Time is up. We’ve reached the horn for this year’s February trade deadline and in the past couple of days, hours and minutes, there have been some salient developments regarding who- is-getting-sent-where before the beginning of the second half of the 2019-20 season. So far, the biggest (or most noteworthy, depending on your perspective) moves have involved D’Angelo Russell being dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves to pair up with his old buddy Karl Anthony-Towns, in exchange for Andrew Wiggins who will immediately be thrust into a starting role with the Warriors.
Also, in what felt like a mere 20 minutes later, the Cleveland Cavaliers got off with a bargain in dealing for All-Star big man Andre Drummond in exchange for the Pistons now being forced to pick up the expiring veteran contracts of John Henson and Brandon Knight. More trades around the league mainly happened in the Western Conference and some in the East, as the Timberwolves, Clippers, Grizzlies, Nuggets, Sixers, and Heat dominated the headlines prior to the deadline buzzer sounding off, as they all got a huge supply of new parts for their team to operate with.
And there are some unsigned free agents that are still waiting to be signed onto a team, so by the time this is posted, the Lakers may have made a move in signing a Darren Collison right off of his home couch. But, all that and more will be broken down in this year’s official Sneaker Reporter NBA Trade Deadline recap. So let’s get to it.
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Grizzlies Send Andre Iguodala To The Miami Heat
From ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski – the Heat kicked off the trade deadline countdown last night as the Heat were playing the Clippers by sending Justise Winslow and James Johnson to Memphis for former 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, Jae Crowder, and Solomon Hill. Additionally, No Draft picks are being swapped in the deal. Miami is still hoping to complete a three-team trade with Oklahoma City for Danilo Gallinari, but those talks are fully stalled due to Gallinari and his camp reaching a current impasse from disagreements over his extension if he is to be dealt to Miami.
Dion Waiters was to be sent to the Grizzlies as part of the deal, but recent reports (Yahoo Sports – NBA) are stating that Memphis plans to release the veteran guard after acquiring him at the deadline.
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Sacramento Sends Dedmon Back To Hawks
The Kings finalized a trade last night to send disgruntled big man DeWayne Dedmon back across the country to the team they traded him from in Atlanta, as the Kings sent both Alex Len and Dedmon in exchange for Atlanta’s Jabari Parker and two second-round picks (one for 2020, the next in 2021). The deal provided All-Star guard Trae Young with not only one, not two, but three solid bigs in Dedmon, Nene and Capela as well as give the team extra draft picks to either build up the roster or exchange for better parts to provide value to the roster.
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Houston Rockets Send Clint Capela To Hawks
The Houston Rockets pulled the trigger on one of the more head-scratching moves this season, sending their starting center Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks in what was a massive, four-team deal (Nuggets, Timberwolves, Hawks, Rockets) that involved 12 players in the negotiation. The headliners of the trade were 3-and-D forward Robert Covington, who heads to Houston from Minnesota in exchange for center Clint Capela, who goes from the Rockets to the Atlanta Hawks. The aging Nene was also dealt to Atlanta, furthering sapping the big man depth from the Rockets lineup as they’ll now have one of the shortest rosters in the NBA.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets have acquired 6-foot-9 forward Bruno Caboclo from the Memphis Grizzlies, and while the forward saw his role with the Grizzlies diminish, Houston gains a valuable rebounder who averaged a solid 8.3 ppg and 4.6 rebounds per game last season. The Rockets also get a 2024 Warriors second-round draft pick that came from the Hawks. Involving 12 players, the trade is the largest in the NBA since 2000. (Bobby Marks, ESPN)
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Minnesota Cleans House To Rebuild Core
From the Timberwolves specifically, they liquidated all of their infrastructure as part of that massive 12-player trade that took place Wednesday night. After giving away Noah Vonleh to the Nuggets, Jordan Bell to the Rockets (and then to the Grizzlies), Shabazz Napier and Keita Bates-Diop to the Nuggets, they get a 2020 Nets first-round pick from the Hawks, Malik Beasley, Willy (Juancho) Hernangomez, Jarrad Vanderbilt all from the Denver Nuggets, and Atlanta’s Evan Turner. Gorgui Dieng was also sent away to the Memphis Grizzlies for James Johnson and in the originally reported deal, Johnson had gone from Miami to Memphis as part of the Iguodala-to-Miami swap.
