NBA Trade Deadline Recap
What a wild day at the deadline.
What a day. I really cannot remember a day at the deadline with this many moves since I’ve been following the NBA. We saw All Stars get moved for other All Stars along with key roll players being shipped to other squads.
Let’s start off with the block buster that set the league on fire.
Rumors swirled the past few days about a big time trade that’d send ten time All Star James Harden to the 76ers from Brooklyn and yesterday afternoon, that deal was made.
The eight place Nets are sending Harden to Philadelphia in exchange for guard and three time All Star Ben Simmons, guard Seth Curry, center Andre Drummond, and 2022, 2027 first round picks.
Brooklyn clears out Hardens contract while also adding Simmons, who hasn’t played this year. He had been holding out to be dealt to another squad and it seems like he’ll return to the hardwood in Brooklyn. The Nets also add a three point player in Seth Curry who is shooting 40% from three this year and Andre Drummond down low who is averaging 8.8 boards a game and 0.9 blocks.
The 76ers, who are fifth in the East, add a reliable scorer to go with one of the leagues best big men in Joel Embiid. This season Harden is averaging 22.5 points per game with 10.2 assists per game.
Philadelphia as a franchise wins this trade because they got rid of Simmons who wasn’t going to play for them this year and add the leagues best scorer. As a city, Philadelphia wins because James Harden is going to pour so much money into local strip clubs that it’ll boost the City of Brotherly Loves economy.
While this trade headlined the deadline, other moves were made that have massive impacts on teams. On Tuesday, a deal was made between the Pelicans and Trailblazers.
Portland, who sits at eleven in the West, dealt former Most Improved Player of the Year CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., and Tony Snell to the Pelicans, who are currently in the ten spot in the West. In exchange, the Trailblazers received guard Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, a 2022 first round pick, and 2026, 2027 second round draft picks.
My biggest note about this trade has to be that the Blazers are leaving Damian Lillard high and dry by shipping his counterpart McCollum to Nola. Lillard has been very loyal to the Blazers franchise and for them to just send away his Robin is cruel.
The Pelicans add a pure shooter who is shooting 38.4% from downtown while averaging 20.5 points per game and 4.5 assists per game. This is a big win for New Orleans as they are looking to make a late push for the playoffs.
Another notable trade that went down also came on Tuesday when the Kings and Pacers swapped three players each. The number thirteen Indiana Pacers sent two time All Star forward Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, and a 2023 second round pick to the number twelve Sacramento Kings in exchange for guards Buddy Hield, Tyrese Haliburton, and forward Tristan Thompson.
This trade is tough to judge who won because it seems like the Pacers are clearing house to rebuild, but they added two good young guards in Haliburton and Buddy Hield. This season, Hield is averaging 14.4 points per game and is shooting 36.8% from three. The second year man Haliburton is averaging 14.3 points per game, 7.4 assists per game, and is shooting 41.3% from downtown.
Indiana does lose arguably their best player in Sabonis though who is averaging 19 points per game and 12.1 rebounds a game which is tied for fourth in the league. In his Kings debut, the sixth year man put up 22 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists.
The real headline from this trade though is where will Tristan Thompson find his next baby mama in Indiana? My Indianapolis correspondent Mantis predicts that Tiki Bobs, Top Golf, and Dave and Busters could be the spot for the journeyman forward to prowl for a new baby mama. We’ll just have to wait and see.
The final trade that really caught my eye at the deadline was a four teamer between the Pistons, Kings, Bucks, and Clippers.
The dismal Detroit Pistons received fourth year forward Marvin Bagley III who is scoring 9.3 points per game with 7.2 rebounds per game. In exchange they sent a second round pick to Milwaukee and guard Josh Jackson, forward Trey Lyles, and a second round pick to Sacramento.
Sacramento got a boatload in this trade. They received guard Donte DiVincenzo from Milwaukee who is averaging 7.2 points per game. The Kings also received Josh Jackson, Trey Lyles, and a second rounder from the Pistons, and David Michineau from the Clippers.
Milwaukee, who is second in the East, landed two time blocks leader Serge Ibaka and cash considerations from the Clippers along with second round picks from Detroit and Sacramento. The Clippers who are trying to hold the eight spot in the west brought in forwards Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye from the Bucks and Serbian guard Vanja Marinkovic from the Kings.
The Bucks do lose a solid bench scorer in DiVincenzo, but they add defensive depth and leadership from adding Ibaka. It’s tough to see who the big winner of this trade is because two of the teams involved are out of the playoff picture.
Like I mentioned prior, this trade deadline was a WILD one, one that I haven’t seen since I’ve been watching the NBA and it was great to watch the madness unfold on ESPN.
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