Championship contending teams rarely make significant moves at or around the NBA Trade Deadline. When it happens, however, the results can be traced back to a very specific trade.
Throughout the vast history of the Association, an overwhelming majority of champions have remained quiet at the NBA Trade Deadline. Thus, it stands to reason that championship teams will not be built on Thursday, February 18, when the 2016 deadline passes.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that championship teams cannot be built under such circumstances.
There are a number of recent examples of teams making a trade at the deadline and thus achieving championship glory. Some teams took longer than others, but these trades set the wheels in motion.
The same could be achieve in 2016.
In some cases, the player acquired played a direct role in the receiving team winning a championship. In others, the move itself helped create a new identity that sparked a recent run to a previously elusive title.
One way or another, these teams proved that championship-caliber moves can be made at the NBA Trade Deadline.
Note: Some players were acquired shortly before the trade deadline. Those dealt for in February, the month of the deadline, will be included.
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