The NBA trade deadline has officially passed. Most years, the day itself fails to live up to the hype that sports radio, and talking heads build it up to be. But the 2022 edition saw multiple big names change locations, with possible balances of power in the Eastern and Western conferences shifting as a result.
Here’s the full rundown of the deals that led up to 2022 NBA trade deadline:
Mavs part ways with Porzingis
- Mavericks acquire: Spencer Dinwiddie, Davis Bertans
- Wizards acquire: Kristaps Porzingis
The Porzingis/Doncic experiment is over in Dallas. What originally seemed like a logical fit, never materialized as Dallas failed to ever get their two premier players on the same page during their time in Texas.
Instead, the 7 footer will head back east and join a Wizards squad that’s currently in freefall. Washington has gone 2-8 in their last 10, and recently announced that Bradley Beal would be undergoing season ending wrist surgery. What the European forward’s future in DC will be is anyone’s guess, as he still has 2 years remaining on his deal that sees him make $33M and $36M the next two seasons.
Hornets acquire Montrezl Harrell
- Hornets acquire: Montrezl Harrell
- Wizards acquire: Vernon Carey, Ish Smith, 2nd round pick
Torrey Craig heads back to Phoenix
- Suns acquire: Torrey Craig
- Pacers acquire: Jalen Smith, future 2nd round pick
Celtics acquire Derrick White
- Celtics receive: Derrick White
- Spurs receive: Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a top 4 protected 2022 1st round pick
Ben Simmons saga officially over in Philadelphia
- 76ers receive: James Harden, Paul Millsap
- Nets receive: Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, 2022 1st & 2027 1st
Fans knew it needed to happen, players knew it needed to happen, and finally the front office execs realized it needed to happen. Ben Simmons has been traded, and Daryl Morey reunites with James Harden in Philadelphia.
While it may seem like a steep price to pay to acquire a 32 year player scuffling through his worst season since becoming a full time starter, people need to realize Simmons was never suiting up for Philly ever again. So if someone offered you James Harden and Paul Millsap for Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, a pick likely to be 25th overall or worse, and a future 1st, just about everyone would do it. One could argue the deal actually makes both clubs better down the stretch this year.
Raptors acquire Thaddeus Young
- Raptors receive: Thaddeus Young
- Spurs receive: Goran Dragic, first-round pick (lottery protected)
This one is a bit of a head scratcher, but people have second guessed Masai before, only to realize his genius down the line. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt here, but throwing in a first (whether it’s lottery protected or not) seems a bit steep for Young.
Kings trade Bagley
- Kings receive: Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Jackson, Trey Lyles
- Bucks receive: Serge Ibaka
- Pistons receive: Marvin Bagley III
- Clippers receive: Rodney Hood, Semi Ojeleye
In a four team deal, the Bucks get depth, the Pistons acquire another young piece to build around, the Clippers shed salary, and no one knows what the Kings are doing yet again.
Thunder acquire KZ Okpala
- Thunder receive: KZ Okpala
- Heat receive: 2026 2nd round pick
Kings acquire Domantas Sabonis
- Kings receive: Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, 2023 2nd round pick
- Pacers receive: Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Tristan Thompson
The Kings currently sit in 12th place in the Western conference but appear to be making a full court press to try and qualify for the playoffs. How else do you explain their willingness to ship off promising young talent like they have in the lead up to the trade deadline?
Whether their gamble pays off or not remains to be seen, but Indiana has to be positively giddy at this point. What was shaping up to be a tear down and rebuild has quickly turned into a retool on the fly. While the Pacers aren’t destined for greatness this season, their future suddenly got a whole lot brighter as they now have a core to build around.
Pelicans acquire CJ McCollum
- Pelicans receive: CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., Tony Snell
- Trail Blazers receive: Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky, Didi Louzada, 2022 1st round pick (protected), 2026 2nd round pick, 2027 2nd round pick
New Orleans with a splashy move! Many assumed McCollum would be shipped out but there weren’t many who thought it would be to the Pelicans. New Orleans now has a core of Ingram, McCollum, and Williamson to build around. However there’s more than a few questions around Zion’s future in the big easy. Is McCollum an insurance policy? Time will tell.
Cavaliers acquire Caris LeVert
- Cavaliers receive: Caris LeVert, 2022 2nd round pick
- Pacers receive: Rick Rubio, 2022 1st round pick (lottery protected), 2022 2nd round pick (via Rockets), 2022 2nd round pick (via Jazz)
Cleveland has surprised everyone this year, from being in the playoff hunt in the East, to being buyers at the trade deadline. The move is a good basketball decision but will certainly make for an interesting offseason as the team needs to decide what to do with both LeVert and Sexton who possess similar playing styles. While both are good players, it’s a stretch to think that both fit into the team’s long term future.
Clippers acquire Norman Powell
- Clippers receive: Norman Powell, Robert Covington
- Trailblazers receive: Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, 2025 2nd round pick (via Pistons)
The Trailblazers are in full on tear down mode. With Lillard unlikely to suit up again this season, Portland has shipped off numerous pieces that were part of their core rotation over the past few seasons. Suddenly the decision to hire Chauncey Billups over Becky Hammon could become a “what if” moment in team history. Would things have turned out different if Dame wasn’t injured and they had Hammon as head coach? Who knows, but it’s certainly been a season to forget in year one for Billups.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner