The next superstar swap could be coming at any moment to an NBA team near you.

With free agency short on difference-makers in 2020 and perhaps running light on elite players again in 2021, teams could soon be racing to the trade market to find their next star.

They might be pleasantly surprised with what they find.

Five marquee names could reasonably find their way to the trade block between now and the March 25 deadline. We're breaking down their situations here and ranking them by ascending likelihood of a blockbuster deal.

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Stephen Curry's days of leading championship charges in Golden State might be banished to the history books.

Gone are the supersquad rosters that once featured the likes of Kevin Durant and Andre Iguodala alongside Curry, a healthy Klay Thompson and a prime Draymond Green. Now, Curry is left sharing shots with Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr. and James Wiseman, while Thompson rehabs from his second major leg injury in as many years and Green builds up to a debut that will reveal just how quickly he's declining.

It took only two games—a pair of losses by a combined 65 points—for Curry to send out some soul-searching requests for his new supporting cast.

"I think sometimes when things don't go your way and you miss shots, there's a tendency to force and press and just not think," Curry said, per ESPN's Nick Friedell. "So our group's collective IQ has to get a lot better in those moments where you're not making shots and trying to get some easy buckets."

The Warriors don't look like playoff participants, let alone title contenders. How can that realistically change in time for the 32-year-old Curry to maximize what's left of his peak? Green looked abysmal last season, and when Thompson sees the floor next, he'll be on the wrong side of both an ACL tear and a torn Achilles.

There's every reason to believe Golden State will try to sort this out with Curry, but there's also a chance the dynasty is over. Should the Dubs deem rebuilding a necessity, they'd have no better way to load up on assets than a blockbuster trade of the two-time MVP.

Likelihood: Not impossible, but not likely

Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors

Toronto has overhauled much of its roster since securing the 2018-19 championship, and what's left in place may no longer constitute a full-fledged contender.

If another title is indeed out of reach, then the Raptors could consider planning for life without Kyle Lowry.

He might be the backbone of this franchise, but he's also a 34-year-old playing out the final season of his contract. His best days are behind him—even if he's handling his twilight better than most—while nearly all of his teammates are still ascending toward their peaks.

The timeline gap between Lowry and Pascal Siakam (26), Fred VanVleet (26) and OG Anunoby (23) is wide enough for Toronto think about turning him into a future-focused package of assets. The Raptors have struggled to fill the superstar void created by Kawhi Leonard's 2019 departure, and with the 2021 free-agent pool drying up, the trade market might be their best bet.

Given Lowry's age and contract situation, it's possible no one will part with enough trade chips for Toronto to justify letting go of such an iconic figure. There's also a chance the Raptors, who finished second in the East last season, will simply be too good to do anything other than buy on the trade market.

But there might have been too many subtractions—from Leonard and Danny Green in 2019 to Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka this offseason—for the Raptors to maintain prominent position in an improving conference. If they're established as a non-contender ahead of the deadline, they'll have plenty to think about when title hopefuls inevitably start inquiring about Lowry.

Likelihood: Possible, depending on Raptors' performance

Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers are quietly facing a time crunch.

The days of patiently trusting the Process are over. Brett Brown is gone. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are established as annual All-Stars, and everything from the coaching staff to the front office to the rest of the roster has been overhauled to bring out their best.

But what if their best isn't good enough? They're brilliant individually, but they're clunky collectively. Normally, it might make sense to trust talent to win out, but James Harden wanting out of Space City changes the conversation—and the Sixers seem to know that.

They have "signaled a willingness" to include Simmons in a blockbuster for the Beard, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne. While the scribes added that talks between Philly and Houston "have come nowhere close to a deal," the fact they're taking place suggests Simmons isn't flat-out off-limits.

It's a sensible position to take, especially if the 76ers agree Simmons isn't the ideal co-star for Embiid. It isn't just that their individual games don't mesh well; it's that their optimal systems look dramatically different. Simmons should be steering a fast-paced attack, while Embiid's mastery of the post makes him best-suited for a controlled attack. Philly is leaning toward Embiid and running only 22nd in pace through three games.

It'd be a stretch to label Simmons—a five-tool defender who's a devastating open-court weapon on offense—as expendable. But if he could fetch a more Embiid-friendly star, Philly might think long and hard about letting him go.

Likelihood: Likelier than you'd think for a 24-year-old All-Star

Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

The Wizards have held onto Bradley Beal so far with the idea they can construct a competitive club around him. They certainly weren't shy with roster investments this offseason, giving Davis Bertans an $80 million deal and swinging for the fences with the Russell Westbrook trade.

But three games into this campaign, the Wizards already have three notches in the loss column. Their defense remains disastrous—they let the scoring-starved Orlando Magic drop 250 combined points over a back-to-back weekend set—and their non-Beal options on offense are unreliable at best.

"It's not where we wanted to be, but we are," head coach Scott Brooks said after Sunday's loss to Orlando, per NBC Sports Washington's Chase Hughes.

Where the Wizards really are is on the precipice of a rebuild. They just haven't recognized that yet.

Beal is a special talent, but there isn't enough around him for the Wizards to enjoy significant success. Westbrook's volume-over-efficiency contributions don't move the needle in a meaningful way. Bertans is a specialist. The young talent on the roster intrigues for what it could become down the road, not what it can offer at the moment.

This all leaves Beal—a peak-of-his-powers star—looking like a fish out of water. Someone should pony up enough trade chips for Washington to reconsider its approach, finally focus on a rebuild and put Beal in the playoff race elsewhere.

Likelihood: Could happen for the right offer

James Harden, Houston Rockets

James Harden has given eight-plus seasons to the Houston Rockets. He's more than ready for a relocation.

At first, he seemed enamored about the idea of joining former running mate Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the Brooklyn Nets. But the longer Harden is stranded in Space City, the more exit routes he appears willing to explore.

"[Harden] has recently deemed the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers among his preferred destinations," Sam Amick and Kelly Iko reported for The Athletic. "Brooklyn and Philadelphia were the first teams to receive that distinction back in mid-December, followed by Miami and Milwaukee being added in the weeks thereafter."

Harden's message to contenders is simple: Come get me out of Houston. Considering the former MVP debuted with a 44-point, 17-assist outburst, it's a miracle that a club hasn't already knocked Houston's socks off with a Godfather offer.

But that has to be coming down the pipeline sooner than later. His split from the Rockets is a matter of when not if, and as soon as his market heats up to the appropriate temperature, he'll finally be granted his ticket out of town.

Likelihood: Stone-cold lock

All stats courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.

Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @ZachBuckleyNBA.