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Denver Nuggets Deal Rotational Parts, Get Parts In Return
Denver was especially busy in their war room before the deadline arose, dealing a litany of their guards and other rotational pieces to adjust themselves amidst a season that’s likely ending somewhere during a deep playoff run. In giving up Hernangomez, Beasley, and Vanderbilt, they get Minnesota’s discarded guard Shabazz Napier as well as their ex-forwards in Noah Vonleh and Keita Bates-Diop, as mentioned earlier. Moreover, they acquire Houston’s Gerald Green as well as Houston’s unprotected 2020 first-round pick.
Jordan McRae finished off the trading period for the Nuggets after Denver and the Washington Wizards agreed to trade the guard to Denver for Shabazz Napier, as Napier was then promptly sent to Denver as part of the 12-player, four-team trade on Feb. 5
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Philadelphia 76ers Trade Ennis III to Magic, Receive Warriors Pieces
Philly needed shooters and wing depth and got exactly what they sought out to get before the deadline arrived. The Sixers agreed to a deal with the Warriors to get two guards into a rotation that sorely needed some space to be made for Embiid, Simmons, Harris and the rest of the team when they’re on the floor in getting Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III. In every trade, of course, someone has to go, so the Sixers sent forward James Ennis to the Orlando Magic in exchange for a second-round pick courtesy of Orlando.
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Pistons Send Andre Drummond To The Cleveland Cavaliers
From The Athletic’s Shams Charania – The Andre Drummond era in Detroit has come to an end, as the Pistons deal their homegrown All-Star to the Cavs in exchange for guard Brandon Knight, center John Henson and a second-round pick. This season, Drummond is leading the NBA in rebounding (15.8 rebounds per game) while also averaging 17.8 points per game, 2.0 steals per game and 1.7 blocks per game for the Pistons. He has played his entire eight-year NBA career with Detroit as the team’s 2nd all-time rebounder.
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D’Angelo Russell To The Minnesota Timberwolves
From ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski – D’Lo is on the move again for the third time in three years, as the former first-round pick out of Ohio State teams up with his 2015 draft class buddy in Karl Anthony-Towns for what was a huge two-day overhaul to their core. The Warriors, as a means for compensation, receive former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins to the Golden State Warriors and a 2021 protected first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick to Golden State while the Warriors are sending Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman to Minnesota.
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Atlanta Makes Smaller Moves, Picks Up Portland’s Labissiere And Clippers’ Walton Jr.
The Hawks are gaining depth in their big man rotation by making one of the less noisy moves prior to the deadline, acquiring Skal Labissiere from the Portland Trail Blazers. Labissiere is headed to Atlanta for cash in a deal that gives the Hawks a young center that can take it’s time to develop, as Labissiere has been out since Dec. 28 from a lingering knee issue.
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Los Angeles Clippers Bolster Up, Acquire Marcus Morris
The Clippers won an arms race with their esteemed roommates in the Staples Center in the Lakers, acquiring the rugged Marcus Morris who has been known to be an effective 3-and-D space creator off the dribble. As part of a three-team trade, the Clips, Wizards, and Knicks agree to a three-team trade that landed Morris in LA, the Clippers’ Jerome Robinson to the Washington Wizards, and Moe Harkless with a 2020 first-round pick to the New York Knicks.
The Clippers just picked up a 20 ppg. scorer that has been part of many deep playoff runs with the Celtics, and for a Clippers team that could definitely do with a third 20+ point scorer on a nightly basis, Morris could impact a team that’s championship aspirations are high since he was having a standout season with the Knicks. Washington backup guard Isaiah Thomas was also part of the Morris trade but was subsequently let known by the Clippers that he will be let go into free agency. As part of the deal with Washington however, the Wizards will get Clippers guard Jerome Robinson and the Clippers’ Moe Harkless.
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Teams That Didn’t Make Moves
- New Orleans came close to dealing veteran guard Jrue Holiday, but were unsuccessful in finding a trade partner.
- The New York Knicks’ exploratory talks with the Los Angeles Lakers broke down in their efforts to snag Kyle Kuzma
- The Cleveland Cavaliers were mum on dealing Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love and will wait until the end of the season for both of them to make their decision in free agency.
- The Boston Celtics refuse to pull the trigger in trading for available Wizards shooting wing Davis Bertans, as the price of two first-round picks was too steep for the Celtics to give up.
- The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder make no further deals.
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