The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and all that’s left is to decide who won or lost in 2023.
Winners
Phoenix Suns: They gave up a ton to get Kevin Durant – four picks, two excellent young players, a pick swap, and a gently-used Jae Crowder. It’s usually a mistake to give up so much unless it’s for a player that makes you a title contender. With Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, buyout guys to be named later and whatever Chris Paul has left approaching his 38th birthday, the Suns are probably just behind Boston as favorites to win it all.
They also have options this offseason, as Paul’s contract is only partially-guaranteed, making it very tradeable. Plus, Brian Windhorst said Kyrie Irving “really was interested” in coming to Phoenix. If new owner Mat Ishbia wanted to convince Booker he was committed to winning before Booker becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2024, this was a strong move.
Phoenix also swapped Dario Saric and a second-rounder for forward Darius Bazley, a cheaper, better roster fit.
Los Angeles Lakers: They missed out on Kyrie Irving, but we’ve all watched Irving for years – is it truly such a bad thing? Instead, the Lakers turned a future pick and Russell Westbrook into D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt, addressing two of their biggest weaknesses: Three-point shooting, and interior defense alongside Anthony Davis.
They also traded Thomas Bryant for Mo Bamba, dumped a now-redundant Patrick Beverley on Orlando, and got two second-round picks back. Suddenly, this roster makes much more sense, with ten legitimate NBA players. This should make the Lakers a playoff team this year.
Plus, the players and contracts they got give them far more flexibility for trades this summer than they would have had trying to use cap space.
Boston Celtics: They added Mike Muscala as a stretch big at the cost of two second-round picks and deep bench reserve Justin Jackson. He’ll help and he was cheap. Any time Boston can add a big goofy white guy, that’s a win for the fanbase.
Second-round picks: This was their year to shine. A whopping fifty-one second-rounders changed hands. The Spurs got six of them!
