The NBA trade deadline can be a blur, especially when it extends over five full days of dealing and leads off with a Luka Dončić blockbuster as an aperitif. This year’s deadline, in particular, was a lot of information in a short time.
With 26 of the league’s 30 teams making some kind of move ahead of the deadline, and heads spinning from Seattle to South Beach at the dizzying speed of transactions, it’s time to reset things, evaluate everyone’s work and rank every team’s trade deadline.
I’ve already written on the biggest moves, and I won’t repeat myself too much here, but this is also a way to dive into some of the neater and nerdier elements of deadline week. Let’s get to work:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
After acquiring Dončić, there is literally no other move the Lakers could have made at the deadline and not ended up No. 1. They could have followed it up by trading LeBron James for Ben Simmons, and I still would have put them here.
I already wrote about this once, but the Dončić deal was that profound. It immediately elevates the Lakers from a weird middle ground of trying to ride out the LeBron era without burning too many assets to all-out title-chasing.
In addition to somehow parlaying Anthony Davis’ 30s into Dončić’s 20s, Dončić should be a magnet for other aspiring free agents, the trade creates more cap room for L.A. in 2026 and the Lakers reset the clock on an aging roster. That it cost them a swap of Maxes (Christie for Kleber) is unfortunate but massively secondary.
L.A.’s nuked deal for Mark Williams sets back the Lakers’ short-term ceiling, but it was likely a dodged bullet. The oft-injured big man could have helped their playoff run this year if healthy, but L.A. was likely finishing games with Dorian Finney-Smith at center either way. The Lakers should be better off taking an unprotected 2031 first-round pick and swaps in 2030 and 2032 into the summer market to hunt for more impressive prey. And unlike this year, L.A. will have plentiful expiring money to sprinkle into summer 2025 trades.
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2. Minnesota Timberwolves (no trades)
The Wolves didn’t make any moves but still won recently when an arbitrator ruled Monday in favor of Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez in their long battle with Glen Taylor for ownership of the franchise. Rejoice, Wolves fans! One suspects this also means team president Tim Connelly is less of a flight risk.
As far as the on-court product goes, Minnesota didn’t have a lot of reasonable options on the table, being over the collective bargaining agreement’s second apron and out of assets from previous trades. One uncomfortable question: Should they have cashed in their Nickeil Alexander-Walker stock before he hits unrestricted free agency this summer?
3. LA Clippers
Any time you can dump all your bad contracts, escape the luxury tax and somehow come out ahead on draft picks, that has to be worthy of applause.
I don’t think the Clippers’ deadline work is getting enough attention, even if much of it was undoing previous mistakes. LA entered the deadline saddled with a regrettable extension (Terance Mann), a player option for next year they didn’t want to be picked up (Kevin Porter Jr.’s) and $17 million in non-performing money (P.J. Tucker and Bones Hyland).
In a series of three trades, they turned those four players into Bogdan Bogdanović and three expiring contracts (Drew Eubanks, Patty Mills and MarJon Beauchamp) and netted out at three seconds inbound and only one going out. Bogdanović has had an awful year in Atlanta after starring off the bench in 2023-24, but his team option for 2026-27 means the Clippers can cut bait after next year if he can’t rediscover his mojo.
4. San Antonio Spurs
There is no question the Spurs had to do the De’Aaron Fox trade, even if a max extension for him this summer might be negative value by the end of the contract. To have a star player have San Antonio first on his destination list? And to be able to execute the trade while still hanging on to most of their best trade assets? That’s a no-brainer.
San Antonio also unloaded its worst recent mistake, a dreadful contract extension for Zach Collins that would have paid him $18 million next year. The net cost of three firsts and five seconds wasn’t cheap, even if only one of the firsts (a 2031 Minnesota selection) has good odds of striking lottery paydirt.
The Spurs, however, still need more shooting around Fox and Victor Wembanyama. More importantly, the Spurs need to truly hand the keys to the offense to Fox. I know it’s only been a few games, but when I watch the post-trade version of San Antonio, there are still too many times when Fox is chugging off to the corner while Chris Paul slows things down and runs the show.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers
This is exactly the type of trade a team chasing a ring should make. De’Andre Hunter is a knockdown shooter who also destroys smaller guards in switches and can capably guard both forward positions. His minutes likely need to be limited because of his knees, but on this loaded roster, that won’t be a problem.
