Seventeen thoughts on the 17 reported NBA trades from deadline day, with a surprising winner of the moment. A hint: South Beach came in second.
1. JaVale McGee for Isaiah Hartenstein? Now THAT was a whopper.
2. Trade deadline day had no shortage of drama. The Raptors held onto Kyle Lowry! The Heat nabbed Victor Oladipo! The Orlando Magic blew it all up, with several stacks of dynamite, and the Chicago Bulls stunned everybody by acquiring an All-Star in Nikola Vucevic. The Oladipo deal came across just before the 3 p.m. (ET) deadline, and we all sat in suspense as Lowry ultimately stayed put. But when it comes to tournament-changing moves on Thursday, the winner was…the Denver Nuggets.
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3. The Nuggets reached the Western Conference finals last season. And then they kinda screwed up. They lost depth and size and toughness in Mason Plumlee and Torrey Craig, and then they chose to run it back with Paul Millsap, who is on the last hole or two of a stellar NBA career. He is not, at present, a championship-level starter.
4. Nikola Jokic is in the middle of an MVP-caliber campaign, no question. Jamal Murray is dynamic, an explosive scorer who showed a lot of heart in Denver’s consecutive comebacks from 3-1 deficits during the NBA bubble playoffs. And Michael Porter Jr. continues to show he is likely the steal of the 2018 draft. But by sticking with Millsap as the starting four, and losing all that size off the bench, the Nuggets did not improve themselves in a rugged, Western Conference in which LeBron’s Lakers are king, the Clippers are viable, and the Utah Jazz are serious about passing them both.
5. The first trade Thursday was McGee, from the Cavs to the Nuggets, for Hartenstein and a couple of second-round picks. Did you know McGee has played in three of the last four Finals and won two? Maybe. Did you know he’s having an excellent season as a backup for the lowly Cavs, averaging 8.0 points, 5.2 boards and 1.2 blocks? Perhaps not. He can still run the floor, finish a lob off of a pick, and obviously can be the rim protector the Nuggets don’t have. So they made up for losing Plumlee by getting McGee.
6. Next, they landed Aaron Gordon, a headliner on deadline day. Gordon, 25, is enjoying an … OK season by his standards (14.6 points, 6.6 boards, career-best 37.5 percent from 3-point range). But his youth and skill set at this stage of his career, compared to Millsap, at this stage of his, makes him a clear upgrade, pairing him with Jokic and Porter in a frontcourt that now has a chance to not be totally exploited by the Lakers, and can compete with what the Clippers and Jazz have.
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7. Joker, Murray, Gordon, and Porter Jr. — especially while LeBron and Anthony Davis are out for weeks with injuries — are going to propel the Nuggets ahead of the Lakers in the standings, and maybe the Clippers. And in a seven-game series, with McGee and Millsap coming off the bench, the Nuggets are a more formidable threat in the West than they were last week or last season.
8. Behind the Nuggets, and yes, I mean this, is the Heat. Remember, the barometer here is: “who did things at the deadline to maybe change what happens in the playoffs?” The Nuggets could get to the NBA Finals because of those two trades. The Heat, yes, there is plenty of reason to be excited, but is Miami better than a healthy Brooklyn, Milwaukee or Philadelphia now?
9. Oladipo posted solid numbers in Houston (20 starts, 21.2 points, 5.0 assists), but he made no impact, as in zero, as far as helping the Rockets win. Assuming he stays healthy, playing alongside Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, could allow him to thrive in situations where he is drawing matchups against lesser defenders. Miami also added Nemanja Bjelica from the Kings to bolster its bench. If, as our own Shams Charania is reporting may happen, LaMarcus Aldridge chooses the Heat after his buyout from the Spurs is complete, Miami returns and cements its status as a formidable contender in the East.
