With two months of action done and the NBA Cup headed to Las Vegas, the 2024-25 NBA season is at full throttle. But that's not to say everything is running smoothly.

Scan the league, and all 30 teams have issues to resolve. Some were easy to see coming before the season even started, while others have been unexpected. Rotation spots are hazy, lineups are in flux, and legitimate weaknesses need addressing.

From cellar-dwellers to contenders, questions abound. As we power toward Christmas, let's take a look at one for every NBA team.

Atlanta Hawks: Should Zaccharie Risacher Head to the Bench?

In a weak Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks have a chance to earn their highest finish since 2021, when they were the No. 5 seed and advanced all the way to the Conference Finals.

Accomplishing that will require putting their best players on the floor together as often as possible, and rookie Zaccharie Risacher hasn't been one of them.

De'Andre Hunter's minutes on the court coincide with a plus-5.1 boost to Atlanta's net rating (Risacher is a minus-3.9), and the two have essentially subbed in and out for one another all year. Risacher has been the starter with Hunter coming off the bench.

The 19-year-old was the top pick in the draft and is more important to Atlanta's long-term plans, but Hunter is averaging a career-best 19.6 points per game and shooting 44.6 percent from deep.

Better to trot him out with the starters and allow Risacher to cut his teeth against reserves.

Boston Celtics: Is It Time to Worry About Jrue Holiday?

On Dec. 7, the Memphis Grizzlies left Jrue Holiday unattended all night on the perimeter, and the 16-year veteran fired away relentlessly.

His 4-of-17 shooting from deep, along with the crammed paint that stifled the other four members of the Boston Celtics' attack, was a major reason for the 127-121 loss.

On the season, Holiday is hitting just 32.8 percent of his threes, the second-lowest accuracy rate of his career. As a leader and defender, he remains integral to Boston's pursuit of a second straight title.

But if other defenses follow Memphis' blueprint in making Holiday a weak point to exploit, that's the kind of seemingly minor frailty that could cause a problem deep in the playoffs, where the margin for error shrinks to zero.

Brooklyn Nets: How Much Longer Can They Wait for Trades?

Cam Thomas' injury has hurt the Brooklyn Nets, but they're still a respectable 2-4 since he went down with a hamstring strain in a Nov. 25 win over the Golden State Warriors.

On the year, the Nets are a respectable 10-14 and have shown no signs of executing the tank job so many expected when top executive Sean Marks traded to regain control of the team's 2025 and 2026 first-round picks.

With Dennis Schroder amid a career year, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith striping it from deep and little-known contributors like Tyrese Martin chipping in with helpful play, Brooklyn is in danger of winning too many games to make that 2025 selection worth as much as it could be.

The trade market hasn't heated up yet, but Brooklyn might want to fast-track its veteran sell-off before it banks too many more wins.

Charlotte Hornets: Can Moussa Diabaté Be a League Leader?

If you're not watching the Charlotte Hornets because crowd-pleaser LaMelo Ball remains sidelined with a calf injury, you're still missing a great show.

Every night the Hornets take the floor, little-known third-year center Moussa Diabaté flies around with reckless abandon, gobbling up rebounds at unfathomable rates. He's particularly relentless on the offensive glass, where his second and third jumps happen in such quick succession that it's often hard to tell when he's going up or coming down.

At the moment, Diabaté is averaging 8.9 offensive boards per 100 possessions, good enough to lead the league (among players with at least 400 minutes) by a comfortable margin.

It's been a tough season in Charlotte, so a player leading the league in anything counts as a win.

Chicago Bulls: When Will Matas Buzelis Start?

The best answer is probably "after the Chicago Bulls finally trade half their vets away." But if that means we have to wait until the February deadline to see one of the league's most exciting rookies crack the starting five, something's gone wrong.

Buzelis is a wildly imperfect, inexperienced, ball-of-clay prospect who'll make tons of mistakes. But he's also the Bulls' most intriguing young talent by a hefty margin, a highlight machine who enjoyed a mini breakout with 20 points in 22 minutes against the Nets on Dec. 2.

It's a plus that he's seen the floor for at least 20 minutes four times since Nov. 22, but Chicago needs to get him out there with the first unit.

Josh Giddey's trade value is as low as it's going to get, so bumping him out of the starting five is the easy choice. Though the sample is small, it's still compelling that the Bulls are 8.7 points per 100 possessions better with Buzelis on the floor than off it, a stark contrast to Giddey's minus-6.1 figure.