Cleveland had been getting middling production from its bench group, with Caris LeVert’s torrid start fading sharply of late; only Ty Jerome was delivering consistently. He’s now paired with his former college teammate Hunter (wahoowa!) on that unit. Hunter also is signed for two more seasons; the money is on the high side and will make the Cavs a tax team each of the next two years, but this trade also put Cleveland below the tax in 2024-25. Thus, the Cavs should be able to avoid the repeater penalty in 2026-27.
As for the costs, the Cavs paid three seconds and two pick swaps. Remember, however, these are pick swaps from a loaded Cleveland side in 2026 and 2028; it’s not clear Atlanta will be able to cash these.
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6. Utah Jazz
No blockbusters here, but the Jazz had a heck of a week despite failing to move Jordan Clarkson, John Collins or Collin Sexton, renting out their exception space and room below the luxury-tax line to net five second-round picks.
The Jazz got two seconds for taking on the small contract of Jalen Hood-Schifino in the Dončić trade, then got three more seconds in a series of deals that turned Drew Eubanks and Patty Mills into K.J. Martin and Josh Richardson. Somehow, they walked away from it all with the 24-year-old Martin and his non-guaranteed deal for next season.
In between all that was perhaps the pièce de résistance: They took three likely late first-round picks and turned them into a golden, unprotected 2031 Suns pick.
7. Washington Wizards
The Wizards backed up the truck and collected more assets, sending out Kyle Kuzma and Jonas Valančiūnas, taking in unwanted players from the Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies and ending up with two firsts and a pick swap.
I didn’t love the deal with Philadelphia that cost them four seconds and productive two-way Jared Butler in return for a late 2026 first-rounder, but the other deals more than made up for it. Turning a trade exception into Valančiūnas this summer, then Valančiūnas into two seconds at the trade deadline was a nice way to churn cap resources into assets. The Marcus Smart salary dump from Memphis has a chance to pay out twice if the Wizards can get him on the court and recoup some value at the next trade deadline.
The Kuzma trade offers the chance at a big swing — a 2028 pick swap with Milwaukee — in return for taking on Khris Middleton’s $34 million next year. (Middleton has a player option, but it seems unlikely he’d turn this down.) Given that Kuzma was awful this year and still had two years left on his deal, and the Wizards can possibly flip Middleton for more value next year, this was a stellar move.
8. Charlotte Hornets
The Mark Williams trade was a spectacular piece of opportunism that sadly went by the wayside when the Lakers flunked his physical, but give the Hornets points for nearly pulling that off.
Charlotte also got a first-round pick from Phoenix in a salary dump involving Jusuf Nurkić, and now the Hornets can try to rehabilitate his value between now and the next trade deadline. Between that and netting out two seconds from the previous Nick Richards trade with Phoenix, plus coming away with the very useful Josh Okogie in that deal, Charlotte had a nice week.
Mark Williams works against the Nuggets’ Julian Strawther earlier this month. (Brian Westerholt / Imagn Images)
9. New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans can take a victory lap for turning Brandon Ingram into a first-round pick, assuring they won’t be compelled to overpay to bring him back next year and also assuring he won’t return and cause them to inadvertently win too many games.
Kelly Olynyk’s $13.5 million contract for next year is unhelpful for a team that will (once again) spend the year tap dancing along the tax line, but the Pelicans will have Bruce Brown’s Bird rights and could bring him back on a reasonable deal to fill in their hollowed-out wing depth. The Pels also gave up an additional second to drop off Daniel Theis in Oklahoma City.
10. Detroit Pistons
Detroit took advantage of its $14 million in cap space — the only such trove in the league — by taking in Dennis Schröder to fortify the backup point guard spot while still adding two second-round picks and a bench piece in Lindy Waters. The Pistons pulled it off by first taking K.J. Martin and picks in a salary dump from Philadelphia, and then turning Martin into Schröder as part of the five-team Jimmy Butler trade.
Thus, it wasn’t an either/or — the Pistons added talent and draft capital. And they did it without cutting into this offseason’s projected $25 million in cap room. Schröder was a bust in Golden State but was great in Brooklyn the first third of the season; he should fill in ably at a trouble spot in the rotation.
11. Oklahoma City Thunder
Hey, they traded a 2029 second for a 2030 second. That was fun!
