The Knicks and Suns are the major winners, while the Lakers and Warriors are the biggest losers of the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline.
The NBA trade deadline has officially passed, and while we got some interesting and rather shocking deals, it lacked the true power to alter the NBA with many All-Star names that remained on their current teams. Regardless, there have been some major winners and some massive losers following the February 8th deadline because sometimes, the smaller moves make the difference.
Here are the five biggest winners and five biggest losers after the NBA trade deadline this season, as important players such as Bojan Bogdanovic, Gordon Hayward, Buddy Hield, and others were moved to different teams while superstars LeBron James and Stephen Curry could be left in very difficult positions.
Golden State Warriors Are On The Hunt For A “LegitimateStar Wing” Next To Stephen CurryRead MoreWinner: New York Knicks And Their Fanbase
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Knicks Acquired: Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks
Knicks Traded: Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Quentin Grimes, Ryan Arcidiacono, Two Second-Round Picks, Cash Considerations
The New York Knicks are in a great spot this season, having made a couple of very interesting trades this season. Acquiring OG Anunoby was a genius move because instead of paying two solid players in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, they only have to pay a budding All-Star in Anunoby who is a complete defensive player. At the deadline, they made a great move to bolster their depth chart by adding two excellent shooters who can also defend.
Bojan Bogdanovic is an elite shooter, averaging 41.5% from three while also adding toughness and clutch scoring as well. Burks is often overlooked, but he is posting 12.6 points per game on 40.1% from three. These two pieces can either slot into the starting lineup or come off the bench, bolstering a core of Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart. The Knicks are in a great spot right now and they are major threats in the East because of their roster moves.
Loser: Los Angeles Lakers
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How on Earth did the Lakers not pull the trigger on any deals? Dejounte Murray was available, and so was DeMar DeRozan. The franchise did not want to pull the trigger on any deals involving Austin Reaves, and they seem to want to make a move for a star player this summer as a result. While being patient is admirable on many occasions, it might not help since LeBron James will turn 40 years old next season and he might actually get defeated by Father Time. Of course, there is also the issue of LeBron wanting to play with his son, Bronny, and rejecting his player option to do so.
There is a ton of risk for not acquiring a third All-Star to pair with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and trusting Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell to be the final pieces to take the Lakers over the hump is not a great move. The Lakers proved they could not compete with the Denver Nuggets last season and after their loss to them on Thursday night, it proved that the Purple and Gold will be wasting another season of James’ prime because they won’t win a title this year.
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Suns Acquired: Royce O’Neale, David Roddy
Suns Traded: Chimezie Metu, Yuta Watanabe, Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin
The Phoenix Suns need depth and their bench cannot be trusted. Outside of Josh Okogie and Jusuf Nurkic, there aren’t any role players who can be difference-makers alongside the Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal. Luckily for the stars, help is on the way on both ends of the court thanks to a three-team deal. Royce O’Neale was Durant’s teammate in Brooklyn for a limited time, and he is a perfect role player.
He defends, makes outside shots, and knows his role when it comes to the offense. The Suns basically traded a bunch of players who can’t defend for an above-average wing player in O’Neale and also added physical forward David Roddy from the Memphis Grizzlies. O’Neale and Roddy will add toughness, size, and hustle to a team that needs plenty of help outside of scoring. No doubt, the Big Three will love the new additions to the roster.
Loser: Stephen Curry And The Warriors
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Warriors Acquired: 2024 Second-Round Pick
Warriors Traded: Cory Joseph, 2025 Second-Round Pick, Cash Considerations
The Golden State Warriors dynasty is dying and the only way for them forward is to change their core around Stephen Curry and budding star Jonathan Kuminga. Instead of doing that this season, the Warriors have decided to waste away this season and re-group in the summer. Klay Thompson does not have a contract but stays committed to the team, Draymond Green is past his best, and Stephen Curry is nearly 36 years old. That means changes are needed.
Curry is still one of the best point guards in the world and is posting 27.7 points per game, but he won’t be able to make up for the team’s deficiencies. The Cory Joseph trade is irrelevant because they gave up a second-round pick as well as cash, so they will likely be a play-in team this year which is truly a shame.
Winner: Dallas Mavericks
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Mavericks Acquired: P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford
Mavericks Traded: Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Richaun Holmes, 2027 First-Round Pick
The Dallas Mavericks desperately needed size to bolster the depth chart behind rookie Dereck Lively III. Daniel Gafford is not a player on the level of Clint Capela who was a rumored target, but he does the job almost as well. He is athletic, finishes at the rim, and is a confident rebounder in the paint. This season, the former Wizards center is posting 10.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Along with Gafford, the Mavericks added talented youngster P.J. Washington.
