The 2024 NBA trade deadline has come and gone without any of the big fireworks that SD sometimes sees in the final trading window before a playoff race. A ton of signings were being reported around the NBA before Thursday's 3 p.m. buzzer, but most of the big names rumored to be signed are staying home and many of the league's biggest franchises are doing nothing. I chose that.
Who was the best player traded before the deadline? Buddy Hield? PJ Washington? Kelly Olynyk? Yes, this trade deadline was much quieter than last year's, when the Lakers replaced nearly half their roster, trading Kevin Durant to Brooklyn and sending Kyrie Irving to Dallas. Instead, this deadline was about small adjustments that reaffirmed the NBA's championship image about nine weeks before the end of the regular season.
Despite the lack of star players, we're here to reveal the winners and losers until the 2024 NBA trade deadline. Let's get started.
Winner: New York Knicks
The Knicks made their biggest trade of the season just before the new year, signing OG Anunoby to the Toronto Raptors. New York went 12-2 with Anunoby in the starting lineup, but with an elbow injury expected to keep him out for several weeks, the team needed more reinforcements. They acquired Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Pistons at the trade deadline in a package that included Quentin Grimes and several second-round picks.
Bogdanovic will help the Knicks with their spacing and high-volume three-point shooting ability. He's also one of the worst defenders in the league at this point in his career, but if anyone can find a way to protect him in that regard, it's Tom Thibodeau. Burks, a former Knick, will be better suited for the role as a microwave scorer off the bench this time around. Parting ways with Grimes may come back to bite the Knicks someday, but his popularity has waned and New York needed to prioritize the present over future development.
Will the Knicks be a real threat to advance from the East to the NBA Finals? With Boston and Milwaukee still in the way, it's unlikely, but by no means impossible. The Knicks have somehow become an exemplary franchise despite the lack of any real lottery picks or home run swings in free agency. Instead, New York has patiently grown, turning free agent signings Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle into stars and surrounding them with two-way role players. That's all happening with the Knicks right now.
Loser: Chicago Bulls
The Bulls missed the trade deadline for the third year in a row. When the buzzer sounded, chief decision maker Arturas Karnisovas said: He said the Bulls are a “really good” team. With a straight face. Chicago remains under .500 through three games and holds the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference. Karnisovas may think he's doing a great job of keeping the Bulls “competitive,” but he's quickly becoming the laughing stock of his peers around the league.
Despite Coby White's impressive development this season, the Bulls aren't progressing anywhere fast with his group. With Zach LaVine out for the season with a foot injury and Patrick Williams injured, the Bulls are just 10-21 against teams above .500 this season and simply can't compete with good teams. The Bulls had many suitors for Alex Caruso, but he reportedly turned down an offer from the Warriors. They could have traded DeMar DeRozan in the final year of his contract, but decided doing nothing was the best option. It's a puzzling decision, but it all makes sense when you pay attention to the franchise's goals.
For Karnisovas, being “competitive” means having a chance to sneak into the playoffs. The definition of this term in a league where more than half of the teams advance to the final spot is ridiculous. The Bulls could have reloaded their future assets by releasing Caruso, DeRozan and Andre Drummond. They could have helped preserve the top-10 protected draft pick owed to the Spurs next year for DeRozan. Instead, the Bulls do what they always do, which is nothing. If Karnisovas isn't the worst GM in the league — he's definitely close — he's definitely the laziest.
Winner: Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets are once again one of the worst teams in the NBA, but at least they can offer hope for the future. LaMelo Ball looks like a future star as a lead creator even when healthy, No. 2 overall draft pick Brandon Miller is having a phenomenal rookie season, and the team is looking to replenish future assets at the deadline. They have multiple first-round picks.
The Hornets acquired incredible value by trading P.J. Washington to the Dallas Mavericks for Grant Williams and a top-two protected 2027 first-round pick. The deal comes on the heels of the Hornets trading Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat for a lottery-protected 2027 and unprotected first-round pick in 2028.
Acquiring Washington for such a lightly guarded pick is an incredible task for a rebuilding Hornets team. With young talent developing between Ball, Miller and Mark Williams, the team is poised to acquire another blue-chip player with the top pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Whether they hold on to those future picks or trade them someday for more immediate help, the Hornets are showing how to do a rebuild the right way.
Loser: Los Angeles Lakers
Loser: Golden State Warriors
The Lakers and Warriors each desperately needed more help if they wanted to make a serious run in the Western Conference playoffs. Instead, both teams chose to do nothing, with the Warriors' tax-saving trade counting as the only move between the franchises.
The Lakers have hovered around .500 for most of the season, and head coach Darvin Ham has been criticized for his rotation decisions. Last year's deadline move saved the Lakers' season, helping them advance from the play-ins to the conference finals. There were moves this year as well, and while the acquisitions of Bruce Brown and Dejounte Murray would have been great additions, LA didn't want to sign D'Angelo Russell, who is currently performing well, and left them with no draft ammunition. I chose to save it for. . The Lakers could trade up to three first-round picks this summer…but is it really a smart idea to hold off until next year, when LeBron James turns 39?
The Warriors could have gone down many different paths. Releasing Andrew Wiggins or Kevon Looney — both of whom have had terrible seasons this season — would have given the team more flexibility in the long run. Golden State could have used a player like Kelly Olynyk, who went to the Raptors, instead. The Warriors reportedly made a strong offer for Caruso, but Chicago wasn't going to bite when everything was going so well for them (which is ironic). Both LeBron James and Stephen Curry are playing at incredibly high levels late in their careers, but unfortunately their organizations haven't done anything to help them.
Winner: Utah Jazz
The Jazz have accomplished an impressive feat of building winners without tanking, and they've managed to acquire more future assets this year. The Jazz were pleasantly surprised 26-26 on deadline day, allowing them to sell off a small portion of their current position for a big opportunity in the future.
Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji were traded to the Raptors for a late first-round pick, currently slated to be around No. 28. The Jazz also traded Simone Fontequo, expected to be the No. 32 pick in the 2024 draft, to the Pistons. Even if it's a bad draft, these are quality selections that the Jazz will use to find another piece for their rebuild. Olynyk and Fontecchio are solid players, and Agbaji has potential, but it feels like Utah could have added quality assets this season without doing much damage to the team.
Winner: Mavericks Present
The Mavericks entered the trade deadline with an overall record of 28 wins and 23 losses, a good showing for the No. 8 seed in the tough Western Conference. Dallas needed to do something and got aggressive by acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford.
Washington's upgrade from Grant Williams will help this year. Washington is a more versatile offensive player, a better athlete and brings length on the defensive end. Washington can do a little bit of everything as a player, but he's never been particularly efficient while playing on a terrible team in Charlotte. Let's see if he teams up with a genius like Luka Doncic and things change. Gafford's role is even clearer. He runs a “catch the ball, dunk the ball” offense and provides rim protection on defense. Doncic will throw him a lot of alley-oops, and Gafford will reward him by erasing his mistakes on defense. The Mavs have gotten better, but…
Loser: The future of the Mavericks
The Mavs sacrificed a lot to make these moves. The cost of the upgrade from Williams to Washington is a top-two protected first-round pick in 2027. That's a valuable asset! Dallas also gave up a 2030 pick swap to take Williams at No. 1. As for Gafford, Dallas sent a first-round pick in his late 20s back to Washington. Granted, this is a bad draft, but good organizations can find cost-controlled talent even in weaker classes.
The Mavericks would be better off actually making some noise in the playoffs as they continue to lose assets to continue developing around Doncic. With so much draft ammo out there, I would like to see some bigger upgrades.
Loser: Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks have been surrounded by trade rumors all season, with Dejounte Murray, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Clint Capela all attracting varying degrees of interest. Atlanta hasn't had a record to be proud of this season, with an overall record of 22 wins and 29 losses, behind the No. 10 seed in the East. The organization was ready for a reset, but instead they kept everyone and didn't close any deals.
A lot of the blame goes to Trae Young for things going wrong in Atlanta, but the truth is he's been outstanding this year. The Hawks made a bad bet two summers ago by trading Murray for a hefty draft capital, and this would have been an ideal time to get value back. At least Murray has a team-friendly long-term contract, but it's hard to imagine he and Young would be a good fit in the backcourt. He would have been happy to finally cede the starting center spot to Onyeka Okongwu, but he continues to be held back by Capela. Bogdanovic would have been a huge help to many candidates, and yet here he is playing that thread in Atlanta.
The Hawks need reform, they just don't realize it.