And then the Thunder grabbed another second when the Pelicans needed to dump Daniel Theis’ minimum salary. It’s amazing that they had enough flexibility to receive salary and get extra picks, even while they’re driving a truck over the league right now.
12. Houston Rockets
Could they have done more? The Rockets sat out the Fox deal and didn’t push any other chips in despite sitting on a bevy of expiring contracts and draft assets. The Rockets did use their space below the tax line to acquire two second-round picks, taking on Jaden Springer and Cody Zeller.
The Rockets are partly hamstrung by the fact that extensions for Jalen Green and Alperen Şengün already have them well into next year’s projected tax. Look for them to be more active this summer once they get a read on how this current group looks in a playoff series.
13. Brooklyn Nets
The Nets are here based on their early season work. They did well to, um, net out with two seconds in the Schröder deal and were able to turn Dorian Finney-Smith into three seconds from the Lakers.
However, they’re also building a reputation for overplaying their hand in trade negotiations, and this deadline was a good example. How was Cameron Johnson not dealt? And D’Angelo Russell, for that matter? At least they finally moved on from Ben Simmons.
14. Golden State Warriors
The Jimmy Butler deal made sense, as I wrote last week, to give the Steph Curry Era one more chance without nuking long-term assets. Unfortunately, in the bigger picture, I can’t put Golden State too high because the Butler move was also too little too late. The Warriors needed to pounce on opportunities like this two years ago, not now. The contract extension that came with the deal also puts the Warriors at risk; Butler will be 37 and making $57 million in 2026-27.
The other reason to not put Golden State too high is the demerit for the sunk cost of the failed Schröder deal. That one had a net cost of two seconds and produced an 8.5 PER on 47.4 percent true shooting in 24 games. Yikes.
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15. Sacramento Kings
When do the “LaLa Land” jokes start? The Kings came away with LaVine and LaRavia, as well as the league’s first all-Lithuanian center combo.
It’s always a bummer when you have to trade a star player, and dealing De’Aaron Fox for a draft platter that is likely to be two firsts and five seconds doesn’t feel great. Of the picks, only the 2031 Minnesota pick has blockbuster potential, but I thought the Kings made out decently anyway.
Fox is electric when at his best, but he isn’t for everyone — a not-quite-superstar about to command max money. Sacramento has also functioned decently with Malik Monk at the point. (The Kings do need a real backup, though.) In the end, I’m not sure this roster’s talent level over the next two years is dramatically different from if it had Fox back on a max deal.
I liked the Jake LaRavia deal the best. He fills a size/skill area at backup forward where the Kings were extremely shallow and should be a major upgrade on the Doug McDermott-Jae Crowder combo they were using to paper over these minutes. The Kings can’t re-sign him for more than $5.1 million next summer because the Grizzlies declined his fourth-year option, but a one-year deal at that number with a second-year player option seems a plausible work around unless LaRavia completely blows up. To get that for two fungible players and a second-round pick was good work.
Turning Kevin Huerter into Zach LaVine as part of the deal was the move that lets the Kings fight another day. It was either this or trade all their guys and tank, and the Kings are too good right now to pull off that latter move effectively. LaVine’s contract isn’t toxic anymore, not when he’s still playing well and can become a free agent in 2026, and the Kings have enough room below next year’s projected tax line to re-sign LaRavia and add another piece or two.
Finally, trading two seconds to take Valančiūnas into their nontaxpayer midlevel exception fixed a glaring need at backup center, but at a cost: Valančiūnas is pricey for a backup center, on the books for $10.4 million next season.
16. Philadelphia 76ers
It wasn’t just salary dumping, although getting under the luxury tax was clearly part of Philadelphia’s agenda once the season went sideways. In particular, the trade of Caleb Martin for Quentin Grimes should allow Philadelphia to re-sign Grimes as a restricted free agent, where his defense and 3-point shooting could give Philly a legit starting-caliber role player at shooting guard.
Trading Reggie Jackson and a 2026 first for Jared Butler and four seconds was also a sneaky-good move. Because the first is the least favorable of the Thunder’s, Rockets’ or Clippers’, it has a strong chance to be 29th or 30th. There is a decent chance the four seconds could have more overall draft value than the one first that went out. Additionally, Jared Butler has been good this year; on a two-way deal, he likely warrants a promotion to the main roster at some point.
Sending out two seconds to drop off K.J. Martin was a more run-of-the-mill salary dump and a bit of a self-own given that the Sixers only signed him this summer to use his contract as matching salary at the trade deadline.
