The NBA trade deadline has come and gone and there’s no burying the lede here, the New York Knicks came away as the biggest winners in a landslide.
Every deadline comes with plenty of hope and when considering the recent acquisitions like Marc Gasol, Aaron Gordon, and Andrew Wiggins who have proven to be difference makers either immediately or further down the line for champion teams, there were several deals done that make for some fun guessing (or betting if that’s for you) as to who will emerge as the biggest difference maker.
The big names in James Harden, Pascal Siakam, and OG Anunoby were already dealt well before the deadline, and so this early February trade watch was about those moves around the margins that appear subtle right now but are just enough to swing a playoff series down the line.
Here are the biggest winners and losers of the 2024 NBA trade deadline:
BIGGEST WINNER: KNICKS
Deadline deals:
• Acquired Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from Pistons for Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono, and two future second-round picks.
Do not bat an eyelid and do not let your heart skip a beat if the Knicks are in the East finals. New York has been buzzing since the acquisition of OG Anunoby to the tune of a 16-3 record. Anunoby offered a significant upgrade defensively and for whatever may have been lost in surrendering Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett, that has now been addressed in a major way through the acquisitions of Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
Bogdanovic is a career 39.5 per cent three-point shooter and has hovered around 20 points per game over his last five seasons. He’s also a capable enough defender and at 6-foot-7 and 226 pounds, offers the team good size in a potential lineup that features all of Anunoby, Bogdanovic, and Julius Randle (when healthy) in a bigger lineup with Isaiah Hartenstein at the same time or even a “Biggie Smalls” lineup that could put Randle at the centre spot and one of Donte DiVincenzo or Josh Hart in the mix. Burks adds to the guard depth as a ball handler and shooter.
Until Randle returns from his dislocated shoulder injury, Bogdanovic will also provide a reliable scoring threat. All this to say, head coach Tom Thibodeau has a variety of options to choose from and one theme that is consistent across championship contenders is the ability to operate as a Swiss Army knife and be malleable to whatever matchups may be presented. New York may not have a legitimate second superstar, but this is about as well-rounded a roster a front office could put together under the current CBA restrictions.
Remember, by not relinquishing a single first-round pick in these transactions, there is still the opportunity to swing big in the summer.
BIGGEST LOSER: BULLS
Deadline deals: None
Rudderless and ambitionless, this hasn’t been your father’s Chicago Bulls in a long while and this fanbase remains clueless as to how and when they might see their team sniff anywhere close to the glory of the Derrick Rose days, let alone Michael Jordan.
Zach LaVine’s albatross of a contract and injury history ruled him out of a trade and with still two valuable players in Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan – the latter set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, it seemed imperative that the Bulls move off one of them if not both. In the end, a deal couldn’t even be secured for Andre Drummond.
The deadline has gone by and the Bulls are standing pat with a sub-.500 team (24-27) and one of the most underwhelming “Big Threes” in recent NBA history between LaVine, DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic.
NAILING THE MARGINS WINNERS: SIXERS, SUNS, CELTICS, WOLVES
Deadline deals:
•Sixers acquired Buddy Hield from the Pacers for Furkan Korkmaz, Marcus Morris, 2024 second-round pick (via Raptors), two 2029 second-round picks (via Clippers, Blazers), and cash considerations.
• Sixers also acquired Cameron Payne and a 2027 second-round pick from the Bucks for Patrick Beverley.
Philadelphia appears confident that Joel Embiid will return from injury in time for the post-season and, with that in mind, the addition of one of the best volume shooters in the league over the past several years in Buddy Hield is significant. The Sixers are dead-last in three-point frequency and 20th in three-point shooting while Hield averages nearly eight 3-point attempts per game for his career and has made 40.1 percent of his attempts. Throw in that trading Patrick Beverley away is being reportedly coupled with signing Kyle Lowry via the buyout market and the Sixers may be set to do something fans have been yearning for: peak at the right time. Now, we wait on Embiid.
•Suns acquired Royce O’Neale from the Nets and David Roddy from the Grizzlies in a three-team deal, sending Yuta Watanabe and Chimezie Metu to Memphis, meanwhile Brooklyn received Jordan Goodwin, Keita Bates-Diop, and three second-round picks.
Phoenix has quietly been steadying the ship after negotiating some murky waters to start the season, boasting a 16-6 record over the last 22 games. The addition of a model role player in Royce O’Neale who can defend multiple positions and shoots 38.1 percent from three for his career gives the team someone who is more than happy to do the dirty work that complements the pretty play of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. With limited options after the assets surrendered in acquiring Durant and Beal, coming away with O’Neale is a meaningful improvement around the margins.
• Celtics acquired Xavier Tillman from the Grizzlies for Lamar Stevens and 2027 (via Hawks) and 2030 (via Mavericks) second-round picks.
Boston is a well-oiled machine motoring along with the best record in the league. The hard yards were done in the off-season with the acquisitions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, but if you wanted to nitpick you could point to the health concerns at the centre position between the injury-prone Porzingis and a 37-year-old Al Horford.
The acquisition of Xavier Tillman is exactly the type of move that helps round out the edges and will ease the frontcourt concerns moving forward. At 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, Tillman is a load to deal with inside and will fit well into having to meet the minor needs and low minutes the Celtics will need from him.