What does Chicago have to lose?

Cleveland Cavaliers: When Is Regression Coming?

If the Cleveland Cavaliers keep hitting threes at their current league-leading rate, they'll finish with one of the five best three-point percentages of this century.

Even if we grant Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell the benefit of the doubt and assume they'll continue burying triples at better than 40.0 percent clips, several other Cavs simply can't sustain their current success rates.

Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro and Ty Jerome are all canning at least 45.0 percent of their treys and none has a career three-point percentage north of 37.0 percent.

Combined with Evan Mobley's ankle injury, the odds of shooting regression mean Cleveland is in for offensive slippage. There's plenty of room for the Cavs to fall while still rating among the league's top scoring teams, but they may soon find themselves looking for solutions elsewhere—defensively, on the boards, in transition—to offset the slide.

Dallas Mavericks: Is This the New Normal for Klay Thompson?

Klay Thompson has never shot the three ball worse than he has this season and has only averaged fewer than his 13.3 points per game when he was a rookie struggling to break into the starting lineup for the 2011-12 Golden State Warriors.

The Dallas Mavericks are on fire of late and look every bit the part of a contender in the West, despite Luka Dončić getting off to a slow start. But Thompson has had little to do with it.

The 34-year-old grades out negatively by Defensive EPM (not to mention the eye test) and has less of a positive impact on the Mavs' on/off offensive rating than Quentin Grimes.

Shooting is always valuable, and it'll be a while before defenses stop freaking out when Thompson is open. But the five-time All-Star is currently hitting threes at a clip that rates just a touch above the league average and isn't contributing anything else.

Denver Nuggets: Will Jamal Murray Ever Snap Out of It?

Jamal Murray is in the midst of his worst offensive season since he was a rookie.

The 27-year-old is posting a negative Offensive Box Plus/Minus, his 52.8 true shooting percentage is his lowest since 2016-17 and, most importantly, he's shown zero ability to prop up lineups that don't feature Nikola Jokić.

Glass half-empty: This is an unfixable catastrophe that renders Denver something other than a true contender.

Glass half-full: Murray has been this bad over extended stretches plenty of times before and has repeatedly snapped out of it.

He was even worse than this last November, posting a 45.4 true shooting percentage. And in December 2022, during the Nuggets' championship season, he put up similarly ugly stats, hitting 42.9 percent of his shots from the field and 33.3 percent of his threes.

Murray doesn't look like he's 100 percent physically so far, which raises the concern level. But he's also hitting just 30.0 percent of his wide-open threes. You can find signs of hope if you look hard enough.

Detroit Pistons: Should Jalen Duren or Isaiah Stewart Start?

The Detroit Pistons don't really need to choose between Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart in a "one's got to go" sense, but they should probably figure out who belongs in the starting lineup.

Duren's presence on the floor coincides with a minus-5.2 net rating, and the defense just doesn't function, allowing 117.2 points per 100 possessions, a 30th-percentile figure.

Stewart's minutes see the offense sink to lower levels than Duren's, but the defense becomes passable, permitting 114.2 points per 100 possessions.

Duren is the better athlete, younger prospect at 21 and more skilled offensive player inside, but Stewart tops him defensively, plays harder and is isn't exactly ancient at 23.

Though he's been broke from deep this year, Stewart also shot 38.0 percent from three in 2023-24, bringing a (theoretical) spacing element Duren never has.

Then again, Detroit's offense is actually pretty good (70th percentile) when Duren plays with Cade Cunningham. Not so for the Beef Stew-Cade minutes, which produce a 35th percentile offensive rating.

This is a tough question, but at least we know (because former head coach Monty Williams taught us) the two shouldn't start together.

Golden State Warriors: Will Jonathan Kuminga Sink or Swim?

The athletic eruptions and flashes of star potential have been there from the jump, but three seasons and change into his career, Jonathan Kuminga has yet to prove himself as a consistent starter.

He's getting the chance to do that now.

The fourth-year forward recently landed a full-time starting role for the Golden State Warriors, and it'll even come at the expense of Draymond Green when the full roster is healthy. This is a massive opportunity for one of the most tantalizing talents in the league to prove he's been worthy of such a role all along.

Fans have been frustrated for years by head coach Steve Kerr's perceived stifling of young talent (see: Moses Moody), but the fact is Kuminga's lackluster defense, poor rebounding and shaky feel made it hard to integrate him into a veteran-led read-and-react system.

