As we attempt to navigate the lulls of the NBA in late July, it's time to embark on an annual mission designed to spice up the transactional drought: a comprehensive ranking of the league's top 10 trade assets right now.

Emphasis on right now.

Accounting for immediacy helps us winnow down the field of options. For instance, the Philadelphia 76ers have a super-tasty trade chip in the Los Angeles Clippers' unprotected 2028 first-round pick. But team president Daryl Morey won't peddle that in negotiations until trade restrictions lift on potential matching salary in December.

Franchise directions and a heaping ol' dose of common sense will be used to eliminate other considerations. The San Antonio Spurs aren't trading Victor Wembanyama, the Dallas Mavericks aren't dealing Luka Dončić, the Milwaukee Bucks aren't trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, so on and so forth.

This exercise will instead look to spotlight players and picks who are feasibly available and have the most appeal as centerpieces in aggressive blockbuster buys. Lauri Markkanen will be worth a whole lot if the Utah Jazz actually move him. But they aren't dangling him as part of home-run-swing consolidation. If (when?) he's shipped out, it'll be for a combination of assets like the ones you're about to see here. So, you won't find him here.

Rankings will be determined by which asset yours truly believes has the most immediate value as part of a larger package. Don't necessarily expect to see distant first-round picks steal the show. Selections after 2027 have limited standalone appeal when most front offices cannot guarantee they'll remain in charge to use those picks. The mystique of these situations will often be predicated on what else can be attached alongside them.

Ready? Set? Let's rank.

10. Lu Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder

Lu Dort is the rare player on his second contract who is both young and complementary enough to be viewed as an asset even by teams that aren't particularly interested in winning for the foreseeable future. Think of him as MIkal Bridges circa the Kevin Durant trade, without the hope he can develop into a first- or second-option cornerstone.

Next year will be Dort's age-25 season, which seems impossible yet is true all the same. He also happens to be on a ridiculously cheap deal...again. Not only is he owed only $51.9 million over the next three years, but the final season is a team option that affords whichever squad has him further flexibility.

Granted, no team will be looking to decline that option. It projects to be worth less than 11 percent of the salary cap. Someone so skilled and battle-tested should be making more.

Dort remains an All-World defender, even though he still somehow hasn't made an All-Defensive team. At 6'3", he plays like a slab of marble attached to 360-degree thrusters. From smaller guards to enormous wings, the Oklahoma City Thunder deploy him against all types of top options.

Among the 260-plus players who logged at least 1,000 total minutes last season, only Jeremy Sochan spent more time guarding the opposing team's highest-usage player, according to BBall Index. That's patently absurd when you consider the Thunder have actual alternatives to use in those situations.

Offensive consistency remains Dort's Achilles heel. He can be streaky from beyond the arc and still gets a little too dribble-happy. But there is value in volume, and Dort, unlike other iffy shooters, generally isn't afraid to let 'em rip from deep. He has cleared six three-point attempts per 36 minutes in each of the past four seasons, and last year, he downed them at a 39.4 percent clip.

The extent to which Oklahoma City is willing to move Dort is debatable. It likely isn't looking to make seismic deals after adding Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. But the Thunder will need matching salary whenever they explore consolidation. And with Caruso, the recently paid Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace all in the fold, Dort has never been more expendable.

9. Phoenix Suns 2031 First-Round Pick

Phoenix Suns team governor Mat Ishbia doesn't sound like someone who will shy away from letting the organization jettison a first-round pick seven years into the future. This is a potential boon for squads that'll be looking to sell at the 2025 trade deadline.

Digging into the nuts and bolts of the Suns' situation does little to detract from the appeal of their 2031 pick. This selection post-dates Kevin Durant's current contract—and possibly career. Even if he's still playing in Phoenix, he'll be entering his age-42 season.

Similar logic applies to Bradley Beal. His current deal runs through 2026-27 (player option), and if he's still in Phoenix by 2030, he'll be entering his age-37 campaign.

