NBA Daily: The Trade Deadline Deals That Actually Got Done

With the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline having passed, nobody could fault fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers for checking their frequent flier miles and hotel points.

After a flurry of deadline day deals, Team LeBron did everything it could to bolster its chances of winning the Eastern Conference for a fourth consecutive year.

As the dust settles on another NBA trade deadline having come and gone, just as much time will be spent discussing the players that didn’t get moved as those who did, though.

At the end of the day, the Los Angeles Clippers were believed to be one of the teams that would be busiest on February 8, but after shockingly trading Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons more than a week prior to the deadline, the Clippers opted to hold onto DeAndre Jordan and signed Lou Williams to an extension—relatively surprising outcomes.

Tyreke Evans and Marco Belinelli were two other players who have been mentioned in trade rumors, but neither was moved.

With that said, we’ll focus on the biggest trades that did happen and what they mean for the teams involved.

The Cavaliers traded Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and a 2018 first round draft pick to the Los Angeles Lakers for Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance, Jr.

With the first of their three moves of the day, the Cavs got younger and faster. After weeks of speculation, they also opted to trade their first round pick in this year’s draft—something that the team was able to consider after receiving the Nets’ 2018 first round pick in exchange for Kyrie Irving.

Clarkson and Nance will each give James viable targets. More importantly, they’ll help the team play faster and give them the young, fresh legs that they’ll likely need to be able to keep up with the Boston Celtics. The only downside to the trade for the Cavs was that it seemingly created a gap at point guard, but the team quickly filled it.

For the Lakers, the deal was an absolute home run. They received a first round pick while also getting rid of some of the long money on their books. As a result of the trade, they are poised to have an opportunity to sign two maximum-salaried players this coming summer.

The Cavaliers, Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz completed a three-team trade that resulted in Derrick Rose and Jae Crowder being sent to the Jazz, Iman Shumpert and Joe Johnson being sent to the Kings and George Hill and Rodney Hood being sent to the Cavs. The Kings will also receive Miami’s 2020 second round draft pick plus over $3 million in cash.

In the second deal of the day featuring the Cavs, the team addressed the point guard situation that was created by Thomas’ departure and replaced him with George Hill. They also acquired the impressive but inconsistent Rodney Hood. The 25-year-old wing was enjoying a career year in Utah, but with the emergence of rookie Donovan Mitchell, he became somewhat expendable. With Crowder, the Jazz receive an impact player who had trouble fitting in with the Cavs.

For the Kings, the trade seemed to be more about ridding itself of the $19 million salary obligation due to Hill next season. They also received a future second round pick in the deal, currency that’ll always be valuable to a rebuilding team.

Cleveland Cavaliers traded Dwyane Wade to the Miami HEAT in exchange for a future second round draft pick.

With the Cavs dedicating themselves to getting younger and faster, it didn’t seem that Dwyane Wade would fit in. When approached with the possibility of being sent back to Miami, Wade, who had gone on record as saying he wanted to end his career where it began, okayed the move. For the Cavs, this deal was more about youth, chemistry and fit than it was about talent.

The New York Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks completed a three-team trade that resulted in Doug McDermott being sent to the Mavericks, Devin Harris being sent to the Nuggets and Emmanuel Mudiay being sent to the Knicks. As a part of the deal, the Nuggets will also receive a second round draft pick from the Knicks.

The Knicks added Mudiay to an already cluttered backcourt and seemingly cast some doubt as to whether they truly believe Frank Ntilikina is a franchise-caliber point guard. Mudiay, whom the Knicks passed on in 2015 when they drafted Kristaps Porzingis, will join a backcourt that already includes Ntilikina, Trey Burke, Ron Baker, Tim Hardaway, Jr. and Courtney Lee. Still, it’s difficult to argue with the upside. The team added a 21-year-old point guard whose potential helped him become a lottery pick in exchange for Doug McDermott—a seldom-used journeyman who didn’t maintain his high level of play enough to be thought of as a cornerstone for the franchise.

For the Nuggets, the addition of Devin Harris provides a solid veteran for the young backcourt that features Gary Harris and Jamal Murray and should only bolster their chances of securing a playoff seed this season.

McDermott will give the Mavericks another shooter, which most teams wouldn’t turn down the opportunity at attaining.

The Orlando Magic traded Elfrid Payton to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a future second round draft pick.

Things haven’t exactly gone as planned for the front office in Orlando, and as they take stock of what they have, they will begin divesting themselves of pieces that don’t seem to fit in long-term. After failing to peddle Payton to the Knicks in return for Frank Ntilikina, the Magic ended up shipping Payton to Phoenix in exchange for a future second round pick.

As the Suns continue to attempt to climb back to respectability, they’ll attain Payton, whom they will hope can form a dynamic backcourt with Devin Booker.

The Portland Trail Blazers traded Noah Vonleh to the Chicago Bulls for the draft rights to Milovan Rakovic. As a part of the deal, the Blazers also received cash considerations from the Bulls.

The Blazers made this deal for financial considerations. Now in his fourth year, Vonleh hasn’t been an impact player at the NBA level, and his $3.5 million salary was the difference between being a tax payer and tax collector for the Blazers. Trading him was wise for Portland, as it was for the Bulls, as well.

The Bulls acquired a low-risk, high-reward piece in Vonleh for some cash—something the franchise hasn’t traditionally been short on.

The Chicago Bulls traded Jameer Nelson to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Willie Reed. As a part of the deal, the Bulls also receive the right to swap second round picks with the Pistons in the 2022 NBA Draft.

In the other deal they completed on deadline day, the Bulls got younger by sending Jameer Nelson to the Pistons. Everyone that has ever interacted with Reed speaks positively of his talent and work ethic, so it’s strange that he hasn’t been able to stick with a team. He will have an opportunity to fight for minutes in Chicago, though hopefully, not literally.

After being acquired by the Bulls in the trade that sent Nikola Mirotic to New Orleans, Nelson was routed to a playoff contender and will be reunited with Stan Van Gundy, whom Nelson played for as a member of the Orlando Magic. At this point, Nelson is a solid hand at the point guard spot and should only help the Pistons in their mission to secure a playoff spot.

The New Orleans Pelicans traded Dante Cunningham to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Rashad Vaughn.

For the Nets, the acquisition of Dante Cunningham provides the team with another versatile wing defender—something that has become a premium in today’s league. Vaughn, after being selected with the 15th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity to make an impact. Vaughn played just one game as a member of the Nets, who received the player last week in exchange for Tyler Zeller.

With the trade deadline having come and gone, the Lakers have done the most to improve their future prospects while the HEAT appear to have done the best in terms of the talent they’ve acquired relative to what they gave up.

At the end of the day, Cleveland simply needed to do something to keep up with the Celtics, who also made a big splash on deadline day by announcing that they had signed Greg Monroe. After being traded by the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Eric Bledsoe in November, Monroe recently agreed to a contract buyout with the Suns.

Before you blink, we’ll be at the All-Star break, then, it’ll be all about sprinting to the postseason.

With other buyout candidates likely to emerge, acquisitions aren’t done just yet. But, we’ve seen most of the fireworks. Now, it’s time to see who’ll be laughing last.