Now that we've crossed over December 15th on the NBA calendar, trading season has officially begun. This date is relevant because most contracts signed this summer can now be traded. Generally, front offices try to avoid making deals before this date. This is because they're limited in the number of contracts they can move and receive. For the Houston Rockets, this is one of the most important times of the year.

This is because rebuilding teams are constantly trying to acquire assets and there are few better times to do that than the trade deadline. The Rockets have won 8 out of their last 10 games, but it's still hard to envision them being anything but a seller at the deadline. Perhaps they don't trade all of their key contributors, but at least a couple will be gone.

Let's try and figure out who those might be.

Rockets NBA Trade Deadline Movers

1. Eric Gordon (2 years remaining, $37.8 million)

Eric Gordon has probably been Houston's second best player all season. In the context of a good team, he's one of the best role players in basketball. For some reason, one bad season had the entire league labeling him as a bad contract this summer. Gordon wasn't given the benefit of the doubt in being ravaged by injuries and thrown the curveball of a complete franchise rebuild.

As helpful as he is to Houston's causes, he's simply not young enough to fit into their timeline long-term. The Rockets also have an opportunity to sell him at a career-high in trade value. He's healthy, averaging 16.6 points on 61.7% true shooting, and has a year and half remaining in guaranteed money.

2. D.J. Augustin (2 years remaining, $14.3 million)

D.J. Augustin's appearance on this list is a bit surprising if you saw his early season production. It looked like Augustin was on his last legs as a player before this past 10-game stretch. He's since been a very productive player on the offensive end of the floor, shooting 46.4% from three-point range on 2.4 attempts per game). Augustin has enough juice left to be a solid fourth guard on a playoff team and can provide floor spacing if he's not asked to be a ball handler.

3. Christian Wood (2 years remaining, $28 million)

When Daryl Morey was general manager of the Rockets about a decade ago, the Rockets had this 25-year-old fringe All-Star talent named Kyle Lowry. Lowry was a fan favorite as Houston was going through their rebuild and he was abruptly traded for a protected first round pick and Gary Forbes in the summer of 2012. It was cold-blooded, but it was the right move as Houston was building up a war chest of assets. They later traded this war chest into James Harden that same summer.

As attached as Rockets fans have become of Wood, his age, future contract negotiations, and the ascent of rookie Alperen Sengun necessitate that Houston trade him while his value is high. Wood is healthy, producing on a high level offensively, and has multiple years remaining which makes him valuable. There's like a 50-50 chance Houston moves Wood at the deadline, but it's the right move when you weigh out all the factors. It takes a hell of a stomach though so we'll see what Houston does.

4. Danuel House (1 year remaining, $3.9 million)

Because he's currently in a walking boot, Danuel House probably the least likely player from this group to get moved. House will need to aggressively resuscitate his value over the next two months in order for teams to really look his way. For what it's worth, teams are always looking for wings at the deadline and House' contract is dirt cheap. The appeal here would be that he can be had for the measly price of a second round pick.

It would also allow Houston to open up a roster spot, which they sorely need so they can eventually sign Garrison Mathews to a standard, multi-year NBA contract.

All logic points to Houston being an aggressive team at the deadline. The only real question here is how aggressive they'll actually be. Will all four of these players get moved or only one? I guess we'll soon find out.