The NBA trade deadline has come and gone yet again and this year had to have been one of the craziest we have ever seen. 8 different All-Stars were traded including Luka Doncic to the Lakers, De'Aaron Fox to the Spurs and Jimmy Butler to the Warriors. It was a crazy week so let’s break it all down. If you missed my breakdowns on the Doncic, Butler and Fox deals they are linked above.
Raptors acquire Brandon Ingram from Pelicans for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, 2026 Pacers 1st round pick and a 2031 2nd round pick.
This is a fascinating trade that really comes down to one thing: Brandon Ingram’s next contract. Let’s start with what the Raptors are getting in Ingram. He can flat out score the basketball, 23.0 points per game in 5 and a half seasons with the Pelicans on shooting splits of .47/.37/.84. His true shooting as a Pelican was 58%. Toronto is getting a dude who can fill it up and for a very cheap price. He is the Raptors 2nd best player behind Scottie Barnes and there could be a debate for who number 1 is. A starting 5 of Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Ingram, Barnes and Jakob Poeltl is a starting 5 that can make the playoffs in the east. They also gave up very little to do this, Brown is a free agent to be and the Raptors were not going to re-sign him, Olynyk is a good player but very replaceable and the Pacers pick will likely be in the teens next season, they are good. So, you can see why Masai Ujiri, a guy who loves to buy low on players, would do this deal. The issue is that Ingram needs a new contract, it is the reason the Pelicans traded him. He has also not been on the court in recent seasons, with games played of 55, 45, 64 and 18 in the last 4 seasons. With the money the Pelicans already have tied into Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray, you can see why they would make this move. So what is Toronto going to pay him? Ingram is eligible to sign a 3yr/$144 million deal right now and I wouldn’t go beyond a 3-year-deal. $48 million a season is rich and would make me nervous if I was the Raptors but I would rather than something like 4yrs/$160 million. I would prefer the 3yrs/$120 million (something that would still make me nervous) but I would close my eyes and offer the 3yrs/$144 million deal because the threat of free agency and a 4 or 5 year contract is not something I would want to do if I were Toronto. I am also unsure if Toronto is going to pay all of these players that they have, they might look to trade Barrett at some point.
Bucks trade Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, 2028 pick swap to Wizards for Kyle Kuzma and a 2025 2nd round pick, 2nd most favorable of the Suns, Pistons, Warriors.
It is a cold world out there, don’t ever forget it. Sending one of your all-time great players to the 9-43 Washington Wizards is nasty business. Especially considering they got Kyle Kuzma, who has had a horrible season for the Wizards. Kuzma’s numbers are way down averaging 15.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game on shooting splits of .42/.28/.60 after averaging 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists per game on shooting splits of .46/.34/.78 last season. Remember when Dallas offered the Wizards 2 first round picks to the Mavericks for Kuzma at the deadline last year? The Bucks will need Kuzma to be willing to take a lesser role playing with Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. They’ll need him to shoot the ball better and they’ll need his defense to improve. Kuzma played well in that role as a Laker during their 2020 championship so the Bucks will need him to get back into playing like that, which could be an adjustment. I understand trading Middleton but this is the best Milwaukee could get? It does get the Bucks under the 2nd apron which helps them with their long term outlook but I just don’t think this is the deal I would have made. I like the Middelton get for the Wizards, he will help with their leadership for their young players and scoring as they try to avoid being one of the worst teams the league has seen. Marcus Smart, who Washington got in a 3-team trade with the Grizzlies and Kings, will help with the leadership as well. Though Smart has not played all that well this season. I also like the AJ Johnson filer, though I have not seen him play a ton, he is very athletic and has a good frame for the NBA.
Hawks trade De’Andre Hunter to the Cavaliers for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, 2 pick swaps and 3 2nd round picks and trade Bogdan Bogdanovic and 3 2nd round picks to the Clippers for Terrence Mann and Bones Hyland
I am breaking this section into 3 different paragraphs because this is all one big Hawks story but the Cavaliers and Clippers also need to be talked about in these deals.
De’Andre Hunter makes the Cavaliers better. He is a better and more reliable player than Caris LeVert while Georges Niang has not been good for Cleveland since they signed him in July 2023. To upgrade LeVert to Hunter is worth 3 2nd rounders and 2 meaningless pick swaps. Hunter has had a very good season, averaging a career high 19.0 points on shooting splits of .46/.39/.86, a career high season from three point land for Hunter as well. He has excelled in his role off of the bench, a role the Cavaliers should keep him in because he has played his best ball in that role. He is not Cleveland’s answer to guard Jayson Tatum on the wing so let’s not think that but he will help the Cavaliers in their pursuit for a championship.
The Clippers needed a guy who could score the ball off the bench for them, the Kevin Porter Jr. signing just has not worked out and the Clippers traded him to the Bucks on Thursday. Enter Bogdan Bogdanovic. Bogdanovic has not had a good season this year averaging 10 points per game on 37% from the field and 30% from three point range. It has been ugly for him in Atlanta this season. The change of scenery should help him and it isn’t like the Clippers gave up anything. Terrence Mann had fallen out of Ty Lue’s rotation and has a 3yr/$47 million deal that kicks in next season, the Clippers also got 3 second round picks in this deal. They’ll need Bogdanovic to find his shot and I think he has a chance to, before this season, Bogdanovic was a career 44% from the field and 38% from three, if he can get back to or close to those percentages, he will help the Clippers as they try and make a run around Kawhi Leoanrd and James Harden. The Clippers also signed Ben Simmons as a buyout player. His defense, rebounding and passing will help them. However, in the playoffs, I worry it’ll look like what it looked like with Russell Westbrook last season when Westbrook was unplayable in the Clippers first round loss to the Mavericks.
