The NBA trade deadline has come and gone so I am here to break down the big deal that has happened over the past week. I would like to say I will be putting a Trail Blazers blog out next week so I will not cover them here.
We will start with the Clippers acquiring Norman Powell and Robert Covington from Portland in exchange for Keon Johnson, Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, and a 2025 2nd round pick (via the Pistons). I love this for the Clippers. Adding Powell helps that championship chase in 2022-23 and beyond and they did not have to pay a huge price to get him. He is a two-way wing that can score the ball effectively. Averaging 18.9 points per game on shooting splits of .46/.41/.85, Powell gives the Clippers wing who can put the ball on the floor and score it. He is on a big contract so that is a risk for LA to take on but Steve Balmer can afford it. Covington gives the Clippers another 4 who can play small ball 5. He has had a down year shooting just 38% this season and 34% on threes and is a free agent at the end of the season so this could be just a rental for the Clippers.
The next domino to fall is the Cleveland Cavaliers acquiring Caris LeVert from the Indiana Pacers. Cleveland needed a guard, after losing both Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio (who went back to Indiana in the trade) for the season they have been relying on Darius Garland and Rajon Rondo to play their guard minutes, and while Garland is an All-Star, that is not good enough. Enter Caris LeVert who will immediately be an upgrade for the Cavs. His ability to score the ball is something that Cleveland desperately needs, and even though he has his limitations he will help the Cavs. The Pacers got a great return in this trade. Ricky Rubio’s expiring contract along with the Cavs lottery protected pick in this year's draft, the Rockets 2022 second rounder (which will be in the low 30’s) and the Jazz 2027 second round. They could have as many as 3 picks in the top 35 of the draft, quickening the turnover of the franchise from this era post Paul George era of mediocrity to a new era.
The Portland tear down continued when the Blazers traded CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., and Tony Snell to the Pelicans for Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, a 2022 first round pick*, and 2 future second round picks (*if this pick is either 1-4 or 15-30 the Pelicans will send Portland a protected 2025 first round pick via the Bucks). To me, this is not a needle mover for New Orleans, more of a desperation move by David Griffin so he can save his job. McCollum is great, the dude is a straight bucket, but he is only shooting 43% this season and 38% from 3, not to mention he is in the first year of a 3yr/$100 million extension he signed in 2019 and has about $70 million left on it after this season. That needs to improve because his playmaking is decent at best and he is a net negative on defense. Tony Snell is bad and is a throw-in so Portland can match roster spots, though he has not missed a free throw in 3 years so that is impressive. Larry Nance is a big get for the Pelicans, he is very good. A rim running, small ball 5, who can play the 4, and is very ‘switchable’ on defense. Losing Hart is going to hurt New Orleans too, he is really good on defense and the Pelicans defense was bad with him, I do not think Herb Jones can guard every player on the court, no matter how long his arms are. Overall, I think New Orleans overpaid.
The Kings and Pacers pulled off a blockbuster on Tuesday afternoon, as Indiana sent Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, and a second round pick to Sacramento for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson. It was shocking, when this “Woj Bomb” dropped. Sabonis is an All-Star, a legit All-Star, averaging 18.9 points and 12.1 rebounds, the Kings are acquiring a really good player. However, I cannot fathom the fact that they traded Tyrese Haliburton. Averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 assists this season, those numbers jump to about 19 points and 10 assists per game when De’Aaron Fox does not play. He is just 21 years old and is in his second NBA season, meaning he has two years left (after this season) on his rookie contract before becoming a restricted free agent, giving the Pacers the right to match any deal, meanwhile Sabonis has two years until he is an unrestricted free agent and he can just leave. Not to mention Indiana also received Buddy Hield in the trade, who is a career 40% 3 point shooter on high volume. I think this is a home run for the Pacers, and one I don’t love for the Kings. Did they acquire the best player, yes, Sabonis is really good and arguably becomes the Kings best player. Yet, trading Haliburton would have been a non-starter for me, he has a chance to be really good and seemed committed to turning it around in Sacramento.
The Clippers, Kings, Bucks, and Pistons got the ball rolling with a 4 team trade on Thursday in which the Bucks got Serge Ibaka (Clippers), and 2 second round picks, the Kings got Donte DiVincenzo (Bucks), Josh Jackson (Pistons), and Trey Lyles (Pistons), the Pistons got Marvin Bagley (Kings), and the Clippers got Semi Ojeleye (Bucks) and Rodney Hood (Bucks). This trade was simply a salary dump for the Clippers so they could save on their tax bill. The Bucks got the big they needed in the worst way with Brook Lopez being out. It is a mystery how much Ibaka has left in the tank but if he has something left, he will help Milwaukee. The Kings getting Donte DiVincenzo with only giving up Bagley is a huge win. DiVincenzo is a player who has struggled since returning from injury but will help the Kings. Finally the Pistons get a former number 2 overall pick in Bagley who still has a lot of talent.
