Although the NBA trade deadline was expected to be a quiet one, it was anything but that, with several mega-deals coming in before Thursday’s deadline.
The Timberwolves got their point guard in D’Angelo Russell, pairing him with his friend Karl-Anthony Towns. The front office believes in the duo as its pair of franchise players and the price tag for the former No. 2 overall pick ended up being reasonable, as the Wolves handed the Warriors their 2021 first-round pick (top-3 protected), a 2021 second-rounder, and Andrew Wiggins.
The Rockets made their trade a couple of days before the deadline, landing Robert Covington. The team gave up Clint Capela and a first-rounder in the deal. Houston intends to play a version of small-ball for the remainder of the season.
The Hawks benefited from Houston’s newfound strategy, as they were able to pluck Capela off the Rockets, as part of the four-team, 12-player trade. It cost Atlanta the first-rounder the team had on hand from the Nets, as well as Evan Turner‘s expiring contract. The Hawks also brought back Dewayne Dedmon and cashed in on their open roster spots, collecting roughly $3.2M in trades with the Clippers and Blazers.
The Cavaliers made perhaps the most surprising deal of the day, acquiring Andre Drummond. They didn’t necessarily need another frontcourt player, with Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Larry Nance Jr. crowding the paint. However, the price was modest, as it only cost them a pair of expiring deals (Brandon Knight, John Henson) and a second-round pick.
The Knicks made a trade, sending Marcus Morris to the Clippers for Maurice Harkless, a 2020 first-round pick, a 2021 pick swap with L.A., and a future second-rounder. Not a bad haul for New York, considering Morris didn’t really fit with the timeline for the franchise’s young core. The Knicks essentially used their cap space this past summer to pick up draft capital. Still, it’s a win for New York in a week where the organization could probably use one.
Do you think the Knicks or any of the aforementioned teams are the biggest winners today? If not, which team had the best trade deadline?
Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
The Hawks. Getting rid of Turner, Parker, and Parsons in one day is great. Capela is a good pairing with the youth they have as a semi-veteran presence. Replacing Len with Dedmon is nice as well. I’m not sure what they want to do with Walton and Labissiere but both could be nice on that team as decent bench players. Walton didn’t really have a place on the Clippers. If he stays there, I could see him playing in the Vince Carter role next year, if Vince finally retires. Labissiere would have gotten knocked from the rotation when Nurkic came back, anyway. Even though they’re rebuilding, I still see potential with these deals. They could make it back to the playoffs next year and maybe even this year if the East stays this bad.
Agreed. Hawks by far the biggest winner
Pretty much all trading made some amount of sense. I would not call the Knick’s move a winner though… Things CAN get worse. Harkless is a FA too.
yeah but they wanted picks and had to take on a fairly big contract to trade Morris. it’s a good thing he’s a free agent
Yes things can get worse and probably will. Yet the Knicks made out like fat cats on that deal. They get a 2020 first rounder, rights to swap for the more favorable pick in 2021 all for Morris. But man I was hoping for Russell. Oh well. Also the Knicks don’t plan on keeping Harkless so they still retain cap flexibility for 2021.
Some people think something has to blow up for it to get better… or else they just like mass disruption. I doubt that’s what the Knicks need, but I’m no MSG-goer.
A more interesting disruption: the Wolves. They got two stars for a while, good for a small market, but they also have a menagerie of B-list movers & shakers to form something with. It doesn’t have to work this year.
Denver meanwhile consolidated smartly.
Cleveland made the second half more interesting if nothing else.
When you dump your star and leader… the lockerroom gets weird. Everyone else lost a malcontent or hanger-on if I recall the list right.
The Cavs are in last in the East.
Bringing back LeBron couldn’t make them interesting this season
The Knicks are not going to be swapping with the Clippers in 2021. It’s a nice return for him, but let’s not get too carried away.
Hawks by far
Not by far, the Wolves are very close getting rid of Wiggins.
Winners: Warriors. They picked up Wiggins, a high 1st and 2nd for a guy that left the team.
Hawks: Capela for the Nets pick ain’t too bad.
Wolves: Gave up too much but they got their man and if that keeps KAT happy, then by all means they did the right thing
Losers
Rockets: They gave up way too much for RoCo they’re playing small ball and that’s fine but in the span of a year they downgraded the team from Paul to Westbrook and gave up a 1st and Capela for just RoCo.
