Celtics, LeBron and the trade deadline winners and losers
Over the past two weeks, I've graded all 14 trades completed in advance of Thursday's NBA trade deadline individually.
Now, with a moment to catch my breath, it's time to consider the past couple of weeks as a whole in terms of which teams have benefited or suffered the most from NBA trade season.
Let's take a look at my winners and losers at the deadline.
Winners
Cleveland Cavaliers
Though they didn't make any moves after shedding Chris Andersen's contract last week, the events of the deadline played out well for the Cavaliers.
The Toronto Raptors did load up, but the Boston Celtics' decision to stand pat at the deadline is good news for Cleveland in terms of maintaining the No. 1 seed and getting through the Eastern Conference playoffs unscathed.
Perhaps more importantly, the Dallas Mavericks' buyout of Deron Williams should clear the way for Williams to join the Cavaliers barring a surprise on the waiver wire. ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Marc Stein have already reported that Williams intends to sign with Cleveland if he clears waivers.
Despite injury concerns, Williams is a better backup point guard than the Cavaliers could have realistically acquired via trade, and he'll come cheaper at the prorated veteran's minimum.
Houston Rockets
In terms of 2016-17 production, Lou Williams was the second-best player dealt midseason after DeMarcus Cousins -- Williams has produced 7.2 wins above replacement player by my metric this season, and Serge Ibaka is next at 4.7 -- and the Rockets were able to get Williams and offload Corey Brewer's salary for a first-round pick likely to fall late in the round.
Having added quality depth to the backcourt, Houston now turns its attention to the buyout market with the ability to offer $3.5 million to free agents, far more than teams that can pay only the prorated veteran's minimum.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans were able to get a superstar talent for the cost of their 2017 first-round pick and ineffective rookie Buddy Hield. No matter how cynical your assessment of Cousins' effect in the locker room and on the court, that's a great deal for an organization that frankly has little to lose by adding him.
As a result, New Orleans might be the franchise that took the single biggest step forward at the deadline.
Toronto Raptors
By adding Ibaka and P.J. Tucker, Toronto loaded up for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. With those reinforcements, I expect the Raptors' midseason slide -- they've lost 11 of their past 16 games -- to be a distant memory come the postseason.
While Toronto is unlikely to catch the Celtics for second place in the East, the third seed is achievable and right now I would favor the Raptors over the Celtics in a hypothetical matchup in the conference semifinals. Their revamped roster also seems better positioned to contend with Cleveland in a possible conference finals rematch.
Remarkably, Toronto managed to add two key pieces while retaining the better of this year's two first-round picks (the Raptors' own and one from the LA Clippers) and all its future first-rounders. So the Raptors didn't have to sacrifice too much of their future to contend now.
Losers
Boston Celtics
I don't blame the Celtics for being unable to complete deals with the Chicago Bulls or Indiana Pacers for Jimmy Butler and Paul George, which were always long shots. Boston might not have come up short for lack of interest. A league source suggested the Bulls and Pacers might regret holding on to their stars given how much the Celtics were willing to offer.
I'm more surprised Boston came out of the deadline with no help for the frontcourt or on the defensive glass. Come the conference semifinals, I think the Celtics might regret not addressing their weaknesses.
Boston has stockpiled enough draft picks that I would have been comfortable giving up one of the team's own first-round picks for Taj Gibson, who instead went to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as a rental. And even a fifth big man might have been an upgrade on Tyler Zeller as a situational center.
Sacramento Kings
I figured part of the logic behind completing the Cousins trade on Sunday was so the Kings had time to make other deals before the deadline. Instead, Sacramento was unable to get anything for the expiring contracts of guards Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans, Ty Lawson and Ben McLemore or shed the $1.5 million guaranteed portion of guard Arron Afflalo's 2017-18 salary.
The Kings are now left for the rest of the season with a mismatched roster that's overloaded in the backcourt and heavy on veterans who don't help a team that has all but conceded the eighth spot in the Western Conference and presumably wants to improve its lottery pick.
Washington Wizards
The past week was not ideal for the Wizards' chances of reaching the conference finals for the first time since 1979, when they lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals as the Bullets.
Though Washington made a move, I'm not sure that adding Bojan Bogdanovic will do enough to upgrade the Wizards' weak bench. They were unable to add a point guard and will have to count on Trey Burke and Tomas Satoransky behind John Wall the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
Worse yet, Toronto's moves make it far more likely the Raptors will make up the two-game gap between the two teams and knock Washington into fourth in the East, which would potentially set up a matchup with the Cavaliers in the conference semifinals if they remain in first place. Washington's best path to the conference finals is avoiding Cleveland as long as possible.
2017 TRADE GRADES
Kevin Pelton hands out his grades for all of the NBA deals at the deadline.
• How far can Cousins lead the Pelicans?
• Will Lou Williams help Rockets bench?
• Noel next Tyson Chandler for Dallas?
• How does Gibson fit in OKC?
• Can Tucker slow down LeBron?
• Bogdanovic boost to Wizards bench?
• Will Ennis help Lakers' backcourt?
• Who wins Hawks-Sixers Ilyasova deal?
• Who wins Bucks-Nuggets Hibbert deal?
• Who wins Hawks-Suns trade?
