Chris Newsome: The NBA trade I liked the most was the blockbuster trade of Durant to the Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, and the package of picks.
I like this trade because the Nets receive a pair of athletic two-way players plus future picks to go with Spencer Dinwiddie. It also frees up space for new rising star Cam Thomas and the much-improved big man Nic Claxton. This group may not win the East now but they are young, hungry, and will be exciting to watch for the years to come.
The Suns, however, just became the hottest team in the West (no pun intended). This is a city that has been waiting for a Big 3 to give them another legit shot at a title. Looks like KD could be that final piece to bring Phoenix out of the ashes and to the promised land.
I did not like the Lakers trading away Pat Beverley for Mo Bamba.
With the departure of Russell Westbrook, somebody will need to bring the intensity on defense and I feel like that person would have been Pat Bev. No disrespect, but DLo isn’t known to be a great defender and in the playoffs (if they even make it), defensive intensity will be crucial at the guard position. Beverley is not somebody that will play a lot of minutes but will give you everything he has on both ends of the floor to make his impact felt.
Mo Bamba isn’t going to give you that intensity, let alone play that much, seeing that he will be behind Anthony Davis. I could be wrong, but hustle and heart can be contagious and very much needed when it matters most. Hopefully, LA has some hidden magic up its sleeves.
Willie Wilson: The trade I loved the most was definitely my Lakers bringing D’Angelo Russell back home. Does the move make us the frontrunner to win a championship? Of course not, especially after seeing what the Phoenix Suns just did. What it does is make more sense on a basketball level. Even better, it appeases the toxic situation between Russell Westbrook and the entire Laker Nation.
The trade I disliked the most was Gary Payton II going back to the Golden State Warriors and James Wiseman going to the Detroit Pistons. The move for Detroit doesn’t make sense given the promising young bigs they already have on the roster, namely Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart. On the West coast, Payton II is going through a different type of situation being that if reports are true, he needs surgery and most likely will be out until late in the postseason. This trade is just a bad look all around.
JC Ansis: Kyrie Irving to the Mavs is one trade I liked and didn't like. Let me explain.
I like this trade for the Mavs because it's a franchise-altering move. It's going to be intriguing to see how the Irving and Luka Doncic pairing will unfold. Sure, Dallas already got a taste of having a dynamic duo in Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, which we all know didn't work, but this will be the first time Luka will play with another superstar who's as ball-dominant as he is.
The positive thing here is Luka won't have to do all the heavy lifting on offense because Kyrie is also a high-volume scorer and is capable of putting up huge numbers. Mavs coach Jason Kidd now has the opportunity to lessen Doncic's usage rate and save him from the punishment he gets from opposing defenses every night.
What I don't like about this trade is giving up Dorian Finney-Smith, whose game has evolved over the years. Stat sheets don't provide the whole story but Doe-Doe has been one of the best defensive wings in the league. Losing him means the Mavericks' defense will suffer a bit. This trade also means that Dallas is going all-in for the chip this year, even if there's no assurance that Kyrie will stay in the offseason.
It's a bold move for the Mavericks - they gave up too much for the hope that adding Kyrie Irving, whom they don't see as a rental, works out and helps them win the franchise's first title since 2011.
Polo Bustamante: Remember the Brooklyn Nets before Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving joined them? They were all dance moves and no All-Stars. Even though they weren’t as stacked as the Big 3 Nets, they played hard and had fun.
Now that Durant, Irving, and James Harden have all been shipped away, the remaining Nets and their new teammates have a chance to find joy in playing hoops again. There are no championship expectations for this team, but this is a chance for everyone on the team—management included—to build something new, exciting, and full of good vibes once again.
While I liked the Nets’ unloading, I don’t like the Dallas Mavericks reloading with Irving. Essentially, they got a more talented Spencer Dinwiddie but with so much more baggage.
The way things were going for the Mavericks this season, they looked like they were nowhere near winning a championship. So a move had to be made to help (and appease) Luka Doncic. On paper, this puts them a couple of steps closer to the championship. That’s until Irving goes on another full-on flat Earth monologue on social media and gets himself suspended at the wrong time.
Migs Flores: KD going to the Phoenix Suns for Mikal Bridges and a boatload of juicy draft picks is one of the rare win-win trades for both sides. Durant gets to keep playing with elite players in Devin Booker and Chris Paul while the Brooklyn Nets get to put one of the weirdest arcs for any team in NBA history behind them.
The Brooklyn Nets went from having one of the most toxic, dramatic situations ever with Kyrie Irving's foolishness and Durant's constant unease to having another fun team with some genuinely likable, unproblematic young pieces like Mikal Bridges and Nic Claxton. Prior failed dynasties have crashed and needed years to rebuild (See: Mikhail Prokhorov Nets). The Nets are getting out of the KD-Kyrie era on a yacht-sized lifeboat.
As far as teams making deals and just going for it at the deadline, I had no notes. It was quite an experience basking in the belligerence and euphoria on Twitter during and after the deadline as a sleepless Filipino.
What really got my gears grinding were the teams that didn’t make deals. The Toronto Raptors made all the headlines pre-deadline but wound up making just one deal of minor consequence, bringing back Jakob Poeltl from the San Antonio Spurs for Precious Achiuwa and a second-round pick. This seemed like the year the Atlanta Hawks were finally going to trade John Collins but they also stayed put.
What happened to blowing it up, Toronto? Why are you keeping John Collins for the fourth straight trade deadline, Atlanta? You guys are buzz-kills.
