The NBA trade season is already off to a robust start even though we're just now entering that six-week stretch before the trade deadline when transaction buzz really kicks into gear. So you'll see a lot of virtual matchmaking coming up in an effort to satiate the inner general manager in all of us. Maybe if there were an NBA-transaction version of Tinder out there, we wouldn't have to do this, but alas, there is not.
Beyond the Golden State Warriors, there are 10 other teams with a 1 percent or more shot at winning it all, and that doesn't include the Oklahoma City Thunder. That means there will be a lot of competition among contenders for veteran players who are or will emerge as options in the marketplace. This is the time of the year when GMs earn their pay, and that goes for the guys running noncontenders, as well. But for today, let's focus on the teams in the title derby and consider some key positional holes that need to be addressed.