Grading All of the NBA Trade Deadline Moves

The NBA trade deadline always has the potential to be one of the most consequential days on the league’s calendar. This year’s version featured a mixture of significant transactions that can change the fortunes of several notable playoff contending teams, drastically transformed the future of one Florida franchise, and featured a bunch of smaller deals that NBA die-hards will pick apart. What it didn’t feature were moves involving Kyle Lowry (shockingly), Lonzo Ball, John Collins, Andre Drummond, and a few other notable names who were rumored to be on the move.

After cavassing all the transactions that were reported by the most tuned-in NBA insiders, we did what we always do: offered up grades for all the headline grabbing moves basketball fans will be discussing for the next 24 hours.

Bulls Acquire Nikola Vucevic

Grade: A

Dealt: Otto Porter Jr., Wendell Carter Jr., 2021 first-round pick, and a 2023 first-round pick to Magic

Most NBA observers thought the Magic would hang onto their two-time All-Star center/forward who is a vastly underrated offensive force, playing in relative anonymity in Orlando. As reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Bulls got a good one who will provide a sturdy presence down low and pair nicely with their All-Star in Zach LaVine to form a dynamic one-two punch. Signed through the 2022-23 season, the 30-year-old Vucevic is averaging 24.5 PPG and 11.8 RPG and will be part of the Bulls core for years to come as the franchise gets serious about turning things around. We’ll see how Vucevic and LaVine ultimately fit together, but off the bat it feels like an excellent addition for Chicago.

Nuggets Acquire Aaron Gordon

Grade: A-

Dealt: Gary Harris, RJ Hampton, protected 2025 first-round pick to Magic

The Nuggets got bold before the deadline, trading for the Magic forward, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, that reportedly really wanted out of Orlando. With another year remaining on his deal that notably features declining money, Gordon will bring his 14.6 PPG and 6.6 RPG averages this season and the ability to D up when necessary to Denver and further fortify the Western Conference contenders who are playing significantly better over recent weeks (currently fifth place in the standings). Very good move for the Nuggets who just got way more dynamic.

Nuggets Acquire JaVale McGee

Grade: B

Dealt: Isaiah Hartenstein, 2023 protected second-round pick protected through No. 46, and 2027 second-round pick to Cavaliers

McGee had been linked to a lot of places that could’ve used a rim-protecting backup center, most prominently Brooklyn. But the Nuggets pulled the trigger to give their bench a defensive boost when MVP candidate Nikola Jokic is off the floor and McGee will certainly be a welcome addition for a team that’s currently 20th in the NBA in defensive efficiency and needs someone who can alter shots. This is will be McGee’s third stint in Denver during his 15 years in the league.

Celtics Acquire Evan Fournier

Grade: A-

Dealt: Two second-round picks to Magic

Fournier wasn’t the name most Celtics fans were probably hoping the team would acquire in order to jump start their run to the postseason. Aaron Gordon would’ve been a lot sexier for sure and fit in nicely in Boston, but the Celtics honestly need all the help they can get and, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, acquired a very solid guard who will provide some desperately needed scoring (19.7 PPG, 56.9 EFG%) off the bench. Fournier is making $17 million this season on an expiring deal so he clearly fits into the $28.5 million trade exception Danny Ainge had at his disposal. Fournier, about to play meaningful basketball the rest of the season, got off a joke on his way out of Orlando:

Heat Acquire Victor Oladipo

Grade: B+

Dealt: Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley, 2022 first-round pick swap to Heat

That’s it? As reported by Shams Charania, it seems like a paltry return for a player of Oladipo’s talents at first blush. But what could the Rockets really have gotten in return for him right now? They didn’t have much leverage considering Oladipo had made it known he wasn’t returning to Houston as a free agent this summer (he’s playing on an expiring deal) and wasn’t exactly balling at a high level since he was acquired in January in the James Harden deal. Salute to Oladipo for landing with the team that he reportedly really wanted to play for. If he starts to look like the old Oladipo—and, let’s remember, we already saw one former Rocket who was miserable playing in Houston look like a completely different player once he was traded earlier this season—he’ll end up being an excellent addition for Miami. So the grade above is obviously directed toward Pat Riley and the Heat who surrended nothing of consequence for Oladipo’s talents. If you want to take into consideration the positive salary cap implications this deal has on Miami’s summer plans then you could easily bump that grade up a notch or two.

Heat Acquire Nemanja Bjelica

Grade: C

Dealt: Moe Harkless, Chris Silva to Kings

Bjelica’s numbers are underwhelming, but he was a popular name on the trading block because he can knock down shots from deep (just not this season since the career 38.8 percent shooting is only making 29.3 percent of his attempts from deep), isn’t making much money ($7.5 million), and balling on an expiring deal. Woj reported it first. Maybe Heat Culture will do wonders for the 32-year-old from Serbia.

Clippers Acquire Rajon Rondo

Grade: A-

Dealt: Lou Williams, two second-round picks, cash to Hawks

According to multiple reports, how do you not like this move for the Clippers? Giving up Lou Williams sucks from a regular-season perspective, even though his minutes and numbers have dipped this year compared to years past. Regardless, Lemon Pepper Lou notoriously shrinks in the postseason and adding Rondo’s experience and edge for playoff run should make a big difference to the Clippers. I mean, Rondo was probably the Lakers’ fourth-best player during their run to the title last season and Playoff Rondo should be back in full force witih Los Angeles’s other team come spring. I’m sure Williams isn’t going to complain about going home with more frequent visits to his favorite take-out establishment on the horizon.

