The Winners And Losers Of The 2019 NBA Trade Deadline


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The 2019 NBA trade deadline has finally passed and, when it was all said and done, there was plenty of major movement around the league as teams took some big swings to improve their standing for this year.

While the focus was on Anthony Davis and the Lakers, it was the Eastern Conference’s best teams that all made significant moves ahead of the deadline in what is shaping up to be a very exciting and fun playoff race between the top four teams for the right to go to the Finals. As with every deadline, there were teams that looked for immediate improvement, while others made more future-facing moves.

Here, we’ll look at the winners and losers of the deadline, with the caveat that there are more winners than losers because I think a number of teams did well, while only a few truly fell short of their goals.

WINNERS

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Milwaukee Bucks: The Bucks hold the best record in the NBA and got better at the deadline by trading for Nikola Mirotic, without having to part ways with any of their rotation pieces. That constitutes a winner, and it gives Mike Budenholzer more toys to play with in terms of getting creative with roster combinations, along with adding more spacing around potential MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Dallas Mavericks: The Mavs obviously made a big splash with Kristaps Porzingis, but once they brought him in they had a vision for how to maximize their opportunity for next season and executed it. Dallas shipped Harrison Barnes off to Sacramento and cleared the biggest trade exception in NBA history in the process, along with near max cap space for this summer. If the goal is to build around Luka Doncic and Porzingis, they had to reset their timeline by a year or two and they succeeded in doing so. Now it’s up to the front office to put the right pieces in place, but they’ve laid the groundwork to get good again in a hurry and sustain that success.

Toronto Raptors: Toronto has scuffled a bit of late, and, while they didn’t make as big of a splash as the Sixers did with their frontcourt upgrade, I think they managed to do well and not overspend at the deadline in getting Marc Gasol. They knew they needed to do something as the Bucks and Sixers made moves and Boston has hit its stride of late, and Gasol isn’t who he once was but still gives them a very good two-way center who, provided he buys in, is an upgrade over Valanciunas right now. Toronto has to be all in on this season, because the goal is to convince Kawhi Leonard to stay around. That will truly determine if they’re winners or losers here, but they did something to put themselves in a better position to make the Finals and that’s what you want.

Philadelphia 76ers: Now, Philly gave up a lot for Tobias Harris, but he’ll add a lot to that team, particularly offensively, and gives them as good a starting five as you’ll find east of the Bay. Like Dallas, they had a vision and executed it by going all-in on this season. Adding Harris is big and they supplemented their wing depth with Jonathan Simmons in the Markelle Fultz trade (and got back the OKC first-rounder they dealt to Orlando in 2017). While that’s not great value for a recent top overall pick, Fultz is a unique situation and they needed to get something in return and managed to do so. Not only does Harris give them four potential All-Stars in the lineup, but he gives them something of insurance this summer with Jimmy Butler. It seems difficult for them to re-sign both, but the odds are greater of them being able to sign one of them and keep a solid big three core for the future.

Los Angeles Clippers: On the flip side of that deal are the Clippers, who likewise created a plan and executed it, going in a different direction. L.A. dealt an expiring deal and brought back a pair of first rounders, a pair of second rounders, and a young shooting guard in Landry Shamet who seems to fit well next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They flipped Mike Muscala for Ivica Zubac, who fits their timeline much better, and while they weren’t moves to claw into the postseason this year, the Clippers are well positioned to build around a star or two this summer in free agency — as well as being able to rebuild more slowly if they strike out.

Chicago Bulls: I genuinely don’t know the last time I thought Chicago made a good trade, but I think they did so on Wednesday! Otto Porter Jr. is definitely overpaid, but he’s also a very good player and is a nice complement to Zach LaVine. If they didn’t get someone at the deadline, they would’ve had to find someone to pay this summer with all the cap space they were set to have, and that likely would’ve meant overpaying someone probably worse than Porter for more years than Porter has left on his deal. Getting Porter out of a Jabari Parker deal is also a tremendous move, so kudos to Gar Forman? That’s uncomfortable to say.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Again, they had a plan and did very well to execute it over the course of the year, culminating in the deadline week. They’ve brought in a pair of first round picks as well as five or six second rounders this year, replenishing their asset pool and doing pretty well to get value out of expiring or near-expiring veterans they clearly don’t need right now. It’ll be a slower build in Cleveland than many other places, but they’re off to a pretty good start all things considered.

Boston Celtics: They still have a shot at Anthony Davis this summer and that is a win, even if their big move was shipping Jabari Bird out to open up a roster spot and money for the buyout market.

Tillman Fertitta and Ted Leonisis: Congrats on getting out of the luxury tax, rich guys! You did it!

WINNER AND LOSER AT THE SAME TIME

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New Orleans Pelicans: If the goal was to give the Lakers false hope all along, then dammit they did a pretty good job. Anthony Davis is still on the roster and the Lakers failed to do anything at the deadline to increase their chances of contending this season. They also got lots of second round picks for Mirotic. However, on the flip side, Davis is still on the roster and they still must navigate the very tricky waters of trading him this summer (and likely needing to play him at least some the rest of this season). It’s not a guarantee what they get offered this summer beats the Lakers deal, but L.A.’s offer wasn’t some amazing package that they couldn’t refuse. If Boston actually puts on the table what they’re capable of, or the Knicks land the top pick and offer it, it’s probably worth it. If Danny Ainge does Danny Ainge things and comes in well below that and New York gets the third pick, it probably wasn’t.