The Wizards and Mavericks made a stunning trade when the teams exchanged Kristaps Porzingis and a 2nd round pick for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. There were rumors about a potential Porzingis trade but I did not see one actually happening. Averaging 19.2 points and 7.7 rebounds on shooting splits of .45/.28/.86, Porzingis has regressed ever since he was traded to the Mavericks in February 2019. He was awful in the playoff series against the Clippers and Dallas decided they needed to pull the plug on a failed attempt on a second star with Luka Doncic. Now, they did not take back good contracts but splitting the big Porzingis contract into 2 could allow Dallas to make other moves in the future. For Washington it makes sense to take a flier on Porzingis. He is a watered down version of ‘the unicorn’ he was in New York, but the player could still be in there somewhere, unlikely but still possible. Dinwiddie has been a disaster since signing in Washington this summer and Bertans has been bad since signing a big extension back in 2020, so it is a low risk, high reward move for Washington, or about as low risk as trading for a guy with 2yrs/$69.8 million left on his contract can be. With Bradley Beal out for the season and about to hit free agency, I do not think that Porzingis should be the deciding factor for Beal on whether he stays or leaves.
The Spurs and Celtics agreed to a big under the radar trade as well on Thursday. Boston acquired Derrick White from the Spurs in exchange for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first round pick, and a first round pick swap in 2028. That is a lot but White is a good add for the Celtics. They are a defensive minded team and with adding White and Daniel Theis from the Rockets, it makes Boston 3rd rated defense even better than it already was. White will also be able to allow Boston to never worry about poor defense at the point guard position, the team can trot Marcus Smart and Derrick White on to the court for 48 minutes per game, which sucks for opponents. For the Spurs, they add Josh Richardson, who is having a big bounce back season for the Celtics shooting 40% from 3 point range, Romeo Langford, who has been a disappointment since Boston drafted him 14th overall in the 2019 draft, but still has some potential, a likely late teens first round pick, which allows them to add more youth to a young team, and a pick swap in 2028 because you never know what can happen.
There were smaller deals as well. The Hornets traded Ish Smith and Vernon Carey Jr. to the Wizards for Montrezl Harrell. Harrell, who was close to signing with the Hornets in 2020, gives the Hornets another good scorer, though defense will still be an issue for Charlotte, as they cannot stop a fly. The Suns acquired Torrey Craig from the Indiana Pacers for Jalen Smith and a future 2nd rounder. Craig, who is being acquired by Phoenix for the 2nd straight trade deadline, gives the Suns the big wing some said they were lacking, the team also acquired Aaron Holiday from the Wizards. The Raptors acquired Thad Young and a 2022 2nd round pick (via the Pistons) for Goran Dragic and a 2022 first round pick. Young will help Toronto and is worth giving up 10 draft slots for. For the Spurs they got good value for a guy that was not even in their rotation. Finally, the Jazz acquired Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Juan Hernangomez in a 3 team trade while sending out Joe Ingles (who is out for the season and will be a free agent), Elijah Hughes, and 2 future 2nd round picks. It is a fine trade, Utah gives up very little to take a flier on a young player but it is not the needle moving trade that I think would have given them a real chance to win the West.
Let’s talk a bit about the teams who did not make moves at the deadline. I want to start in Houston who made one trade, sending Daniel Theis to Boston for Dennis Schroder, Bruno Fernando, and Enes Freedom (who was waived by the Rockets). They kept Eric Gordon, Christain Wood, and John Wall, however. I understand keeping Wall as that contract is untradeable and Wood is an interesting player, that they were not going to just give away. However, why are they keeping Eric Gordon? His contract is moveable and he is 33 years old so he is not a part of the future. What does keeping him allow you to do? They were trying to get a first round pick for him but even if that was not offered, I assume that they were offered a young player and second round picks, why is that not enough? Also, why not try and offer the Lakers, who we will get to, Gordon and Wall for Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and a 2027 protected first round pick? It does not make sense why Eric Gordon still plays for the Rockets past the trade deadline.
The Los Angeles Lakers also stood pat at the deadline. I understand not wanting to trade Russell Westbrook and a pick for John Wall but there was nothing else for you to do? You could not move Talen Horton-Tucker for some shooting? This team is a mess, after getting humiliated at home by the defending champion Bucks, the Lakers went into Portland and played the Blazers G-League team with Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic, and lost in a game where both LeBron and AD played. They are 26-31 and sitting in 9th place in the Western Conference. They are bad, Russell Westbrook has been a worse fit than anyone could have imagined, and they have a team filled with a bunch of minimum players. What a mess. There is not a savior coming to save them, it might be a rough end to the season for the Lakers.
The Knicks are another team that did nothing at Thursday’s deadline. Sitting 12th in the Eastern Conference, this season has not gone to plan after finishing 4th last season. You could say this team has been a disappointment and I would agree but there is not enough talent. Evan Fournier and Kemba Walker look like they did in Boston at the end of last season and Julius Randle, Alec Burks, and Nerlens Noel have regressed from their 2020-21 form. R.J. Barrett is good and has shown flashes but this team needed to make a move and they didn’t except acquiring Cam Reddish in January, who can’t even get off the bench. This is a mediocre team that lacks talent, and the Knicks did nothing to change that over the past week.
The trade deadline has come and gone with a few teams setting themselves up for a run at the play-in/playoffs, while others hit reset and look to the future. It is where teams show what they really think of their present roster and if it is good enough for a run or they need to make upgrades. Now we move on as teams start and make those runs at the playoffs.
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