The preseason is one of the NBA's only "quiet" times in terms of player movement. Teams are coming off a few months packed with trades, the draft and free agency. Most have at least some degree of optimism toward their new rosters.

Some situations remain in need of resolution, though. And those are the situations that keep the rumor mill churning (even if it's churning much slower).

The obvious one is Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers. Despite the organization withholding an $8.25 million payment on October 1, the All-Star point guard remains a no-show at training camp. Until he's traded, he figures to remain a fixture in rumors.

He's not alone, though. A handful of other rotation players could be on the move between now and the trade deadline. And reporting from around the web offers clues as to whom they might be.

Jazz Add Thaddeus Young

The Trade: Thaddeus Young for Bojan Bogdanovic and a lottery-protected 2023 first-round pick

Three-point shooting was a big part of the Utah Jazz's first-place finish in 2020-21. Their mark of 16.7 made threes per game is an NBA record, and their 38.9 three-point percentage ranked fourth in the league. And of course, Bojan Bogdanovic (2.5 threes and a 39.0 three-point percentage) was a big part of that success.

Replacing Bogdanovic's shooting, however, with a little more versatility (on both ends of the floor) could push the Jazz closer to a title. If the San Antonio Spurs struggle out of the gate, Utah may have a way to make that happen.

"[Thaddeus] Young seems like an obvious trade candidate," ESPN's Zach Lowe wrote. "... Contenders have already inquired about him, sources said."

In 2020-21, Young averaged 18.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, a career-high 6.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks per 75 possessions. He was top-40 in box plus/minus (BPM is a "basketball box score-based metric that estimates a basketball player's contribution to the team when that player is on the court," according to Basketball Reference).

He isn't the shooter Bogdanovic is, but 34.4 percent from long range over his last five seasons isn't terrible. And with everything else he does, Utah could live with that.

Young is a more trustworthy, multi-positional defender. And having a playmaker at the 4 can open up a few extra catch-and-shoot possessions for guards who are often tasked with creating from scratch.

For San Antonio, moving Young might be contingent on a slow start. But if they lean harder into a rebuild, a first-round pick (even if it figures to be a late first) is a decent return for a 33-year-old combo forward.

In that case, paying $19.3 million to Bogdanovic in 2022-23 is less than ideal, but that extra bite of the draft apple might make it worthwhile. San Antonio almost certainly won't be contending for much beyond a play-in berth in the immediate future.

Pelicans Take a Shot on Kevin Knox

The Trade: Kevin Knox for Garrett Temple and a 2022 second-round pick

After a better-than-expected 2020-21 and an offseason in which they replaced Elfrid Payton and Reggie Bullock with Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, the New York Knicks have a rotation that'll be difficult for 22-year-old Kevin Knox to crack.

Knox, despite shooting a career-high 39.3 percent from three last season, doesn't appear to be a part of New York's long-term plans. And if they're going to let him walk anyway, it's probably worth seeing if they can at least get a second-round pick before he leaves.

"Knox will be a restricted free agent in 2022," Marc Berman wrote for the New York Post. "It's hard to imagine the Knicks not dealing Knox at the trade deadline if he is not in the rotation again—a strong likelihood."

If he's made available, the New Orleans Pelicans might make sense as a landing spot.

Knox is in the same age range as core players like Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. And if Knox's 2020-21 shooting numbers are more of an indicator than an outlier, he has something that core could use.

The Pelicans were 27th in the league in made threes per game and 26th in three-point percentage. More floor-spacers to pull defenses away from the paint and give Zion extra room inside should be a priority. A second-round pick to get 13 years younger on the wing isn't too much to ask.

For New York, again, this is about getting anything for Knox. But Garrett Temple could be useful, too. He's only hit 33.4 percent of his three-point attempts over the last three seasons, but Tom Thibodeau seems to have a soft spot for experienced role players who can defend multiple positions.

If RJ Barrett, Fournier or Alec Burks were to miss time to injury, Temple would be a decent fallback.