Not even Devin Booker is guaranteed to be playing at the same level, as the 2030-31 season will be his age-34 campaign. That's assuming he remains a member of the Suns. His deal runs through 2027-28, and if Phoenix's Big Three starts to age out or totally implodes, you have to imagine he'll get wandering eyes.

There is a case to slot this pick higher. Much higher, even. But the Suns have almost nothing of intrigue to pair with it. Most front offices will be hesitant to accept a first-rounder so far out as central compensation in a bigger-time deal without receiving any more imminent picks or prospects.

8. Los Angeles Clippers 2031 First-Round Pick

Dangling their 2031 first-rounder always figured to gain the Los Angeles Clippers entry into some pretty consequential discussions. Its mystique is only mushrooming following the departure of Paul George.

James Harden is about to play out his age-35 campaign and is on a one-plus-one deal. Kawhi Leonard is signed through 2026-27 and hasn't finished a season healthy in approximately forever. There's a chance neither of them are in the NBA, let alone on the Clippers, when this pick conveys.

Still, Los Angeles faces limitations similar to those impacting Phoenix when fleshing out the rest of prospective packages. The Clippers can include some combination of a 2030 first-round swap, Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac to glitz up offers. But that's the extent of their accompanying sweeteners.

Overarching uncertainty also represses the standing of this asset. Los Angeles remains on a win-now timeline, but it feels less likely to mortgage the rest of its distant future in the wake of George's exit.

7. Los Angeles Clippers 2026 First-Round Pick (via Oklahoma City)

Placing the 2026 Clippers first-rounder ranks among the toughest tasks of this exercise.

It has the semi-instancy and unprotected factors going for it, and Los Angeles' immediate outlook doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Kawhi Leonard and James Harden (player option) should both be around for the 2025-26 season, but their age and injury concerns won't suddenly dissipate.

A complete lack of incentive to tank, coupled with the possibility that the Clippers upgrade the roster in the interim by surrendering their own first-round equity, invariably keeps this choice outside the top five. That might be a slight problem for the Thunder...if they didn't have a ton of other assets they can pair with this pick to bolster their most aggressive theoretical packages.

Even if the Thunder attach the Clippers' 2026 first-rounder to matching salary, the ceiling on their return remains closer to blockbuster than not. The Clippers' short-term trajectory is that ambiguous.

6. Atlanta Hawks 2027 First-Round Pick (via San Antonio)

The San Antonio Spurs are sitting on a potential gold mine of Atlanta Hawks first-rounders. They own outright selections in 2025 and 2027 and have swap rights in 2026.

Figuring out which first-rounder fits here, and where it should be ranked, incites a real mental tug-of-war.

Moving Dejounte Murray weakens the Hawks' guard rotation, so they'll be relying on two prospect-types in Dyson Daniels and 2024 No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher. Though they have no incentive to tank, they could organically land in the upper echelon of the lottery.

Rolling with the further out first-rounder still feels like the right call. Sure, it gives players like Daniels, Risacher, Kobe Bufkin and Jalen Johnson time to materially improve. But it also increases the likelihood something goes awry on the Trae Young front.

He has a player option for 2026-27. If he doesn't sign an extension, or if the Hawks aren't interested in bankrolling one for him, they will wind up shopping him and resetting the deck before their draft obligations to San Antonio extinguish.

Default to the 2025 Atlanta first-rounder if you'd prefer. That probably wouldn't change the ranking, though. If anything, it would dip behind the Clippers' 2026 first-rounder. The 2027 selection should be a hotter commodity since it effectively straddles the line of could-be-anything upside and fairly imminent conveyance.

Which raises the question: Are the Spurs willing to move it? Probably.

They aren't facing the degree of urgency as the Clippers, Suns, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, et al. But Victor Wembanyama is poised to be a top-eight to top-15 player as a sophomore. San Antonio has to at least view all of its future draft equity as on the table if the right player (Lauri Markkanen?) becomes available.

