Two Ex-Celtics Part Of Winners, Losers From 2024 NBA Trade Deadline

Even if there wasn’t a marquee player dealt Thursday, there was a flurry of moves made at the NBA trade deadline.

Several teams got in on the action with plenty of players getting swapped and future draft picks being exchanged. Some made out better than the rest once the dust settled and the deadline past.

Here are the winners and losers from this year’s NBA trade deadline:

Winner: New York Knicks
The Knicks improved the most out of any team that swung a trade Thursday. New York packaged Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono and Malachi Flynn along with two future second-round picks to the Pistons for Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic.

Burks and Bodganovic are both quality scorers and the Knicks, who own one of the top defenses in the league under Tom Thibodeau, needed to upgrade their offense to compete with the elite teams in the East. Burks averaged 12.6 points per game off the bench with the Pistons and will be a reliable backup to star guard Jalen Brunson while Bodganovic poured in 20.2 points per game this season.

Both Burks and Bodganovic are strong 3-point shooters — Burks at 40.1% and Bodganovic at 41.5% this season — giving the Knicks a dynamic in their offense that they are just average in.

When Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, who the Knicks acquired at the end of December, return from injury, New York is going to have a deep and talented roster that will compete to come out of the East. The Knicks quietly are just one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second spot in the conference.

Loser: Washington Wizards
The Wizards feel like they have zero direction. They entered Thursday with the second-worst record in the East at 9-41, yet held on to their assets that teams around the league reportedly coveted. The only player Washington traded was Daniel Gafford to the Dallas Mavericks for Richaun Holmes and a 2024 first-round draft pick.

But the Wizards should have done more to help get a much-needed rebuild going in the right direction. Instead they pretty much stood pat and kept players like Delon Wright and Tyus Jones, who at the very least they could have received draft capital for, but will most likely see those guards just depart in free agency after the season.

Winner: Gordon Hayward
Hayward has had terrible injury luck for years now, but he had good fortune at the deadline with the lowly Charlotte Hornets sending him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who conceivably could make the NBA Finals this season.

Hayward hasn’t played more than 50 games since the 2018-19 campaign and is out injured again with a calf injury — he hasn’t suited up since Dec. 26. But once he gets healthy, he could be the pivotal piece in helping a young and highly talented Thunder squad get through a wide open Western Conference.

Hayward will be able to do a little bit of everything off the bench for the Thunder as he’s averaging 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. And perhaps in Hayward’s 14th NBA season, he’ll reach the Finals for the first time. It’s certainly his best shot since his days with the Boston Celtics.

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Loser: Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are another team that failed to realize that bottoming out would be the best strategy from them. After losing to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night, Atlanta had a 22-29 record and was in 10th place in the East. Not exactly a position of power to make a playoff run.

They have a talented roster that hasn’t lived up to expectations and teams reportedly came calling trying to acquire Dejounte Murray. Saddiq Bey’s name was thrown around in rumors, too, and the Hawks surely could have gotten something of value for Clint Capela.

The Hawks didn’t pull the trigger on any deal and are left with the reality that their skilled core doesn’t mesh well together. But that might be a Trae Young issue more than anything else.

Loser: Grant Williams
Poor Williams. He went from being a key piece on an NBA Finals team two seasons ago to now having to suit up for one of the worst franchises in all of sports in the Hornets. On the bright side, it is a homecoming for Williams, who played high school basketball in Charlotte.

The Mavericks quickly moved on from Williams after signing him to a four-year, $53.3 million deal this offseason. Williams couldn’t find consistent success with Dallas and the Mavericks surely didn’t think twice about exchanging him for P.J. Washington.

At least for Williams, he already got paid and will get big minutes with the Hornets. But he shouldn’t expect to see the playoffs anytime soon.

Winner: Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers aren’t a big winner at the deadline because much of their success this season will hinge on whether Joel Embiid returns from injury. But Philadelphia did get one of the better 3-point shooters in the game in Buddy Hield, and with that skillset being the most coveted these days in the NBA, it will get the 76ers on this list.

Hield is a career 40.1% shooter from beyond the arc and will give the 76ers another offensive threat alongside Tyrese Maxey. Maybe an under-the-radar quality from Hield is that he’s durable, having played at least 80 games in five seasons and is on track to do so again this year.

Hield looks like he could be a rental for the 76ers since he’s an unrestricted free agent following the season. But that just might signal that the 76ers expect to get Embiid back at some point as they look to make a push for the Finals.