This past Thursday, February 15th, was the NBA trade deadline.
The NBA trade deadline consists of three different types of teams: the buyers are searching to reload on talent that can help them to compete for a championship this season.
The holders are teams that either feel they have the talent already or are not willing to give away any of their pieces quite yet.
The sellers are teams ready to trade their older, more expensive players and receive either draft picks or young players with potential in return.
With only positive goals in mind, general managers pull the trigger on many risky trades each year which ultimately lead to quite a few winners and losers of the trade deadline.
Winners
Dallas Mavericks
New Projected Starting Five:
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Luka Doncic
SF: Josh Green
PF: PJ Washington
C: Daniel Gafford
Who they brought in: Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington, 2024 2nd round pick, 2028 2nd round pick
Who they gave away: Grant Williams, Richaun Holmes, Seth Curry, 2027 1st round pick.
During the 2023-2024 NBA season the Dallas Mavericks have been plagued with injuries including rookie center Dereck Lively. To combat this, Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison brought in 25 year old center Daniel Gafford.
The Mavericks have also struggled to find a 3rd scoring option to compliment their star backcourt. Harrison feels he has found the right guy in 25 year old forward PJ Washington who already has a 43 point game in the first half of the season.
New York Knicks
New Projected Starting Five:
PG: Jalen Brunson
SG: Donte Divencenzo
SF: OG Anunoby
PF: Julius Randle
C: Isaiah Hartenstein
Who they brought in: OG Anunoby, Precious Achiuwa, Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks
Who they gave away: RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono, 2024 2nd round pick
With the injury to defensive power Mitchell Robinson and the struggle to spread the court, the Knicks front office made an essential trade for 3 and D wing OG Anunoby. Anunoby is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and is able to knock down corner threes with ease.
The Knicks also traded for Bojan Bogdanovic who averages around 20 PPG while shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc. Hingham High School student Andrew Sullivan explains “Before the deadline the Knicks struggled to shoot it. I really feel that was the only thing holding them from being a contender.”
Losers
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls lost this year’s trade deadline because GM Marc Eversley went silent on Thursday. The Bulls front office has not made a trade since August 2021. After dealing with an injury to their skilled point guard Lonzo Ball the Bulls have fallen into mediocrity.
The Bulls finished the 2023 season with a 40-42 record. Hingham High school student and Chicago Bulls fan says “It’s starting to be difficult to watch games knowing this team is satisfied with not being good. I’m tired of being a Bulls fan.”
They proceeded to have an underwhelming offseason and were the team to watch when this year’s deadline approached. They failed to complete any trades and are sitting as the 9 seed in the east with a 26-29 record. After this trade deadline it seems that Bulls fans are in for a rough rest of the season.
Detroit Pistons
Who they brought in: Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono, Mike Muscala, 2024 2nd round pick, and 2025 2nd round pick
Who they gave away: Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Monte Morris, Marvin Bagley, Isaiah Livers, 2024 2nd round pick, and 2026 2nd round pick.
The Pistons are 8-46 and have the worst record in the NBA this season. Coming into the trade deadline as complete sellers they hoped to begin their push to a rebuild successfully.
The Pistons were able to trade away five
older rotational pieces, but the return in these trades were subpar. The Pistons were unable to get any significant trade capital and are now in an even worse place for the future. The only good piece the Pistons acquired was SG/SF Quentin Grimes.