I just don’t understand what the Hawks are doing? This was the best return they could get for Hunter? If you're selling low on Bogdanovic, why didn’t they also try and dump Clint Capela as well, someone who they likely are not going to re-sign. Was attaching 3 second round picks to Bogdanovic just to take back Terrence Mann’s 3-year-deal really worth it? This has been Mann’s worst season, he is 28 years old and they have to pay him $47 million over the next 3 seasons. This start of the season showed some promise for the Hawks but it has just fallen apart since that point they had lost 9 of 10 games before winning 2 in a row recently. They also can’t tank because they owe their first round pick unprotected to the Spurs due to the Dejounte Murray trade. This is all a mess for Atlanta and I don’t think they helped themselves on Thursday.
Suns trade Jusuf Nurkic and a 2026 first round pick to the Hornets for Cody Martin, Vasilije Micic and a 2026 2nd round pick
This trade for Phoenix is more about what they did not do. This trade for the Hornets was made after they made the move to trade Mark Williams to the Lakers, which has since fallen through. I wonder if that leads to Nurkic getting a buyout because behind Williams, Moussa Diabaté and even Taj Gibson, the minutes might not be there for Nurkic. Getting a first round pick in this deal is good business. Cody Martin is a solid player and the Suns will use him for the rest of the season but this was really a salary dump for next season for the Suns. If Phoenix waives Martin and Micic after the season, they will be under the second apron for the 2025-26 season. With what is coming this summer, that seems like an easy decision. I’m not sure how close a Kevin Durant trade was but by the sounds of it, it was pretty close. Which leads me to believe a deal could come this summer. According to Shams Charania, Golden State proposed a deal that would have landed the Suns Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga and a bunch of first round picks and pick swaps. Durant nixed the deal but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said a deal was close. That leads me to believe Phoenix sees Durant as their only escape from this version of their team because Beal won’t waive his no-trade clause (I don’t blame him) and Phoenix is not going to trade Devin Booker right now (though the Rockets, who own all the Suns draft picks, will come calling). Phoenix gave up so much to get Durant just 2 years ago for it to have gone this wrong, this quickly has to be a stunner to Phoenix fans.
Teams that didn’t do anything
Why the Magic, Thunder and Rockets did not make an upgrade to their teams ahead to the deadline is befuddling to me. Houston I can understand, they want to see what their team can be in the playoffs. I don’t think they’ll be able to score enough to win a series so a Jimmy Butler trade would have made a ton of sense to me but I could be wrong. Meanwhile, the Thunder have a chance to win the championship, they just got Chet Holmgren back so he will help, but there wasn’t a deal to be made? Cleveland is leading the east and struck a deal at the deadline and a bunch of teams in the west got better. They really couldn’t have made a play on Cam Johnson? They traded for Daniel Theis and immediately waived him so they stood pat at the deadline. Lastly, the Magic, who simply cannot score. Orlando is 29th in offense this season, only behind the Wizards, who just traded for Khris Middleton. Orlando owns all of their picks and a Nuggets pick this season. I was hoping they would trade for Anfernee Simons but Collin Sexton, CJ McCollum or even Middleton were not available for the Magic to acquire? They need a guard who can put the ball in the basket and they just didn’t do anything to get one at the trade deadline.
Other Notes
That Mark Williams trade falling through is a blow to both sides. The more I thought about it, the more I thought Hornets made out like bandits, getting Knecht, an unprotected first and a swap for a guy who is hurt all the time. However, the Lakers have a chance to win right now and a healthy Williams would have helped them with their switch heavy defense. Going into the playoffs with Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood as your centers is not a good thing. I really like the Pistons getting Dennis Schroder. He did not play well for Golden State but he was a weird fit for their system from the jump. Schroder did play well in Brooklyn where he was taking a lot more shots at the rim than he was for the Warriors. Schroder will help the Pistons second unit a lot. The Caleb Martin trade that the Mavericks made makes no sense to me. Sure, Quinton Grimes needs a new contract but taking on the remaining 3-years on Martin’s deal so you don’t have to pay Grimes was a confusing process to me. Grimes is a very similar player to Max Christie, who is awesome and a huge part of the Doncic for AD trade, but why are you attaching a pick to him to get Martin? The Kings had a solid deadline. I liked the Fox for LaVine deal, maybe they left something on the bone but still not a bad trade. The Jake LaRavia trade is a very good one, LaRavia has had a very good season and they did not give up much for him at all. Finally, the Jonas Valanciunas deal was fine, not my favorite trade but 2 seconds for a solid backup center isn’t something that will kill Sacramento. Lastly, Miami getting Davion Mitchell was a very good trade. First, they can sell Mitchell with jerseys number 45 on them, also he will help their point of attack defense and can operate as their backup point guard. Terry Rozier has been a mess this season.
One sentence takes
The Grizzlies trading Marcus Smart to Washington made me very upset. The Nets not moving D’Angelo Russell was a surprise to me, I expect him to re-sign this offseason. The Jazz being in every trade, making sure they got extra 2nd round picks was very smart and very funny. P.J. Tucker was so excited to be in Miami but then they traded him so that was sad. The Bucks getting Kevin Porter Jr. is nasty business, he has not even been good this season. The Reggie Jackson and a first round pick for Jared Butler and 4 second round picks was a fascinating one that no one is talking about. The Bulls hanging on to Vucevic was crazy to me. Same with the Hawks hanging on to Larry Nance and Clint Capela, I would have traded one of those guys. I don’t think Portland will ever trade Jerami Grant, he will be a Blazer forever. People love the buyout market but it really is not a thing, rarely do buyout players make big impacts on title contenders.
The trade deadline has passed so now we need to talk about the actual basketball being played. I am very excited for the 2nd half of the season.
Comments