Early returns have been promising, though, as Kuminga's scoring is ticking up. He's no longer afraid to make mistakes for fear of being quickly benched. But there's a long way to go before the Warriors will have a sense of whether they erred by not meeting his hefty extension demands.

Green said it best: "If he's next, at some point we got to see it."

Houston Rockets: Who's Losing His Job to Amen Thompson?

It's not always wise to mess with a good thing, which is what the Houston Rockets have with their current starting lineup. But when you have a chance to do something great, you've got to go for it.

In this case, the path toward making the Rockets truly special involves starting Amen Thompson, one half of the highly successful bench duo dubbed the Terror Twins. He and Tari Eason smother opposing second units, limiting them to 100.4 points per 100 possessions, which has been a key to Houston's identity.

However, the numbers also show that Thompson has an even greater positive impact on the starters.

Swap Thompson into Jalen Green's spot, and a lineup that also includes Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengün buries teams by 30.5 points per 100 possessions, miles better than the plus-4.2 it posts with Green in the unit.

Green, then, is the obvious choice for demotion. If Houston is worried about hurting the guard's trade value, Brooks or even VanVleet should be considerations.

Somebody's got to go. Thompson is a starter.

Indiana Pacers: Is Tyrese Haliburton Suddenly on a Bad Contract?

Tyrese Haliburton has never shot worse from the field or from three, his assist rate is lower than it's been since he was a rookie splitting touches with De'Aaron Fox in Sacramento and opposing teams are targeting him more relentlessly than ever on defense.

It's hard to believe we're here just a year after Haliburton was sitting among the top five in early-season polls for the 2023-24 MVP award, but we have to ask: Is he now on one of the league's worst contracts?

Remember, Haliburton pushed himself to return from a hamstring injury last season in order to play enough games to bump his maximum rookie extension to supermax levels. Instead of 25.0 percent, he's now owed 30.0 percent of the Indiana Pacers' salary cap through 2028-29.

Haliburton can still return to form. It'd be beyond strange if he simply "lost it" after reaching such heights last season (and even the one before, when he made his first All-Star game).

If this is who Haliburton is now, though, his massive contract can't be viewed as a positive asset.

LA Clippers: What Will Kawhi Leonard's Impact Be?

Signs indicate Kawhi Leonard's return to action is imminent.

While his history of scaleable two-way play suggests reintegration won't be an issue, it's worth wondering whether the delicate balance the Los Angeles Clippers have struck in one of the league's most positively surprising starts could be upset...just a little.

Leonard will need touches, and those could come at the expense of James Harden, who's been happily occupying his highest-usage role since his days of MVP contention with the Houston Rockets. If not him, it could be Most Improved candidate and star second option Norman Powell sacrificing shots.

Odds are, Leonard will make a seamless return. The Clips need more offensive juice, and he can provide it on or off the ball. Of course, if things go really well, L.A. might have to start thinking about a win-now trade on the margins to set itself up for a deep playoff run.

That's a problem the Clippers would love to have.

Los Angeles Lakers: Is LeBron James Good Enough to Set Lakers' Agenda?

It's telling that the Los Angeles Lakers have held off on the blockbuster trade many have been hoping for over the last couple of seasons.

Now that LeBron James is finally showing undeniable signs of slippage—negative on-court point differential, lowest free-throw rate of his career, clearly diminished defensive mobility—that caution seems wise.

James is no longer an All-NBA-caliber contributor. Nearing 40, his decline could accelerate rapidly. And that's not the type of player you mortgage a future to build around.

Anthony Davis remains a superstar, so perhaps there's some justification to think of the short term because of him. But as the Lakers near the trade deadline, and as they continue to slide down the standings following a hot start against a weak schedule, the idea of hoarding those future first-rounders and maintaining flexibility gets more and more appealing.

James simply hasn't been good enough to dictate the Lakers' plans, priorities or timeline. Now, L.A. will have to decide what those are for itself.

Memphis Grizzlies: Can They Win the West?

Top-10 rankings in both offensive and defensive efficiency is shorthand for title contention. So what does it make the Memphis Grizzlies if they're perched among the top five in both categories despite an early season beset by injuries?

At the very least, their two-way excellence means we have to seriously consider them as potential winners of the Western Conference. Yes, even with the Oklahoma City Thunder delivering a level of play closely in line with extremely high expectations.

