Winners And Losers Of NBA Trade Deadline

After what might’ve been the craziest trade deadline of all time, the league (specifically the Western Conference) has been left on its head.

Taking a look at the results of what’s transpired over these last few days, we’ll give our picks as to who the biggest winners and losers are in this trade-off.

Chris’s Winner - San Antonio Spurs

They finally got Wemby, a real point guard.

De’Aaron Fox has finally made his way down to Texas after weeks of speculation, and is off to a hot start, recording 24 points, 13 assists, and 3 steals in first game with the Spurs.

Not that 39 year-old Chris Paul hasn’t been helpful to the young prodigy’s development, he’s been good, but Fox is able to take more of the attention off of Wemby and elevate the offense’s pace of play.

It’s great that they didn’t have to give up Chris Paul too, as they will run a different type of offense depending on who’s in.

Chris’s Loser - Sacramento Kings

The Kings got a good amount of media attention when they received Zach LaVine in return for trading away De’Aaron Fox as a part of the 3 team trade alongside the Bulls and the aforementioned Spurs.

However media attention and hype is about all they will get when they’ve essentially just recreated the 2021-2022 Chicago roster with a different European center.

Mind you, that Bulls team was the #1 seed for a few weeks in that season, however they saw no success after getting smoked out by the Bucks in 5 games that postseason.

DeMar DeRozen and Zach LaVine are intimidating names to have, but they really have only accounted for empty buckets, and are not the right fit for someone like Domantas Sabonis.

Massimo’s Winner - Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers were not the most active team by any means but they made maybe my favorite trade of the entire deadline, acquiring De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks for 30-year-old Guard Caris Levert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, as well as two pick swaps.

This provides the Cavs with a large wing who has been scoring the ball well and efficiently as they try and solidify their one seed and make a playoff run.

Massimo’s Loser - Dallas Mavericks

Is there any explanation that can even do this justice? Especially after Anthony Davis will miss multiple weeks due to a left adductor strain suffered in his very first game as a Maverick.

Not to mention the loss of Luka Doncic, which alone makes them a loser this deadline, especially when you take into account they did not even acquire a haul of picks from the Lakers for the 25-year-old.

There has been a nice surprise for the Mavs though, Max Christie in his first games with Dallas has looked very good, already at a level that was not seen in Los Angeles.

There were plenty of winners and losers but we will not know who truly won these trades for months and possibly years to come so we'll just have to wait and see how these trades can change the course of franchises and the whole NBA.

Chris Vadnais is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cmv5562@psu.edu.

Massimo Manfra is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email mgm6116@psu.edu.