Hornets Add Trey Burke

The Trade: Trey Burke for Wesley Iwundu and a 2023 second-round pick

When the Dallas Mavericks signed Frank Ntilikina, it looked like they might have to waive one of the players already on the roster to make room for him. Unloading someone via trade is another option, though. And Substack's Marc Stein reported that Dallas was indeed exploring that avenue:

"League sources say that the Mavericks explored the trade market for Trey Burke, 28, in the offseason before signing Frank Ntilikina in hopes of clearing a roster spot for Ntilikina’s addition. No trade materialized, so Dallas has 16 guaranteed contracts (if you include Moses Brown’s partially guaranteed deal) and has to shed one before the start of the regular season. Releasing Burke would be a costly move, since he is owed more than $6 million this season and next season, but Dallas is expected to continue to explore trade scenarios to try to address its roster overload."

Burke probably isn't a surefire needle-mover for anyone, but the Charlotte Hornets are one team with a Devonte' Graham-sized hole that might be able to use him.

Last season, the 6'1" Graham was a crucial part of a three-guard rotation that included LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier. Ish Smith has ostensibly replaced him, but he's more of a pass-first guard. And Graham's outside shooting is part of why he had the team's biggest net rating swing (the difference between a team's net points per 100 possessions when a given player is on or off the floor).

Charlotte was plus-1.8 points per 100 possessions when Graham played and minus-5.7 when he was off.

Burke is two years older and an inch shorter than Graham, but he could add a similar dynamism to the Hornets attack.

Over his last four seasons, Burke has quietly become a solid reserve guard. He's top-150 in that stretch in BPM, with averages of 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 2.0 threes per 75 possessions. He's also hit 36.6 percent of his threes during those years.

Again, Charlotte already has Smith, but he's five years older than Burke. And the latter probably raises the ceiling of the Hornets' second unit a bit more.

For the Mavericks, this deal is almost entirely a mechanical one. If they can get something like a second-round pick for Burke, great. But the real selling point here is being able to trim the roster to 15 players by releasing Wesley Iwundu (owed $1.8 million this season) rather than Burke (owed over $6.5 million over the next two seasons, assuming he picks up a player option).

Ben Simmons to the Spurs

The Trade: Ben Simmons for Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, a 2022 first-round pick and a 2024 first-round pick

Most reports on the Simmons front seem to be accompanied by some form of "nothing is close yet." Despite Simmons' highly publicized holdout, the Sixers understandably have their heels pretty well dug in.

Simmons is a 25-year-old three-time All-Star who's under contract through 2025. Philly can't just give him away. A handful of teams remain interested, though.

In late September, Lowe reported that, "The Spurs talked with the Philadelphia 76ers about Ben Simmons, but those talks have not gotten far."

Then, on Saturday, the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey listed San Antonio as one of six teams "still inquiring about Simmons' availability."

Both sides might still be feeling each other out. Philly probably has its heart set on a star. The Spurs can't offer that, so they may be hoping that the drama following Simmons continues to drive his value down.

If they're willing to make some concessions, this is a potential win-win deal.

Dejounte Murray and Derrick White aren't stars, but the former can provide a lot of the point-of-attack defense Simmons does. White, meanwhile, is a steady hand as a backup guard. And both have shown significantly more than Simmons as shooters (even if neither profiles as a game-changing floor-spacer).

This move reduces the Sixers' star power, but it could also make them deeper and adds ammo for future drafts or trades.

On the other side of the trade, San Antonio gets a star who can play point guard or point forward, its most talented individual player since Kawhi Leonard was in town and a centerpiece for the next era of Spurs basketball.

Murray and White are solid role players, but they're not centerpieces.

Surrendering multiple firsts would make it more difficult to surround Simmons with the ideal supporting cast (shooters, shooters and more shooters), but this is the cost of acquiring stars these days. And that's the most difficult step in a rebuild.