Memphis may not seem all that close to OKC's level with a plus-9.3 net rating that lags behind the Thunder's NBA-best plus-12.1. But projected starters Ja Morant and Zach Edey have both missed more than 10 games, and Desmond Bane has sat out roughly a third of the Grizzlies' contests so far. Get everyone back, slide the early-season standouts like Scotty Pippen Jr., Jaylen Wells, Jake LaRavia and Jay Huff into smaller roles against backups, and who knows how much higher Memphis could climb?

Miami Heat: What Is Jimmy Butler Worth?

Jimmy Butler is available, and the Miami Heat's new No. 1 priority is getting the most they possibly can for the 35-year-old veteran by the trade deadline.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported on Dec. 10 that "the Heat are open to listening to offers for Butler and making a deal if the proposal is right," noting he would be open to joining the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors, specifically.

It remains to be seen whether it's possible to create a bidding war for a player at Butler's age, particularly with his injury history and intention to enter free agency this summer.

However, Miami has no choice but to shop him aggressively and hope it can net a return that sets it up for an era as successful as the one Butler produced.

Milwaukee Bucks: Was Khris Middleton the Key All Along?

The Milwaukee Bucks were righting the ship, winners of seven straight and nine out of their last 10 games before Khris Middleton made his long-awaited return on Dec. 6 against the Boston Celtics.

While Milwaukee lost that game, the 33-year-old was a plus-three in 23 minutes and brought a sense of calm and competence to the proceedings.

The Bucks won their next two against Brooklyn and Orlando, and Middleton was a plus-16 and a plus-four in those games, respectively, calling a two-year-old out-of-bounds play that actually worked in the former.

Last season, Milwaukee waxed opponents by 16.3 points per 100 possessions when Middleton played with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, and the results this year look similarly encouraging.

For all the hand-wringing about the Bucks' tough start, and through the handful of close, gut-it-out wins they amassed before Middleton returned, it always seemed like something was missing.

Was it just Middleton all along? And if so, how can the Bucks ensure such a critical, fragile piece of the puzzle stays healthy going forward?

Minnesota Timberwolves: Should Julius Randle Be Benched?

The Minnesota Timberwolves snapped back into their league-leading defensive form after Anthony Edwards called them out, which means a bottom-10 offense is now the only thing holding them back from the West's elite.

One idea: Put Julius Randle in charge of the second unit next to Sixth Man of the Year candidate Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and insert Donte DiVincenzo into the starting five.

In a perfect world, Randle's ball-stopping tendencies would be less damaging in reserve, and his self-generated offense would actually be helpful. At the same time, DiVincenzo could get back to being more of a spacing specialist than a playmaker in the first unit. If everything breaks right, Minnesota could bump its offensive rating up toward the top 10.

The cost could be alienating Randle and/or hurting his trade value. But we all know the Wolves traded for him because of the financial relief he could provide when his contract comes off the books, not as a long-term piece they need to appease.

New Orleans Pelicans: Will Anyone Take Brandon Ingram or CJ McCollum?

The New Orleans Pelicans' season is already lost. Their attention must now turn to winning the transactional game by getting something of value for Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum.

Ingram's expiring contract and extension expectations, which the Pelicans have consistently signaled they won't meet, have been topics of discussion for months. He's a clear trade candidate, complete with new Klutch representation, and he may have already played his last game with the Pels due to an ankle injury.

Can New Orleans squeeze positive value out of a team for Ingram when every suitor knows it'll be on the hook for a pricey extension this summer? And can the Pelicans also foist McCollum's contract ($33.3 million this year, $30.6 million in 2025-26) on someone without taking back an asset of similarly negative worth?

The Pels are ticketed for the luxury tax, which they've never paid, if they do nothing. More importantly, their broader future could get bleak in a hurry if they can't extract something decent from a pair of overpriced short-timers.

New York Knicks: Will a Second Big Fix the Defense?

Karl-Anthony Towns is allowing opponents to shoot 67.9 percent inside six feet when designated as a primary defender, the worst rate among big men who cover at least 5.0 shots per game at that range.

His failure to protect the paint isn't the only reason the New York Knicks have struggled defensively, ranking 16th in points allowed per 100 possessions through their first 24 games. But it's certainly been a factor.

Fortunately, we know Towns can be part of an elite defense if he's not tasked with anchoring the back line. That's exactly how things played out when he worked alongside Rudy Gobert in Minnesota last season.