It’s no big surprise that K.J. Martin’s contract was used to make a deadline deal. (Kyle Ross / USA Today Sports)
17. Memphis Grizzlies
Admitting a mistake and moving on is far more preferable to the usual NBA move of keeping the guy around on your roster for a few extra years and hoping and praying his trade value recovers. Memphis cut its losses on the Smart whiff by moving down roughly 20-25 spots in the 2025 draft (trading its own first for the lesser of Golden State’s or Phoenix’s second), clearing $21 million in salary for next season.
After re-signing Santi Aldama (which I’m hearing is a priority), that money can either go toward a renegotiate-and-extend deal for Jaren Jackson Jr. or building out the rest of the roster via exception deals and trades.
One nerdy aspect to watch out for come July: Sign-and-trade shenanigans with Marvin Bagley’s $12.5 million expiring contract. He can be part of a deal this summer for a decently sized contract without triggering base-year compensation rules.
Memphis also traded LaRavia for a second-round pick. He had played well this year, but the Grizzlies were capped at paying him no more than $5.1 million in 2025-26 after declining his fourth-year option, and his minutes were getting squeezed with other roster players returning to health.
18. New York Knicks
Jericho Sims and the rights to Mathias Lessort for Delon Wright and the rights to Hugo Besson? I mean, sure?
Mitchell Robinson’s impending return likely means Sims never sees the floor the rest of the year, and the Knicks saved pocket change. (Literally — $4,825 in salary, plus the luxury-tax multiplier. NBA teams spend more than this on the team brunch at the Ritz-Carlton.) Besson was drafted 58th in 2023, and I’ve never thought he was an NBA player, but he’s been good enough in Turkey this year to perhaps reconsider that point.
What’s the angle here? It’s likely this: As a draft-rights player, the Knicks could sign Besson for the rookie minimum this summer, which would count barely half as much as a veteran in the same roster spot next year. For a team that’s sweating every penny below next year’s projected second apron, that could end up mattering quite a bit, similar to the way Ariel Hukporti’s minimum deal did this year.
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19. Indiana Pacers
Trading James Wiseman and cash to Toronto for a fake draft pick (a 2026 top-55 protected second from Toronto that will never convey) was the only logical move once the Pacers picked up his guarantee in January.
Wiseman’s season-ending Achilles tear the first week of the season essentially assured that would happen due to something called “salary continuation” in the CBA. Once the regular season has begun, teams are required to pay an injured player’s salary until he is healthy, even if his deal is non-guaranteed, unless the contract has a specific exclusion for that injury.
Otherwise, Indy’s decision to stand pat was interesting. The Pacers are playing much better of late but are still at least one player away from having a championship-contending roster. Should they have pushed harder? Clearly some effort went into finding out how the league values their players (particularly Myles Turner and Bennedict Mathurin), but sometimes there just isn’t a deal, and you can’t force it.
20. Atlanta Hawks
I thought Atlanta went 1-for-2 on its major deadline deals. The first one, trading Hunter to Cleveland, was exactly the right move for where the franchise currently stands.
The Hawks cashed in a career year for Hunter, moved off some problematic money each of the next two years and got back two players (Caris LeVert and Georges Niang) who should fortify the bench enough to continue a respectable run for the Play-In and eighth seed. The deal rebuilt Atlanta’s draft capital with three firsts and two pick swaps, although the swaps with mighty Cleveland seem unlikely to pay off.
The second deal, trading Bogdanović and three seconds to the Clippers for Mann and Hyland, was much less encouraging. Let’s just say it’s a bad sign when people are initially confused and think your team is the one getting the draft picks.
Hyland was waived immediately, while Mann’s contract is negative value thanks to an extension for $15.5 million a year that runs through 2028. Yes, Mann’s athleticism on the wing is needed on this roster, and Bogdanović had been a huge disappointment this season, struggling to get his lower body right all year. However, a 2026 team option meant Bogdanović’s contract has two years less to run than Mann’s. That’s a big deal.
One can argue the Bogdanović trade was only two seconds — a reverse-protected Memphis second in 2026 (31 to 42 only) in that deal seems unlikely to convey. However, the Hunter trade had another, hidden cost. Because it pushed the Hawks just over the luxury-tax line, Atlanta was forced to make a third trade, sending out another second in a salary dump that sent Zeller to Houston.
