Most NBA teams need weeks—if not months—to find their place in a new season's trade market. It can be difficult making long-term projections without at least a quarter of a campaign's worth of data, plus the trade pool expands in the middle of December once most players signed the previous offseason become trade-eligible.

Yet, while opening night is barely in the rearview mirror, a handful of teams' trade roles already feel obvious.

All arrows—including rumor-mill rumblings, on-court performances and long-term projections—point to the following five teams being entrenched among this season's most aggressive buyers and sellers.

Buyer: Houston Rockets

Expectations are up in Space City, where the Rockets just added 19 victories to their win tally this past season. While they could play the waiting game and see if their abundance of young talent can fuel their launch, it sounds like they're more interested in adding an established star and reaping the rewards of the immediate impact that player could deliver.

The Athletic's Sam Amick recently wrote about Houston's "widely known aspirations" to add a centerpiece. To get a feel for the kind of swing the Rockets hope to take, Amick added that they've had "serious interest in Phoenix's Devin Booker, New Orleans' Zion Williamson and Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell."

This follows with previous reporting from ESPN's Tim MacMahon about Houston wanting "to take a big, big swing in the trade market." While MacMahon didn't mention any targets, he opined that such a move could cost the club a young building block like Alperen Şengün or Jalen Green, who both inked extensions in October.

Whether Houston is successful in this pursuit might come down to factors outside of its control—namely, whether any of these stars or players of a similar megawatt caliber become available. That doesn't feel super likely at the moment, but one rough patch from an underperforming team could change that. As one Western Conference executive told CBS Sports' Bill Reiter recently, "teams are circling" above Milwaukee in hopes that Giannis Antetokounmpo shakes loose.

Maybe it's Antetokounmpo. Perhaps it's Jimmy Butler or Kawhi Leonard. Maybe it's someone who hasn't even occupied the speculation space yet.

The point is, someone could get unhappy or some front office could get impatient amid a rough start, and then, poof, Houston's desired difference-maker makes it to the market. Should that ever happen, the Rockets will be ready with an uber-aggressive mindset and a deep collection of trade assets.

Seller: Washington Wizards

A lot of teams play things pretty close to the vest and can be rather tight-lipped about their intentions.

The rebuilding Wizards are not one of those teams. As general manager Will Dawkins relayed to reporters in September, this team remains in the "deconstruction phase" of its post-Bradley Beal rebuild.

It's a sensible stance for a squad that, despite having tanked its way to 67 losses last season, remains woefully short on long-term keepers. Bilal Couliably and Alex Sarr are building blocks, and hopefully the same is true of Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George, but who else is sticking around for the long haul?

Kyle Kuzma and Jonas Valančiūnas crack the short list of this season's most logical trade candidates. If Jordan Poole manages to sustain this hot start, he'll probably crack that list, too. Even Corey Kispert, who inked a four-year, $54 million extension in October, could be up for grabs. He might even be more marketable now with his future secured at a reasonable rate.

Among rebuilders, the Wizards feel behind schedule. They dragged out the ending of the Beal era far longer than they needed to, a baffling move at the time that looked even worse when they failed to reach the playoffs in either of his final two seasons. And they certainly didn't help themselves by spending the 10th pick of the 2022 draft on Johnny Davis, who will not have his fourth-year option picked up, per The Athletic's Josh Robbins.

It could take a little time for this fire sale to get going. Kuzma was off to a slow start and is now dealing with a groin strain. Valančiūnas can't be traded until December. And it'll take more than a couple of net-shredding efforts for Poole to repair his reputation after a disastrous first season in the District.

The ball will eventually get rolling, though, and once it does, just about anything that nets this team some long-term assets will be explored, if not executed.

Buyer: Golden State Warriors

If the Warriors wind up brokering a blockbuster trade, a long trail of breadcrumbs will lead up to that point.

Golden State's ambitions have been enormous (and enormously apparent) of late. There was last season's deadline push for LeBron James. There was the summer chase of Paul George that wound up, in George's own words, "close to being done." There were offseason rumblings of the Warriors being as "aggressive" as anyone in the Lauri Markkanen sweepstakes. They were even trying to get George and Markkanen together.

