NBA Trade Deadline Winners and Losers
We just witnessed the biggest trade deadline in NBA history, so who benefited and suffered the most from it?
What will go down as the most memorable trade deadline of all time with second-round picks in serious fashion (yes, for whatever reason, everyone was getting moved for 2-5 second-rounders), there were seismic shifts in the balance of power in the NBA and the rest of the season outlook has shifted.
Kevin Durant was traded to the Suns, and they didn’t even have to give up Devin Booker or Deandre Ayton, D’Angelo Russell was just gifted to the Lakers in another mind-boggling move by the Timberwolves, and instead of selling, the Raptors decided to go all in and trade for coveted Center, Jakob Poeltl, despite rumors about moving Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby. Nonetheless, as there is with every single trade deadline, there are some big-time winners and some serious losers and here they are below.
Winner: Los Angeles Clippers
In the year of second-round picks being in fashion, the Clippers sent two of them for Bones Hyland (12.1 points and 3 assists per game with a TS% of 54), the young point guard with tremendous upside that showed flashes of stardom in his rookie season. It makes no sense that Jae Crowder warranted five second-round picks, Josh Richardson warranted four second-round picks, but Hyland only warranted two second-rounders? The kid can score at will, shoot from beyond the arc, and create for others at a very high level at just 22 years old.
Then the Clippers shipped Reggie Jackson (who has been one of the worst players in basketball this season) to the Hornets for Mason Plumlee (12.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game with a TS% of 67.3 and an elite PSA of 134.6, ranked in the 85th percentile for Bigs), to bolster their depth at the Center position (something they were severely lacking beforehand).
They also acquired prolific scorer, Eric Gordon (13.1 points per game with a TS% of 57.2), who will spark the second unit’s offense immensely. On the downside, they did trade knockdown 3PT shooter Luke Kennard, but they weren’t playing him anyways and the Clippers set themselves up for a deep playoff run with these additions.
Loser: Minnesota Timberwolves
Already the biggest loser from last summer after they acquired Rudy Gobert and sent a package of four first rounders (including Walker Kessler, who is better on both ends of the floor than Gobert this season on a per 40 minute basis) , Jared Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley, to the Jazz, the Wolves yet again were fleeced at the deadline by sending D’Angelo Russell (17.9 points and 6.2 assists per game with a 3PT% of 39.1 and a TS% of 60.4) to the Lakers for virtually nothing.
Yes, they did recieve Mike Conley (10.7 points and 7.7 assists per game with a TS% of 55.2), who is a good leader and has played with Gobert in the past, but Russell is one of the top offensive point guards in the league, and even if they weren’t going to re-sign him in the offseason, he didn’t warrant even one second-round pick with the season he’s having? You have to be kidding me. The Wolves weren’t going anywhere anyways this season, but Conley certainly doesn’t push them over the top. They’ll be heading for another first-round exit as another debacle from the Wolves front office must have fans wondering if they will ever win a championship despite having two of the best young players in the league in Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Winner: Brooklyn Nets
This may be a hot take as it is hard to be considered a winner when you give up two superstars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, but the Nets absolutely got a haul for both of them and have set themselves up nicely for the future. Though the Rockets own most of the Nets’ picks over the next few years, Cam Thomas is turning into an offensive Star, and the additions of Spencer Dinwiddie (17.9 points and 5.3 assists per game with a TS% of 59.9), Dorian Finney-Smith (9.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game with a TS% of 55.2), Mikal Bridges (17.2 points and 1.2 steals per game with a TS% of 57.4), and Cameron Johnson (13.9 points per game with a 3PT% of 45.5 and a TS% of 62.9) will solidify arguably the best defense in basketball with Nic Claxton (13.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game with a TS% of 70.6) and Ben Simmons (7.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game with a TS% of 55.9) already being on the team.
Bridges isn’t just arguably the best perimeter defender in the game, as indicated when Devin Booker was out for a substantial period of time for the Suns, where Bridges averaged over 21 points per game with a TS% of 60+. Johnson is no slouch either, being one of the best knockdown shooters in the league that can play some defense as well. Dinwiddie will also be the perfect mentor to Thomas, and Simmons should play some amazing basketball without the pressure of Irving and Durant on his team.
Winner: Phoenix Suns
The biggest winner of the trade deadline was the Phoenix Suns, who acquired one of the 5 best players in basketball without giving up Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. Sure, they will have their work cut out for them defensively without Bridges and Johnson now, but they now are by far the best team in the Western Conference because of their star-power. However, the Suns also have virtually no bench and will undoubtedly be active in the buyout market to bolster their depth. Nonetheless, Phoenix became the team to beat in the West.
Loser: Miami Heat
The Heat are sitting at 6th in the Eastern Conference and boast a top tier defense (defensive rating of 111.3, ranked 4th in the NBA), but also have arguably the worst bench in the league and didn’t make any moves at the deadline. They will probably get Russell Westbrook off of the buyout market, but they still won’t have a good enough team to go toe-to-toe with the Bucks and Celtics.
Winner: Los Angeles Lakers
Lakers GM Rob Pelinka was in his bag at the trade deadline, silencing all of the haters by acquiring D’Angelo Russell, Jared Vanderbilt, and Malik Beasley for just Russell Westbrook and a protected 1-4 first-round pick. Beasley is averaging 13.4 points per game with a 3PT% of 36, Vanderbilt is a tenacious rebounder who can guard the opposing team’s best player, and Russell provides an outside shooting threat at the point guard position, none of which the Lakers had before the deadline.
Not only do the Lakers become a Play-In Tournament team, but they are now arguably the 6th or 7th best team in the conference. This was a stellar deadline by the Purple and Gold, but they will need to start winning before it is too late as they are six games under .500 and losing tons of ground in the standings.
Loser: Chicago Bulls
Everyone knows that the Bulls won’t make it past the first round of the playoffs, yet they didn’t accelerate a rebuild by trading the valuable assets they still have. Nikola Vucevic (17.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game with a TS% of 60) will be a free agent at the end of the year and DeMar DeRozan (25.7 points and 5.1 assists per game with a TS% of 59.7) is only getting older and will be a free agent at the end of next season.
Now was the time to move on and rebuild to make up for giving up all their young assets (Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr., and the 8th overall pick which turned into Franz Wagner), but no they did absolutely nothing. I hope Bulls fans enjoy losing in the first round every year with this roster, because all hopes of long-term sustainable contention have withered away.
Winner: Toronto Raptors
When everyone thought they were going to sell, the Raptors shocked everyone by making a move to contend, solidified by acquiring Jakob Poeltl, from the Spurs. The Raptors have always had a talented roster, but have been playing without a center for a couple of years now. Poeltl has been having a career year and will join his best friend, All-Star Pascal Siakam (25 points, 8 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game with a TS% of 56.4), who were both teammates on the Raptors in 2017. Despite an underwhelming start to the year, the Raps are only two games back of the 8 seed and should be in the playoffs with one of the best starting 5’s in basketball.
Loser: Dallas Mavericks
But wait, they acquired a Superstar in Kyrie Irving (27 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game with a TS% of 60.5) how can they be losers? Well, though the Irving trade helps the Mavs contend this season, they gave up their two best perimeter defenders in Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith, and acquired a the most unpredictable player in the league who probably doesn’t re-sign with them in the offseason. I respect the risk-taking approach by Mark Cuban and the Mavs, but unless they win a title this season, this will go down as a failure of a trade since Irving likely signs elsewhere in free agency next season.
Note: Advanced Statistics used in this article are gathered from Cleaningtheglass.com and Statmuse.com and are updated as of Friday, February 10th, 2023