It looks like there will be a rumble for who would represent the East as contenders got better, at least on paper, as the trade deadline got nearer and eventually passed this Friday, February 8, 2018 early morning, Philippine time.
The 76ers officially dumped their “Trust the Process”. They now pushed their chips in the middle and are going all in. The dealing of Markelle Fultz showed why their accumulation of young players is not always a success guarantee and the acquisition of Tobias Harris makes their starting five one of the most dreadful in the league, probably the second most potent to that of the Warriors.
The Raptors also followed suit, making most of what could be just a rental of Kawhi Leonard by upgrading their bigman in Marc Gasol.
So did the Bucks. They added another big body to their already lengthy line-up who can shoot from the outside in Nikola Mirotic.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Mavericks now paved way for the future by acquiring the set of players they want to build around and, if we are to believe owner Mark Cuban, are dead set in making Luka Doncic and Porzingis their franchise faces for 20 years.
The Bulls, Clippers, and the Knicks have now cleared cap space to make a run for a salivating pool of expected free agents in the off season.
In addition, the Clippers got a ton of draft picks in return for good measure, same as what the Cleveland Cavaliers achieved.
The Rockets are a puzzle here, although they seemed like dumping salary rather than trying to keep up with the competition.
The Wizards quickly made remedies to their immediate future by jettisoning some of their players who carry huge contracts and prepare for a better competitive future line-up in light of John Wall’s reinjuring his achilles.
Washington is probably now the most pitiful team after their superstar Wall ruptured his Achilles in a non-basketball related incident.
Wall, who is already out for the season due to the same injury, could be also out the next season when his max four year kicks off.
Unsurprisingly silent are the Boston Celtics, who continue to hold to their excellent young players and draft picks despite them lacking a much needed bigman, probably liking their chances of landing the biggest prize this offseason: Anthony Davis.
Unsurprisingly noisy are their rival Lakers, who offered a ridiculous package of young players and draft picks but couldn’t pull off the much needed Davis trade, leaving Lebron James the sole responsibility to carry this raw and imbalanced team to the playoffs.
Here’s a rundown of the major trades this in-season:
Feb 7: The Raptors acquire Marc Gasol from Grizzlies for Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, C.J. Miles, 2024 second-round pick
Feb 7: The Grizzlies acquire Avery Bradley from Clippers for Garrett Temple, JaMychal Green
Feb 7: Three-team trade: the Bucks acquire Nikola Mirotic from Pelicans for Jason Smith, Stanley Johnson, four second-round picks, the Detroit Pistons acquired Thon Maker from the Milwaukee Bucks for Stanley Johnson.
Feb 6: The New Orleans Pelicans acquired Markieff Morris for the Washington Wizards in exchange for Wesley Johnson.
Feb 6: The Sacramento Kings acquired Harrison Barnes from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Zach Randolph and Justin Jackson.
Feb 6: The Houston Rockets acquired Iman Shumpert, Nik Stauskas, and Wade Baldwin from the Cleveland Cavaliers for Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss, and the Rockets’ 2019 first-round pick (lottery protected).
Feb 6: The Chicago Bulls acquired Otto Porter Jr. from the Wizards for Bobby Portis, Jabari Parker, and their 2023 second-round pick.
Feb 6: The 76ers acquired Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott from the Los Angeles Clippers for Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, the their 2020 first-round pick, the Heat’s 2021 first-round pick, and the 76ers’ 2021 and 2023 second-round picks.
Feb 5: The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Reggie Bullock from the Pistons for Svi Mykhailiuk and their second-round draft pick.
Jan 31: The New York Knicks acquired Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, two future Dallas first-round picks from the Mavericks for Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, Trey Burke.
Dec 15: The Wizards acquired Trevor Ariza from the Suns for Austin Rivers (who was then waived and eventually signed with the Rockets) and Kelly Oubre Jr.
Nov 27: The Utah Jazz acquired Kyle Korver from the Cavaliers for Alec Burks, Utah’s 2020 second-round pick and 2021 second-round pick.
Nov 12: Acquired: The 76ers acquired Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton from the Wolves for Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and its 2022 second-round pick.
Other trades that made players change address:
Feb 7: The Hawks acquire Jabari Bird from Celtics for future considerations.
Feb 7: The Nets acquire Greg Monroe and second-round pick from Raptors.
Feb 7: The Magic acquire Markelle Fultz from 76ers for Jonathan Simmons
Feb 7: The Clippers acquire Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac from Lakers for Mike Muscala.
Feb 7: The Trail Blazers acquire Caleb Swanigan from Kings for Skal Labissiere.
Feb 7: The Pacers acquire Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin from Rockets for future second-round pick.
Feb 7: The 76ers acquire James Ennis from Rockets for 2021 second-round pick.
Feb 6: The Phoenix Suns acquired Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington from the Miami Heat for Ryan Anderson.
Feb 6: The 76ers acquired Malachi Richardson, Toronto’s 2022 second-round pick, and draft rights to Emir Preldzic from the Raptors for cash considerations.
Feb 5: The Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin, Portland’s 2021 second-round pick and 2023 second-round pick from the Trailblazers for Rodney Hood.
Feb 1: The Bulls acquired Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot and cash considerations from the Rockets for a protected 2020 Houston second-round pick.
Jan 22: The Bulls acquired Carmelo Anthony (who they have already waived), draft rights to Jon Diebler, and cash considerations from the Rockets for the draft rights to Tadija Dragicevic.
Jan 7: The Bulls acquired Michael Carter-Williams and cash considerations from the Rockets for a protected 2020 Bulls’ second-round pick.
Jan 3: The Bulls acquired MarShon Brooks, Wayne Selden, Memphis’ 2019 second-round pick and 2020 second-round pick from the Grizzlies for Justin Holiday.
Dec 8: Three team trade: The Cavaliers acquired: Matthew Dellavedova, John Henson, 2021 first-round pick, 2021 second-round pick, the Bucks acquired George Hill, Jason Smith, and a 2021 second-round pick while the Wizards acquired Sam Dekker.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
