And thus ends a wild day across the NBA.
There’s still work to be done in tabulating all of the actual deals made, especially considering how many moving parts were involved. It seemed like just about every trade was reported as a two-team deal before we’d learn a third was involved to facilitate the swaps.
Either way, the biggest deal of the entire deadline was always going to be Kevin Durant to the Suns. However, you could argue that the rest of Thursday’s activity largely was motivated by the shifting of power in the Western Conference. Look at a team like the Lakers, desperate to get into the playoffs, making a handful of moves to improve LeBron James’ supporting staff. Then you also had the Warriors, who have had injury issues almost all season making some franchise-altering deals that will affect them now and in the long run.
And teams like the Pelicans and Timberwolves, fighting to get into the playoffs, both had a busy couple of days.
The Eastern Conference, at least when it came to contenders, was much more quiet. The Celtics and 76ers both made quiet depth moves, while the most impactful move of the day in the East might have been Milwaukee grabbing Jae Crowder as fallout from the Suns-Nets blockbuster.
Finally, some might remember this deadline as the one that saw Durant, one of the greatest players of his generation, shift the balance of power by going to Phoenix. Us, on the other hand, will remember it for the day 2,399 second-round draft picks were traded.
3:06 p.m.: Nothing (else) doing for the Celtics on deadline day.
3 p.m.: After 10 minutes of silence, the trade deadline has come and gone, but it’s safe to assume we’ll learn of some more deals — probably involving second-round picks — in the next few minutes.
2:51 p.m.: We now know what the Warriors are doing with all those second-round picks. They’re sending five of them to Portland for Gary Payton II, a reunion after Payton spent the previous two seasons with the Warriors.
Kevin Knox is also involved after being part of an earlier deal, and a certain point, someone is gonna have to write this all down and connect the seemingly never-ending dots.
2:22 p.m.: Things are very much happening now. The Lakers were among the teams stockpiling picks earlier in the day with Thomas Bryant, and those selections might help pave the way to land Mo Bamba in a deal with the Magic. In addition, Patrick Beverley once again has a new home, as he’s reportedly involved, too.
2:19 p.m.: All those second-round picks the Warriors were able to get in that three-team trade that saw them move out James Wiseman might be part of something bigger. The Athletic’s Shams Charania just said the Warriors could be a destination for Toronto forward OG Anunoby.
That would be a really good move for Golden State, assuming they’re able to get healthy and find a way into the playoffs. Anunoby’s defense would certainly come in handy in the suddenly loaded Western Conference with Kevin Durant among others standing in the way of a repeat for Golden State.
2:13 p.m.: Eric Gordon is going back to where it all started. He’s out of Houston and is on his way to the Clippers, per Shams Charania. He’ll almost certainly hit a big 3-pointer or two at some point in the playoffs for the Clips.
There are a few teams involved in this one, it appears, with John Wall also making a return of his own to Houston where he played a season.
2:05 p.m.: And yet another one.
1:55 p.m.: We’ve got another big one, a trade with a whole bunch of moving parts.
What we know, thus far, from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is that there apparently was a trade between the Pistons and Warriors, sending former No. 2 pick James Wiseman to Detroit. The Warriors got former first-round pick Saddiq Bey in that deal, but according to Woj, Bey is actually going to Atlanta — in a “multi-team” trade, although every trade is a multi-team trade.
Wojnarowski followed up for clarification, and you guessed it, second-round picks are involved. Five more, these ones going to Golden State to acquire Bey.
1:33 p.m.: There was a report earlier in the day that said the Chicago Bulls could have interest in Russell Westrbook if Utah buys out the recently acquired guard. According to The Athletic, though, Westbrook’s preference is to join the Heat or Clippers.
1:25 p.m.: Is this the day the Hawks finally trade John Collins? Adrian Wojnarowski just said on ESPN that Atlanta could move the big man before the deadline. In fact, they were having talks with Phoenix before the Suns pivoted and acquired one of the best players ever in Kevin Durant.
Anyway, it’s been about an hour since someone has traded a second-round pick, so we’re due.
