Predicting 5 Teams That Will Swing a Trade During 2012 NBA Draft

Equally likely: the odds of accurately predicting every trade in the 2012 NBA Draft and surviving a physical encounter with the Large Hadron Collider.

With that said, there is serious potential for this year's draft in particular to be very exciting as far as potential for trades to swing the fortunes of franchises.

Many teams will swing for the fences with such a talented class, and many moves are bound to be made thanks to six teams possessing more than one first round selection.

Here are five teams that will pull off some sort of trade in the 2012 draft.

Houston Rockets

After shipping off Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Rockets have acquired the 18th overall pick, on top of their other selections at No. 14 and 16.

With so many stellar picks in such a talented class, the Rockets have enough ammunition to trade into the lottery.

Although the Rockets very well may trade up that high, they may not use any of those selections near the top to pick rookies.

Rather, as reported by ESPN's Chad Ford and Marc Stein, the Rockets are attempting to move into position to trade for Orlando Magic superstar Dwight Howard.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey may be able to pull off acquiring Howard if he can make some deals at the top of the draft with all these stockpiled picks.

Ford and Stein also assert that new Magic general manager Rob Hennigan would seriously consider moving Howard if he received two top 10 picks in return.

It is only one day until the 2012 NBA Draft occurs.

Since the Rockets need to make even more draft moves to appease Hennigan and land Howard, expect this to be an extremely intriguing situation moving forward.

Charlotte Bobcats

Michael Jordan better translate his legendary competitiveness on the court to the front office of the Bobcats if this franchise is able to even stay relevant.

Coming off of a 7-59 season, the Bobcats are a disaster. It also really hurt that they lost out on projected No. 1 pick Anthony Davis after the New Orleans Hornets improbably leapfrogged them in the draft lottery.

The Bobcats need to acquire multiple assets in the draft, because they have absolutely zero pull in free agency to attract any big names.

They also don't really have any players...at all.

According to Yahoo's Kelly Dwyer, the Bobcats were strapped and in danger of not qualifying for the NBA's minimum payroll.

Then, the team recently traded Corey Maggette for Ben Gordon and a lottery protected 2013 first round pick.

Thanks to Gordon's $12.4 million salary in 2012-13, the Bobcats will be over the minimum, but still have plenty of cap space to acquire multiple players.

By trading down such a high pick, they will save cap room with a lower pick. The trade will also hopefully include a stellar current NBA player and another 2012 first round pick.

This move makes too much sense not to do, because the franchise simply can't afford to go all-in at No. 2 overall.

If the pick doesn't pan out, the Bobcats are in serious trouble.

The rumor mill suggests a likely trade suitor seems to be the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the fourth and 24th overall selections.

Three picks in the top 31 of the draft would go a long way in accelerating the improvement of the franchise.

Atlanta Hawks

With the addition of new general manager Danny Ferry, it's difficult to gauge precisely what the Hawks will do.

This is a franchise stuck in neutral, though. The current foundation may continue to make the semifinals in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but probably nothing more.

For whatever reason, the incredibly talented forward Josh Smith hasn't quite hit his potential.

The Hawks continually wait on Smith to blossom into a perennial All-Star, and each year they're disappointed and befuddled as to why he hasn't reached his perceived potential.

Smith could be a valuable trade commodity for a team at the top of the draft.

Shipping Smith along with its No. 23 pick would also be a tempting offer for teams looking to absorb a big contract. He is owed $13.2M in 2012-13 and is a free agent the following offseason.

The 2012 draft class is deep, but the Hawks need a surefire pick to come in and contribute right away. That is more likely to be found closer to the top of the draft.

In the process, the Hawks can part ways with some of the dysfunctional parts of their current core and rework the team's chemistry to take the next step as an organization.

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors have some of the most enthusiastic fans in basketball when they are playing well.

Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case lately.

With the seventh and 30th picks in the first round, as well as the contracts of Richard Jefferson and Andris Biedrins to unload, the Warriors have some leverage to trade.

What could end up happening is a trade down.

The current starting lineup would likely look something like this:

PG Stephen Curry; SG Klay Thompson; SF Dorrell Wright; PF David Lee; C Andrew Bogut

With Jefferson, Nate Robinson, and literally no depth in the frontcourt, the Warriors don't have much beyond their decent starting five.

The Houston Rockets have three first round picks and allegedly need to obtain two top 10 choices if they want to land Dwight Howard. The Warriors would be able to provide one of those, and would likely get multiple picks in return without having to give up their other pick at No. 30.

The other option would be for the Warriors to bolster their frontcourt in free agency. My bang-for-the-buck choice would be Greg Stiemsma.

If there is a player the Warriors love but don't think will be on the board after No. 7, they could press a team with their lottery pick and the No. 30 to move up and grab whoever they want.

Losing the 30th pick wouldn't be awful, since the Warriors also have an early second-rounder.

The former option seems to be the most reasonable, though.

If the Warriors can somehow swing three picks in the top 30 of this year's draft, they could be able to get much-needed defensive help and add valuable depth to a lackluster current roster.

Sacramento Kings

As anyone can see by glancing over the Kings roster, it is a mess. There are too many combo guards to keep the team offensively cohesive.

Tyreke Evans seems like the odd man out, because he has the most value out of these tweener guards. He's able to walk due to the surprising emergence of point guard Isiah Thomas last season.

Evans also wound up at small forward by season's end, which is definitely not his natural position.

Teams in need of a playmaking point guard who can provide a shot in the arm on offense might be enticed by the offer of Evans and the No. 37 overall pick.

The Houston Rockets want to move into the top 10 for their Dwight Howard ambitions, of course. Evans has been allegedly implicated in a deal. However, another trading partner seems to be a more ideal fit.

According to NBADraft.net's latest mock, the Portland Trail Blazers are expected to take Weber State point guard Damian Lillard with the sixth overall pick.

While not the perimeter shooter Lillard seems to be, Evans has already established himself as a legitimate offensive weapon in the NBA.

The fourth overall pick in the 2009 draft, Evans has had a statistically successful career so far playing on a slew of bad teams.

It would be interesting to see what Evans could do with some legitimate shooters to set up and LaMarcus Aldridge down low.

Considering Chase Budinger and some dude named Lior Eliyahu are worth No. 18 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Evans and the No. 37 should be worth at least the No. 11 pick to Portland.

It would be a win-win situation for both sides.

The Blazers would get the offensive catalyst they need and not have to potentially depend on Lillard, a player from a smaller school who didn't face elite college competition. They also have back-to-back early second round picks that could be part of a trade.

Meanwhile, the Kings would get a second selection in at least the top 11, and put its convoluted backcourt in a better position to succeed.