Despite starting the season 1-7, and later on losing John Wall for the remainder of the campaign due to heel surgery, the Washington Wizards are somehow not out of the playoff race. That's partly because they've actually played better with Wall out of the lineup, going 7-4 in his absence so far, and partly because the Eastern Conference is shockingly bad outside of the top five teams -- or six if you're willing to include the Nets. 

In any case, the Wizards, back in action on Thursday against the Warriors (8 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), are just two games out of the eighth seed despite being 20-26. While it's clear that they aren't going to make any serious noise this season, they could still make the playoffs, and that's enticing to the ownership group. Which is why the next few weeks will reportedly determine if they'll be sellers or not at the trade deadline. 

If they struggle and fall well out of the race, there will be plenty of teams eager to trade for the likes of Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. While Beal isn't going to be traded -- at least not this season -- the Wizards could be open to a deal involving Porter. And according to Shams Charania, the Jazz are one of the teams already contacting the Wizards about him. Via The Athletic:

The Washington Wizards and Orlando Magic are still competing for a playoff berth, but both teams are preparing for the deadline with the awareness their moves will be made based upon whether the team is trending upward or down as Feb. 7 approaches, sources said.

Wizards star guard Bradley Beal is not going anywhere, which Washington has made adamantly clear, league sources told The Athletic. Depending on how the next week to two weeks shape up, the Wizards could look more aggressively toward moving Otto Porter. The Utah Jazz have been an interested suitor for Porter, league sources said. Beal has helped lead the Wizards to seven wins in their past 10 games, carrying a squad that lost All-Star John Wall to season-ending heel surgery before the New Year.

While Porter is a very solid player, he does make a hefty salary, and the Wizards could be eager to get his deal off the books. As for the Jazz, Porter is exactly the type of player that would thrive in their system. 

He's a rangy defender who can guard multiple positions and would make their already elite defense even stingier. And on the offensive side he would give them a much-needed shooter to help space the floor. The Jazz are 24th in the league, making just 34.3 percent of their 3-point attempts, and Porter is shooting over 40 percent from 3-point land for the third straight season.

Of course, we're a long way off from any Porter-to-Utah deal, but this is certainly an interesting idea, and a situation worth keeping an eye on.