Utah Jazz
Knee-jerk move: Trading Walker Kessler
Despite the fact that there has been plenty of trade smoke revolving around the possibility of the Utah Jazz trading Walker Kessler, I'm not sure that's a smart path for the Utah Jazz to go down this quickly. With the way he's been able to play so far this season, there's reason to believe that Kessler could be a valuable piece of the team's build moving forward. Kessler has certainly bounced back after his sophomore slump and is having the best season of his short career thus far.
Trading him right now would pretty much be selling on his ceiling before the Jazz even know what it is. And while he may never be considered a star player for the Jazz, he could be a key rotation player for the team in the frontcourt. At a time when there aren't many playable centers in the league, Kessler has proven to be one of them. Unless the Jazz is admitting they're not close to building a competitive roster, trading Kessler would be pretty odd. And if the Jazz did admit that, there are other moves that should be done before trading Kessler anyway.
Washington Wizards
Knee-jerk move: Trading Jordan Poole
In what should be considered a surprise to no one, the Washington Wizards have struggled to start this season. With the team still in the early stages of their rebuild, most expected the Wizards to have a difficult season. However, there have been some bright spots for the Wizards this season. The play of their young core has improved and the Wizards seem to have at least a couple of pieces they can begin to build with. They may not have their core foundational building block, but they have some materials to work with.
One pleasant surprise for the Wizards this season has been the play of Jordan Poole. As a player who has quickly become an afterthought in the league, Poole has looked more like the player he was at his peak with the Golden State Warriors than the disappointment he was last season. That should be encouraging for both the team and Poole. He's played so well this season that I'd suggest trading him would be a move the Wizards could end up regretting in the long run.