The final numbers from the NBA trade deadline: eight current and past All-Stars, some of them recent All-NBA selections, some among the league’s highest scorers and three Olympic gold medalists, all headed to new homes.
Luka Dončić and Anthony Davis got blindsided by a blockbuster. De’Aaron Fox gets to throw lobs to Victor Wembanyama now. Jimmy Butler got his wish, sort of. P.J. Tucker has, on paper, been on four teams in about a week. Dennis Schroder was basically part of four teams in the span of about 18 hours. Zach LaVine went to Sacramento, a place he considers home.
It’s over. It was wild, but Thursday’s trade deadline has passed. And more than a few teams — the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets among them — have to be feeling good about what they pulled off over the last few days.
“That’s the NBA that we live in,” said LaVine, who went from the Chicago Bulls to the Kings, a team he signed an offer sheet with in 2018 and now gets to finally play for after all this time. “And that’s the business of basketball.”
Teams navigated their way around first aprons, second aprons, tax lines and more. Some did it with an eye on the future. Some did it with eyes on contending now, like the move that brought Butler to the Warriors. The Lakers did it with eyes on both now and the future, figuring Dončić alongside LeBron James will be great immediately and betting that Dončić — if they can keep him — will be the face of the franchise for years to come.
“We’re talking about a 25-year-old that is a top-three player in the universe,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said. “I can’t think of a more amazing starting point to build a roster for the next decade.”
Phoenix was Butler’s preferred destination after his relationship with the Heat deteriorated and couldn’t be salvaged. Talks surrounding Kevin Durant were had; Durant stayed with the Suns, as did Bradley Beal and Devin Booker. In the end, it was Golden State that got the Butler deal done — at a big price, with Andrew Wiggins leading the list of what the Warriors had to give up.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry texted Butler at halftime of the Golden State-Utah game Wednesday night. Butler sent a response; Curry didn’t say what it was, other than revealing it was “a very pleasant message.”
“I understand there’s a lot of drama down there and who really knows what the story is,” Curry said. “We expect to have a motivated, committed Jimmy that’s ready to impact our team for the better. Got to work out the kinks of what it looks like and I’m excited to get to work and kind of feed off the energy of something new.”
Butler has been an Olympic gold medalist, like Davis and Khris Middleton, who got sent to Washington after a long, great run in Milwaukee. Dončić, Davis, Butler and Fox were recent All-NBA picks; that list doesn’t include the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Julius Randle and the New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns, who were swapped for one another as camps were beginning last fall. LaVine has been an All-Star, as has Brandon Ingram — sent from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Toronto Raptors.
Big names. Big moves. Some big risks were taken. The Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers added De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks, while the defending champion Boston Celtics kept their core basically intact. The Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder already had their trade-deadline acquisition: Chet Holmgren is back after missing three months with a hip injury.
Game on. The All-Star break starts next week, then the stretch run awaits.
“It’s just turning the page and moving forward,” Heat forward Kevin Love said. “I think it’s been — considering the whole Luka-AD trade and everything that’s kind of happened since — in some ways unprecedented.”
It was wild, but Thursday’s NBA trade deadline has passed. And more than a few teams have to be feeling good about what they pulled off over the last few days.
The final numbers from the NBA trade deadline: eight current and past All-Stars, some of them recent All-NBA selections, some among the league’s highest scorers and three Olympic gold medalists, all headed to new homes.
Luka Dončić and Anthony Davis got blindsided by a blockbuster. De’Aaron Fox gets to throw lobs to Victor Wembanyama now. Jimmy Butler got his wish, sort of. P.J. Tucker has, on paper, been on four teams in about a week. Dennis Schroder was basically part of four teams in the span of about 18 hours. Zach LaVine went to Sacramento, a place he considers home.
It’s over. It was wild, but Thursday’s trade deadline has passed. And more than a few teams — the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte Hornets among them — have to be feeling good about what they pulled off over the last few days.
“That’s the NBA that we live in,” said LaVine, who went from the Chicago Bulls to the Kings, a team he signed an offer sheet with in 2018 and now gets to finally play for after all this time. “And that’s the business of basketball.”
Teams navigated their way around first aprons, second aprons, tax lines and more. Some did it with an eye on the future. Some did it with eyes on contending now, like the move that brought Butler to the Warriors. The Lakers did it with eyes on both now and the future, figuring Dončić alongside LeBron James will be great immediately and betting that Dončić — if they can keep him — will be the face of the franchise for years to come.
“We’re talking about a 25-year-old that is a top-three player in the universe,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said. “I can’t think of a more amazing starting point to build a roster for the next decade.”
Phoenix was Butler’s preferred destination after his relationship with the Heat deteriorated and couldn’t be salvaged. Talks surrounding Kevin Durant were had; Durant stayed with the Suns, as did Bradley Beal and Devin Booker. In the end, it was Golden State that got the Butler deal done — at a big price, with Andrew Wiggins leading the list of what the Warriors had to give up.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry texted Butler at halftime of the Golden State-Utah game Wednesday night. Butler sent a response; Curry didn’t say what it was, other than revealing it was “a very pleasant message.”
“I understand there’s a lot of drama down there and who really knows what the story is,” Curry said. “We expect to have a motivated, committed Jimmy that’s ready to impact our team for the better. Got to work out the kinks of what it looks like and I’m excited to get to work and kind of feed off the energy of something new.”
Butler has been an Olympic gold medalist, like Davis and Khris Middleton, who got sent to Washington after a long, great run in Milwaukee. Dončić, Davis, Butler and Fox were recent All-NBA picks; that list doesn’t include the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Julius Randle and the New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns, who were swapped for one another as camps were beginning last fall. LaVine has been an All-Star, as has Brandon Ingram — sent from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Toronto Raptors.
Big names. Big moves. Some big risks were taken. The Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers added De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks, while the defending champion Boston Celtics kept their core basically intact. The Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder already had their trade-deadline acquisition: Chet Holmgren is back after missing three months with a hip injury.
Game on. The All-Star break starts next week, then the stretch run awaits.
“It’s just turning the page and moving forward,” Heat forward Kevin Love said. “I think it’s been — considering the whole Luka-AD trade and everything that’s kind of happened since — in some ways unprecedented.”
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