This has been a wild NBA trade deadline. I thought the second apron would suppress deals, but I didn't factor in a few key elements:
1. That Dallas would lose their minds.
2. The value teams would accept for their players.
3. That the Warriors would value Jimmy Butler.
The Mavs moving Luka Doncic is obviously the seismic move that shook a lot of other things free. I think it also set the market and triggered a flurry of moves where teams just kind of took what they could to avoid future headaches, including Miami with Butler.
Let’s take a look at the major deals around the league now that we have some added perspective.
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Wizards get: Marcus Smart, 2025 first-round pick
Grizzlies get: Two second-round picks
Whew, Smart gets salary-dumped to Washington. Between the injuries and inconsistent play, things did not go well for Smart in Memphis. A third team may be involved. I don't know what the Wizards plan to do with Smart after this.
And just in case anyone is wondering, no the Celtics can't sign him after he's bought out. They are a second apron team, and he makes too much money.
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Cavaliers get: De’Andre Hunter
Hawks get: Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks (unclear which specifically), and two second-round swaps.
This is a nice upgrade on the wing for the Cavs, who have seen how the Celtics attack them and decided they needed to improve. Hunter will be an effective defender against Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum, and he’s shooting 39% from 3 this season. He’s in his prime and now he’s on the number one team in the East.
The Hawks might be realizing that things aren’t going their way. They need to move on from Trae Young. He does some fun things on the court, but how much has he won there?
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Bucks get: Kyle Kuzma, Patrick Baldwin Jr., second-round pick
Wizards get: Khris Middleton, AJ Johnson, 2028 first-round pick swap
Kuzma gives Milwaukee a guy who can stay on the floor. He’ll rebound, which will be helpful. He’ll hit some shots, but probably not a “knockdown” clip. He's more reliable than Middleton, and that stability will help them. At least they know what they'll be getting from night to night.
My reaction to this trade is mostly just sadness. This is what’s become of Middleton? This is like watching a musical act you used to love play Bally’s in Rhode Island. I just want to say “awwww, come on” and cry about what used to be.
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Lakers get: Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, Markieff Morris
Mavericks get: Anthony Davis, Max Christie, Lakers 2029 first-round pick
Jazz get: Jalen Hood-Schifino, Clippers 2025 second-round pick, Dallas 2025 second-round pick
Nico Harrison is betting his career on this move. The Mavs have made it clear: They don’t want to be in the Doncic business because of his conditioning and lack of motivation to improve it. There may be some more behind-the-scenes stuff, but every bit of reporting out there basically implies that Dallas doesn’t want a Joel Embiid sunk-cost situation.
I still think they committed a massive mistake by not canvassing the league. Rob Pelinka flat-out said that he convinced the Mavs to keep it between them or else “this day would never happen.”
Rob Pelinka telling us that he convinced Nico Harrison to not talk to ANYONE ELSE other than the Lakers and Mavs GM and Owners so that ‘trust’ could be established 😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/G78tPYLuQ7
— Swipa (@SwipaCam) February 4, 2025
The only way Harrison keeps his job is if the Mavs win a title this season or next. If they're not a contender by the trade deadline, I don’t see how he can stay employed. And that says a lot for a team that just acquired Anthony Davis.
Here’s why this deal is especially bad. Trading for Doncic is supposed to be the last thing a team does to reset its franchise. Their assets are supposed to be spent. Instead, the Mavs allowed the Lakers to do this:
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Lakers get: Mark Williams
Hornets get: Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, 2031 unprotected first-round pick, 2030 pick swap
Williams is a young, rim-running big who has been limited by injuries. Think Robert Williams, but not the same level of defender yet. This is the kind of center Doncic wants to run with, and if he can stay healthy, he can be part of a great offensive duo for a long time.
The Lakers went all-in on this deal because everything they gave up over these two deals is a little closer to a normal package for Doncic and Williams. I still think the trade is tilted in LA’s favor, but they could afford to give these picks for Williams since they didn’t give them for Doncic.
Williams isn’t a guaranteed hit for the Lakers, but the ceiling is pretty high if he can stay on the floor. And it’s hard to imagine what he can be when surrounded by Doncic and LeBron James versus LaMelo Ball and the cast of characters on the perenially rebuilding Hornets. If he can stay healthy and commit to playing better defense, then the Lakers are sitting pretty for a while.
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Spurs get: De'Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
Kings get: Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, Hornets (via Spurs) protected 2025 first-round pick, Spurs 2027 first-round pick, Timberwolves (via Spurs) 2031 first-round pick, Bulls 2025 second-round pick, Nuggets (via Spurs) 2028 second-round pick, 2028 second-round pick (their own pick returned)
Bulls get: Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, 2025 first-round pick (their own pick returned)
Fox is good, but he’s made one All-NBA and one All-Star team in eight seasons, so he’s not on Doncic’s level. Still, the Kings did well enough getting LaVine back plus a bunch of picks. I don’t think the value was going to get much better for the Kings, who spun Cissoko and two seconds to Washington for Jonas Valanciunas.
The Kings will still score a bunch of points. I’m not sure what else, that gets them, other than the avoidance of a headache.
The Spurs win this deal pretty easily. Fox fits nicely next to Victor Wembanyama. Fox is a threat to get downhill and score, so he has to be respected in the pick-and-roll. That will leave Wemby to roll or pop, so they will have some fun together. And, as always, perimeter players become better defenders when someone like Wembanyama is behind them, so this is a good deal on both side for the Spurs.
And if it doesn’t work out, the Spurs still have a ton of picks and their most tradeable players in Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson. If the fit somehow doesn’t materialize, they can pivot in a heartbeat.
The Bulls seem to finally be hitting the reset button. Good for them for finally realizing it was time.
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Raptors get: Brandon Ingram
Pelicans get: Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, Pacers (via Raptors) first-round pick, 2025 second-round pick
So Toronto now has Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, and Ingram. Something has to give there. Toronto already tried the “everyone on the team is 6-foot-7” thing and it didn’t really work for them. Maybe trying it with Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley will go better?
I don’t understand Toronto right now.
The Pelicans are starting over. I’m waiting to see what they do with Zion Williamson. Man, what a disaster the Zion era has been. He came into the league with so much hype. I'll pat myself on the back on my take questioning what he'd be in the NBA. A guy his size doing the things he does doesn't make sense, and I always wondered what it would do to this body. I wish I was wrong about that.
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Warriors get: Jimmy Butler
Heat get: Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, P.J. Tucker, Protected first-round pick
Pistons get: Lindy Waters, Josh Richardson
Jazz get: Dennis Schröder
Tucker was subsequently moved to Toronto for Davion Mitchell, so the Heat pick up a defensive specialist in this deal.
As far as I’m concerned, Butler is brand-name Andrew Wiggins. I don’t think Butler can consistently be what he used to be, and I don’t think this moves the needle at all. But the Warriors get to say the did something and in two years the whole thing is going to get detonated. All this did was prolong the inevitable. I can't wait to see how Butler tears this thing apart from the inside.
I’m still waiting on what’s happening with Anderson. He could be a buyout candidate for Boston.
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There's still some time between now and the deadline, but I think all the major moves have happened. If anything new comes up, I’ll update the post.