The Washington Wizards are in the midst of yet another horrid start to a regular season as the team continues to build towards the future.
Washington has made it clear that stacking young talent is there clear priority, but in the midst of doing so, the Wizards have also focused on surrounding their core with savvy veterans who can put them in position to maximize their talent and boost the team's development.
As a result, the Wizards took a gamble on offloading Jordan Poole's contract this offseason and in return, general manager Will Dawkins brought in one of the most respected veterans in the league today, CJ McCollum.
Coming off a strong year with the New Orleans Pelicans, the hope was that McCollum could serve as an essential piece to the Wizards' rebuild, while increasing his trade value for Washington to potentially move off his lucrative contract this offseason.
Unfortunately, the guard's inconsistent play and offensive struggles to start the season made it increasingly clear that if Washington hoped to offload the playmaker's contract, it would likely come at the expense of a contract buyout.
At least, that's what the Wizards thought.
Nonetheless, following the playmaker's recent stretch of big time offensive performances, including a 40-ball against the Detroit Pistons, the Wizards may be able to convince a desperate contender to take on McCollum's deal after all.
If that is the case, it wouldn't be a shock to see these 3 teams in specific come calling prior to the NBA trade deadline in February.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers have a real window to make a championship run.
Led by Luka Doncic, LA has the opportunity to capitlize on the closing window of LeBron James career, who's set to return from a preseason sciatica injury in the near future.
However, to start the season, it's become clear that the Lakers could use another offensive boost to pair alongside Doncic and Austin Reaves, who have been the team's main offense to start.
Could James be that saving grace? Sure.
Nonetheless, it wouldn't be a shock to see Los Angeles still looking for ways to improve the roster beyond that and if that is the case, keep an eye on McCollum's name to come up.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks have turned heads to start the season as the team looks more competitive than originally expected.
Obviously, Giannis Antetokounmpo's plays a large part in the team's success, but the emergence of former Wizard Ryan Rollins is another growing story for the Bucks start to the season.
However, Milwaukee could look to add another offensive playmaker alongside Antetokounmpo to make life easier on the former MVP and if that's the case, it wouldn't be a shock to see them check in on the price of McCollum, especially considering the Bucks' abudnance of contracts they can offload to make the framework of a deal work.
LA Clippers
The LA Clippers abysmal play to start the season speaks enough for itself.
LA is almost certain to make a move, and it wouldn't be a shock to see Bradley Beal be the player on the outside looking in when its all said and done.
Sending Beal back to the place that drafted him may be the final result, but to make a deal for McCollum work, the Clippers will need to add additional contracts.
Nonetheless, the upgrade of McCollum over Beal at this point of the season seems like it would be the driving force behind a potential deal.
Is a trade for McCollum guarenteed? No.
However, it's worth noting that as the season progresses, it may not be as shocking to see a potential deal come to fruition than originally expected.