With Dec. 15 in the rear-view mirror, NBA trade season is officially here. Several teams that were considering swaps can now act on those intentions, and we should expect the chatter all over the league to steadily increase in volume between now and the official deadline of Feb. 6.

The loudest rumblings will come from a handful of teams with more motivation to make moves than most others. From would-be contenders like the Golden State Warriors to all-time disappointments like the New Orleans Pelicans, forces—both internal and external—are pushing hard for deals to get done.

These are the teams most desperate to swing a deal by the deadline.

Golden State Warriors

Jonathan Kuminga is getting a chance to prove he's the second high-end scoring option the Golden State Warriors need alongside Stephen Curry, but he's only shown brief flashes of hitting that level.

He's averaging just 16.8 points per game with a ghastly 50.5 true shooting percentage as a starter. Couple that with a lack of defensive feel and a failure to demonstrate he can function consistently within a read-and-react offensive system, and it's no wonder the Dubs are performing what ESPN's Brian Windhorst (h/t RealGM.com) called a "final analysis" of the fourth-year forward's long-term fitness with the team.

The Warriors kicked off trade season by adding the Brooklyn Nets' Dennis Schröder for D'Anthony Melton, who's out for the season. That'll help alleviate some of the strain on Curry, but it won't address the bigger-picture concerns involving Kuminga, and it won't elevate them to contender status.

Considering Golden State's win-now window, moving Kuminga for the veteran scorer it needs makes all the sense in the world. That's doubly true with Kuminga's extension expectations, which were reported to be in the range of $35 million per season, a commitment the Warriors wisely chose not to make over the summer.

Indiana Pacers

If the Indiana Pacers don't do something* soon, they're going to replace the 2021 Atlanta Hawks as the most side-eyed "Conference Finalist" in recent memory.

As inept on defense as ever, Indy is now also struggling to score. Tyrese Haliburton rarely looks like the MVP candidate he was prior to injuring his hamstring last year, and third-year guard Bennedict Mathurin simply doesn't work as a complement to Indy's super-maxed point guard in the backcourt. With those two sharing the floor, Indiana ranks in the 55th percentile in offensive efficiency and gets outscored by 1.4 points per 100 possessions overall.

Defensive-minded wings with size would certainly help, as would turning Mathurin and/or Jarace Walker into players who can meaningfully drive winning on both ends. Secondary facilitation could also be a focus in any trade inquiries, as Mathurin's assist-to-usage rate is one of the very worst at his position.

The Pacers are paying Haliburton 30.0 percent of their cap, and Pascal Siakam is a veteran on a max deal. This isn't a rebuild anymore, which means Indiana needs to swing deals to shore up its many weaknesses while hoping Haliburton rounds into form.

*And no, "something" doesn't include sending out a second-rounder for little-used backup big man Thomas Bryant.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets score 95.8 points per 100 possessions with Nikola Jokić off the floor, a number nearly 10.0 points worse than the full-season rate of the Washington Wizards' 30th-ranked attack.

It's been the case for years, but Denver has to find talent upgrades to get the Jokić on-off splits into manageable territory.

The plus-30.4 offensive rating boost Jokić provides might be enough to make his fourth MVP case on its own. No one else in the league is even at plus-20.0. But Denver's complete failure whenever he sits is also standing in the way of any realistic shot he might have at a second championship.

Unfortunately for the Nuggets, they have virtually no way of adding real talent. They can trade their 2031 first-round pick, but Zeke Nnaji's $8.9 million salary is one of the only ones they could realistically move—unless somebody wants the handsomely paid Jamal Murray, Micheal Porter Jr. or Aaron Gordon. Moving any one of those three might not even bring back talent upgrades.

This isn't a list of teams who can most easily make a trade. If it were, Denver wouldn't be on it. It's about the teams that should be desperate to do something. The Nuggets, limited in their options and in danger of wasting the prime years of an all-time great, certainly qualify as the latter.

Orlando Magic

The best Franz Wagner could do in a breakout stretch without Paolo Banchero (Nov. 1 to Dec. 6) was drag the Orlando Magic to an offensive rating of 112.8 when he was on the floor. That would rank 15th in the league over a full season. With both star forwards on the court together this season, the Magic produced 116.2 points per 100 possessions, a 70th-percentile offensive rating. But that's a vanishingly small sample of 229 possessions.

Last year, that number was 110.8 over 3,655 possessions. Wagner's growth this season is undeniable, but that massive stretch of 2023-24 playing time carries a lot of weight.

The constant throughout Orlando's offensive struggles during the relatively short Banchero-Wagner era has been a decided lack of three-point shooting and secondary playmaking. The defense has been tremendous, but the failure of the Magic's supplementary offensive players to produce as spacers and passers is as well-known and glaring a weakness as there is among quality teams around the league.

That's why the Magic need to swing a deal to upgrade their attack.

If they don't, they may not be able to score enough to make that elite defense count—even after Banchero and Wagner get healthy.

Sacramento Kings

All of the Sacramento Kings' best lineups work well, but things fall apart when reserve-heavy units take the floor. That's a clear indication that the Kings lack depth, an issue they could address with the kind of middling trade that'd be far easier to pull off than some of the big-name blockbusters the teams we've already covered are considering.

Sacramento's most-used group—De'Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis—owns a plus-7.2 net rating. Swap Malik Monk in for Huerter, and that number climbs to plus-9.8.

With Keon Ellis in the Monk/Huerter spot, the Kings smash opponents by 24.9 points per 100 possessions.

Remove Sabonis from the game, and Sacramento instantly dips into negative territory. Take out Murray, and it's the same story. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine Sacramento needs a capable backup big man and another big wing who can defend.

We're not talking stars. All it'll take is a couple of half-decent rotation pieces to ensure Sacramento gets back on track for a top-six spot in the West.

New Orleans Pelicans

Brandon Ingram's impending free agency is the main driver of urgency for the New Orleans Pelicans, who need to get something for him before he walks away for nothing this summer.

Beyond that, New Orleans needs to start thinking about its broader financial picture going forward. That could include trying to move CJ McCollum's money off the books, as retaining his $33.3 million 2025-26 salary would limit roster flexibility even after Ingram is gone.

The Pelicans might also want to think long and hard about dealing Zion Williamson. They can waive him this summer due to his failure to meet games-played clauses in his contract, and one can appreciate the peace of mind New Orleans might feel if it could think about roster construction without worrying about Williamson's unavailability and tricky fit into a conventional system. But wiping his money off the books with nothing to show for it but cap space should be a last resort.

The Pels' season is effectively over after a 5-22 start, so any deals they swing will be focused on the future. That said, they're still up against some firm deadlines to make moves.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Accurate through Dec. 16. 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.