A wild NBA trade deadline saw a lot of moves, some good and some raising questions, but also a few teams getting left out in the cold.
The 2022 NBA trade deadline was not short on activity. Things got moving in the days leading up to the deadline with a few notable trades, and once Thursday arrived, there were tons of fireworks. A lot of teams got involved and a lot of players are now on the move to new locations, whether that’s for good or after they hit the buyout market. It was a deadline that saw numerous former All-Stars get traded, some teams commit to being sellers, contenders bolstering their rosters, and a few teams getting left out in the cold. Here, we’ll look at the winners and losers of the last week of trade action, starting with the participants of the biggest trade of the day. Getty Image Everyone involved in the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade: This was genuinely great work by everyone involved in a rather disastrous situation they all shared responsibility for creating. Ben Simmons goes to a legitimate contender where he fits extremely well on paper, getting to play defense and be a connector and cutter offensively between two elite scorers in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. James Harden goes to a contender where he, likewise, fits very well, getting to do the bulk of the ball-handling while not needing to do absolutely everything offensively next to Joel Embiid. Seth Curry moves from contender to contender and slots beautifully into the role vacated by the injured Joe Harris. Daryl Morey proves himself right to drag this out and demand a superstar return for Simmons, all while holding on to Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle in — pun not intended — the process. Sean Marks gets a star under team control for longer than the guy who looked primed to leave this summer, plus Harris insurance and several first-round picks to maintain the flexibility to either add young talent or have real trade assets should they want veteran help. Joel Embiid got to do a funny tweet. We, the basketball viewing public, get to be done with reports about Simmons and the Sixers, as well as reports about Harden and the Nets. Just a great job all the way around. Now, give me the playoff series between these two in a few months. Boston Celtics: While their divisional rivals were swapping superstars with each other, the Celtics went out and had a very nice deadline. Brad Stevens accomplished ownership’s goal of ducking the luxury tax, which no one outside of the ownership group should celebrate, but he did so while also upgrading Boston’s roster as they look to be a factor come playoff time. Sending out Dennis Schröder, Enes Freedom, Bruno Fernando, Josh Richardson, and a first rounder to get Derrick White and Daniel Theis in return is pretty terrific deadline maneuvering. They know Theis is a good frontcourt fit and it allows them to bolster their center rotation. Meanwhile, White should fit like a glove next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown as a terrific perimeter defender and capable off-ball connector guard on offense, which they really needed. His shooting will be the swing skill that determines if this looks like a steal for the Celtics, but if nothing else, they bolstered their roster for a playoff run and managed to add some upside they previously didn’t have in the form of White. Phoenix Suns: While the top contenders in the East were going wild, the Suns went about their business, bolstering depth as they look to cement their place at the top of the West. Torrey Craig returns, and having to only give up Jalen Smith and a second is a worthwhile price for a team that wanted some more wing depth and was overflowing with centers ahead of Smith. They also went out and snagged Aaron Holiday for a touch more guard depth, which is more of a regular season help as Cam Payne continues to rehab a wrist injury (and make some headlines by jumping in Twitter Spaces).
