NBA TRADE DEADLINE WINNERS AND LOSERS: NOBODY DID BETTER THAN THE LAKERS
LOS ANGELES — This year’s NBA trade deadline had a little something for everyone: an inexplicable blockbuster in Los Angeles, a desperate bet on a disgruntled star in the Bay Area, a targeted strike to accelerate a rebuild in San Antonio, a solemn farewell to a beloved champion in Milwaukee, and a sad end to a doomed era in New Orleans.
All told, eight all-stars changed teams over the past week before Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline: Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, De’Aaron Fox, Khris Middleton, Zach LaVine, Andrew Wiggins and Brandon Ingram. The NBA’s sleepy summer of 2024, which produced little star player movement of note, is officially a distant memory.
With so many new faces in new places, here’s a rundown of this week’s biggest winners and losers.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (winner)
Even with a few days for the stunning news to sink in, it’s still hard to process that the Lakers have paired LeBron James with Doncic. Los Angeles’ future looks immeasurably brighter given that the 25-year-old Doncic is an ideal heir to the 40-year-old James, but the franchise’s present looks rosier, too.
Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka landed center Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night to give Doncic an athletic lob target and to fill the void created by Davis’s departure to the Dallas Mavericks. Throw in a previous move to acquire Dorian Finney-Smith for D’Angelo Russell, and the Lakers now look more potent and versatile as they approach the playoffs.
On paper, this Lakers roster is more complete and more talented than the Mavericks roster that reached the 2024 NBA Finals. Though big questions remain concerning Doncic’s health, Williams’s ability to stay on the court and James’s age, the Lakers jumped up a tier in the Western Conference’s hierarchy this season and landed an A-list superstar capable of carrying their next era. What a week.
2. Dallas Mavericks (loser)
There is an argument to be mounted on behalf of Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison’s decision to deal Doncic: Davis is an excellent two-way player, Doncic had conditioning and injury concerns that complicated the decision to sign him to a $345 million supermax contract this summer, incoming guard Max Christie is better than most people realize, and sometimes organizations know better than outsiders when it’s time to part ways with a superstar.
Even granting all of that, Harrison’s decision to negotiate solely with the Lakers, receive only one first-round pick in return, deal Doncic to a major conference rival and blindside the Mavericks’ fan base is indefensible. The outrage in Dallas has continued unabated for days, and it will probably continue for years unless Davis somehow leads the Mavericks to a championship. Harrison’s explanation of the trade, in which he came off nervous and flippant, made things only worse.
Doncic shouldn’t have been traded, and he definitely shouldn’t have been traded in this manner.
3. Jimmy Butler (winner)
Butler has proved adept at deploying hardball tactics to navigate from team to team throughout his career. This time, he clashed with Heat President Pat Riley, missed a team flight and left a shootaround early, drawing three suspensions in less than a month. Those antics threatened to cost him $4.7 million in salary, but they paid off with a trade to the Warriors and a new two-year, $121 million extension.
Miami did well to recoup Wiggins and a first-round pick, among other assets, in the deal. However, Butler ultimately won the game of chicken because his unprofessional behavior didn’t compromise his earning power.
4. Golden State Warriors (loser)
The Warriors’ messaging has been all over the map in recent months: They want to improve, but they don’t want to mortgage their future. They know they’re on the decline, but they want to do something to shake up an uninspiring season, but they don’t want to give away their young prospects. Finally, Golden State decided to gamble on the 35-year-old Butler, lavishing him with a contract that averages more than $60 million over the next two seasons.
While the Warriors didn’t give up too much to the Heat in the trade, their willingness to extend Butler at such a high number reeks of desperation. Butler will help Golden State on both ends, but he is no longer good enough to transform the Warriors from a mediocre team to a contender. With Curry, Butler and Draymond Green all in their mid-30s, the Warriors are locked into an aging core with a relatively low ceiling, and their preexisting depth concerns will be stretched further after the trade.
The good news: Curry’s chances of reaching the playoffs have improved, and that counts for a lot. The bad news: It came at a steep price, and it remains to be seen how well Butler’s game and personality fit with the Warriors.
