NBA Trade Deadline 2019 Recap
This trade deadline needs a recap with all the moves that happened around the league
Major Trades
Knicks Trade Porzingis
There wasn’t a lot of significant movement out in the western conference. A lot of the major moves happened in the eastern conference starting with the first major trade during the deadline season which was the New York Knicks trading away their franchise centerpiece Kristaps Porzingis along with Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr., Deandre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, and two future first round picks.
This trade was really puzzling to me from the Knicks standpoint, I understand they had to unload the salaries of a lot of their players for cap space that they can use for free agents in the offseason, but I don’t get why they would include Kristaps in the deal who is only in his cheap rookie contract.
It would have been still possible for the Knicks to get two max deals for free agents and still keep KP so it was confusing why they wouldn’t want to try that out first and maybe that could repair the relationship between the Knicks and KP because they were able to get star players with him.
However, this was a great deal for the Mavericks getting Kristaps who is the spiritual successor of Dirk Nowitzkiand once KP gets healthy the Mavs will be able to utilize a great, young, talented duo of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis for years to come.
Eastern Conference Contenders Make Power Moves
Three of the top five teams in the eastern conference made big moves to bolster their roster for a strong playoff push this year.
First, the Milwaukee Bucks acquire sharpshooter Nikola Mirotic from the New Orleans Pelicans by just giving up some role players and four future second round picks.
This is a great deal for the Bucks as they add another shooter that can surround superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. All signs point to him doing well with a lot of space in Milwaukee’s system and Mirotic will probably be their main scoring option off the bench and maybe even be part of their lineup to finish games.
Another major trade was the Philadelphia 76ers going all in and giving up their rookie Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, two first round picks, and two second round picks for Mike Scott, Boban Marjanovic and dynamic scorer Tobias Harris.
So with this deal it looks like this is Philadelphia’s all-in move for a win-now situation. With Harris in the starting lineup, the Sixers first five players could match up with pretty much anyone in the league with Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris, and Joel Embiid. Harris is also a good insurance policy in the case that Butler leaves Philadelphia in free agency. Also the trade looks really good for Philly now with Tobias Harris looking good in the Sixers lineup so far.
And the last eastern conference contender to make a deal were the Toronto Raptors acquiring Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, CJ Miles, and a future second round pick.
Throughout the season it really felt like a formality that Marc Gasol was leaving Memphis but this move to the Raptors should invigorate him as he joins a contender. This is another all-in move by the Raptors to go for the championship this year with the uncertainty that surrounds Kawhi Leonard’s decision in free agency.
Minor Trades
There were some minor trades that happened around the league which will have some sort of impact in one way or another.
First, Harrison Barnes was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Zach Randolph and Justin Jackson in what looks like a move the Kings made to go all out for their playoff push this year in which they are currently jostling with the Lakers and Clippers for the 8th seed.
There was also a three team trade that brought Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Alec Burks to the Sacramento Kings, and Iman Shumpert to the Houston Rockets.
This looks like a good deal for the Rockets as they get another role player that can shoot from the perimeter.
In a trade that exchanges two young players, the Bucks approved of Thon Maker’s trade request and sent him to the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Stanley Johnson, who eventually landed with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Former number one overall pick, Markelle Fultz was also traded by the 76ers to the Orlando Magic for Jonathon Simmons.
This looks like a decent deal for both teams as Fultz can try to get back his confidence without any pressure in Orlando and Philadelphia gets another wing that can help boost their bench.
Another eastern conference trade that happened was Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker being traded to the Washington Wizards while Otto Porter goes to the Chicago Bulls. This seems like Washington’s small step towards eventually blowing it up with the possibility of also dealing Bradley Beal on the horizon.
And even though they struck out on Anthony Davis, the Los Angeles Lakers made two minor moves by acquiring Reggie Bullock from the Detroit Pistons for their rookie Svi Mykhailiuk and also acquiring Mike Muscala from the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley in an attempt to try and improve their shooting that Lebron James desperately needs.
