So, the dust has finally settled on another trade deadline. This years was packed with trades left, right and centre and many interesting moves were made. Moves were made for different reasons, some teams are going all out to win while some are doing the opposite.
Below I will try to identify what teams I think have been successful with their respective goals.
Winners:
Philadelphia 76ers:
Adding arguably the best traded player is always a good sign, Tobias Harris s averaging career highs in PPG, RPG, APG & 3pt% and hopefully he can mesh well with his new team. Joining Harris moving from LA to Philly is Boban and Mike Scott, both players can contribute for a solid 10 mins per game and strengthen their bench. Going the other way are Landry Shamet who admittedly did impress as a rookie, Wilson Chandler and Mike Muscala who haven't offered too much to this Philly team. Adding 2 1st round picks and a 2nd may have been too much if Harris doesn't re-sign but Philly are in win now mode and I believe this trade was very worthwhile.
Now the 6ers have the most talented starting 5 in the East, questions were raised about their bench. Trading away former no.1 pick Markelle Fultz could be a mistake but in his 20 month stint too much went wrong for him. The 6ers got decent value back considering his injury history, Jonathan Simmons and a pair of picks (1 1st and 1 2nd). Simmons adds depth to the bench and the picks could come in handy later on.
Lastly the 6ers added James Ennis to furthermore boost their bench,
I think they now have at least 9 players who can do the business now. Exciting times for 6ers fans!
Dallas Mavericks:
The biggest shock of the trade deadline came curtesy of Dallas when they traded for Kristaps Porzingis. In fact, an equally shocking trade was the shipping Harrison Barnes to Sacramento mid game! The Dallas Mavericks are in good hand with Luka Doncic and pairing him with KP looks like it could be a world class duo. Trading away Dennis Smith JR, DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews seems wise as I believe they aren't part of the Mavs future plans. By trading Barnes away, the Mavs now have cap space to target a big free agent and I honestly think the big names (Kyrie, KD, Kawhi, Jimmy Butler) should consider Dallas when Free Agency approaches. The Mavs will not make the playoffs this year but they are on course to be mainstays in the playoffs for the foreseeable future. Solid work Mr Cuban.
Toronto Raptors:
Toronto were already looking like one of the top teams in the NBA and they haven't rested on their laurels. Trading for Marc Gasol is a great move imo. Gasol was on the same length contract as JV (who was traded alongside Delon Wright and CJ Miles) so its not too much of a financial burden for Toronto. Gasol does nearly everything better than JV and with his playmaking abilities it adds another edge to this Raptors team. Miles and Wright were decent players off the bench, but they won't lose too much depth as no Serge Ibaka will come off the bench. The Raptors have a deep team now with quality all over the floor and I expect them to make a deep playoff run.
Milwaukee Bucks:
Adding Nikola Mirotic was the Bucks main piece of business. Niko remains a good shooter and is perfect to work with Giannis. The Bucks could go ultra-big and ultra-long with some great shooters and I honestly cant wait to see it. Like the aforementioned 6ers and Raptors, the Bucks are going all in on making it out of the East this year. Trading Thon Maker for Stanley Johnson could end up being a mistake but it didn't really go to plan for Thon in Milwaukee and Stanley Johnson joins this team look for something to prove.
Fans:
Last but not least is us, the fans. The strong teams got stronger for the most part and it only means the playoffs should be more exciting. The deep Free Agent market in the summer has meant many teams have cleared space with a view to pursuing 1 or even 2 of the highly coveted players. Yet again, another win for the fans as the off season will have so many possibilities. This year draft looks like a solid one and with many team battling for the no.1 pick we have more reasons to be excited for the offseason.
Losers:
Los Angeles Lakers:
The Lakers had one main aim this trade deadline; to land Anthony Davis. The Lakers offered almost half their roster as well as picks but it wasn't enough. Thy are in danger of not making the playoffs, the team chemistry could be affected by the trade offers involving them so right now things don't seem great in LA. Another round of bidding for AD will commence in the summer and this could disadvantage the Lakers and other teams will have time to put together offers. The addition of Reggie Bullock was by no means game changing but is a solid pick up, however trading Zubac who was looking solid recently and Michael Beasley down the corridor to the Clippers for Mike Muscala didn't make sense to me.
Washington Wizards:
Losing John Wall until 2020 was a massive blow and now his contract which starts this summer looks unmovable and trading Otto Porter weakens them. I feel this Wizards team is too experienced to tank and blowing it up would be the best option, however Bradley Beal remains a Wizard. Trading Beal should have been a priority to me as now we know the Wizards are stuck, too bad to compete but too good (too many big contracts) to tank.
Detroit Pistons:
The Pistons should be fighting for a playoff place in the East but instead they seem like they've conceded defeat. I thought they could have traded for Mike Conley and tried to go on a run to make the 6th, 7th or 8th seed. Blake Griffin is playing great and I though they'd trust him to lead them into the playoffs. Instead they traded away some decent role players for not great returns.
New Orleans Pelicans:
The Pelicans kept a player who doesn't want to be there but if they feel they can get a better in the summer, I don't blame them for waiting. From their point of view they need to do what's best for the team, not what's best for Anthony Davis. However my problem is that I don't believe they will get a better offer than the one the Lakers offered. With 18 months left on his contract his value decrease day by day added to the fact AD handpicked 4 suitors, the other 25 teams in the NBA may be reluctant to part with so many assets for what would likely be a 1 year rental for AD.
New York Knicks:
Trading away their franchise players, albeit injured is never seen as a good thing and the fact it happened so quickly provides many questions. On-Court I actually think the Knicks improved and this is obviously bad for a team who look to be tanking. They did open up cap space but aside from the location what is so good about the Knicks? Their history isn't rich with success, their owner is great, their recent history is dreadful and their roster leaves much to be desired. If they cant attract a big free agent this summer, the Knicks will be a bigger laughing stock than they already are.
