The trade deadline blew up about 10 minutes before it arrived, with point guards Goran Dragic and Reggie Jackson part of two of the days biggest deals.
Perhaps it was best summed up by Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders:
Jackson was the first domino to fall, after much of deadline day was spent with his name attached to reports he would be shopped to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a deal for Brook Lopez.
Instead, the Detroit Pistons swooped in and got the restricted-free-agent-to-be as part of a three-team deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz that also sent center Enes Kanter to OKC. (More information here)
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That was followed shortly thereafter by news that Goran Dragic, the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2013-14, was on his way to the Miami Heat, who just seemed to keep throwing parts in a pile until the Phoenix Suns agreed to the deal, that also included the New Orleans Pelicans (More here)
And then the surprise hammered down as a player who had only been lightly tossed about in the pre-deadline rumor mill was gone, just like that, when the Milwaukee Bucks shipped Brandon Knight to the Suns and acquired reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams from the Philadelphia 76ers. (More here)
And it wouldn’t be deadline day if Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey wasn’t at the party. Houston added rookie K.J. McDaniels from the 76ers and Pablo Prigioni from the New York Knicks. (More here):
Then there were a couple of deals that reportedly just beat the buzzer, with the Celtics acquiring Isaiah Thomas from Phoenix for Marcus Thornton and a pick and trading Tayshaun Prince to the Pistons, where he enjoyed his greatest success. (More here)
The day started with the Portland Trail Blazers acquiring shooting guard Arron Afflalo from the Denver Nuggets in a five-player trade. (More on that deal on the next slide).
The 76ers picked up another Nuggets’ castoff, center JaVale McGee, but more importantly, Philadelphia is getting a protected first-round pick from Denver, via Oklahoma City. (More here).
The Washington Wizards made a move to attempt to upgrade their backup point guard situation, sending veteran Andre Miller to the Sacramento Kings for Ramon Sessions, according to a report. (More here).
The Minnesota Timberwolves also made a deal, bringing back the greatest player in franchise history–Kevin Garnett–from the Brooklyn Nets for Thaddeus Young. (More here)
Next: Portland Gets Afflalo