All of those pursuits came up empty, obviously, but that hasn't soured the Warriors on the idea of their next star chase.

"It's an ongoing job," Stephen Curry told The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "Right now, [Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.] is doing a great job. But there are going to be decisions coming up that he's going to have to figure out. It's our job as players to keep applying the pressure by the way we're playing."

Some might argue the Warriors have actually relieved some of that pressure by sprinting out of the gate (after dominating the preseason). They might wonder whether there's actually enough in-house to give Curry another shot at adding to his championship jewelry collection.

The Dubs' decision-makers almost certainly don't share that mindset. They've been aiming at impact players for a while now, and they know as well as anyone what star power can mean to a title run. They won't lose sight of those aspirations due to big wins over bad or injured opponents.

They may not know for certain whether Curry, now 36 years old and once again battling an ankle injury, is still capable of steering a title run. What they have seemingly accepted long ago, though, is that even if he is, he doesn't have the kind of co-star needed to pull it off. So, look for them to keep making offers for any and every available elite.

Seller: Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers are barely one year removed from cutting ties with longtime franchise face Damian Lillard. Thanks to some stretch-run tank jobs during his final few seasons, they've at least found a couple of potential cornerstones, but their roster remains notably devoid of young talent.

They'll try to change that as soon as possible.

If it were up to them, that process would've started already. Per Aaron Fentress of the Oregonian, it was "definitely the goal" to trade away at least one of Anfernee Simons or Jerami Grant ahead of training camp. Both remain obvious trade candidates, though finding interested suitors would be easier if either could find their shot.

Not to mention, it's already obvious the congestion at the center spot is an issue. Meaningful minutes have been hard to come by for No. 7 pick Donovan Clingan, who's having trouble finding his way past starter (and former No. 1 pick) Deandre Ayton. This will only get more challenging once Robert Williams III is healthy enough to elbow his way into the mix.

Despite the ongoing emergence of sophomore swingman Toumani Camara, Portland has to find more forwards to plug in between Clingan and young guards Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. The 2025 draft might be the best place to find them, as early projections put potential difference-makers like Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey at or near the top of this class.

If the Blazers bottom out, they could have a chance to bring one of these blue-chippers to the Pacific Northwest. The thing is, though, they aren't bottoming out right now. They already have wins over the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers, and with Chauncey Billups potentially coaching for his job, this coaching staff might press its players to keep the gas pedal floored.

Look for the front office to seize control of this situation by stripping down the roster in ways that not only help the less column grow but also bring in as many draft assets as possible.

Buyer: Philadelphia 76ers

It's been a start to forget amid what was supposed to be a season to remember for the 76ers. While Philly surely knew there would be some medical maintenance needed when it added Paul George alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey this summer, it maybe didn't plan on needing to cover absences already on opening night.

The Sixers, who haven't gotten a second out of George or Embiid yet but have already lost to a pair of 2023-24 lottery teams (Raptors and Pistons), might have plenty of time to turn things around, but they could have just as many questions about their supporting cast. Granted, two of the three stars it was intended to support haven't suited up, but there are still questions about the group's size and depth on the wings and two-way ability.

So, yes, it is possible Philly will remain aggressive despite having just won the George sweepstakes this summer. In fact, showing that level of all-in commitment arguably sets the table for more all-in efforts.

Per B/R's Jake Fischer, the Sixers remain "willing to pay—add in—another piece right now" and have shown "a lot of willingness to go deep into the tax if the right guys are available." And since George was a free-agency addition while Embiid and Maxey were draft picks, there are still plenty of assets to put in play on the trade market. The Sixers have only sent out two of their own first-round picks, and they have two others incoming (plus a 2029 swap with the Los Angeles Clippers that carries only top-three protection).

Lining up the money in major deals could be tricky, since they can't take back more salary than they send out, but anyone who fits the budget will be explored. As Fischer noted, "keep Philadelphia in mind for looking at guys like [Jonathan] Kuminga who are on rookie deals or potentially up for a big payday where they know their incumbent team might not be willing to give that top dollar."

The Sixers clearly believe that Embiid, Maxey and George can form a championship core, but if they are anything other than 100 percent sold on the players around them, they'll work the phones until they have a championship-caliber supporting cast, too.