Biggest Winners and Losers of the NBA Trade Deadline
The most recent NBA trade deadline was one of the craziest NBA trade deadlines of all time. Some teams made historical deals and others not so much or even at all. Let’s speak on our top 3 biggest winners and losers of the trade deadline.
Winner: Phoenix Suns
Anything tied to Kevin Durant has to be a W. Despite his injury KD has shown 0 signs of slowing down. He’s now with the trio of CP3, D Book, and Ayton, giving the Suns the best chance they have to make that push to the finals once more. The only loss the Suns took was depth but with the impact of KD, all of those wounds will be covered up.
Winner: Brooklyn Nets
This team has a 2018 Nets feeling once more! No more dysfunction, no more confusion. With the addition of Bridges, Johnson, Finney-Smith, Dinwiddie, and the rising talent of Cam Thomas, the future looks bright. Some of the picks acquired can be used for potential trade bait, but I for sure wouldn’t count the Nets out yet.
Winner: Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are the 13th seed as of currently, (things are bound to change) but with the necessary depth gained through Beasley, Vanderbilt, and Russell this playoff push might not be as out of proportion as you think. This won’t solidify their spot back to the back game, but it’ll be interesting to possibly see what a full year with this team can do.
Now for our losersβ¦
Loser: Chicago Bulls
The Bulls failed at the one thing that they were supposed to do, which was to gain and trade assets. This trade deadline was supposed to be an automatic hit for the Bulls. Derozan, Lavine, and Vucevic had to go, yet they couldn’t make a move with the limited cap space the Bulls have. I can’t see any splashes in free agency as well.
Loser: Portland Trail Blazers
With an aging superstar in Damian Lillard, time is ticking for contention in Portland. The moves that were made didn’t help either. They gained nothing and they lost their best defender in GPII so contention is out the window. If I were Dame, I would personally request a trade.
Loser: Toronto Raptors
They simply waited too long. GM and president Masai Ujiri simply held too long and honestly overvalued their biggest trading piece in OG Anunoby. The Raptors have so many pieces, I was certain a move was going to be made, but because they held out it’ll be a rigorous process to get the promised land where they once were 3 years ago.
This was one of the wildest trade deadlines we had in a while. I’m definitely tuned in to see what happens in the off-season!
