2021 NBA Trade Deadline Recap

The 2021 NBA trade deadline was perhaps the busiest in league history. A total of 16 deals were agreed upon on deadline day, with 46 players on NBA contracts (plus two more draft-and-stash players) changing teams.

Thursday was so jam-packed with deals that the league office was unable to officially process all the trades in the queue before the end of the day, leaving three of those 16 trades to be formally finalized on Friday.

Here’s a recap all of 2021’s deadline deals:


Trades made on deadline day:

The Bulls make a surprise splash for an All-Star center (story)

The Heat buy low on a two-time All-Star (story)

  • Heat acquire Victor Oladipo.
  • Rockets acquire Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley, and the right to swap the Rockets’ or Nets’ 2022 first-round pick with the Heat’s 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected).

The Nuggets emerge as winners in the Aaron Gordon sweepstakes (story)

The Celtics make use of (part of) their massive trade exception (story)

  • Celtics acquire Evan Fournier.
  • Magic acquire Jeff Teague, either the Celtics’ or the Grizzlies’ 2025 second-round pick (whichever is less favorable), and the Celtics’ 2027 second-round pick.

The Sixers acquire a veteran point guard for their playoff run (story)

The Clippers get a play-maker, while Lou-Will heads home (story)

  • Clippers acquire Rajon Rondo.
  • Hawks acquire Lou Williams, the Trail Blazers’ 2023 second-round pick, the Clippers’ 2027 second-round pick, and cash.

The Raptors trade a guard — no, not that one (story)

The Raptors trade another guard — again, not that one (story)

  • Kings acquire Terence Davis.
  • Raptors acquire Grizzlies’ 2021 second-round pick.

The Kings and Pistons swap veteran point guards (story)

  • Kings acquire Delon Wright.
  • Pistons acquire Cory Joseph, the Lakers’ 2021 second-round pick, and the Kings’ 2024 second-round pick.

The Bulls acquire a backup center and the Celtics dump some salary in a three-team deal (story)

The Heat acquire a stretch four (story)

The Mavericks add some shooting (story)

The Nuggets acquire a veteran to back up Nikola Jokic (story)

  • Nuggets acquire JaVale McGee.
  • Cavaliers acquire Isaiah Hartenstein, the Nuggets’ 2023 second-round pick (top-46 protected), and the Nuggets’ 2027 second-round pick.

The Jazz fill their 15th roster spot with a sharpshooter (story)

  • Jazz acquire Matt Thomas.
  • Raptors acquire the Warriors’ 2021 second-round pick.

The Warriors dump some salary (story)

The Warriors dump some more salary (story)

  • Hornets acquire Brad Wanamaker, the Raptors’ 2022 second-round pick (top-54 protected), and cash.
  • Warriors acquire the Hornets’ 2025 second-round pick (top-55 protected).

Top trade candidates who stayed put:


Players waived on deadline day:

Note: Jeff Teague (Magic) and Vincent Poirier (Knicks) are expected to be waived, and Andre Drummond (Cavaliers) is working toward a buyout, but those moves have not yet been made official.


Trades made in the week leading up to the deadline:

The Bucks acquired a playoff-tested veteran (story)

  • Bucks acquire P.J. Tucker, Rodions Kurucs, and their own 2022 first-round pick (traded away in a previous deal).
  • Rockets acquire D.J. Augustin, D.J. Wilson, the Bucks’ 2023 first-round pick (unprotected), and the right to swap their own 2021 second-round pick with the Bucks’ 2021 first-round pick (top-nine protected).

The Suns added a low-cost defensive specialist (story)

The Heat brought Trevor Ariza out of hibernation (story)

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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