LOSERS

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Los Angeles Lakers: They wanted Anthony Davis really bad and did not get him. Instead, they made a nice trade for Reggie Bullock and flipped Zubac and Michael Beasley for Muscala and probably will sign Carmelo Anthony. That’s not real great. The Lakers still have a chance this summer to get Davis. They still could possibly get another top star in free agency. But there’s a reason they wanted this deal done now and it’s because it was the only way to guarantee they have a legit star next to LeBron for next season, and that didn’t happen. It wasn’t a total loss as Bullock and Muscala are helpful role players, but the ceiling for this team feels like it didn’t change.

Rich Paul and Anthony Davis: Along with that, the power play by Davis and Paul did not work as they intended. Now Davis has to play out the season (however much NOLA allows him to) and wait to learn his fate this summer. I think the biggest issue for Paul and Davis was simply overestimating how good the Lakers offer would look to New Orleans. They played their cards and L.A. simply couldn’t wow the Pelicans to budge of their seeming hard line stance of not acquiescing to the demands of all three.

Atlanta Hawks: This is on a much more minor scale than L.A., but the Hawks went into the deadline looking to sell off veterans and didn’t find a trade for any of them. Jeremy Lin, Dewayne Dedmon, and Kent Bazemore are all still on the Hawks as of this moment, and Atlanta will likely buy Lin and/or Dedmon out soon and get no assets in return. Now, aside from Dedmon, making the money work with Lin and Baze would have been difficult without bringing back long-term money, but this is a team that, while I know they’ve been much better of late, still is a couple years away from really being a player out East. If the hold up was taking on money for next year to get a solid asset, then I feel like that was worth it. Maybe the offers just weren’t there, but it feels like Atlanta missed a bit of an opportunity on Thursday to add to their stockpile of picks.

Houston Rockets: They added Iman Shumpert and will probably get someone else off the waiver wire after clearing some roster spots, but the deadline in Houston was all about freeing Tillman Fertitta’s pockets from the luxury tax and that just shouldn’t be a concern for a legit contender. I don’t think they got worse and might’ve actually gotten marginally better, but this is supposed to be one of the league’s best teams and they spent the deadline worried about the tax instead of really chasing a title.

Washington Wizards: Speaking of getting out of the luxury tax, it’s the Washington Wizards! I don’t hate them getting out from under Otto Porter’s contract, given the John Wall injury, but Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker aren’t exactly inspiring additions — although Portis is a very useful rotation player. They flipped Markieff Morris for Wesley Johnson in a move that can’t be spun as anything other than a mad dash to dip below the tax line. At once, I get it. Wall is done for this season and likely all of next, it’s time to readjust the timeline. The problem is, they are apparently intent on keeping Trevor Ariza and maybe even Jeff Green going forward, which doesn’t help them get younger or really brighten the future.

As you can see in winners, I’m all about having a plan and going after it in these immediate reactions, because at least there was a method to the madness. The Wizards seem to be half-assing it by not being sure whether to rebuild or tread water til Wall gets back, and it’s going to leave them about where they are now.

Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves: Two of four teams to do nothing at the deadline, but I think the two that had the most to gain of that group by doing … something. The Wolves obviously made their big move with the Jimmy Butler trade, but in an NBA where there were a lot of buyers, I think Minnesota could’ve pivoted a veteran or two into assets without making themselves demonstrably worse in the short-term.

Charlotte is the bigger loser of the two as they failed to give Kemba Walker any help, which is both bad for their playoff chase this season and doesn’t send the greatest message to the All-Star as he enters free agency. Not getting Marc Gasol after being apparently at the finish line on a deal on Tuesday night might come back to haunt them, and they also failed to land Nikola Mirotic from the Pelicans. It still seems more than likely Walker stays in town, but Charlotte needed to make some kind of move and simply didn’t.

Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin: They got traded three times in a week and then unceremoniously waived by the Pacers. It’s a cold world out there.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Memphis Grizzlies: I lean more towards loser on the Grizzlies. I think the Avery Bradley trade was weird and not sure how that fits with the plan. However, while they certainly didn’t get a lot for Marc Gasol, they get a pretty solid younger big in Valanciunas and a young wing in Delon Wright that can at least help kickstart the rebuild. They clearly didn’t like the offers for Mike Conley and there’s no rush in moving him if the assets coming back simply weren’t worthwhile. Memphis is, well, a strange situation so it’s not a surprise they had a strange, difficult to read deadline.

Orlando Magic: I lean more towards winner with the Magic, but everything they did rides on the health of Markelle Fultz. This could be a home run if he is indeed able to get right after rehabbing his shoulder and thanks to the lack of expectations and focus on Orlando to ease him back in. Still, they gave up a first-round pick and what should be a very good second rounder to get him, which is worth the gamble, I think, on his talent, but there still is major risk to setting them further back in their build.

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