Mavericks Acquire JJ Redick

Grade: B

Dealt: James Johnson, Wes Iwundu, and 2021 second-round pick to Pelicans

The 36-year-old 3-point specialist is slightly damaged goods—he’s been sidlined since March 3 with a right heel injury.​​​​​​—and did not have the kind of impact with the Pelicans both the player and team would’ve have hoped for this season. I’m sure Redick would’ve preferred to have been shipped to a playoff contender in the Northeast closer to his home in Brooklyn. But at least he ended up with a playoff team (Redick was dealt to Dallas along with Nicolo Melli). The Mavericks picked up another shooter and they certainly could use Redick—shooting a career-low career-low 36.4 percent from deep​​​​​—considering Dallas is a middling 3-point shooting team this season (36.3 percent this season, 15th in the NBA). While Redick is a liability on defense, it’s easy to justify getting the reserve guard since there’s no such thing as having too many shooters.

Blazers Acquire Norman Powell

Grade: A-

Dealt: Gary Trent Jr., Rodney Hood to Raptors

Portland gave up two quality role players, according to Woj, especially Trent who is a highly coveted 3-and-D player, in order to get Powell. But the Raptors small forward, playing on an expiring contract, has really raised his game over the past two seasons and is in the middle of a career year (averaging 19.7 PPG and knocking down 43 percent of this 3-pointers). He’ll provide more scoring pop off the bench than Trent and Hood.

76ers Acquire George Hill

Grade: B

This was part of a three-team deal that involved the Thunder and Knicks. As for Philly, they got a rugged and reliable reserve guard in Hill who has plenty of playoff experience. We can’t go crazy with the grade since Hill hasn’t appeared in a game since late January thanks to a thumb injury and we’re not sure when he’ll return. When healthy Hill provides a boost off the bench and helps upgrade the 76ers’ defense since we know they’re going to need bodies gearing up for a postseason showdown with Brooklyn. As for the rest of the trade details: Philly dealt Tony Bradley, Terrance Ferguson, and two future second-round picks to OKC, according to Wojnarowski. Ferguson was shipped to the Knicks for Austin Rivers. New York acquired Vincent Poirier and a 2021 second-round pick from the Sixers. Iggy Brazdeikis was also part of the deal and ended up on the Sixers.



Of impressive note regarding this transaction: The Thunder now have 34?!?!?!?! first and second-round picks over the next seven seasons, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. GM Sam Presti should have a blast fooling around with all those picks on the trade machine.

Raptors Acquire Gary Trent Jr, Rodney Hood

Grade: B-

Dealt: Norman Powell to Blazers

Was this the start of something seismic? We’ll see if Kyle Lowry is ultimately headed somewhere else, but the Raptors kicked off their rebuilding efforts by shipping the talented Powell to Portland for two guys not making a ton of money and on expiring deals. The 29-year-old Hood is an unrestricted free agent this summer while the 22-year-old Trent, hitting 39.7 percent of his threes this seaosn, is a restricted free agent and should have plenty of teams interested in his services.

Magic Acquire Otto Porter Jr., Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Harris, RJ Hampton

Grade: B+

Dealt: Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Evan Fournier

Well, it’s pretty clear Orlando is tearing it down to the ground. Can you blame the Magic? Might as well start rebuilding considering the 2020-21 season has been a massive struggle and the franchise has been in NBA no-man’s land for what feels like forever—good enough to occasionally flirt with or barely qualify for the postseason in the Eastern Conference yet never bad enough to get a top of the lottery draft pick to build around. Stacking two first-round picks and an expiring contract in Otto Porter was a good return for dealing Vucevic to Chicago. Meanwhile, Wendell Carter hasn’t lived up to expectations so far as the No. 7 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and Orlando hopes a change of scenery is what he really needs. Hampton is a rookie so the jury is still out. Harris is a solid reserve guard who has missed a lot of games this season and is signed for one more season after this one. Most importantly, Orlando added a total of three future first-round picks (a 2025 protected pick was acquired in the Gordon deal) and two second-round picks from Boston. The grade would’ve been higher had Orlando acquired one more first-round selection out of dealing three of its top four scorers, but that was probably asking for too much.

Kings Acquire Delon Wright

Grade: B+

Dealt: Cory Joseph, 2021 second-round pick (via Lakers), and 2024 second-round pick to Pistons

As first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski early Thursday morning, Wright’s an upgrade over Joseph in terms of production and what he brings to the table as a taller, more versatile reserve wing. Averaging 10.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 5.1 APG, Wright will provide a bigger punch for Sacramento than Joseph did. Does his acquisition all of a sudden push the Kings into the Western Conference playoff picture? Not necessarily, although they are currently only three games behind Golden State for 10th place in the West. But give Sacramento some props for making an improvement. The most important piece of this deal, that broke early Thursday morning, for the Pistons will probably be the two second-round picks they acquired. Late-round selections have become increasingly valuable commodities around the NBA and the Pistons gave up a four of them when it they traded Luke Kennard to the Clippers during the offseason.​​​​​​​