5. Cason Wallace, Oklahoma City Thunder

Please be aware that this is yours truly showing restraint. I considered slotting Cason Wallace as high as No. 2.

That inclination is fourfold. Wallace will be only 21 in November, plays what can only be called exhaustive defense, just regularly contributed to the best team in the Western Conference and has three years left on his rookie-scale contract.

Uncertainty starts to creep in when looking at the state of his skill set. Billed as a point guard, Wallace is more like a miniature three-and-D wing. Almost half of his shots as a rookie came as spot-up threes, which he splashed in at a 44.2 percent clip. The lack of on-ball volume is both part of his functional charm and a potential hangup when measuring him against other prospects.

This isn't to say Wallace cannot broaden his offensive horizons. Oklahoma City didn't need him to shoulder a creator's workload—and still doesn't. To his credit, Wallace provided glimpses into slicker footwork after picking up his dribble as well as quality passing in traffic. He is a worthwhile developmental project for a team not saddled with immediate playoff hopes.

Wallace's availability is right in line with that of Lu Dort. The Thunder don't have to make a marquee addition at the moment, but whenever they want to, his inclusion is worth waaaay more than your average first-round pick. And between Dort himself, Alex Caruso, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, Oklahoma City has more than enough supplemental guards to treat him as nonessential.

4. Los Angeles Lakers 2029/2031 First-Round Picks

Betting against the Los Angeles Lakers' longer-term future is beyond a tempting proposition. LeBron James will turn 40 this December, while Anthony Davis is now 31 and not exactly the billboard for durability.

Yes, we must factor in the "You're sending them a really good player" of it all. But getting grips on draft picks that convey a half-decade and seven years out is intensely appealing even if you're a seller who's giving them an All-NBA player.

Timelines change fast in the NBA. That five- to seven-year window could represent three or more different iterations of the Lakers. And the more they turn things over, the more likely one of those selections becomes a high lottery pick.

Joining these first-rounders together fuels their top-five ranking. The Lakers are not the Clippers or Suns, with just one distant pick and little else to offer. They have swaps (2026, 2028, 2030), Austin Reaves and rookie Dalton Knecht to include in packages.

Truth be told, there's probably more of an argument to nudge these picks up a notch or two. But while the landscape of the NBA and player movement has changed, the prospect of the Lakers stumbling into good fortune because of their location and flagship status remains intact.

Potential trade partners must consider the odds of a player forcing his way to Hollywood in a way they don't have to when contemplating the value of other teams' future first-rounders.

3. Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat

Connectors are often considered guards who are taller than conventional floor generals but aren't quite big or strong enough to meet wing criteria. Jaquez flips that stereotype on its face. He is a 6'6" universal adapter with three years left on his rookie-scale deal.

Shaky three-point shooting and advanced age relative to most sophomores could cap Jaquez's curb appeal. But his capacity for filling in gaps, at a high level, renders him infinitely scalable.

Jaquez is a savvy mover and shaker away from the ball who unbottles complex and shifty footwork when on it. His offense is an anomalous brew of force and finesse and technique—with the efficiency to match. He's an above-average scorer at the rim (62nd percentile) and from mid-range (71st percentile), in transition (55th percentile) and on post-ups (67th percentile). His efficiency on paint touches, meanwhile, is bananas (65.6 percent), and he's at home dropping dimes off live dribbles.

At the other end, the 23-year-old lives to disrupt. He finished second on the Heat in total deflections, a standing that jibes with his eye-test activity. He is acutely alert off the ball, ready to help or ruin kickouts and lobs and entry passes. The assignments he takes on are usually taller and burlier than himself, and it almost never matters.

If you buy into the three-point accuracy he turned in through the first quarter of the season and also believe he can jazz up the volume, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better rookie-scale asset.

