In the aftermath of the hectic 2018 NBA Trade Deadline, it’s time to break down which teams were the biggest winners and losers.
Over the last year, the NBA saw the likes of Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Isaiah Thomas traded to brand new teams. Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, Blake Griffin, Eric Bledsoe, Jahlil Okafor and Nikola Mirotic were all dealt away as well.
With so many prominent names on the move in such a short amount of time, it was hard to imagine the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline living up to the annual hype the day usually deserves. The expectation was this year’s trade deadline would be a quiet one.
In the waking hours of Feb. 8, Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman was apparently busy downing a cup full of raw eggs, blasting “Eye of the Tiger” in a pair of Beats and jogging in place in a pair of sweatpants, preparing to send the NBA world a proverbial “Hold my beer.”
Thanks to the Cavs, the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline featured one of the most bizarre, full-scale roster overhauls we’ve seen from a contender in the middle of a season in quite some time — and possibly ever.
However, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to get in on the action as well, along with the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings and quite a few more teams. The question is, who were the biggest winners and losers from this year’s trade deadline?
With the NBA landscape irreparably altered, it’s time to take a look at what remains and determine — in no particular order — which teams won and lost the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline.