The 2022-2023 NBA Trade Deadline hit at 3p.m. ET. and it was busy! This is one of the more newsworthy trade deadlines and virtually (more on that soon) everybody made moves. Trade demands, splashy moves and a new Super Team *eyeball emoji* were all on the menu. Let’s look at the biggest winners and losers, who barbequed and who mildewed…
Winners
Phoenix Suns: New Super Team alert! The Suns are absolutely the biggest winners of this whole thing. Anytime you can add a generational talent like Kevin Durant you won and I don’t really care what it cost. That’s the crazy thing, they didn’t have to spend as much as one might think. To get the Slim Reaper they sent Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Jae Crowder and four first-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets. A wise man once said “you never get the full value for an elite player” which means any team who gets said player paid less than full value and this is that. Phoenix just added one of the best scorers ever to go alongside Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton…that’s spooky! In 39 games this year he has averaged 29.7 points per game on 55.9% (a career high). If you wanted to nitpick you could make mention of their lack of defensive weapons. Question for you, how many points a game will it take to win a championship with average defensive play? Now ask yourself, can they score than many?
Dallas Mavericks: Luka finally has help. And no, not the Kristaps Porzingis “I feel like this is going to work” type help. This is a proven 2nd (?) scorer and currently elite player. It’s Kyrie Irving. Yeah he can be a distraction off the court and yeah he’s unpredictable in regards to his availability but when he’s on, he’s as good as anybody. On the season he's averaging 27/5/5 and has played in 41 games…what more can you ask for? Especially alongside one of the best scorers in Luka. This will quickly be one of the highest scoring tandems in the league. I also love this deal for Dallas because they had been middling for a while now and they needed to show Luka they’re willing to take big chances to put elite talent on the court with him. It took sending out Tim Hardaway Jr and Dorian Finney-Smith (who’s going to play defense now) to Brooklyn but sometimes you just have to shoot your shot. There are baked in concerns with Kyrie these days but with his contract expiring this summer, the worst case is they don’t fit and then he goes into Free Agency when the season ends. Best case…one can only wonder.
Los Angeles Lakers: You thought I wasn’t gone mention The Lake Show?! The Lakers needed to move Russell Westbrook before the deadline (rumors today say he might’ve been sent home otherwise) without getting fleeced and they did just that. Not only did they avoid getting pants they brought back at least one starter at the point guard position and much needed shooting. The Lakers were statistically the worst three point shooting team in the NBA so far this year and now they’ve added two guards in D’Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley who are both top 12 this season in three pointers made…that’ll work! In that same deal they also brought in Jarred Vanderbilt who is a 6’8 wing who adds defensive depth. Along with Russ L.A. sent out, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian, neither of which were seeing many rotational minutes, and only one of their remaining first round picks though many said it’d take two to offload Mr. Westbrook. That’s a dub. To cap off the day they swapped Patrick Beverley with Mohamed Bamba from Orlando which brings in height (Lakers were the shortest team in the NBA a month ago) and more shooting. This team needed size, shooting and depth and it feels good to say they accomplished all three.
Honorable mentions: Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers
Losers
Brooklyn Nets: I don’t even know where to start on this one lol. BK went all-in with Superstars when they inked KD and Kyrie back in 2019 and then doubled down when they traded for James Harden. The trio was supposed to take over the league. Instead they won all of one post season series and now all three are playing for different teams. What a complete fumble of a situation. To shoot them some bail they were blindsided by Kyrie’s trade demand last week and had to move quickly. They moved a little too quickly in accepting the aforementioned Dallas Mavericks offering – I’ll explain why in a second. KD then reportedly broached a parting of ways of which they obliged hence the Suns deal. That’s where the issue resides. The Mavericks deal was one of seemingly trying to bring in “play now” pieces to go along with KD just to end up trading that same KD away for more forwards and draft capital. If they were going to go full rebuild then they should’ve been more inclined to take other offers for Kyrie that would’ve returned more draft capital. They had no plan. They panicked. Now they’re stuck with a roster that’s all shooting guards and small forwards. As I always say “bad organizations stay bad for a reason”. Woof.
Miami Heat: As a natural born Floridian I have love for the Heat. They aren’t my team but I cheer for them when they’re playing everyone except my team. For a few years now I’ve pulled for Jimmy Butler down the stretch in playoff runs and seen him fall short because the roster was missing something. That something is another elite scorer. Jimmy can put up 40 3-4 times in a series but his game isn’t fashioned to offensively carry a team every night. So when rumors of Bradley Beal perhaps being shopped I thought of the Heat. When Donovan Mitchell was murmured to be on the move I thought of the Heat. Each time they never emerged as the victor. This trade deadline saw them execute one move – they send Dewayne Dedmon to San Antonio for cash. The roster is Miami feels so close. They’ve made the playoffs four of the last five years, even making it to the Finals in 2020. The critical missing piece is somebody who can take on the scoring load a few times a series. The least they could’ve done was get Kyle Lowry out of town. C’mon man!
Chicago Bulls: Sorry Pump. The Bulls are in a precarious position. They’ve had a run of unfortunate injuries to critical players, trades that didn’t deliver what they were hoping and Zach LaVine at the center of it all who reportedly has a severed relationship with the head coach. Now, don’t get it twisted there’s talent on this roster but the pieces just can’t seem to all fall into place despite Demar Derozan being more than anyone thought he'd be for them. I expected them to, if nothing else, find a deal for Nikola Vucevic due to his contract being set to expire at the end of this year. They didn’t. In fact, they didn’t do anything. Chicago was one of two teams that didn't execute any trades. Through two trade deadlines and a free agency window they’ve added Andre Drummond and Goran Dragic...that’s simply not getting it done. They’re on pace to make the play-in this season but with the expectation of them being an early round out I’ve seen a number of Bulls fans and media personnel express frustration by the lack of moves being made. They say you can’t win if you don’t play but in this case I’m going to say you can still lose.
Honorable mentions: Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trailblazers, Washington Wizards
If you disagree or want to pile on, jump in them comments!
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