The NBA trade deadline line has come and gone, I broke down the deals, what certain teams did, and what others did not do.
Knicks acquire Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks
I love this deal for the Knicks, Bojan Bogdanovic is really good and Alec Burks gives them another scoring punch off of the bench. Bogdanovic can enter New York’s starting lineup until Julius Randle returns and when Randle is back, Bogdanovic becomes one of the best 6th men in the league. This deal gives the Knicks something I thought they really needed which is more offensive firepower. Both guys will likely come off of the bench and give Tom Thibodeau more optionality with the best team the Knicks have had since 2013. This deal gives the Knicks 2 more offensive weapons for a playoff series, who can make shots off the dribble and off the catch and shoot and we also know how much Thibs loves Alec Burks. This is a home run trade for the Knicks. I will have a whole block of words on the Pistons later on.
Mavericks acquire P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford
The Grant Williams experiment did not work in Dallas, he has not shot the ball well and the defense has not been great since the 2022 playoffs. Thus, Dallas sends him, Seth Curry, and a 2027 top 2 protected first round pick to the Mavericks for P.J. Washington and 2 future 2nd round picks. The Mavericks also made a trade to acquire Daniel Gafford from the Wizards for Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first round pick from the Thunder, Dallas will send a 2028 pick swap to Oklahoma City to complete the deal. The Mavericks got a heck of a lot better to me. They are more athletic, add more rim protection, and more of an offensive output. PJ Washington is good and while there have been moments of really bad hustle on defense this season, I am hopeful that a change of scenery will give him a kick in the butt. His numbers and minutes are down from last season but Washington is good and will help the Mavericks a lot. The Mavericks are a different team when Dereck Lively is on the court. According to Cleaning the Glass, the Mavericks are 8.6 points better per 100 possessions with Lively on the court vs. when he is off of the court and Gafford gives them a lot of the same things Lively does. A pick and roll big who protects the rim is a perfect fit with Luka and Kyrie.
Thunder acquire Gordon Hayward
Gordon Hayward remains a good player who gives Oklahoma City more secondary ball handling and passing for big moments in the playoffs. Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, and Vasilije Micić, who they traded, weren’t going to play in the playoffs and Hayward will so that in of itself is an upgrade. He will probably come off of the bench and will become a key part of a team trying to go to the finals but I do believe there's a world where he overtakes Josh Giddey in OKC’s closing lineups. I just think that Hayward is more reliable than Giddey is right now and has played in those moments before. Hayward could prove to be an upgrade in the playoffs.
76ers acquire Buddy Hield, trade Patrick Beverley and Jaden Springer
The Sixers opened up the trading on Thursday by acquiring Buddy Hield from the Pacers for Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz, and 3 future 2nd round picks, then they flipped Patrick Beverly to the Bucks for Cam Payne and a 2027 2nd round pick, and then they traded Jaden Springer to the Celtics for a 2024 2nd round pick via the Bulls. This was a confusing day for the Sixers. Yes, I think they got better with adding Hield and likely signing Kyle Lowry as a buyout player but with Embiid out, does it matter? Buddy Hield-Joel Embiid dribble handoffs would be awesome, and he gives the Sixers another dimension to their offense but I also think they lost something with the Pat Bev trade. I am not the biggest Patrick Beverly fan but he brought a toughness to that team that they had not previously had and they do not have anymore with trading both Bervery and Marcus Morris today. The Sixers season comes down to whether or not the big fella returns, if he does they have a chance to make a playoff run, if he doesn’t they don’t.
What did the Raptors do?
I can’t decide on a few things on what Toronto did. Why are they waiving Spencer Dinwiddie? Aren’t they trying to make the Play-In Tournament with the addition of Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji sending out a late first round pick to acquire those players. I don’t hate that trade, assuming they re-sign Olynyk. Both Otto Porter Jr. and Kira Lewis Jr. did not have futures in Toronto so they did not lose anything player wise and Olynyk is one of the best passing bigs in the NBA while Agbaji has a chance to become a good 3 and D wing and all they traded was a late first round pick in what many are calling a bad draft. They then traded Dennis Schröder and Thad Young to the Nets for Spencer Dinwiddie, whom they are waiving because they do not want to pay a $1.5 million roster bonus. It does not make sense to me why they would make this trade, just cut him. They do get off of Schröder’s $13 million for next season in the Dinwiddie deal but that does not move the needle in my opinion. Overall, this was a confusing day for the Raptors.
The Pistons were buyers, until they were sellers.
