Ty's Thoughts on the NBA Trade Deadline

I was waiting until after the NBA trade deadline to write about it today. I did not want to write about a trade that didn't happen only to have it happen two hours later. I wanted to give myself time to see it all the way through, even so far as to waiting to see the big names on the buyout market. Now that we are over an hour past the deadline, I have some takes.

A few "big" trades happened a few days, or even weeks, before the deadline. PJ Tucker made his way to the Bucks a week or so back. There was the massive three team Harden trade over a month ago. And we had all the offseason craziness that occurred. But this deadline, this was as wild and crazy as I can remember in some time.

The day started slow. The Clippers traded a bench guy for future stuff, and Delon Wright moved from Detroit to Sacramento for Corey Joseph and picks. These moves didn't really do much for me, and I do not think they do much to change the future of the teams involved. Then around 9 am Saint Louis time stuff started to really happen.

The first trade I saw was JaVale McGee to Denver for Isaiah Haretnstein and picks. This is a good move for Denver right now, and maybe even better for Cleveland in the near future. McGee is a great backup to Jokic, and has proven he is a quality bench veteran for a contender. Just look at his time with the Lakers and Warriors.

Next was one of the bigger trades, and the first of many moves for Orlando. They traded Nikola Vucevic and Al Faroq Aminu to the Bulls for Otto Porter Jr, Wendell Carter Jr and picks. I like this trade for both teams. The Magic aren't going anywhere this year. They stink. So they were pretty much forced to move Vucevic. In return they get Otto Porter, who still could be bought out and Wendell Carter, plus those picks. Carter never got quality time in Chicago and a fresh start seems great for him. The picks are for rebuilding. For Vucevic, he gets to go to a team fighting for a playoff spot, and adds more scoring to a team that has Zach Lavine and Coby White. Those three will fill it up night to night. And Al Faroq Aminu is a seasoned vet with decent playoff experience. Both teams "won" this deal.

Right after trading Vucevic, the Magic immediately moved on from Evan Forunier, trading him to Boston for Jeff Teague and more picks. Again, the Magic will probably buy out Teague, and they got more future picks. Fournier has not been great this year, but he brings some much needed bench scoring to a Celtics team that desperately needs it right now. This trade isn't as "sexy" as the Vucevic one, but I get it.

Boston then decided they needed to trade Daniel Thiess for Mo Wagner. This trade confuses me a bit. Thiess was a good defender against other teams centers, and as much as I loved Wagner while he was at Michigan, the dude does not play a lick of defense. He can score and stretch a defense, but Boston will miss Thiess' defense. He may like playing with Russ and Brad Beal though. And they will love his toughness.

After being quiet for about five minutes, Orlando then made their biggest move of the day, trading Aaron Gordon to Denver. I love this move for Denver. This will only help them. This makes them so much more athletic and switchable than they already were. Gordon should thrive alongside Jokic and Jamaal Murray. He is a perfect third option on a very good team. This move, to me, pushes Denver to the second or third best team in the West. Denver did have to give up Gary Harris and RJ Hampton, but it is worth it to get Gordon. Harris has fallen off a bit, and Hampton rarely sees the floor. With Orlando they will both get so much more time, and set themselves up for future contracts. But Denver getting Gordon is a big, big deal.

The Kings, after making one move, traded Nemanja Bjelica to the Heat for Moe Harkless and Chris Silva. This isn't a bunch of big names, but it adds shooting for the Heat and depth and some youth for the Kings.

The Trailblazers got a steal when they traded for Norman Powell. He has been on fire this year, he adds scoring depth and has played solid defense. All Portland had to give up was Gary Trent and Rodney Hood, both of whom I wouldn't be surprised if they were bought out. Toronto seems to be punting this season anyway.

The 76ers got a solid point guard in George Hill. While he is not Kyle Lowry, he is another tough nose vet who will really help the 76ers, especially with Embiid still out.

The Thunder acquired Tony Bradley, who just had a career night, Terrance Ferguson and more picks. I think all they want is the picks, but Bradley is a nice addition.

The Knicks got involved in this deal as well. They sent Austin Rivers to OKC and acquired Terrance Ferguson. They also traded Ignas Brazdeikes, another former Wolverine, to the 76ers. This deal was all about getting the 76ers a point guard, and that is what they got in George Hill.

Things slowed down for a half an hour after that, with bench players being traded for other bench players. Then the Clippers traded Lou Williams to the Hawks for Rajon Rondo. I love this trade for the Hawks and I am very skeptical about the Clippers. I know Rondo was great in the Finals, and all of the playoffs when he was healthy for that matter, but he does not add scoring at all. They have two Patrick Beverly's. Lou Williams is a walking bucket, one of the better sixth men in the league, and he is from Atlanta. The Clippers traded scoring for point guard depth, but the Hawks got the better of this deal. Lou Williams is going to love playing in a free flowing system in Atlanta. The Hawks "won" this trade.

Then right at the end of the deadline, literally with seconds left, two big deals got done. JJ Redick joined the Mavericks when the Pelicans traded him for James Johnson and Wes Iwundu. I'm sure the Pelicans will buy out both those guys. This was purely for Redick to go to a team that is almost a playoff lock. The Mavericks got more shooting, but they did not add any defense. They are also the whitest team in the NBA. They are like the Iowa of the NBA. Then, maybe 30 seconds past the deadline, the ink dried on a Victor Oladipo trade to Miami. Houston finally pulled the trigger and let Oladipo go for Kelly Olynkn and Avery Bradley and a pick swap. The Rockets can continue to tank, and the Heat add a serious athlete on a rental who should now start going full bore since he is looking to cash in this offseason. The Heat needed a guy that can create his own shot, that plays sound defense and who can coexist with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. If this doesn't make Oladipo take that next step, nothing will. He got what he wanted, the Heat got what they wanted and so did Houston. This was another "win" for both teams.

At this point, the two biggest names on the buyout market are LaMarcus Aldridge and Andre Drummond. Both will find good teams to join by the end of the night I would guess.

There was such a flurry of moves I didn't even mention some guys that stayed put. Lonzo Ball is still a Pelican, Kyle Lowry will most likely retire a Raptor, Myles Turner stays in Indiana. These names were mentioned, among others, but they stayed put. But this deadline did not disappoint. There was a flurry of movement and I loved following along all morning and early afternoon. Now I want to see these guys in their new uniforms, especially Aaron Gordon in Denver, What a deadline.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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