21. Orlando Magic (no trades)
I was surprised Orlando sat out the trade deadline, given the glaring need for perimeter shot creation — with or without Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero in the lineup — and guards could be had this year. Patience has paid off for Orlando in its rebuild, but at some point, cards need to be played. With the Magic’s offense in free-fall and plentiful expiring contracts and picks to put in any potential deal, this seemed like the time to strike.
22. Portland Trail Blazers (no trades)
Being in Portland last week, it seemed obvious not much was brewing on the trade front — everyone was way too chill. This, arguably, was a circumstantial situation: There is no market for Deandre Ayton or Jerami Grant, the Blazers don’t want to deal their young guys, and Robert Williams and Matisse Thybulle need to stay on the court before anyone offers something of value for either.
Those bloated contracts for Ayton and Grant also prevented Portland from taking contracts into its exception money; anything large enough to warrant significant draft capital coming the Blazers’ way was going to put them into the tax. The Blazers will be in the same boat next year, too, unless they find a way to drop a contract or two in the offseason.
23. Denver Nuggets (no trades)
Denver’s top six players are doing just fine, thanks, but everything after that on the roster is a low-key disaster. Unfortunately, the Nuggets have already traded every one of their second-round picks and every one of their tradable firsts. The only plausible asset to put in a deal was a 2031 pick swap.
One can argue that still should have been on the table to convert some dead money at backup center (Dario Šarić and Zeke Nnaji combine to make $14 million) into another real rotation player. Alas, history says the Nuggets will probably just give up 2032 picks to put those guys in a summer salary dump trade instead.
Dario Šarić has helped fill Denver’s backup center role alongside Zake Nnaji. (Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)
24. Boston Celtics
Boston made the money trade everyone saw coming for months, giving up a second-round pick to drop Jaden Springer into Houston’s room exception, then otherwise sat this one out.
However, Boston couldn’t extricate itself from the second apron — landing $4 million over — and thus, the Celtics will face some hard choices this summer. Their second-apron status will result in a frozen draft pick in 2032, and the Celtics will move to the end of the draft if they stay over the second apron again in 2025-26. Boston will need to cut roughly $20 million in salary to squeeze under.
25. Milwaukee Bucks
Well, trading Wright for Sims was a nice piece of small ball.
Trading Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma? …. Aggggghhhhhh. Kuzma has been awful this year, and while you can argue he’ll be better in a less depressing situation than Washington’s, the counterargument is that even the “good” version of Kuzma has never been particularly good.
I’m slightly sympathetic to the idea that, given the financial corner the Bucks were painted into, this wasn’t a bad resolution. They needed to get out of the second apron and did, they have a lot more flexibility to construct the roster next year because Kuzma makes barely half as much as Middleton in 2025-26, and they effectively swapped a bad draft pick for two seconds at the same time by putting AJ Johnson in the deal.
However, the part that stings is the 2028 pick swap. Yes, Washington is rebuilding, but that 2027-28 season is also when Giannis Antetokounmpo has a player option and can become a free agent. If he walks, it could be a killer double-whammy.
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26. Miami Heat
Miami finally got something for Jimmy Butler and yielded some additional savings by turning it into a five-team deal. The Heat ended up far enough below the first apron that they can play in the buyout market to fill out the back end of the roster, although they did not get all the way out of the tax.
However, in the big picture, Miami bungled things so badly leading up to this point — starting with not trading Butler much, much sooner — that it’s hard to conjure up too much applause now. Even with this deal, Miami ended up taking on more 2026 money than it wanted with Andrew Wiggins’ deal and had to offset the draft capital from the Warriors (a likely 2025 first in the teens) by sending out two seconds to dump Josh Richardson and P.J. Tucker.
We’ve seen Miami’s front office deal its way out of jams before, but right now, the Heat are stuck in the middle. They’re an average team with limited star power and few draft assets.
27. Chicago Bulls
Wow, the Bulls almost chose a direction. I mean, they were this close. Trading LaVine after two years of trying, and getting their first-round pick back in return, should have been the first rock in the rebuilding landslide.
Instead … crickets.
Nikola Vučević is 34, having his best season and … is still here. According to a league source, the Bulls had a firm offer to get a first-round pick and take on future money for Lonzo Ball and extended him instead. Good news, though: 12 of the Bulls’ players are signed for next season. They can just re-sign Josh Giddey, run it back and chase the Play-In again. Yay?
