As the clock counted down on the NBA trade deadline Thursday, it was the Los Angeles Clippers who drained a shot at the buzzer, while the Chicago Bulls seemed unable to execute the play drawn up in the huddle.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant were supposed to be the biggest names on the move by Thursday afternoon and yet the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies held their ground. And yet the Grizzlies managed to show they had other options.
The Dallas Mavericks were still trying to dig themselves out of the hole they made for themselves in advance of last year’s deadline, while the Golden State Warriors shut down the trade season after inspiring some head scratching.
With the second half of the NBA season already upon us, even if the All-Star break has yet to arrive, there were multiple winners and losers as the trade deadline passed.
WINNERS
Cleveland Cavaliers
At least for the time being, the Cavaliers figured out how to make themselves a better team, all while sitting in a top-four spot in the Eastern Conference. Good-bye Lonzo Ball, De’Andre Hunter and the injured Darius Garland. Hello Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroder and James Harden.
Cleveland loses 10 years in the Harden-Garland swap but they suddenly have scoring punch for when star guard Donovan Mitchell goes to the bench. It was a glaring weakness for a top team, and while Harden, 36, is an older player, he has been durable.
The Cavaliers are on a 9-2 run and they have yet to integrate their new pieces, although Ellis and Schroder did make their team debut Wednesday … in an blowout road victory over their trade partner, the Los Angeles Clippers.
Los Angeles Clippers
Considering the Clipper were an old team with no first-round draft pick this year and a 6-21 record to start the season, the path to a brighter future is now paved.
Harden was swapped for a 26-year-old in Darius Garland, who has a two All-Star Game appearances and a tight relationship with Los Angeles head coach Tyronn Lue. What Garland will need moving forward is better health.
The Clippers also addressed their empty vault of draft picks by landing two first-rounders when they moved center Ivica Zubac, whose old-school game lacks the versatility of today’s big men. And yet the Clippers also added Bennedict Mathurin from the Pacers in the deal.
The Clippers now have the fifth overall pick from the 2019 draft (Garland), the No. 6 overall pick from 2022 (Mathurin) and two first-round picks for the future.
Memphis Grizzlies
Trading Morant was supposed to bring Memphis the kind of draft capital, similar to what the Oklahoma City Thunder had acquired to build their current empire and make it formidable for years to come.
With teams seemingly unsure of where Morant sees himself down the road, the Grizzlies traded Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Utah Jazz for a package that includes three first-round draft picks. Add that the to the four first-round picks they landed this offseason by trading Desmond Bane to Orlando, and Memphis can see a bright future, all in a matter of nine months.
LOSERS
Chicago Bulls
A haul of second-round draft picks would be impressive in baseball and formidable in football. In basketball, the stars that emerge from the second round do exist, but not as much as the Bulls are going to need them to develop.
The Bulls now have 14 second-round draft picks through 2032 and only five of them are their own. And Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu and Nikola Vucevic are gone now from a roster that was hovering around the bottom of play-in eligibility.
Guard Jaden Ivey is a nice pickup, assuming injury issues are behind him, but was there not a single first-round pick to be had this week?
Golden State Warriors
The reported pursuit of Antetokounmpo inspired dreams of the Greek Freak playing alongside Steph Curry as the former champions combine their star power to chase at least one more title. Oh well.
Not only that, sending out Jonathan Kuminga seemed like it would bring a decent return. But even while combining Kuminga with Buddy Hield, the Warriors were only able to land Kristaps Porzingis. At least Porzingis is on an expiring contract.
Golden State is currently eighth in the West, but that is merely a spot in the play-in tournament. Can Curry will another deep playoff run with the squad he has around him?
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers won last year’s trade season by ripping away Luka Doncic from the Mavericks, but with merely a handful of expiring contracts to deal, they were going to have to be clever to land the kind of upgrade they needed this time around.
Enter Luke Kennard, who was acquired Thursday. While Kennard coached by JJ Redick offers intrigue, he is not the most aggressive of talented sharpshooters and it is hard to see him being more assertive on a team when Doncic and LeBron James are yearning for the ball.
If only Dalton Knecht turned into the confident shooter Los Angeles envisioned. Maybe a 3-and-D forward would be on his way instead.
