NBA Blockbuster Trades

Elijah John writes about the NBA trades and what it means for the future of basketball.

ClutchPoints

Everyone was preparing for the Super Bowl this week when the NBA trade deadline took center stage. Unexpected trades have some fans questioning the leadership of their organizations. The biggest trade of the deadline was the Luka Dončić and Anthony Davis trade. The Mavs gave up the head of their franchise for an injury-prone Anthony Davis in what they called a “win-now move.” With the Lakers teaming up LeBron and Luka for what could be LeBron’s last year, neutral fans called this the craziest trade deadline. Every hour, it seemed a new blockbuster trade was happening.

Some moves surprised NBA fans, as teams that looked like they were in good shape to make the playoffs traded their stars. Trades such as Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma didn’t seem to make sense, as the Bucks traded for a ball hog when they already have two stars. The Warriors, on the other hand, acquired Jimmy Butler to help them compete for a championship. The Heat also got some good young players to help them rebuild after losing the face of their franchise.

The Luka Dončić trade stunned Mavs fans and Luka fans alike. Luka Dončić was acquired in a trade with the Hawks on draft night and had only played for the Mavs. Luka is the face of the Mavs franchise and led them to a Finals appearance last year. If all of this is true, then why trade him? Insiders such as Jack Maloney said, “The Mavs believe defense wins championships. They were also worried about Luka’s health and didn’t want to give him a supermax contract.” This would make sense to trade him if they hadn’t traded for Anthony Davis, who is known to be very injury-prone and got injured in his first game with the Mavs and is out for at least a month.

Even though the Luka trade and the Jimmy Butler trade were the headliners of the trade deadline, other trades are making NBA fans call this the craziest trade deadline of all time. Players such as Zach LaVine and De’Aaron Fox, who can also be considered the faces of their franchises, were traded. De’Aaron Fox is believed to have been unhappy with the leadership, and he got traded to the Spurs to be with the very promising rookie Victor Wembanyama. Zach LaVine had been in trade talks for what seems like forever, but the Bulls finally pulled the trigger and traded him to the Kings in the De’Aaron Fox trade. Dalton Knecht, a promising rookie, was shipped to the Hornets in exchange for Mark Williams. It had been a couple of days, but the trade got rescinded (canceled) because Mark Williams failed a physical.

Even though these trades were crazy and very entertaining for us, I'm sure they affect players who never would have expected to have been traded. Dalton Knecht, a rookie, got traded to the Hornets, and that was surprising for him already, but then the trade got rescinded. This means he has to go play with the team that just traded him. This is why it is important to remember how much the NBA is just a business. No matter how much the fans love you, it doesn’t matter as money and what management thinks is best for the team matter.