playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference, but with Andre Drummond a potential free agent and Reggie Jackson's contract on the bring of expiration, it may be time for Griffin to find a new stomping grounds to catch the one thing missing from his NBA career.

Damian Lillard
One of the biggest disappointments in the early portions of the season has probably been Lillard's Portland Trail Blazers. Western Conference finalists last season, Portland has stumbled to a 5-8 mark in the early going, eventually calling upon Carmelo Anthony for help. Lillard confirmed his dedication to Portland with a contract extension that runs through 2025, but if this Anthony experiment doesn't pan out, it looks increasingly unlikely that they'll be able to get over the hump in the Western Conference. He seems so tailor-made to join a Warriors-like situation, partaking in a superteam that seems so impossible to obtain in a market like Portland. He's had some good times and some good teams, but a change in scenery may help Lillard avoid a similar, undeserved championship-free fate, a la Tracy McGrady.

Karl-Anthony Towns
Similar to Lillard, Towns is stuck with a purgatorial squad in Minnesota that never seems to have the assets (or the luck) to cause a true disruption in the Western Conference penthouse. They seemed to be on the right pace with a playoff appearance in 2018 -- their first in 14 seasons -- but sputtered to the tune of 36 wins last year. The Timberwolves have kept pace at the southern point of the premature Western playoff picture, but does anyone truly believe they can compete with the Lakers/Rockets/Clippers? At the current pace, Towns could be come the new Kevin Love, a superstar trapped in Minnesota battling for eighth place despite first-seed abilities.