One piece of positive spin: I am very interested to see if the Bulls can revive Huerter, a talented offensive player who may get more chances with the ball in his hands than he did in Sacramento.
28. Toronto Raptors
I’m not sure any organization has gone faster from “universally admired” to “What exactly is the plan here?” without changing any of the key front office personnel.
The Raptors traded a first-round pick and a second-round pick for the right to pay impending free agent Brandon Ingram this summer, then won a bidding war against crickets when they agreed to a three-year, $120 million extension on Monday.
He’s a talented offensive player but also one of the league’s most frustrating and oft-injured and seems to heavily overlap with Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett. The salary for Toronto’s starting five is $156 million plus unlikely bonuses. Add in a high lottery pick (don’t worry, Raptors fans, Ingram isn’t good enough or healthy enough to mess that up), and their top six salaries alone will push the team to the tax line for a squad that on paper will be fighting for the Play-In.
Getting a second-round pick and cash to turn Davion Mitchell into P.J. Tucker was a nice piece of business. However, the Ingram trade prevented Toronto from using any more of its nontaxpayer midlevel exception to take on unwanted contracts, because it pushed Toronto to the tax line. The Raptors also weren’t able to trade Chris Boucher’s expiring deal, despite his strong season and the seeming unlikelihood that he’ll be back.
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29. Phoenix Suns
At least Dallas had a plan (you’ll see below), however flawed it was. The Suns’ deadline wasn’t as destructive, but elements of it were flat-out hilarious.
The Suns basically traded a dollar for three quarters when they moved an unprotected 2031 first to Utah for three other firsts that are likely to fall late in the draft. The assumption at the time was that the Suns must have other moves lined up to immediately take advantage. Nope! They just kind of wanted to make change.
Had they been slightly more patient, the Suns likely could have just traded Jusuf Nurkić and one of those firsts for Nick Richards and Cody Martin. Instead, they almost certainly paid more in draft capital by doing it as two separate deals and ended up with the extremely waivable Vasilije Micić on their roster instead of the now-departed defensive energizer Josh Okogie.
The Suns will have their 2032 draft pick frozen as a result of landing over the second apron. Even with Nurkić’s money off the books, Phoenix will need to cut more money this offseason to get below the second apron and avoid having that pick moved to the back of the draft.
Two small things to note: First, the trade of three future seconds for a late 2025 second in the Richards deal does allow the Suns to fill their 14th roster spot in 2025-26 with a rookie minimum deal, which could aid the second-apron-avoidance project.
Second, the pick they sent to Charlotte in the Nurkić trade was a likely late one in 2026 (the lesser of Memphis, Orlando, Washington or its own). Combined with the 2031 firsts they already owe, it means the Suns can only trade a first in one of 2028 or 2029; on draft night, they can also trade the first-round pick they are getting from Cleveland that will likely be 29th or 30th. Those are their only two tradable picks this summer.
30. Dallas Mavericks
Somehow, some way, Dallas talked itself into the idea that life would be better without the 25-year-old superstar who dragged them to last year’s NBA Finals. Apparently, they needed somebody steadier, more durable and more well-liked as their perimeter go-to guy. Somebody like Kyrie Irving.
Rushing back Anthony Davis only for him to get injured in his first game was the icing on the cake, except the cake also needed a cherry. Enter owner Patrick Dumont, who contributed a solid piece of unintentional slapstick over the weekend when he alluded to the work ethic of great players and somehow mentioned Shaquille O’Neal but not Dirk Nowitzki.
There’s a small kernel of wisdom in what Dallas did, perhaps. That said, if you start with, “Does this have the chance to be one of the worst trades in NBA history?” it’s pretty easy to end up at, “Yes.” The Mavs gave up five years on the deal, acquired a player who was more injury prone than Dončić and, most importantly, didn’t get nearly enough in draft capital to offset the talent and age disparity between the two players. Even if you believed Dončić was headed downhill, his trade value across the league was through the roof, and the Mavs only captured a fraction of it.
Dallas also traded Grimes for Martin and two seconds in a move apparently driven by the lack of agreement on an extension with Grimes before the season. Martin has disappointed this year and has three years left on his deal; I might have tried to ride out restricted free agency with Grimes.
(Top photo of Luka Dončić: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images; top photo of Anthony Davis: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)
