Usually, the NBA trade deadline is horrible. The NBA has perfected the use of social media to create tremendous levels of hype that consistently lets fans down. However, this year’s deadline brought huge fireworks that have completely shifted the balance of the league. In my opinion, here are the five most important moves.
Kevin Durant to the desert
KD was eviscerated by NBA fans for joining the Warriors in the 2016 off-season. It was widely considered a weak move because his Thunder had just blown a 3-1 series lead to the Warriors in the playoffs. Despite winning two NBA championships and two Finals MVP awards with the Warriors, KD was still feeling the heat from NBA fans to prove himself on a team that was not surrounded by star players. Thus, after the Raptors vanquished the Warriors in 2019, KD paired up with Kyrie Irving and joined the Brooklyn Nets. His time with the Nets was erratic. Irving was always embroiled in some type of controversy ranging from anti-Semitic social media posts to sitting out a significant number of games because he was unvaccinated. The Harden experiment went afoul after two years, forcing the Nets’ front office to trade him for Ben Simmons. This season has seen its ups and downs. KD requested a trade in the off-season and was granted the request on the trade deadline. He joins a Phoenix Suns team featuring Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and Deandre Ayton. The Suns went to the Finals in 2021 and lost to the Bucks. Again, it is a ready-made team. The Nets receive a significant draft haul and young starlets Mikal Bridges and Cameron Johnson. The Suns have gone all in, while the Nets are looking toward the future.
Kyrie Irving to Texas is meme-worthy
Irving has turned himself from one of the most popular players in the league to one of its most controversial. What better team to be traded to than a team in Texas? Irving had demanded the Nets provide him a fully guaranteed max contract in the summer. Joe Tsai and the front office made it clear he had to prove to the team that he would be available to play and not be a distraction during the season. Irving was highly offended that he had to actually behave like a proper professional and demanded a trade. He was actually the one who triggered the Durant trade, as the entire league understood that Irving leaving Brooklyn meant a Nets rebuild would be imminent. The Dallas Mavericks jumped at the opportunity. Luka Doncic is a bona fide superstar that desperately needed a co-star. There is no better co-star than the man who helped Lebron win his greatest championship. Irving provides another elite ball handler that can relieve the pressure Luka carries as the primary ball handler. The elite shooting and scoring ability is a massive bonus as well. The Mavs had to send the Nets a few draft picks with Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith. There is however a significant caveat. Unlike KD, Irving is an unrestricted free agent this summer which means he can leave. Dallas was not Irving’s choice: a reunion in LA with Lebron was always the goal. Therefore, the Mavs have amped up the pressure on Luka to deliver this season.
The Lakers wanted your best players so you capitulated
Lakers fans are actually disgusting. The most spoiled fanbase in the NBA can be routinely seen on social media recommending the most asinine trades in the known universe. The Lakers needed a proper point guard, a defender, and shooting. They traded Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones, and a draft pick to receive in return D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt. D’Lo is the point guard they needed who can handle and shoot. Malik Beasley is a fantastic scoring option that has a knack for hitting threes. Vanderbilt is headed toward being an elite defending and rebounding option. Somehow the Lakers flipped all their garbage for three pieces they really needed. But alas, these spoiled Lakers fans still complain that Irving is what they wanted. A much-maligned Lakers front office has delivered on the deadline and it is now up to thirty-eight-year-old Lebron James and the oft-injured Anthony Davis to lead the Lakers to glory again.
Impactful but unnoticed moves
The NBA has done a fantastic job promoting its star players, especially in using their journalistic mouthpieces to litter social media with rumours of huge trades. However, sometimes a depth move could shift the fortunes of a team. The Clippers decided to not get into the Irving sweepstakes. Instead, they added Westbrook via buyout and shipped out John Wall and Reggie Jackson to add Mason Plumlee and Eric Gordon. Westbrook has looked good with the Clippers while Gordon and Plumlee are two solid veterans that will aid in a championship run. The Sixers acquired a solid bench piece in Jalen McDaniels, moving on from Matisse Thybulle in the process. The Warriors decided to move former lottery pick James Wiseman in a deal that returned Gary Payton II. Interestingly, the Blazers lied about GPII’s medical records but the Warriors still went through with the trade despite GPII being injured for another month. For the sake of these front offices, hopefully, these moves pan out.
The Raptors decide on a path
I have been a strong supporter of Team Tank since November. This idea that being a mediocre first-round exit for the next five years makes no sense to me. How does this improve the organizational culture? How does this make the team better? A systemic advantage to North American sports is that incompetence and losing reward your team with a high draft pick. The doubters will say that a high draft pick does not guarantee a superstar player. That was never the argument. Rarely do the best players come from the G-League or the second round. Besides Nikola Jokic, can anyone think of another superstar that has come from the second round in the history of the league? Therefore, in my opinion, the Raptors should have traded Gary Trent Jr, Fred VanVleet, and Pascal Siakam. Instead, the Raptors traded Khem Birch and their 2024 first-round pick for Jakob Poeltl. Poeltl had been a popular trade option for contenders, but it was his former team that needed his services once again. The Raptors had needed a center since Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol left. However, after watching a few games with Poeltl the ceiling remains mediocre first-round exit. I believe the Raptors will bear the cost of not rebuilding very soon. If you never experienced early 2010s Raptors basketball, you will be in for a ride.