Washington is a 6’7” forward who is averaging 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game this season and is only 25 years old. A solid scorer and terrific athlete, Washington immensely improves the Mavericks’ depth chart and Luka Doncic will love having him on the court alongside him. Grant Williams is a great defender but he does not improve the size of the team and Seth Curry is only positing 4.3 points per game this season so it was a great deadline for Dallas.
Loser: Fans Wanting Blockbuster Trades
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NBA fans across the world wanted blockbuster deals, whether it involved trades involving Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, Lauri Markkanen, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, or Dejounte Murray…but we did not get that. The best players involved in the Trade Deadline had to be Buddy Hield or Bojan Bogdanovic, and fans wanting juicy action might be left slightly disappointed.
It is very rare to see some of the NBA’s most talented players join new teams in February and this year proved to be another example with last season acting as an anomaly. We have been swamped with rumors involving some of the aforementioned stars but none of them were moved, and major contenders such as the Lakers and Warriors are keeping their rosters fixed for now. A rather uneventful day for fans wanting a repeat of last season, when we saw Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving switch teams.
Winner: Buddy Hield
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76ers Acquired: Buddy Hield, Cameron Payne, 2024 Second-Round Pick, 2027 Second-Round Pick, 2028 Second-Round Pick
76ers Traded: Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz, Patrick Beverley, Danuel House Jr., Jaden Springer, 2024 Second-Round Pick, 2029 Second-Round Pick, Cash Considerations
The Philadelphia 76ers made some nice moves to improve the roster this season, but they did not quite move the needle enough considering the Celtics, Knicks, and Bucks either greatly improved at the trade deadline or have superstar talent and are going for the chip. The 76ers needed a third All-Star and had to settle for Buddy Hield. Speaking of Buddy Hield, he has to be the biggest winner of this trade.
Hield is averaging 12.0 points per game on 38.4% from three this season and he will make a killing around Joel Embiid when the superstar center returns to action. Hield defends quite well and is a perfect spot-up shooter, meaning the player himself will love playing in the 76ers lineup alongside Tyrese Maxey in the backcourt. A new lineup with Maxey, Hield, Kelly Oubre Jr, Tobias Harris, and Embiid looks very solid. The 76ers needed more to move the needle and might have to wait until the summer, but Hield will love playing in Philadephia this season and going forward.
Loser: Atlanta Hawks And Especially Trae Young
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The Atlanta Hawks need to make changes to their team. Trae Young made his third All-Star Team this season and is posting 27.1 points and 10.9 assists per game but he needs more help to get over the hump in the Eastern Conference. Both the Hawks and Young need to find star players who want to play in Atlanta and it has not been easy for them thus far. The Hawks look to be a play-in team again and they might even fail to make the playoffs considering they rank dead last in defense (124.0 OPPG).
The Hawks did not trade Dejounte Murray and kickstart a rebuild nor did they add star power around Young. That leaves the franchise star wondering if making All-Star Teams will be his goal going forward because he could be destined for more somewhere else. Unless the Hawks somehow make a run in the second half of the season, expect major changes this summer.
Winner: Oklahoma City Thunder
Thunder Acquired: Gordon Hayward
Thunder Traded: Tre Mann, Vasilije Micic, Davis Bertans, 2024 Second-Round Pick (via Houston), 2025 Second-Round Pick (via Philadelphia), Cash Considerations
The Thunder made an interesting move to acquire veteran Gordon Hayward. Hayward is considered “washed” by NBA communities, but he could be exactly what the Thunder need to get over the hump in the West in terms of making it past the first round of the playoffs. Oklahoma City is very young and a veteran who can score and be an all-around threat as he is posting 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game this season.
The Thunder needed to keep their core intact and add to it, and they did just that without losing much as well. Tre Mann has plenty of potential but playing behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey means he won’t get the minutes he deserves, so this was a great trade for the Thunder who want to make a push in the West.
Loser: Chicago Bulls
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The Chicago Bulls need to blow it up already, and they failed to do it for the second straight season. Zach LaVine is out for the season, DeMar DeRozan is nearly 35 years old, and Nikola Vucevic’s value will only get lower as he ages. Even Alex Caruso was on the trading block but perhaps the Bulls’ asking price was a little too high.
Whatever the case was, Chicago did not pull the trigger on any deals and that means another season goes to waste. We might have to wait until the summer to see the Bulls blow up their roster because if they intend to keep running the roster back, they won’t achieve anything outside of competing in the play-in tournament.
