2012 NBA Draft: Which Teams Are in Position to Trade Up?

The 2012 NBA Draft order is set in place but far from set in stone. From the unavailability of the prospects desired to the decision to acquire multiple draft picks in return for one, the reasons are endless for why a team would agree trade back.

The question is, who will trade up?

From those currently in position considered inadequate to the teams with more to gain than their draft position might suggest, there are more than a handful of teams looking to improve position. The mystery remains, however: Who will pull the trigger?

For an idea as to who may do so on draft night, let the following slides offer insight.

5. Orlando Magic

Not only do the Orlando Magic own the rights to the 19th overall draft choice, but they also possess Dwight Howard. To say that Howard is anything short of a valuable trade piece would be an understatement.

The Magic are certain to be active come draft night, as they'll do all they can to prepare for the post-Howard era or place adequate pieces around him. Regardless of what decision they make, a new general manager will be hoping to make some noise.

4. Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets currently own the 14th and 16th overall draft choices. As a team that could potentially lose both Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic this offseason, it's not hard to imagine Houston trading up in order to secure one of the elite point guard prospects.

If nothing else, Houston will be in play to receive offers from teams looking to trade down. The Rockets will have quite the active draft night.

3 . Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are currently in possession of both the 21st and 22nd overall draft picks. This opens the door for Beantown to trade up with a team such as Portland, as the Trail Blazers could potentially miss out on both Kendall Marshall and Damian Lillard.

Trading back to 21 and 22 enables Portland to land either Tony Wroten Jr. or Marquis Teague while also drafting a second potential rotational player.

Another option would be the Toronto Raptors, who may look to acquire more draft choices should they miss out on the 3 or point guard of their choosing.

2. Portland Trail Blazers

With ownership of the sixth and 11th overall draft choices, it's not hard to imagine the Portland Trail Blazers moving into the Top 5 to secure the player they've set their sights on. It's also easy to see them using their 40th and 41st overall draft choices to move up into the late first round to land a third starter.

If nothing else, the Blazers could use these picks to trade for an established player.

1. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are in rare company, owning two first round and four overall draft picks. The most important picks just so happen to be in the second round, where the Cavaliers select consecutively at 33rd and 34th.

These two picks could be packaged in a deal that could land a mid- to late first-round draft choice.

A team such as the Memphis Grizzlies or Oklahoma City Thunder, who both own just one selection in this year's draft, could be one to watch. Some might feel that the talent disparity from the high 20s to the early 30s is slim-to-none, which opens the door for a team hoping to land two prospects rather than one.

And that's before we even get to the Cavaliers' late first-rounder, which they landed in the Ramon Sessions trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Cleveland is currently poised to pick third, but it could attempt to land a second lottery pick by packaging its other three draft choices with a young player such as Alonzo Gee or Omri Casspi.