The NBA trade deadline has passed, and it was a crazy day, to say the least. From contenders getting better to very questionable decisions, it’s time to take a look at the winners and losers.<\/p>\n
The Miami Heat<\/a> are the biggest winners of the NBA trade deadline. They acquired Victor Oladipo<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Nemanja Bjelica<\/a><\/strong>. What makes this more special is they only lost\u00a0Kelly Olynyk<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Avery Bradley<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Maurice Harkless<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Chris Silva<\/a><\/strong>. Adding Oladipo is clearly a steal, and Bjelica is an upgrade over Olynyk.<\/p>\n Miami is a major winner for trading very little for Oladipo. In a relatively quiet year from the guard, he’s averaging roughly 21 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. His defense also fits perfectly in Miami’s scheme. Not giving up one of Tyler Herro<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0Duncan Robinson<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is a MAJOR deal.<\/p>\n Bjelica’s numbers are down this season, but he’s an underrated player in the league. He’s a tough forward that can extend the floor. Bjelica is a solid complement to\u00a0Bam Adebayo<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The Eastern Conference is very top-heavy, but the Heat increased their chances at another Finals run.<\/p>\n The Chicago Bulls<\/a> are serious about making the playoffs this season. They acquired All-Star\u00a0Nikola Vucevic<\/a><\/strong> and\u00a0Al-Farouq Aminu<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in one trade, and defensive anchor\u00a0Daniel<\/strong> Theis<\/strong><\/a>, Troy Brown<\/a><\/strong>, and Javonte Green<\/a> <\/strong>in another. This came at the expense of\u00a0Wendell Carter<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Otto Porter<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Daniel Gafford<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Chandler Hutchison<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Luke Kornet<\/a><\/strong>. Chicago also gave up two first-round picks.<\/p>\n Sure, Chicago lost youth and assets but added talent and experience. This will also surely get rid of future\u00a0Zach LaVine<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>trade rumors. Vucevic is averaging roughly 25 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists per game. Aminu and Theis bring a strong veteran presence to the team’s defense. Brown is another solid youth asset.<\/p>\n They’ll be a dark horse if they make the playoffs this season. In addition, they improve as a whole for the future and become a more attractive destination for free agents. The new front office is determined to make successful changes which is the biggest message out of all of this.<\/p>\n The Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> acquired a stud in\u00a0Norman Powell<\/a><\/strong>. Losing\u00a0Gary Trent<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Rodney Hood<\/a><\/strong> stings, specifically Trent, but this was a move worth making.<\/p>\n Powell is averaging nearly 20 points per game on 44 percent shooting from deep. In simpler terms, he’s a cold-blooded shooter. Adding into this, center\u00a0Jusuf Nurkic<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is making his return at the end of this week. Portland will be healthy and more lethal than ever.<\/p>\n A core of\u00a0Damian Lillard<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0CJ McCollum<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Robert Covington<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Carmelo Anthony<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Enes Kanter<\/a><\/strong>, Powell, and Nurkic is going to be tough to beat come playoff time.<\/p>\n The Denver Nuggets<\/a> caught fire early today during the NBA trade deadline and became a more serious contender. They acquired both Aaron Gordon<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0JaVale McGee<\/strong><\/a>. They gave up\u00a0Gary Harris<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0R.J. Hampton<\/strong><\/a>, and\u00a0Isaiah Hartenstein<\/a><\/strong>, in addition to a couple of picks.<\/p>\n Gordon becomes the team’s starting power forward. He’ll form a lethal frontcourt trio with\u00a0Nikola Jokic<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Michael Porter<\/a><\/strong>. Perhaps Denver is the place for Gordon to realize his yet-to-be-untapped potential.<\/p>\n McGee is another nice addition off the bench. He’ll be a defensive option off the bench for Jokic, and not force Denver to rely too heavily on\u00a0Bol Bol<\/a><\/strong>. The big win for Denver was increasing their chances as a contender without giving up Porter<\/p>\n The Dallas Mavericks<\/a> struck a small and quiet deal, but one that definitely improves the team while conserving all of their offseason cap space.<\/p>\n Dallas acquired\u00a0JJ Redick<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Nicolo Melli<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>while giving up two players they rarely used in\u00a0James Johnson<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Wesley Iwundu<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The main piece of this trade, of course, is Redick. He’s older and his numbers are down, but Dallas needed a shooter. The team’s shooting has been down since trading\u00a0Seth Curry<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>so Redick fills a void. His shooting numbers will also definitely go up with the open looks he’ll have in a Luka Doncic<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>offense. Dallas had an issue and addressed it. The team isn’t a top contender just yet, but they got better and maintain all their flexibility this summer. That’s always a win.<\/p>\n This season has been a total embarrassment by the Houston Rockets<\/a>. They lost\u00a0James Harden<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Russell Westbrook<\/a><\/strong>, and now Oladipo for barely any usable assets.<\/p>\n All in all, after their moves today, Houston turned Harden into Bradley, Olynyk,\u00a0Dante Exum<\/a><\/strong>, and\u00a0Rodions Kurucs<\/a><\/strong>. Of course, plenty of picks were involved, but they didn’t get any players in return to help now.<\/p>\n It’s clear Houston is going into tank mode, but their haul for these players is an outright embarrassment.<\/p>\n The Toronto Raptors<\/a> were rumored to be involved in many trades, specifically with\u00a0Kyle Lowry<\/a><\/strong>, but not much came to fruition. They acquired Trent and Hood for Powell, but Powell has been one of their best players all season. Trent is a nice piece to have, and a promising prospect, but Powell was already there.<\/p>\n It looks likely that Lowry will be gone this offseason, so Toronto should have gotten something in return. Perhaps the offers weren’t all too enticing, but some assets are better than none. They also dealt\u00a0Terence Davis<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Matt Thomas<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>for second-round picks, seemingly clearing space, but nothing happened. It was a mismanaged NBA trade deadline in Toronto.<\/p>\n The Boston Celtics<\/a> made a solid move in acquiring\u00a0Evan Fournier<\/a><\/strong>. He’s a strong scorer and shooter who they got for relatively cheap. With that being said, they’ve been struggling and didn’t directly need Fournier.<\/p>\n [pickup_prop id=”5734″]<\/p>\n What Boston needed (and still needs) is a tough interior presence. What they did instead was deal their top defensive center for\u00a0Moritz Wagner<\/a><\/strong>. He’s not anywhere near as talented or gritty as Theis and is a very underwhelming rebounder.<\/p>\n Boston could’ve elevated their contender status by acquiring a tough center, like\u00a0Andre Drummond<\/a><\/strong> perhaps. Instead, they went against their needs.<\/p>\n Main Image: Embed from Getty Images<\/a>Chicago Bulls<\/h4>\n
Portland Trail Blazers<\/h4>\n
Denver Nuggets<\/h4>\n
Dallas Mavericks<\/h4>\n
Losers<\/h3>\n
Houston Rockets<\/h4>\n
Toronto Raptors<\/h4>\n
Boston Celtics<\/h4>\n