Warriors and Rockets are seen as two teams likely to make big trades during the season

The Warriors And Missiles have been identified by scouts and executives as the two teams most likely to make a significant trade during the season, according to ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Insider link). After big deals around the league dried up assets for most teams, not many teams have the combination of young players, draft picks and movable veterans that Golden State and Houston have.

Golden State has been at the center of several high-level trade rumors in recent months, including for the now Sixers wing Paul George and Jazz ahead Lauri Markkanen. Brandin Podziemskithe 2023 No. 19 overall pick, was specifically deemed untouchable in the Markkanen talks, which resulted in the Warriors and Jazz being unable to reach an agreement on any trades. Podziemski spoke openly about the trial with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

“It was hard for me to process it mentally,Podziemski said in an interview for the Hoop Collective podcast. “Everyone gets you excited but at the same time puts you down, like, ‘Why didn’t we trade him? We should have traded him for X, Y, Z.””

According to Windhorst, league directors are well aware of that chairman Joe Lacob is a big fan of Podziemski’s and knows the price to purchase the Santa Clara product would be high.

“You feel the respect and love of (GM) Mike Dunleavy and Joe Lacob and our front office and how much they appreciate me after just a year of seeing what I could do,Podziemski said. “And it’s not like I was mentioned for another role player, it was talked about as All-Stars. … To see that the Clippers and the Jazz wanted me in return, it showed Golden State’s value to me to teams around the league.”

It is unclear which star players will appear on the trade block this winter. As we wrote earlier on Saturday, players like it Giannis Antetokounmpo And Zion Williamson are currently unavailable and likely won’t be part of a mid-season move anyway. It’s still early in the season, so teams are all still trying to figure out their postseason chances and how their talent will work together. The 10-2 Warriors may not feel inclined to make a move anyway.

Still, De’Anthony Melton ($12.8MM), Gary Payton II ($9.1MM) and Kevon Looney ($8.0 million) present three large expiring deals that could theoretically be used in transactions. The warriors and Jonathan Kuminga couldn’t agree to an extension before the season, so he could be an outgoing player in any hypothetical trade. Golden State owns nearly all of its future first-round capital, giving the team plenty of ammunition to make a move.

As for the Rockets, the impressive young duo of Tari Eason And Amen Thompson According to Windhorst, this is off-limits in trade negotiations. The Rockets are also in no rush to make a deal at 9-4, according to Windhorst, and Eason and Thompson have helped the team rank third in defensive efficiency early in the season.

In theory, as noted by ESPN, the Rockets have strong assets that don’t require moving a young piece. Steven Adams has an expiring $12.6 million deal and retains Houston Jeff Green ($8.0MM), Jock Landale ($8.0MM), Jae’Sean Tate ($7.6MM) and Aaron Holiday ($4.7 million) this offseason, despite their lack of playing time. Houston has several draft picks available to them from Phoenix that could be tempting. Offseason reports suggested they might be interested in trading those picks back to the Suns Kevin Durant. While Durant is almost certainly off the table, perhaps some of these assets could be used elsewhere.

Again, it seems unlikely that most of the league’s biggest names will switch teams in the coming months. Some, like Markkanen, agreed to long-term contracts or had recently moved, leaving them off the shortlist. Others, like Durant, are playing at a high level for contenders. That leaves a small group of players for whom it would be worth sacrificing significant assets.

It’s worth noting that reporting in October showed the Rockets indicating they were unlikely to make a big move this season. Still, Heat forward is a name to watch for both Golden State and Houston Jimmy Butler. He did not sign an extension with the Heat this summer and plans to decline his player option this upcoming offseason to test the waters.

Both the Warriors and Rockets have been mentioned as potential suitors for the star swingman. Either way, it would be quite surprising to see the Heat Butler move. Even if Miami is at risk of him leaving in free agency, selling a star player for young talent goes against the organization’s modus operandi.