On Wednesday, the Pistons traded what will likely be the 32nd pick in the draft to the Utah Jazz for Simone Fontecchio. Which makes them better… but they had only won 6 games at that point (they won their 7th against the Kings on Wednesday night). Fontecchio is a free agent this summer as well, restricted so the Pistons can match any offer, so he needs a new contract. I mean what are we doing? Then they traded Monte Morris, Kevin Knox, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Alec Burks, while waiving Killian Hayes and Danilo Gallinari, all guys who had been playing minutes for them. Lots of guys came in and out at the deadline for the Pistons. I like Quentin Grimes but waiting for as long as they did to move Bogdanovic costed them a first round pick. It is just too late, this should have come at the last trade deadline or even this summer. This was a confusing deadline and bad asset management by Troy Weaver and the Pistons.
The Hornets did well
I like what Charlotte did over the past few weeks. Getting 2 real first round picks for PJ Washington and Terry Rozier is a win, they also added some intriguing players. Tre Mann is interesting, he is young and has shown some flashes so hopefully he can get some run with the Hornets. The Grant Williams Mavericks experiment did not go well but he played well at times for the Celtics so I still have some hope for him. Vasilije Micić is a former Euro League MVP who still has a chance in the NBA and maybe someone wants him this summer. I think the Hornets did very well at the trade deadline, in large part because of the draft picks.
The Bulls did nothing
Do you know the last time the Bulls made a trade involving a player? August 2021 when they traded Lauri Markkanen to Cleveland for Derrick Jones Jr. and a first round pick, they haven’t made a player trade in 29 months, in 127 weeks, in 894 days! The Bulls have played 223 games, including the playoffs and play-in, since they made a trade involving a player and they are 113-110 in those games. The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result and here we are, 2 ½ years later and the Bulls are still trying something that isn’t working. If they were offered 2 first round picks for Alex Caruso and said no, that is crazy. Alex Caruso turns 30 later this month, is on a really good contract, and they are just keeping him, not cashing him in. DeMar DeRozan is going to be a free agent in June and nothing has been done, no trade or extension. They wanted to trade Zach LaVine but with him getting surgery that became unlikely. Not trading LaVine was understandable but what bothers me is not flipping the course and blowing this up because it simply has not worked since Lonzo Ball went down with his chronic knee issues.
The Hawks stood pat
Like the Bulls, the Hawks also did nothing. Unlike the Bulls, I do not think that this is a travesty. Dejounte Murray is a complicated trade to make considering what they sent out so that one did not surprise me. I would have liked to see them reshuffle the deck a little but with a De’Andre Hunter or Clint Caepla trade but the value may not have been there (though Capela is someone they just need to dump). The Hawks are stuck and this roster is not going anywhere significant anytime soon. Gone are the days of the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals and now Atlanta has a big offseason coming up where they need to remake their roster around Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu.
Other Thoughts
I think Indiana swapping Buddy Hield for Doug McDermott and 2 second round picks was smart business. Hield’s scoring and shots are down and they have other options with Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nesmith, Ben Sheppard, and Obi Toppin and they get to replace Hield’s shooting with McDermott. I don’t think that the Bucks getting Pat Bev is a needle mover but it does make them better. Their point of attack defense is so bad with Dame Lillard and Malik Beasley and Beverly will help that. I would also not rule out Pat Bev closing playoff games for the Bucks. Another player that was moved today that could play at the end of a playoff game is Royce O’Neale, who got traded to the Suns. He gives the Suns another layer to go with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, Jusuf Nurkic, Grayson Allen, and Eric Gordon with his defense and 3 point shooting. I really like that pick up by Phoenix. The Jazz got worse and I hate that. I understand getting that high of a pick for Fontecchio is something they had to do and once a first round pick was offered for Olynyk they had to do that. However, they are a fun team and this deadline makes them less fun and that big time stinks.
One sentence takes
The Nets did well getting Dennis Schröder and draft picks, though if Mikal Bridges for their picks back from Houston was on the table, they should have taken that. The Celtics made their depth and defense better with Xaiver Tillman and Jaden Springer, they had a good deadline. I did not hate the Lakers doing nothing, they can trade 3 picks this summer so they kept their options open for 2024-25. The Wizards accomplished something in trading Daniel Gafford that they didn’t when trading Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis, they got a first round pick. I think the Grizzlies might try to do something big this summer. The Timberwolves needed a guard and Monte Morris is a good pick up for them. Orlando doing nothing stinks, they have a good team and another guard, like Tyus Jones, would have been huge for them. I am surprised Malcolm Brogdon was not traded, I thought he was a lock to be moved. Lastly, Cleveland not going harder to get one of Brooklyn’s wings was a disappointment, they are really good and another guy would have helped them a lot.
The trade deadline has passed, now we move into buyout season where Kyle Lowry, Spencer Dinwiddie (who has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Lakers), Marcus Morris Sr., Killian Hayes, Danuel House Jr., Danilo Gallinari, Joe Harris, James Bouknight, and potentially more are waiting for teams to sign them.
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