Winners
New York Knicks
The New York Knicks were clear winners at the 2024 trade deadline.
After acquiring OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa in December, the Knicks continued their strong play in January and established themselves as contenders in the East.
However, injuries to key players like Julius Randle and Anunoby forced coach Tom Thibodeau to overwork his healthy rotation members.
The Knicks addressed this issue by trading for veteran wings Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Pistons, without giving up any future first-round draft picks.
Bogdanovic and Burks provide much-needed outside shooting and size for the playoff push. Their additions also give New York tremendous depth and lineup flexibility when the team gets healthy.
While Bogdanovic is questionable defensively at age 34, the defensive talent around him should hide those deficiencies.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder bolstered their roster by acquiring Gordon Hayward from the Hornets, without surrendering significant long-term assets. Despite being 33 years old and injured since late December, a healthy Hayward gives OKC an experienced, versatile wing to complement their young core.
Hayward can play on or off the ball, score at all three levels, and make plays for others. He will likely close games for the Thunder this season alongside Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, providing them with another shot-creator down the stretch.
Philadelphia 76ers
Philly addressed their lack of three-point shooting by trading for elite marksman Buddy Hield from the Pacers, without losing any key rotation players.
Hield’s lights-out shooting makes him an ideal fit next to creators like Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris.
His expiring contract also maintains the 76ers‘ future financial flexibility.
Of course, Philly’s title hopes depend on the health of MVP big man Joel Embiid. But if Embiid returns from his knee injury, Hield could help take this team on a deep playoff run.
Losers
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers
Despite LeBron‘s cryptic social media posts indicating his desire for upgrades, the Lakers ultimately stood pat at the deadline.
Their front office determined that potential trades would provide only marginal improvements at too high a cost. As a result, the Lakers will likely remain a low playoff seed ripe for an early exit.
With LeBron aging out of his extended prime, this wasted season represents a major disappointment in his quest to match Michael Jordan‘s six championships.
Chicago Bulls
In a puzzling move, the Bulls were completely inactive at this deadline, just like last year.
They have not made a single trade involving a player in over 30 months.
While trading Zach LaVine likely proved difficult, they seemingly made no effort to collect draft assets for expendable veterans like Alex Caruso, Andre Drummond, or DeMar DeRozan.
Instead, Chicago is aiming to “reboot on the fly” and remain competitive.
However, at 24-27 and out of the playoff picture, it’s unclear how they define competitive.
2024 Draft Class
The lack of enthusiasm surrounding the 2024 draft class was evident based on teams’ trade deadline actions.
Despite being a free agent this summer, the Pacers aggressively traded three first-round picks for veteran All-Star Pascal Siakam.
And the Raptors quickly flipped one of those picks to the Jazz for role players Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji.
These moves suggest teams don’t value picks in the perceived weak 2024 draft nearly as much as in typical years.
To Be Determined
Masai Ujiri
Raptors President Masai Ujiri was the busiest executive at the deadline, but it’s unclear if he succeeded in jumpstarting a rebuild around young star Scottie Barnes.
By trading away Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, and other key contributors, Ujiri may have waited too long to reshape the roster.
The return seems underwhelming so far, consisting of role players like Immanuel Quickley and Kelly Olynyk, plus picks. If Quickley, RJ Barrett, and the other young additions fail to develop as hoped, these deals could go down as a failure for Ujiri.
Other Winners and Losers
A few other winners and losers from the 2024 trade deadline:
- Winner – Western Conference depth. Contenders like the Suns and Wolves improved their benches, while the Nuggets oddly stood pat.
- Winner – Pat Beverly‘s trade value and his “Pat Bev Pod” podcast, which broke his own trade news.
- Loser – The Mavericks, who gave up too much draft capital for an uncertain return from PJ Washington.
- Winner – Teams utilizing “pre-agency” to trade for upcoming free agents like Hield, Olynyk, and Monte Morris to get the inside track on re-signing them.
- Loser – The excitement surrounding offseason moves for the Lakers, Mavs, and other disappointing teams.
Despite some teams overpaying for sidepieces like PJ Washington, the 2024 NBA trade deadline brought needed roster shakeups across the league. With the standings and championship chase impacted, the final months of the regular season and playoffs will prove even more thrilling for NBA fans.
Sources:
www.sbnation.com/nba/2024/2/8/24065598/nba-trade-deadline-tracker-every-deal-boston-celtics-lakers-warriors
www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2024-nba-trade-deadline-tracker-buddy-hield-gordon-hayward-p-j-washington-moved-see-every-deal
www.theringer.com/nba/2024/2/8/24066535/2024-nba-trade-deadline-winners-and-losers