12:15 p.m.: Big day for second-round picks. The Lakers have reportedly made another deal. Have to imagine this leads to something else because those second-round picks aren’t really gonna do much for them in the short term.
12:03 p.m.: Business is starting to pick up, the dominoes are starting to fall or whatever other cliché you want to use. Regardless, it looks like Jae Crowder won’t be going to Brooklyn. Instead, he’s about to join the Milwaukee Bucks with five (!) second-round picks going to the Nets, per Shams Charania.
11:52 a.m.: The Celtics have reportedly made the day’s first deal, or at least the first deal since sunrise.
Boston is acquiring Mike Muscala from Oklahoma City in exchange for Justin Jackson and a pair of second-round picks, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The 6-foot-10 big man has appeared in 43 games, averaging 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per contest. He’s a solid 3-point shooter for his position, hitting on nearly 38% for his career from behind the arc.
11:50 a.m.: Russell Westbrook might not be in Utah for very long. If Danny Ainge decides on a buyout for the former All-Star, there figures to be a market for Westbrook.
10:45 a.m.: A couple of interesting nuggets from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who made an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up.” According to Windhorst, the Lakers probably aren’t done. He also pointed to teams like the Raptors and Pistons being among the likely sellers.
Windhorst also mentioned the Nets, unsurprisingly saying they’re likely to continue selling off pieces.
“The Brooklyn Nets have too many wing players now, and that’s a demand in the league, so I would watch Jae Crowder, especially the Milwaukee Bucks coming in to try to make a deal,” Windhorst said, according to an ESPN.com roundup Thursday morning.
The Bucks have been connected to Crowder for the last week, so it would make sense to see Brooklyn — who is clearly tearing it down — to flip the veteran before the deadline, especially when dealing from a surplus.
9:25 a.m.: One team to watch, according to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix? The Memphis Grizzlies. They obviously have top-end talent, but their standing in the Western Conference is certainly diminished by recent events.
9:20 a.m.: A quiet morning thus far, but the feeling around the league is business will certainly pick up as the day progresses. Veteran NBA reporter Keith Smith said we’ve just seen the beginning with Wednesday night’s moves.
8 a.m.: Well, NBA trade deadline day got a lot less interesting Wednesday night.
NBA fans who turned in early to rest up for the NBA’s Thursday deadline day awoke to the shocker that Kevin Durant is reportedly headed to the Phoenix Suns. The Brooklyn Nets apparently decided to kick the rebuild into full gear, sending the 13-time All-Star to the desert for a massive return in an overnight blockbuster.
Durant, one of the best players of all time, clearly is the best player who will move ahead of the 3 p.m. ET deadline. But not only that, the Nets-Suns swap understandably overshadowed a few other deals that got done with plenty of time to spare.
In terms of big names, the Lakers made a big splash early Wednesday night when they reportedly acquired D’Angelo Russell as part of a three-team blockbuster with the Jazz and Timberwolves. As part of that deal, Russell Westbrook went to Utah, and Mike Conley lands in Minnesota.
Then, a little later in the night, the Knicks made their own splash, reportedly acquiring Josh Hart from Portland in a deal that sends Cam Reddish, along with a first-round pick and others, to the Blazers.
Oh, and in addition to that, the Spurs changed their mind about Jakob Poeltl, whom they initially intended to keep, reportedly sending him to the Raptors for Khem Birch, a first-round pick and a couple of second-rounders.
Got all that? As for what could happen now, a lot of it obviously will come down to how teams view themselves and weighing that with the market. A team like the Bulls becomes interesting in that regard if they want to sell off pieces like Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan. And what’s the deal with Toronto? They’re outside the playoff field right now, but the Raptors just made a move to add Poeltl. They have some very intriguing pieces, most notably O.G. Anunoby, who reportedly yielded an offer of three first-round picks from an interested team.
And then there are the contenders. Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck recently made it seem like Boston would spare no expense, so do they make a splash in their effort to return to the NBA Finals?
While the biggest fireworks have already been lit, Thursday still figures to be an exciting day across the Association. We’ll be following all the latest news and rumors right here, so be sure to check back often throughout the day.