• Wolves acquired Monte Morris from the Pistons for Shake Milton, Troy Brown Jr., and a 2030 second-round pick.
Minnesota was in need of a point guard that could provide reliable insurance for veteran Mike Conley and Monte Morris is an under-the-radar guard who was wasting away in Detroit. The seven-year veteran will be thrilled with the opportunity to transition from the worst team in the league to the top seed in the West.
STANDING PAT LOSERS: LAKERS, WARRIORS
Deadline deals:
• Lakers: None.
• Warriors acquired a second-round pick and cash considerations from the Pacers for Cory Joseph.
The writing has been on the wall for both the Lakers and the Warriors for quite some time now and both teams have come up empty after being linked to some of the biggest names of this trade season. L.A. was unable to come away with the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray while it speaks to the current state of Golden State that Siakam had more interest in playing for the Pacers in the long term than the Warriors.
After completely changing over the roster last trade deadline, it appears Rob Pelinka has determined the Lakers’ best path forward is to await the summer when the team will have three first-round picks to put on the table and possibly acquire a piece that makes them appreciably better than a Murray acquisition might’ve. Worth noting, it is being reported that the Lakers are the favourites to land Spencer Dinwiddie through the buyout market.
The Warriors, on the other hand, are left clinging on to the hope that Andrew Wiggins can emerge from what has been a complete malaise to this point, Klay Thompson can turn his season around, and Chris Paul provides a boost when he returns from injury as well. In the meantime, trending younger with more minutes for Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody appears to already be paying dividends. Is that even enough to make the Play-In tournament? The Warriors are on the outside looking in heading into Thursday night’s action.
EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM WINNER: CLIPPERS
The early bird catches the worm so don’t sleep on the L.A. Clippers getting its business done earlier than any other team. There were plenty of doubters when the James Harden trade was first made but, after some initial growing pains, it’s the Clippers well positioned to have the last laugh.
Since Nov. 15 – and a 3-7 start to the season – the Clippers have gone 31-9 including wins in 16 of the last 20 games. Harden is the point guard they’ve desperately needed in the Kawhi Leonard era and the 2017-18 MVP has made life easier for both Leonard and Paul George while also bringing out the best in Ivica Zubac due to his masterful pick-and-roll operation.
Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington were useful contributors when healthy, but that was a major asterisk the two carried during their time in Los Angeles. Health is always the big question with Leonard as the focal point, but Harden’s addition makes this Clippers team the biggest threat to take down the reigning champion Denver Nuggets in the West and the lack of activity from said Nuggets, Kings, Pelicans, Lakers, and Warriors only fortifies the Clippers’ position.
INCOMPLETE BUT HEY, CLARITY!: RAPTORS, HORNETS
Deadline deals:
• Raptors acquired Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji from Jazz for Otto Porter Jr., Kira Lewis, and a 2024 first-round pick (worst of Jazz’s, Rockets’, Thunder’s, Clippers’).
• Raptors also acquired Spencer Dinwiddie for Dennis Schroder and Thaddeus Young.
• Waived Spencer Dinwiddie.
The bare minimum that was required from the Toronto Raptors by this deadline was directional clarity. In that regard, consider it mission accomplished.
By moving on from Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby earlier in the year, the Raptors made it clear that the team is being built around a core of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett.
Development will be Plan A, B, and C moving forward and that’s why team president Masai Ujiri preached patience over and over when speaking after the Siakam trade. In Kelly Olynyk, the Raptors can explore what a big man who can space the floor and pick a pass looks like next to this core, while 23-year-old Ochai Agbaji gives Toronto a much-needed three-and-D wing player with some upside on a team that ironically pivoted away from Vision 6’9” so quickly that a player of Agbaji’s prototype virtually became a desperate need.
Dealing a veteran presence and backup point guard in Dennis Schroder is a bit puzzling when Spencer Dinwiddie was also waived upon acquisition, leaving the team without a suitable backup point guard. In his press conference, GM Bobby Webster revealed that flexibility this summer by way of reduced committed salaries is what influenced that decision. With all that’s left to be done in the summer, it’s hard to give this team more than an incomplete right now.
Keeping Bruce Brown Jr. means that he will see some of those backup guard minutes in addition to more ‘Point Scottie,’ but what happens with his team option worth approximately $22M in the summer will have an important trickle-down effect entering next season. Chris Boucher also remaining a Raptor through the deadline is a bit of a surprise after having fallen out of the rotation. Gary Trent Jr. must be great at Minesweeper but he also fits the timeline of this team and provides valuable three-point shooting depth.
• Hornets acquired Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, Davis Bertans and draft compensation from the Thunder for Gordon Hayward.
• Hornets also acquired Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a 2027 first-round pick from the Mavericks for P.J. Washington.
Despite not being in as desperate a situation as the Bulls, the Hornets saw the opportunity to clean up its roster in exchange for veterans and did so successfully. With the second overall pick in the 2023 draft Brandon Miller lighting it up since the departure of Terry Rozier and LaMelo Ball already in place, adding some low-usage veterans as well as some draft capital and young pieces who better fit the timeline moving forward makes perfect sense.