Mitchell Robinson isn't a defender on Gobert's level, but his size and length could make him a decent facsimile. Is fixing the Knicks' defense as simple as waiting for a true rim-protector to get healthy and/or come aboard via trade? Or do the issues go deeper than that?

Oklahoma City Thunder: Can Jalen Williams Run the Show?

Jalen Williams is a perfect second star.

Efficient, versatile, a difference-maker on both ends and beloved by any catch-all metric you can find, the 6'6" wing ranks fifth in the entire NBA in Estimated Plus/Minus and is on track to make his first All-NBA and All-Defensive teams.

The final phase of his development, and the only question he has left to answer, is whether he can run an offense by himself.

That's a first-world problem for the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, but it could make the difference between them winning a championship or not. OKC puts up 115.3 points per 100 possessions with Williams on the floor but manages just 104.7 when he plays without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Williams ranks in the 38th percentile in scoring efficiency as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and the 43rd on isolation plays. If he can pull those numbers up, perhaps with the assistance of a healthy Isaiah Hartenstein in those non-SGA minutes, J-Dub will essentially become a weakness-free megastar.

Orlando Magic: Where Will the Offense Come from Now?

We assumed the Orlando Magic's offense couldn't afford to lose Paolo Banchero, but Franz Wagner's stunning development into a first-option creator and All-NBA-caliber performer proved us wrong.

But what does Orlando do now that Wagner is also sidelined by an oblique injury for at least the next three weeks?

The Magic scored 13.7 more points per 100 possessions with Wagner on the floor than off it in the 20 games they played following Banchero's injury. That's an incredibly positive swing, but the team's raw offensive rating with Wagner in the game was only 112.8, which would rank just 15th in the league this season.

If it took Wagner playing at otherworldly levels just to coax average production out of the Magic offense, we should expect immense struggles now that he's out. The 99.1 points per 100 possessions Orlando produced in the non-Wagner minutes over the last few weeks would rank well behind the Washington Wizards' league-worst attack.

Philadelphia 76ers: How High Can They Climb If Healthy?

Almost everything went wrong for the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter of the season, and here they are just one-and-a-half games out of a play-in spot in the East.

That should impart a sense of relief to a team that had dreams of contention after adding Paul George and filling out the rotation in a widely praised free-agency period, but it certainly falls short of satisfaction.

With halfway decent health, major strides seem possible.

With Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and George on the floor together, Philly has outscored opponents by 15 points across 32 minutes. Swap in rookie sensation Jared McCain for George, and that trio is also a plus-15 in 32 minutes. Shrinking the lineup but expanding the sample size, the Sixers are plus-36 in 147 minutes with George and Maxey on the floor.

A hot stretch and a little luck, and this team could find itself knocking on the door of top-six position in the conference. Philly is trending up, and the only question is how high it can climb.

Phoenix Suns: Is Devin Booker the Problem?

The Phoenix Suns are 1-9 in games Kevin Durant has missed so far, and Devin Booker is catching plenty of heat for both that record and his own statistical struggles. But is he really deserving of an outsized share of blame?

And if he is, where does that leave the Suns?

Booker's 24.9 points per game is his lowest scoring average since 2017-18, and he hasn't looked consistently comfortable with his role in new head coach Mike Budenholzer's system. Phoenix is getting outscored by 2.7 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.

Then again, it's hard to blame Booker for opponents shooting 38.1 percent from three when he's in the game, which is the main driver of a 24th-percentile defensive rating during his minutes.

Phoenix's offense runs just fine with Booker on and Durant off, averaging 114.0 points per 100 possessions, which would rank just outside the top 10 over the full season.

Portland Trail Blazers: Can Donovan Clingan Win Rookie of the Year?

Proving he's fully recovered and able to stay on the floor following several weeks off with a sprained MCL should probably be Donovan Clingan's first priority. But the Portland Trail Blazers rookie might consider aiming higher than that if his knee is 100 percent healed.

Clingan, arguably, has the best single game by any rookie this year, a 17-point, 12-rebound, eight-block effort in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 13. He also snagged 19 rebounds in 26 minutes against Houston in his last game prior to hitting the shelf with that MCL sprain.

Opponents shoot just 44.9 percent inside six feet, 16.6 percent worse than expected, on shots Clingan contests. He leads the league with 6.2 blocks per 100 possessions.