10. But the Bucks made a trade last week for something they did not have in the Eastern semis last fall against Miami — a wing defender in P.J. Tucker, who can help deal with Butler. He joins Giannis Antetokounmpo, who probably deserves more MVP consideration than he’s getting this season, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday (instead of Eric Bledsoe). The Nets, assuming Kevin Durant’s body and Kyrie Irving’s mind are healthy, are unguardable. James Harden is dominating as a pass-first point guard, Joe Harris is a floor spacer as a fourth scoring option and Jeff Green has made a major impact as a versatile, smaller player in the frontcourt. And the Sixers are already the best team (record-wise) in the East, despite COVID-19 problems and Joel Embiid’s injury, and they improved by trading for George Hill to get another ballhandler who can shoot.
11. All of this is to say, I am not certain the Heat did enough to change its trajectory and make it back to the Finals.
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12. Behind the Nuggets and Heat, I think the Celtics made two moves that could change the season. They traded for Evan Fournier, who they desperately needed. Boston’s bench has been terrible this season. As my man and Celtics beat reporter Jay King said earlier Thursday, Fournier has made 73 3s this season. The Celtics’ entire bench has made 178. On what seems like a daily basis, coach Brad Stevens has lamented Boston’s mismatched roster, where there was no help behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the wings. Now, Stevens can bring either Fournier or Marcus Smart off the bench and not have to play two bigs together as starters.
13. About that: the Celtics also traded Daniel Theis to Chicago. He was arguably Boston’s best big. But neither Stevens nor the Celtics at large could figure out how to make it work with Theis, Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams. Moving Theis simplifies the rotation, which will be a little smaller and sleeker in the frontcourt, with a little more shooting, coupled with two All-Stars (Tatum, Brown), a former All-Star (Kemba Walker) and a heart-and-soul type in Smart, who’s been out a bunch this season. The Celtics may still be no better than fifth in the East, but they now have a chance to get there, instead of sliding into the play-in round.
14. There is no shortage of copy explaining what happened and didn’t happen regarding Lowry. As far as the Lakers are concerned, they didn’t need him. If LeBron is healthy, and Davis is healthy, a rival must beat them four times in a seven-game series. Good luck. Only the Steph-KD-Klay-Draymond Warriors have been able to do that to LeBron in his last five playoff runs, and that team doesn’t exist. If the Lakers sign Andre Drummond after he secures his buyout from Cleveland, they become even more athletic in the frontcourt. I am not entirely sold on Drummond as an impact player in the playoffs, but playing next to LeBron and Davis? Well, now you’re talking about putting the third-best big on the NBA’s reigning rebounding champ.
15. While the Bulls trading for Vucevic was indeed a stunner, could it mean a playoff bid for this once-proud franchise? He pairs with first-time All-Star Zach LaVine on a Bulls squad that is only 2.5 games out of the sixth seed. If they get that far, then they elevate out of the play-in round — a huge coup for a team that is third in the NBA over the last three seasons in losses (trailing only Cleveland and the Knicks). Vucevic’s 24.5 points, 11.8 boards and absurd .406 shooting from 3 as a 5 makes Chicago a much more difficult group to guard.
16. I can’t count the Raptors (18-26, 1.5 games out of 10th) out of the play-in round. They held onto Lowry and are bringing in Gary Trent Jr., a flamethrower. The Mavericks adding J.J. Redick as an option behind Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis helps, for sure. And the Clippers swapping Lou Williams for Rajon Rondo is minor, but Rondo gives them a voice that their best players (looking at you Kawhi, PG) simply don’t have.
17. As of this writing, all but one trade had yet to be announced by the league. Because that’s how it works. There are trade calls and approvals of deals and physicals. But by my count, 17 different trades were reported by my colleagues on Wednesday night (hey, what about that Delon Wright-Corey Joseph deal?!?) and Thursday. Ultimately, one or two will be rolled into others. But for now, that’s the number. I suppose I should have given the Blazers more credit for acquiring Norman Powell from the Raptors. He’ll look great next to Dame and C.J., but is Portland getting out of the second round? They might not even get there. Not if LeBron, or the tournament-changing Nuggets, have anything to say about it.
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(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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