Over the month of February, The NBA has grabbed all of the headlines with some monumental trades that shook the landscape of the league. Many teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs chose to mix up their roster for a potential push at the Larry O’Brian Trophy.
An Unsuspected Star Lands in LA
The trade that had social media buzzing on a random midnight hour was between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers had agreed to send Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 1st round pick to the Mavericks for Luka Doncic, Maxi Klebar and Markieff Morris. The Utah Jazz were also in the deal, acquiring guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and two 2nd round picks.
The reactions from this trade went crazy from all corners of the sports realm, but no one was hit harder than the Mavericks fans who have been there since the beginning of Doncic’s career. Fans were begging for the Mavericks General Manager Nico Harrison to be fired right after the deal was announced. Players who were involved with both teams were not made aware that this trade was coming. Players such as Lebron James, Anthony Davis, and Luka Doncic were all caught off guard
Ever since the Lakers-Mavericks trade, people have been theorizing about who could be dealt next. There were rumors of deals being discussed about Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler or Sacremento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox or even Pheonix Suns star forward Kevin Durant.
San Antonio Finds Their Co-Star
The next deal happened to involve De’Aaron Fox, as he was sent to the San Antonio Spurs in a three team trade that also involved the Chicago Bulls and the Sacramento Kings. The Kings were able to acquire guard Zach Lavine from Chicago and the Bulls got a collection of role players and a 2025 1st round pick.
The deal was made for Chicago so that they could begin a new era of Bulls basketball with the departure of their long-tenured star. The Spurs believed that this was the time to start making moves to have the brightest and most exciting future with their other-worldly star Victor Wembanyama. The Kings were under-performing for their standards and a shake-up of their roster was needed to get Sacramento to where they are supposed to be.
If it wasn’t for the Doncic trade from a couple of days before, This Fox trade would have been the headliner for the NBA Trade deadline with the possibilities that could follow. But this wasn’t the last trade that involved a rumored star being moved.
Trouble in Paradise
The Miami Heat had agreed to send their star forward Jimmy Butler along with two 2nd round picks to the Golden State Warriors for a package that included former 1st-overall pick Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Davion Mitchell from the Raptors, and a protected 1st round pick. The trade involved a crazy 5 different teams, the Jazz, The Heat, The Raptors, The Warriors, and the Pistons.
Butler had made it abundantly clear that his time in Miami was coming to an end when in a post-game interview, he expressed, “I want to get my joy back from playing basketball.” After he was asked if he could regain his joy from the Miami Heat, he stated, “probably not.”
Butler gets his wish by playing with an all-time talent in Stephen Curry. Along with playing in a desirable situation, Butler could help the Warriors’ young core get to their highest possible potential.
Miami, with the departure of their star, will begin a new era in their deeply-cultured history with former 1st overall pick Andrew Wiggins pairing with guard Tyler Herro and center Bam Adebayo.
The North Finds a Gem Down South
For the final trade that shocked fans, the Toronto Raptors had agreed to send Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynick, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for Brandon Ingram.
Ingram has had an on & off year for the Pelicans as his averages were 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.2 assists, but in only 18 games for the season as Ingram has been battling injury for the past few months.
The Pelicans were desperate to move Ingram as the team was heavily under-performing with constant injuries to their Star Players Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. This trade allows the Pelicans to begin a much-needed rebuild centered around Williamson, who is the younger player compared to Ingram.
The Raptors were searching for another star player to pair with their rising young star Scottie Barnes as the team believes they can compete for a playoff spot with the playoff seeding starting to be set in stone.
