With just four weeks into the 2015-2016 NBA regular season, trade speculations have already started to swirl around the league as struggling teams try to shake-up their roster. Plenty of names have been thrown around the rumour mill and here are the players most likely to find another team before the trade deadline.

1. DeMarcus Cousins – Sacramento Kings

Cousins is probably the most mentioned name in trade speculations, so far. The Kings’ star centre has all the indications he could be moved by mid-season, considering his fractured relationship with the team’s head coach George Karl, and according to SB Nation’s Tom Ziller, it may be time for Sacramento to move on from Cousins.

Cousins has established himself as one of the best centres in the NBA. He is averaging a solid 27.7 points and 11.2 rebounds with the Kings this season, while shooting 43.0 percent from the field.

The Kings have surrounded Cousins with serviceable players who could help in turning the franchise into a contender, but their dismal start suggests Sacramento may need to opt for a drastic change in their roster. Cousins has been linked to several teams, but a report from Steve Kyler of the Basketball Insiders suggest that the King are more likely to fire Karl than trade their superstar centre.

“Sources close to Kings ownership say it’s far more likely that Karl is removed as coach than Cousins being traded,” Kyler disclosed.

However, this would not stop other teams from trying to tempt the Kings into a trade, given how Cousins could boost a team’s playoff chances and how poorly things have gone in Sacramento.

The certain thing is, if the Kings continue their downward trend, it would be either Karl or Cousins going to another team.

2. Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls

Rose has also been the subject of trade rumors early in the season and one of the most likely player to be dealt before the deadline. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst hinted that Rose and Bulls may be heading for a break-up following the former-MVP’s claims that he is looking forward in 2017’s free agency, when his $41.4 million contract expires.

Rose has only played 10 games this season because of a sprained ankle, averaging 13.6 points on 37.7 percent shooting. His best game came from a victory over the OKC Thunder, where he scored 29 points and dished 6 assists, but aside from that, his other outings have been below his average numbers.

Rose is the main piece that helped the Bulls become relevant again in the NBA map, but the injuries he suffered in the past few years and this season have held him to playing limited basketball in Chicago. His superstar status has also diminished with the rise of Jimmy Butler, and with the Bulls getting used to winning games without him, it would be possible to see D-Rose playing for another team by mid-season.

3. Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder

This may be far-fetched, but a player like Durant cannot escape trade speculations, especially considering his impending free agency next summer.

There are many factors leading to the speculation that Durant could be traded before the deadline. Durant did not sign a contract extension and is playing for the last year of his contract with the Thunder, which puts him as one of the NBA players who are likely to be dealt by mid-season.

Durant not signing a contract extension with the Thunder may be a move for him to get more money next summer when the NBA’s massive TV deal kicks in, which would boost teams’ salary cap-spaces. But NBA analyst and former NBA executive Tom Penn told in to ESPN earlier this year that Thunder general manager Sam Presti does not want to let go of Durant without getting something special in return, just as what OKC did when they traded James Harden to the Rockets in 2012.

In addition, Russell Westbrook’s burst and Durant’s long-time absence has taken the latter out of the picture as the Thunder’s main guy. Westbrook has been putting up solid numbers for the Thunder last season and this year, averaging 28.7 points, while dishing out 10.2 assists.

Moreover, new head coach Billy Donovan seem to have already viewed Westbrook as the team’s top superstar early in the season.

"Certainly having a guy with him like Kevin who certainly is a big-time proven player in this league, I think Russell has got the ability to give a lot of people confidence inside our team,” Donovan told ESPN. “And being a point and with the way he's distributing the basketball, I think he's in a position where he can make people around him better and make the game easier for people.”

However, Durant has erased any speculations that he could not co-exist with Westbrook in OKC. In fact, he told the Oklahoman that he has a family-like ties with Westbrook, which means he would like to play basketball with Westbrook in OKC.

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