The past week was meant to be all about Super Bowl Week.
The NFL’s biggest event of the year was overtaken by one of the more dramatic NBA trade deadlines in recent memory. Now that we’ve had a couple of days to take it all in, here were the biggest winners and losers from deadline day.
Trade deadline day turned into deadline week for some, with Dallas pulling off an early move for Kyrie Irving, who played his first game in a Mavs uniform just hours before the biggest move of the day.
Irving was traded to the Mavs for Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, who returns to Brooklyn after his initial move to Dallas! Kyrie made the early bombshell trade request a week before the deadline was due to hit, and was moved on Tuesday to Dallas.
He will no doubt have a big say in helping Luka Doncic win an NBA Championship, or have it all fall apart if the chemistry between the two isn’t sharp from the get-go.
Another huge trade was made before Friday’s deadline, the Lakers making a big splash landing D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt. Three key pieces were added to help LeBron and AD make one final push to the Play-In tournament, but lost Russell Westbrook in the deal to Utah. Westbrook never fit into whatever the Lakers have been trying to accomplish over the last couple of seasons, but the scapegoat calls came far too often for a team who lacks so much effort!
Now LeBron has broken the scoring record (an incredible achievement), it’ll be interesting to see if this team can get going with the additional pieces. They’ll definitely need them to adapt quickly, given LeBron’s recent foot injury!
By far the biggest move of the day came in the early hours of the morning abroad, with Kevin Durant traded to the Phoenix Suns. The Nets had openly said they wanted to build their new team around KD, but the Suns offer was too good to resist.
Phoenix traded away Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges and multiple 1 st round picks for KD, somehow able to hold onto their own big 3 in CP3, Booker and Ayton.
Durant’s move to the Suns instantly made them favourites to come out of the West, and in the end almost put the nail in the coffin to a Brooklyn franchise who seem to be starting all over again.
The era of Durant, Kyrie and Harden will have to go down as one of the biggest failures in NBA history, barely playing long enough together to be memorable at all. Brooklyn will now look to rebuild with a younger line-up built on energy at the defensive end of the floor, and the youthfulness of the likes of Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson.
They’re definitely in a pickle with the Ben Simmons contract/situation.
Only time will tell now if this new line-up will do his confidence the world of good given the lower expectations on this team going forward.
One of the weirder moves on Deadline Day went to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Clippers traded away Reggie Jackson to the Charlotte Hornets (recently bought out) in a move to pick up Mason Plumlee. Whilst the Clippers gained Bones Hyland from the Nuggets (two second round picks seemingly a steal), they lost their only real floor general left on their roster.
They also traded away John Wall to the Rockets, bringing in Eric Gordon in a full circle moment for EG. But the move for Plumlee is still a head-scratcher given they already have Ivica Zubac as the same kind of big. Neither stretch the floor, so there’s only a need for one of them on the roster.
Denver didn’t make any huge moves, losing Hyland but gaining a capable back up in Thomas Bryant. Bryant was big time for the Lakers earlier in the season in Anthony Davis’ absence, and gives the Nuggets a chance to spell Jokic later in the season for a big playoff push in a team fighting for 1st overall in the league.
Given their only real back up was DeAndre Jordan (and Davon Reed who was also moved to the Lakers), this is a big upgrade for the Nuggets.
Mo Bamba taking the spot of Thomas Bryant in the Lakers rotation made the move easier for the Lakers, losing Pat Beverley in the process to Orlando.
Toronto and Miami talked up a big game going into deadline day and they decided to do nothing about it. Miami were in talks to move Kyle Lowry on (with the Clippers in the mix) and held onto their struggling point guard.
All players in the Raptors were on the table and they too made no moves, in which you could only presume they’re now happy enough to make a Play-In push and try knock off the likes of Brooklyn if they fall out of the picture to get into the playoffs.
The Knicks gained Josh Hart in a move that confused all Portland fans, as if they’re trying to help Damian Lillard win a title (or make the playoffs), they’re doing the complete opposite. Portland traded away Hart for Reddish, also gaining Matisse Thybulle from Philly.
Hart helps the Knicks immensely, but it’s still to be seen if Cam Reddish can find a home in the NBA, and Damian Lillard sure hopes he can in Portland!
The pool of teams who can now win a title this season has certainly shrunk after some of these moves. It’s seemingly a two-horse race in the East with Boston and Milwaukee lengths ahead of the chasing pack.
Philly and Cleveland are thereabouts, but until Philly prove anything in the postseason they get a line through them, and it feels like the Cavs are at least another year or two away from making real playoff noise.
The West is intriguing, with Denver streaking away up top, there’s a logjam in the middle of the chasing pack. Phoenix are currently 2 games back of Sacramento in 3rd (4.5 back of Memphis in 2nd ), and they’ll certainly be the team to watch post All-Star break.
But you can’t put a line through the likes of Dallas and the Clippers also, so it’s not just as clear cut as it seems in the East as it does out West.
It’s going to be a huge finish to the season!
Bauky