5. Victor Wembanyama (winner)
Within the first few weeks of Wembanyama’s rookie season, it became clear the San Antonio Spurs phenom wasn’t going to follow a gradual growth arc. This season, the 21-year-old Wembanyama has blossomed as an all-star and a defensive player of the year favorite, and it was time for the Spurs to seriously invest by improving the talent around him.
The Spurs did that by landing Fox, an all-star guard, from the Sacramento Kings without sacrificing their most valuable draft picks or any rotation player of consequence. That alone is a coup, and Fox should boost San Antonio’s short-term hopes of reaching the playoffs as he develops a pick-and-roll partnership with Wembanyama. Even better, the Spurs still boast plenty of assets to make another big swing this summer. How about Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz to add even more offensive firepower and spacing?
6. Phoenix Suns (loser)
Kevin Durant didn’t have as good of a week as James. The Suns spent months pursuing Butler, only for the Warriors to swoop in and grab him from the Heat. Then, in the days before the deadline, word spread that Phoenix was discussing the possibility of trading Durant, who joined the Suns in 2023. Nothing came of the conversations — Durant reportedly nixed a possible reunion with Curry and Golden State — but that left Phoenix coping with the same existential questions.
The Suns’ roster is too expensive, an offseason coaching change didn’t lead to meaningful improvement, the Durant and Devin Booker partnership has mostly been a letdown, and Bradley Beal’s no-trade clause has hamstrung the organization. Phoenix’s only move of consequence was to dump Jusuf Nurkic to Charlotte to avoid paying the inconsistent center next season, but even that cost it a first-round pick. The Suns are spiraling, and they appear headed for a deeper course correction in the summer if they can’t generate any positive late-season momentum. Buckle up.
7. Cleveland Cavaliers (winner)
The Cavaliers found themselves in a rare spot: They have played like a juggernaut this season, yet they had what looked like a weakness on the wing that spelled likely death in the playoffs. It’s not easy to start 41-10 and still be terrified of getting roasted in the postseason.
Cleveland made a significant investment to address its biggest hole, adding De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang and draft picks. Hunter has enjoyed a career season off the bench for Atlanta, and he should help Cleveland match up more effectively with Boston’s wing duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Cavaliers had to swallow his big-dollar, multiyear contract, but no one will be counting the pennies if they can get past the defending champion and reach the Finals.
8. Toronto Raptors (loser)
The Raptors were clear sellers at last year’s deadline, off-loading Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby to play for the future with a retooled core of Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. Young teams are often fun and exciting, even if they are bad. The Raptors have been bad, certainly, but not particularly fun or exciting.
Perhaps it was boredom that motivated Toronto to become buyers this year and land Ingram from the New Orleans Pelicans for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk and a first-round pick. The Raptors won’t really miss Brown or Olynyk, but the real question is why are they even bothering with Ingram, an oft-injured scoring forward who needs a new contract and looks like an awkward fit next to their other younger pieces.
9. Milwaukee Bucks (winner)
The Bucks did one of the hardest things there is to do: admit that a popular franchise icon just can’t get it done anymore. Middleton, 33, was crucial to Milwaukee’s 2021 championship run, but he has been sidelined with recurring injuries for most of the past three seasons and has looked like a shell of himself in recent weeks.
Now, getting back Kyle Kuzma, who has labored through a terrible shooting season for the Washington Wizards, isn’t exactly a home run. But any further retooling around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard was going to require getting rid of Middleton’s $34 million salary for next season. Despite his flaws, Kuzma is younger, cheaper, healthier and has experience playing alongside a superstar like Antetokounmpo thanks to his championship run with James and Davis on the 2020 Lakers.
10. Chicago Bulls (loser)
The Bulls served as a third team in the Fox trade between the Kings and Spurs, sending LaVine to Sacramento for minor players and picks. LaVine’s injury history and major contract made him virtually untradable last year, so there is some relief that he was able to be moved for the sake of Chicago’s rebuilding efforts.
Nevertheless, the Bulls kept veteran center Nikola Vucevic and don’t have a clear path to dramatically improving their draft lottery odds in pursuit of Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. The treadmill of mediocrity keeps churning.