Pistons: Just can’t figure that trade out
Houston seemed fine with RoCo winning in LA by 10.
I’m not saying RoCo is a bad move, just seems they could’ve gotten more.
Yep. Houston just proved they could hang against one of the best big men tandems of all time
It’s absurd saying CP3 to Westbrook is a downgrade.
CO3 Does everything Russ can do, and he plays D and can shoot.
Including binding with calcium to make limestone.
Well, not nearly enough of one to not have to get rid of Capela and bring in a wing out of desperation.
Maybe, I don’t know, it would’ve been better to use those picks on someone other than Westbrook while keeping CP3?
Not nearly enough of an upgrade*
I don’t get the Knicks being winners. All they really got for the best performer on their team was a pick that will be in the mid to late 20s in a weak draft, a pick swap that is utterly useless, and a 2nd rounder.
They didn’t move Randle. They didn’t move Knox. They didn’t move any of their extra PGs. They didn’t pick up anything likely to help the team now or in the future.
I wouldn’t call the Rockets winners either. I am not passing judgment on their small ball approach. It might work for all I know. I just don’t like what they got versus what they gave up.
I’d say the Hawks were the big winners in spite of the Dedmon deal.
For me, it is much easier to see the losers than the winners of this deadline. Worst has to be the Pistons who had several players that could have been dealt and all they ended up with was a 2nd round pick and some dead weight.
The Knicks did was expected and obvious of them. I definitely would not call that “winning”
Any trade was going to be for a late 20s pick. Only contenders would trade for a rental unless it was for salary dumps.
Wolves,Knicks,Cavs,Hawks-A
Heat, Clippers,Grizz-B
Sixers, Trail Blazers, Kings, Wizards,Rockets, Magic-C
Nuggets,Pistons,Warriors-D
If DeAngelo Russell is your starting pg, your team has a low ceiling.
What???
He speaks the truth. If DLo is one of the marquee players on your team you’re not a contender.
Wolves and Hawks by far had the best deadline. Hawks traded a lottery protected pick (not even their own) for a huge upgrade in Capela. Wolves got out of Wiggins contract and got their second cornerstone. Only thing I don’t like about the wolves deadline was the RoCo trade. I like the return, but I don’t like how they fit. Beasley is a stud, but now we have 3 shooting guards that are worthy of minutes in the high 20’s. One of them will eventually be traded or lost. RoCo was KAT’s friend and a perfect fit between him and DLo. But the fact that they got their second cornerstone is huge. If KAT and DLo want to play together for their entire careers, which it seems like they might, Minny has the best chance.
Minnesota did well in the trade with Golden State, but trading Covington to Houston was a bad decision on their part.
I agree
Clippers did great, Hawks did good,Knicks did fine, and Wolves did okay. Turning Wiggins into Russell isn’t bad. Drummond? I get why Detroit unloaded, but they’re going nowhere and dumping salary for what? Cleveland had a chance to reset and didn’t. smh.
Pistons are the big losers. Just awful.
Drummond slows down the pace. They can overall shift their focus now
Drummond is elite but that type of role is just better suited for 20 mins in today’s league.
Just by getting rid of Wiggins the Timberpuppies deserve a solid “B”. Getting KAT’s buddy in the fold is good. Thought they could have held onto RoCo–he’s the only good defensive player they had except Okobie.
Clips, any time a contender adds a quality starter who fits with their best players, they’re a winner, particularly when its done just with picks.
Knicks did what they had to do in the end. Would have liked to have seen a few other moves, but with no real FO, I’ll take what we got.
Cleveland getting Drummond wasn’t going to be discussed much, but a real good low risk high reward gamble.
Minn, for getting rid of Wiggins and getting Russell, for a single bullet could be a turning point for the franchise, but would have liked to have seen them retain RoCo.
Miami gets an A for effort. In the end, a wash of a trade so far.
So does GS, for the whole odyssey starting with the Iggy trade to Memphis and ending with their revived deal with Minn. I don’t think they’re any better off for it, and maybe a little worse off, but they were certainly aggressive in trying to mitigate the loss of Durant and game themselves possibilities.
Knicks should have moved faster and swapped Harkless for something, defensive specialist.