The NBA trade deadline has been one of the biggest surprises, with so many rumors year after year, the trades are usually not this insane. This trade deadline has been one to remember. Many big names in not only the rumors, and that have been actually traded. I’m gonna grade and give my opinion on certain trades that occured.
The one that I would like to talk about first is the Pistons’ three teams deal with Bulls, and the Timberwolves. This led to Chicago getting Jaden Ivey, and Mike Conley from the Pistons, and the Timberwolves. The Pistons ended up with Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, and a 2026 first round pick swap with the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves didn’t get a player in the draft itself but just wanted to get themselves out of being 8 million in Luxury Tax. Overall this deal was good for all sides, the Pistons get more shooting and spacing, Chicago gets the “best player” in the deal in Jaden Ivey, as well as Mike Conley (A future trade piece), while the Timberwolves, get more cap space and more wiggle room to use for their team. I would rate this a B- for the Bulls, For the Pistons it’s a C+, and for the Timberwolves an B+. They all got what they wanted, but to me it feels a bit lackluster in general.
The next one I want to cover is James Harden traded to Cleveland for Darius Garland and a 2nd round pick. This trade makes sense for both teams, the Cavs want to win now, and James Harden does that for the Cavs, with that being said Garland has been an amazing piece for them and it is interesting to see them trade him after how loyal, and good he has been on that team. I think that Garland will thrive on the Clippers as he will be allowed to play how he may want, and he does still have Kawhi Leonard, who no matter what will always be an amazing player when healthy. To me this fully pushed for this narrative that the Clippers are ok with tanking, and they wanted to get whatever they could for Harden. This to me screams a win-win. I give the Clippers an A-, and the Cavs a B+. It makes sense for both, but it’s risky for the Cavs to trade for Harden with his age.
The next trade I want to cover is Ivica Zubac being traded to the Pacers. This trade was another clippers trade I really like, in this trade Benedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson, 2 1st round picks, and a 2nd round pick. This to me is another amazing return, and I think that the Clippers are really smart to try and rebuild, as they have to realize this mediocrity can’t help them win and the best way to stop being a middle of the pack team is to trade away key assets for picks, or trade for more key assets. But the Clippers realize they can’t win with this core so they maximize this. To me the big that confuses me is how Zubac will fit on this *current* team (without Tyreese Haliburton), but I think when Haliburton is back this Pacers squad could be really good. But there are many ways to look at this, and I think this trade for the current status of this team is very bad. My grades for this trade is A for the Clippers, but (currently) the Pacers get a C-, but in their peak it would be a B+. This trade seems very small but to me could be very impactful for both teams.
The next trade I want to talk about is the Jazz trading for Jaren Jackson Jr. from Memphis. Memphis was a very outspoken team that wanted to sell their many different players. So it is no surprise that they traded away Jaren Jackson in the way that they did. The full trade details are: Utah got: Jaren Jackson Jr, John Konchar, Vince Williams Jr, and Jock Landale, Memphis got Kyle Anderson, George Niang, Taylor Hendricks, Walter Clayton, and 2 1sts, and 3 2nd round picks. My reaction to this trade is a bit surprising as I think the Grizzlies jumped the gun on trading away J.J.J, but I understand why they did it as something had to shake in Memphis. This is a good trade for how young they are now. But the Jazz being the suitors for a player of Jaren’s caliber is rather surprising, and I would love to see how it shakes. I would grade the Memphis package a C, as the picks and players are very lackluster and not worth the player of Jaren Jackson Jr’s caliber. But the Jazz to me won this deal, and I would grade their package a B+, I think this trade was great but they did have to still spend a lot of many different assets for a team that is far away from the postseason let alone championship contention.
The next trade I want to talk about is the trade between the Atlanta Hawks and The Golden State Warriors. This trade was a bit of a shocker but just feels like a very last ditch effort to get some form of help alongside Stephen Curry. This trade involved Kristaps Porzingis for Jonothan Kuminga and Buddy Hield. This trade is going to help the Warriors but it gets rid of one of their only young players. Which isn’t surprising as they have been very honest about wanting to surround Steph for a couple more title runs, I will say I don’t think they can win with this team, even with this trade but I understand that anything is possible. This trade overall is nothing crazy compared to some of the others that happened during this deadline. I would grade this trade for the Hawks as a C+, and for the Warriors I would give this a B-. Both of these teams get the thing they want and need but I still think this trade will have very little impact for either team.
The last trade I want to cover is to me one of the most surprising of this deadline. The trade is between the Dallas Mavericks, and the Washington Wizards, and this trade involved Anthony Davis being traded to the Washington Wizards, but before I deep dive into my thoughts I want to show the full trade details. The full trade details: Anthony Davis, Jaden Hardy, D’Angelo Russell, and Dante Exum to the Wizards and the Mavericks got Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, Marvin Bagley III, Tyus Jones, and 2 first round picks, and 3 second round picks. Well I think the biggest thing to comment on is how bad the organization of the Dallas Mavericks has gotten in return for Luka Doncic, as they have gotten little to nothing compared to some of the many other players being traded for beyond more. These trades have been some of the worst that we have seen in a very long time, and it is an utter disappointment of this front office to do what they have continued to do. The wizards are actually setting themselves up for success, and I think this team could be something really good in the near future. I grade the Mavericks a D+, and the Wizards get an A-, they make away like a bandit in this trade not giving up anything crazy good in return.
Overall, this NBA trade deadline was VERY active and this was probably one of the best in recent years. I did enjoy the sheer amount of trades that were amazing, but I still think that this offseason could be very crazy with the amount of rumors that we have recently gotten, and I am very excited to see. I think the NBA will continue to evolve and this will start to become the norm. I look forward to the NBA years to come, and I can’t wait to see how this season goes, and what it will become.
