Lots of teams make in-season trades with the idea of bettering themselves, yet of the 17 that swung a deal at the February trade deadline last season, only five have a winning record since. That’s a strikingly low number as front offices get set for the unofficial start of in-season trading for 2015/16 on December 15th, the date that most offseason signees become eligible to be traded.
Still, that’s not to say that plenty of movement can’t lead to success. The Celtics made seven in-season trades in 2014/15, and they have the best record since the February deadline among those that made deals that day. The Rockets have struggled this season and trade rumors involving Houston have emerged, but they’re right behind the Celtics in this category.
It’s no surprise to see the Sixers at the bottom of this list, but it’s noteworthy that the Suns and Bucks, who were part of a three-team deadline-day deal with Philadelphia that sent Brandon Knight from Milwaukee to Phoenix, have almost the same poor record since.
Here’s a look at each team that swung a trade at the deadline last year, ranked by winning percentage since then. Details on the trade each team made can be seen by clicking the date. If a team made multiple trades at the deadline, further details are linked within parentheses.
- Celtics — 31-20 (.608) February 19th, 2015 (also see other trade made that day)
- Rockets — 30-20 (.600) February 19th, 2015 (also see other trade made that day)
- Jazz — 28-19 (.596) February 19th, 2015
- Thunder — 29-20 (.592) February 19th, 2015 (also see other trade made that day)
- Heat — 27-21 (.563) February 19th, 2015
- Trail Blazers — 24-26 (.480) February 19th, 2015
- Pelicans — 23-26 (.469) February 19th, 2015
- Pistons — 23-26 (.469) February 19th, 2015 (also see other trade made that day)
- Wizards — 21-25 (.457) February 19th, 2015
- Nets — 22-28 (.440) February 19th, 2015
- Bucks — 19-31 (.380) February 19th, 2015
- Suns — 18-31 (.367) February 19th, 2015 (also see two other trades made that day)
- Nuggets — 18-32 (.360) February 19th, 2015 (also see other trade made that day)
- Kings — 18-34 (.346) February 19th, 2015
- Knicks — 17-33 (.340) February 19th, 2015
- Timberwolves — 13-35 (.271) February 19th, 2015
- Sixers — 7-43 (.140) February 19th, 2015 (also see two other trades made that day)