Jared McCain will come off the bench with Paul George healthy in Philadelphia, and the rest of the 2024 class has failed to produce a dominant ROY favorite. If Clingan picks up where he left off, he might be the guy who sneaks in and snags the award.

Sacramento Kings: What Happened to Keegan Murray?

We knew a role reduction was coming when the Sacramento Kings landed DeMar DeRozan over the summer, but Keegan Murray's across-the-board slippage remains one of the season's strangest surprises.

To his credit, Murray remains a high-end defender, one who gives tremendous effort and is particularly adept at navigating screens and sticking with assignments off the ball. Offense has been the issue, as he is hitting just 29.2 percent of his treys just two years after canning 41.1 percent and setting the rookie record for made threes.

Despite playing a career-high 36.4 minutes and falling further down the opposing scouting report than he's ever been, Murray is averaging three fewer points per game than last year and posting a career-worst 51.8 true shooting percentage.

The Kings need to determine whether this is an extended slump, a struggle to adjust to playing with so much surrounding offensive talent or fatigue from shouldering a heavy defensive load.

San Antonio Spurs: Is Victor Wembanyama a Center?

Positional definitions get hazier every year, but Victor Wembanyama clouds the issue in entirely new ways.

Defensively, his unprecedented rim protection and league-leading block 3.6 blocks per game leave no doubt he's an interior anchor. Call him a center on that end if you want. But what about the other side of the floor?

Wembanyama is attempting 9.1 threes per game and serves as the roll man in pick-and-roll sets on just 14.9 percent of his plays, about half as often as "conventional" 5s like Deandre Ayton, Joel Embiid, Nikola Vucevic and Jarrett Allen. His post-up frequency is closer to Jaylen Brown's than Domantas Sabonis'.

Does that sound like a center to you?

This isn't a problem so much as a curiosity. There's nothing wrong with having a 7'3" shooting guard. But Wemby's confounding positional designation is among the core issues with which the San Antonio Spurs must wrestle.

Toronto Raptors: Can RJ Barrett Make History?

In the last 20 years, only seven players categorized as shooting guards by Basketball Reference's database have totaled 500 assists in a season. Scan that group, and you'll see virtually every one of them was really a point guard.

James Harden did it four times. Allen Iverson is on the list once, as are Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday and Dejounte Murray last year. Those guys were all their team's primary ball-handlers for the majority of their minutes. The only true shooting guards in the group are Joe Johnson (2005-06) and Dwyane Wade (2005-06, 2008-09 and 2009-10).

Barrett, who's made a massive leap as a facilitator, has 128 dimes through 22 games. Hold that rate through the next 60, and he'll fall about 30 assists short of 500. But with Toronto Raptors assist leader Scottie Barnes out for an extended period with an ankle injury, Barrett's playmaking share will grow.

Even a slight uptick could earn him the crown as the best setup man among shooting guards since Wade.

Utah Jazz: Where's the Cornerstone?

It's a good thing the Utah Jazz have a dozen first-round picks and an additional swap coming to them in the next five drafts because it doesn't look like any of their recent selections is capable of being a foundational piece.

It's early for recent first-rounders Keyonte George, Cody Williams and Taylor Hendricks (currently out for the year), but none of them has shown clear starter upside this season.

Walker Kessler is the only Jazz player averaging more than 20.0 minutes per game (minimum 15 games) who also has a positive Estimated Plus/Minus figure on the season, and he's the young piece Utah seems most open to trading.

Now into the third year after trading away Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert to trigger a rebuild, it's not clear the Jazz have anything approaching a cornerstone.

Washington Wizards: Can They Get Off Jordan Poole's Contract?

It would have been unthinkable a year ago, but the Washington Wizards might actually be able to trade Jordan Poole for neutral (or even positive) value.

He continues to play completely unserious defense while turning the ball over at alarming rates and knocking 5.0 points per 100 possessions off the Wizards' offensive rating when on the floor, but his individual numbers might be good enough to coax a decent offer.

He's putting up 20.4 points per game and shooting a career-best 40.8 percent from three, major improvements on last season's figures of 17.4 points and 32.6 percent, respectively.

With two years and $66 million coming his way after this season, Poole is still far from a bargain. But he's 25, can create shots and is clearly trending up.

Washington should be in the business of selling off everything that isn't nailed down or on a rookie-scale deal, but last year made it seem like Poole was effectively dead money. The Wizards should strike quickly if they can.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Accurate through Dec. 12. Salary info via Spotrac.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@gt_hughes), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.