Trade Deadline Thoughts – The Good
- The New York Knicks were the most active team making two trade deadline deals and won the day. Bojan Bogdanovich and Alec Burks were good pickups. The Knicks are now a deep team and are going for it in the same way the 2004 Detroit Pistons did. They have a group of fair to good players with Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle their stars. The only problem I see is how do you divide the minutes up in the playoffs if everyone is healthy. Brunson should play at least 36 , Randle 33, the centers Isiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson or Precious Achiuwa 48 and OG Anunoby who you need defensively for at least 30 minutes. That leaves almost ninety minutes to be divided up for Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Burks and Bogdanovich. Somebody is going to be unhappy.
- The Oklahoma City Thunder trade deadline deal getting Gordon Hayward was a good one. Hayward gives the Thunder an experienced player that can close games out. The Thunder are a young team and Hayward’s playoff experience can only help them.
- The Phoenix Suns trade deadline deal for Royce O’Neale was a good one. Suns management’s ability to get O’Neale without any real assets to trade was a surprise. O’Neale is a good wing defender that can hit a three and is a good complement to the Suns big three.
The Questionable
- The Pat Beverly trade deadline deal to the Bucks appears to be a huge gamble by Milwaukee. Beverley is a polarizing figure that can grate on teammates. The reason this is a gamble is because Beverley needs buy-in from Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo. I would think the two were consulted prior to the acquisition. On the court Beverley is something the Bucks need, a point of attack defender and a leader. The negative is his on court antics that should worry the Bucks.
- The only thing I can figure the Toronto Raptors are doing with their trade deadline deals is throwing in the towel for this season. They got rid of Schroeder and his contract that has another year after this. They brought in Kelly Olynyk and Spencer Dinwiddie who both are on expiring contracts. It looks like the Raptors are building around Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl. It should be a busy offseason for the Raptors as they need a four who can defend.
- The Lakers not doing anything at the trade deadline is not a surprise. The one Lakers player everyone wanted was the one the Lakers weren’t willing to give up, Austin Reaves. Outside of Reaves there isn’t much on their roster that anybody wants in a big way.
- The Buddy Hield trade deadline deal to the 76ers was interesting. Hield is on an expiring contract but Philadelphia is desperate right now and they need scoring. The hope is that Joel Embiid returns this season but until then Hield can help Philadelphia offensively and the Sixers hope help keep them afloat. Without Embiid the Sixers in the last two games have scored 102 and 104 points both losses.