This all presumes the Miami Heat would entertain moving him. That's arguable. Jimmy Butler turns 35 in September, so his timeline is now. But team president Pat Riley's exit-interview sentiments lend themselves to a slightly more gradual approach.

Then again, Miami forked over a 2027 first-rounder for Terry Rozier last season. And this is not an organization that has embraced slow and steady strategies. It may take an All-NBA-type player to prize Jaquez from the Heat, but that's sort of the point. He has built up enough could-be-anything equity to gain them access to targets that their future draft equity alone will not.

2. Brandin Podziemski, Golden State Warriors

Team governor Joe Lacob recently said the Golden State Warriors believe they have a "future All-Star" on their hands in Brandin Podziemski. That comes across as biased and obligatory homerism at first brush.

Munch on it a little bit longer, and you realize it isn't far-fetched.

Podziemski, 21, already does a bunch of things really well. He will come in and rebound among the trees. He will cut through defenses with precision timing and purposeful paths. He will check star guards when called upon and make them work to get the ball. He will slide in for charges. He will keep the offense moving, as both a driver and passer.

This functional balance is reflected in the numbers. Only six other rookies have ever matched or exceeded Podziemski's defensive rebounding (16.7), assist (18.1) and steal (1.5) rates while tallying at least many minutes (1,968): Alvan Adams (1975-76), Larry Bird (1979-80), Lamar Odom (1999-00), Ben Simmons (2017-18), Luka Dončić (2018-19) and Victor Wembanyama (2023-24).

Investing in Podziemski's All-Star ceiling requires a belief in his jumper. He drilled 38.5 percent of his triples, including a 56.5 percent clip on step-back treys (13-of-23). But his volume on self-created shots is modest at best—over 62 percent of his made buckets came off assists—and he converted just 63.3 percent of his opportunities at the foul line.

Skeptics will be inclined to put him lower, most certainly below Jaime Jaquez Jr. That's understandable. But going on 22, I'm buying his potential as a from-scratch table-setter and shot-maker. Jaquez will have more defensive malleability. Podziemski should induce more offensive chaos.

Bake in good size for a combo guard (6'5") and the three years remaining on his rookie-scale contract, and it's no wonder why the Utah Jazz are insisting on Podz's inclusion in a Lauri Markkanen trade.

1. Phoenix Suns 2027/2029 First-Round Picks (via Houston)

Returning the rights to the Brooklyn Nets' next two draft picks looks like a masterful stroke by the Houston Rockets. It gives them control over the Suns' 2027 first-rounder as well as the more favorable of Dallas' and Phoenix's first-round picks in 2029 and the right to swap their own 2029 first-round pick for the less favorable Dallas first and Phoenix first that same year.

Put in a less convoluted way: The Rockets could have the Suns' 2027 and 2029 first-rounders if they so please.

Gaining control over those selections has immense utility. Many believe it portends making a run at Kevin Durant or Devin Booker. In either case, the chance to regain ownership of its own draft as it begins a reset would be massive for the asset-strapped Suns.

Those picks aren't only valuable to the Suns, though. Other teams will line up to snag them if the opportunity arises.

Interest might wane if the Rockets only had the Suns' 2029 first-round pick. Or if they didn't have other, more immediate assets to include in a larger package. But Houston does have Phoenix's 2027 first-rounder, which isn't that far away, in addition to a smattering of other assets it can include.

Select trade partners still might be reluctant to accept these selections in their own vacuum. Phoenix has zero incentive to burn it down and start over, even if its stars demand out, so long as its draft picks are floating around elsewhere.

At the same time, virtually no team in the league is operating on a more fragile title window. The Clippers' championship chase is already dunzo, so their post-2026 picks could generate more buzz. But remember: We're talking about right now. And since the Sixers control L.A.'s picks in 2028 (outright) and 2029 (swap), we must wait until Philly's most likely forms of matching salary can be moved before reconciling the value of those firsts.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.

Unless otherwise cited, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass. Salary information via Spotrac. Draft-pick obligations via RealGM.