If most NBA trade deadlines storm in with a bang, Thursday’s sort of limped through with a whimper. Only true NBA aficionados will have even heard of most of the names involved in transactions at the deadline this year, let alone have an opinion on the movement therein. But fear not, dear reader. That’s what we’re here for. Here’s a summary of the presumed winners and losers of the sleepiest trade deadline in recent memory.
Winners
New York Knicks Is that a pig I just saw coasting amongst the clouds? The Knicks are bona fide good, and not just on the court, but in the front office, too. This objective truth is something that would’ve felt impossible as recently as four seasons ago, but that’s where we are, and it wouldn’t be outrageous to wonder if a championship is in the realm of possibility. That’s due in large part to Jalen Brunson’s ascension, and some of the supporting cast that entered the season with him at the Mecca. But the Knicks’ midseason acquisitions were quite frankly impeccable, acquiring Perfect Knick™ OG Anunoby (and Precious Achiuwa) from the Raptors pre-deadline and adding sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanović and worthwhile vet Alec Burks from Detroit at the buzzer. In a deadline without many clear “winners”, the Knicks lead the pack.
Milwaukee Bucks It’s admittedly a stretch to call the Bucks, a team in what can only fairly be described as a bit of turmoil, as “winners” at the deadline. They didn’t add much to their defensively struggling roster, and have had an extremely underwhelming 1-5 record since swapping out rookie head coach Adrian Griffin for NBA household name head coach-cum-broadcaster Doc Rivers. But the firing is, by all accounts, one that needed to happen, so kudos to them for having the cajones to do it. And while they didn’t take any big swings at the deadline (their hands were pretty tied, assets-wise), they did bring in veteran spark plug Patrick Beverley, a noted pest on point-of-attack defense, and, perhaps more importantly, a fiery incentivizer in the locker room – just what the doctor ordered for a Milwaukee team trudging through the doldrums of the season in hopes of a championship.
Oklahoma City Thunder Sometimes less is more, and that was the case for the pleasant-surprise-of-the-season Thunder at the deadline. Sure, they probably would’ve benefited from more depth at the center position – asking rookie Chet Holmgren, as sensational as he’s been in his first real outing, to be counted on in his first ever playoffs may turn out to be too much. But this team is very much ahead of schedule, and excelling to a degree this season that no one expected, perhaps not even them. So it’s fair to give the young core a chance to take a crack at the postseason and see what happens before making any major moves. But OKC did make a surprise move to snag veteran forward Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets. The 34-year-old Hayward, it should be noted, hasn’t played an NBA game since late December and has been injury-prone most of his career. But he’s still got enough left in the tank to be a meaningful playoff contributor, and the young Thunder desperately needed a solid veteran presence heading into what will be the first playoff experience for most of the team.
Losers
Chicago Bulls What the hell, exactly, are the Bulls doing? That’s the question of the hour, and has been for a few seasons running. They’re solidly a play-in team in a weak Eastern Conference, sure, but surely no better than that. There have been rumblings of trades regarding their best players for years on end, but instead of trading their stars while they still have any value, Chicago’s powers that be have perplexingly opted to stand pat and, likely, allow the returns to become increasingly diminished. Pretty much any contender would’ve likely overpaid for impressive overachieving role player Alex Caruso’s services this year, but Chicago reportedly made him “untouchable”. And Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan have been in perpetual trade rumors, but LaVine is now out for the season with yet another lower leg/foot injury and DeRozan will inch another year closer to retirement in Chicago purgatory.
Detroit Pistons It’s nothing short of remarkable that Troy Weaver is still gainfully employed. To call the Pistons a dumpster fire seems woefully understated; they’ve set literal NBA records for ineptitude this year. But the worst part is that they weren’t even intentionally tanking. The team went into this season having signed head coach Monty Williams to a nearly $80m deal, making him the highest paid coach in the league, and made proclamations of plans to be competitive, “really good”, even. They are pretty much the opposite of good, and instead of using the deadline to either really improve or shore up for the future, they kind of did neither – waiting too long on valuable assets like Bojan Bogdanović to get any meaningful return, not being particularly aggressive in trying to bring back alternative talent – and kept themselves right where they are. That is, a place no self-respecting team should be looking to stay.
Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers’ front office’s decision to stand pat at the deadline was something of a Rashomon effect of decision-making: depending on whose prism you’re viewing it through, it could be reasonably interpreted as a great idea, a horrible idea or something in between. There was a thin trade market, a noticeable gap between the Lakers and the top-tier contenders, and the team will have several more first-round picks to use to sweeten the pot if they hold out for a bigger swing this summer. But LeBron James also has more options this summer: a player option, to be exact. And he’s made it quite clear of late that his preference was for the Lakers to be aggressive at the deadline. The Lakers brass’ reluctance to push their chips into the center of the table and gamble on the upside of objectively remarkable outputs from him and co-captain Anthony Davis this year could cause him to opt for free agency, and that alone seems like it would’ve been worth at least a move on the fringes to underscore their commitment.
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