The Good Gets Better: My Reaction to the NBA Trade Deadline

The NBA trade deadline is over and while no current superstars were relocated, there were a bunch of interesting moves and trades. Let’s look at how the NBA has changed since the deadline and who is better and worse after the trades. 

The team that changed the most after the deadline was Orlando Magic. They completely blew up. They shipped their all-star center, Nikola Vučević, to Chicago in exchange for some younger pieces, sent forward Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets for basically nothing and sent Evan Fournier to the Celtics. The Magic have been teetering on a playoff position for multiple years in a row without any real success in the playoffs, and so the decision to dismember makes sense. If I were a Magic fan, I would’ve wanted more in return, though, and would not be excited for more tanking seasons.

In my opinion, the biggest winner from the NBA trade deadline was the Miami Heat. Although they missed out on LaMarcus Aldridge, they won big by acquiring guard Victor Oladipo from the Houston Rockets in an absolute finesse of a trade. Oladipo is a perfect fit for the Heat’s culture and adds much-needed defense at the guard position. In addition to Oladipo, the Heat also acquired Nemanja Bjelica from the Kings for some additional shooting. 

The Lakers acquired center Andre Drummond from free agency. Drummond previously played on the Cleveland Cavaliers and will add depth at the big man position, allowing Davis to play at the four (his preferred position) when they are sharing the court. 

The Brooklyn Nets, aka the Avengers/Warriors, also added some star power in LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge was bought out earlier this month by the Spurs, and after interviewing with the Lakers, the Clippers and the Nets, he decided to sign with Brooklyn. Since the beginning of the season, Brooklyn has added LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin and James Harden in addition to the summer acquisitions of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. This team is scary now but I imagine them in 2014 – jeesh.

The Clippers looked to improve by adding veteran leadership in Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins. Rondo was traded from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Williams, and Cousins was in free agency. The addition of these two will definitely make the Clippers better, but I do not think the Clippers will get better enough to get over the hump.

The Tampa/Toronto Raptors were another team that had a somewhat busy free agency. One of these expected trades was veteran guard, Kyle Lowry, but the Raptors decided to hold onto him instead. The Raptors did make some moves including trading Terence Davis to the Kings, Matt Thomas to the Jazz and Norman Powell to Portland, but none of these trades make them significantly better or worse.

Jacob Roney is a junior

business administration major

from Sturgeon, Mo.