NBA Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

The NBA trade deadline has officially passed after a dizzying flurry of moves starting with the late-night shocker that sent Kevin Durant to the Suns. From there we had complicated three-teamers, a gaggle of second-round picks, reunions, cost-cutting moves, and some teams surprisingly standing pat. Let’s run through some winners and losers.

Winners: Second-round picks

Seriously, what in the world? Did second-round picks get some kind of sexy makeover that’s made everyone at their local high school look at them in a new light? Where did all these second-rounders come from? Has there ever been an NBA trade involving five seconds before Thursday? And then we got two of them? Am I going to have to pretend to care about second-round picks the way I would nod my head whenever anyone mentioned crypto last year? Today was a big win for the draft asset fetishists, at least.

Losers: Good trades

If the Kevin Durant shockwave made you excited for Thursday, then you were in for a massive letdown. After KD, the deadline had a real “shuffling chairs on the Titanic” vibe. Not a lot of very consequential moves. A lot of confusing trades that will result in buyouts. Somehow so many things happened, and yet I’m still not sure who is actually playing where and what will actually matter.

Winner: Chris Paul

Paul was briefly rumored to be part of a package offered to the Nets in exchange for Kyrie Irving. The Nets turned it down, and now Paul gets to be teammates with Durant, anyway. This is a massive boost for Paul’s title chances. This is the best team he’s ever been on. Paul–Devin Booker–Durant is the best trio in the West, and the Suns should be the unequivocal favorites to come out of the conference. Imagine if CP3 were traded to Brooklyn and Durant asked out, anyway? He came close to being in no-man’s-land again; instead he surfaced postdeadline onto the most exciting team in the league. The Suns are expected to be active in the buyout market, as well. I’m bullish on Phoenix’s chances, even if I’ve been burned before.

Loser: The OG Anunoby trade industrial complex

We milked Anunoby trade rumors for content for weeks, only for the Raptors to hold on to him. Toronto reportedly likes its chances in a post-Durant East. The Raptors are four games under .500, but they added back Jakob Poeltl, and for what it’s worth, they have a better point differential than a few teams ahead of them in the standings. I’m not sure about this risk for Toronto, though. Both Anunoby (who has a player option) and Pascal Siakam become expiring deals next season. That decreases their value in trades. Are the Raptors going to re-sign both for more money? Meanwhile, Fred VanVleet and Gary Trent Jr. can both leave this summer; what’s the plan for them? All of these players are certainly talented. They were coveted for a reason. At the same time, Toronto hasn’t figured out how to win consistently with this group. Is Poeltl really going to change the team’s fortunes that much? I’m very curious to see where the Raptors go from here.

Sub-Losers: Chicago Bulls

The Bulls stood pat. Yes, Chicago has played better since everyone was telling them to blow it up. I respect the front office for putting out a competitive team every night. Does that mean going ahead with this current build is sound long-term management? Probably not!

Winner: Luka Dončić Photoshops

I’d love to hear the argument for how the Kyrie Irving experiment ends well in Dallas. Risking the happiness of Dončić by bringing in the player who has left his last three teams in increasingly acrimonious situations is, to say the least, a bold play. I would not be surprised to see fans and media alike gleefully wondering about future Dončić destinations as early as this summer. 

Loser: LeBron James

Not as in LeBron himself is a loser. He has lost as a result of the Lakers’ moves, though. James wanted Kyrie Irving in Los Angeles; he got D’Angelo Russell instead. I can’t quite understand the reaction to the Lakers’ big move. Russell was a minus player for the Timberwolves this season, and Anthony Edwards was better playing without him. And while Russell’s shooting is a plus, his defense creates issues in the postseason. Meanwhile, Mo Bamba and Jarred Vanderbilt are fine pickups who also don’t really make sense playing next to LeBron and Anthony Davis. (Malik Beasley is probably my favorite piece in all of this.)

Ultimately, the Lakers raised their floor, not their ceiling. The team desperately still needs help on the wing. Who are they going to close with next to James and Davis? Russell, Beasley and Austin Reaves? Even if you sub Dennis Schröder into that mix, who is guarding perimeter stars out of this group? Who is guarding Ja Morant or Stephen Curry? There was no magic-pill trade for the Lakers to fix everything. I still would’ve liked to see them take some bigger swings than this.

Winner: Kevin Durant

Devin Booker is a much more stable running mate than Irving. Paul is a dream third option. There is no scary team in the West. After all the drama in Brooklyn, Durant still managed to find a pretty soft landing spot.

Losers: Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo

The Heat saw most teams in the East improve their roster since the summer and have basically done nothing other than dump Dewayne Dedmon. Not great!

Winner: A budding Bucks-Celtics rematch

The Bucks have done nicely since losing in the second round last season. I am very excited to see Milwaukee go into this year’s playoffs with a presumably healthy Khris Middleton, Joe Ingles and the newly acquired Jae Crowder. Milwaukee should be much better suited to playing small this year, and Mike Budenholzer now has an array of solid two-way wings to throw at their biggest competition: the Celtics. It would be a thrill to see them match up again.

Losers: Grizzlies

Ja Morant maybe wants to worry about the West! The Suns loaded up in a major way. Memphis adding Luke Kennard will help with some of its shooting issues. Does it really move the needle, though? The Grizz have been on a slide of late. I don’t feel great about their chances.

Winners: Nikola Jokić haters

Those sick of the reigning two-time MVP love to point out how he hasn’t made a Finals yet. It’s going to be hard again for Denver this year. The Nuggets basically dumped Bones Hyland and … that’s it. Similar to the Grizzlies, the Nugs really needed to try to buttress this roster with a championship run in sight. Instead, they may have relinquished their status as conference favorites.

Loser: Two Timelines

The Warriors finally gave up on James Wiseman, and in return brought back fan favorite (and key cog in the 2022 title run) Gary Payton II. I would’ve maybe liked to see a little more tinkering from the Dubs. I’m not sure how much GP2 ultimately moves the needle. And I’m a little surprised Wiseman’s value dipped this low. Still, we’ve been clamoring for the Warriors to get their vets more help. This qualifies.

Winner: Anthony Edwards

Playing alongside Mike Conley Jr. will likely be more pleasant than Russell. The Wolves were better when Edwards played without Russell this season. Conley is a much better complement in the backcourt.