Over the past two weeks, I've graded all 14 trades completed in advance of Thursday's NBA trade deadline individually.
Now, with a moment to catch my breath, it's time to consider the past couple of weeks as a whole in terms of which teams have benefited or suffered the most from NBA trade season.
Let's take a look at my winners and losers at the deadline.
Winners
Cleveland Cavaliers
Though they didn't make any moves after shedding Chris Andersen's contract last week, the events of the deadline played out well for the Cavaliers.
The Toronto Raptors did load up, but the Boston Celtics' decision to stand pat at the deadline is good news for Cleveland in terms of maintaining the No. 1 seed and getting through the Eastern Conference playoffs unscathed.
Perhaps more importantly, the Dallas Mavericks' buyout of Deron Williams should clear the way for Williams to join the Cavaliers barring a surprise on the waiver wire. ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Marc Stein have already reported that Williams intends to sign with Cleveland if he clears waivers.
Despite injury concerns, Williams is a better backup point guard than the Cavaliers could have realistically acquired via trade, and he'll come cheaper at the prorated veteran's minimum.
Houston Rockets
In terms of 2016-17 production, Lou Williams was the second-best player dealt midseason after DeMarcus Cousins -- Williams has produced 7.2 wins above replacement player by my metric this season, and Serge Ibaka is next at 4.7 -- and the Rockets were able to get Williams and offload Corey Brewer's salary for a first-round pick likely to fall late in the round.
Having added quality depth to the backcourt, Houston now turns its attention to the buyout market with the ability to offer $3.5 million to free agents, far more than teams that can pay only the prorated veteran's minimum.
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans were able to get a superstar talent for the cost of their 2017 first-round pick and ineffective rookie Buddy Hield. No matter how cynical your assessment of Cousins' effect in the locker room and on the court, that's a great deal for an organization that frankly has little to lose by adding him.
As a result, New Orleans might be the franchise that took the single biggest step forward at the deadline.
Toronto Raptors
By adding Ibaka and P.J. Tucker, Toronto loaded up for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. With those reinforcements, I expect the Raptors' midseason slide -- they've lost 11 of their past 16 games -- to be a distant memory come the postseason.
While Toronto is unlikely to catch the Celtics for second place in the East, the third seed is achievable and right now I would favor the Raptors over the Celtics in a hypothetical matchup in the conference semifinals. Their revamped roster also seems better positioned to contend with Cleveland in a possible conference finals rematch.
Remarkably, Toronto managed to add two key pieces while retaining the better of this year's two first-round picks (the Raptors' own and one from the LA Clippers) and all its future first-rounders. So the Raptors didn't have to sacrifice too much of their future to contend now.
Losers
Boston Celtics
I don't blame the Celtics for being unable to complete deals with the Chicago Bulls or Indiana Pacers for Jimmy Butler and Paul George, which were always long shots. Boston might not have come up short for lack of interest. A league source suggested the Bulls and Pacers might regret holding on to their stars given how much the Celtics were willing to offer.
I'm more surprised Boston came out of the deadline with no help for the frontcourt or on the defensive glass. Come the conference semifinals, I think the Celtics might regret not addressing their weaknesses.
Boston has stockpiled enough draft picks that I would have been comfortable giving up one of the team's own first-round picks for Taj Gibson, who instead went to the Oklahoma City Thunder, as a rental. And even a fifth big man might have been an upgrade on Tyler Zeller as a situational center.
Sacramento Kings
I figured part of the logic behind completing the Cousins trade on Sunday was so the Kings had time to make other deals before the deadline. Instead, Sacramento was unable to get anything for the expiring contracts of guards Darren Collison, Tyreke Evans, Ty Lawson and Ben McLemore or shed the $1.5 million guaranteed portion of guard Arron Afflalo's 2017-18 salary.
The Kings are now left for the rest of the season with a mismatched roster that's overloaded in the backcourt and heavy on veterans who don't help a team that has all but conceded the eighth spot in the Western Conference and presumably wants to improve its lottery pick.
Washington Wizards
The past week was not ideal for the Wizards' chances of reaching the conference finals for the first time since 1979, when they lost to the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA Finals as the Bullets.
Though Washington made a move, I'm not sure that adding Bojan Bogdanovic will do enough to upgrade the Wizards' weak bench. They were unable to add a point guard and will have to count on Trey Burke and Tomas Satoransky behind John Wall the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
Worse yet, Toronto's moves make it far more likely the Raptors will make up the two-game gap between the two teams and knock Washington into fourth in the East, which would potentially set up a matchup with the Cavaliers in the conference semifinals if they remain in first place. Washington's best path to the conference finals is avoiding Cleveland as long as possible.
2017 TRADE GRADES
Kevin Pelton hands out his grades for all of the NBA deals at the deadline.
• How far can Cousins lead the Pelicans?
• Will Lou Williams help Rockets bench?
• Noel next Tyson Chandler for Dallas?
• How does Gibson fit in OKC?
• Can Tucker slow down LeBron?
• Bogdanovic boost to Wizards bench?
• Will Ennis help Lakers' backcourt?
• Who wins Hawks-Sixers Ilyasova deal?
• Who wins Bucks-Nuggets Hibbert deal?
• Who wins Hawks-Suns trade?
