Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA Trade Deadline: Grading all 30 teams on their trades

By Josh Cornelissen

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on February 09, 2021 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game at Golden 1 Center on February 09, 2021 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 12
Next
NBA Trade Deadline: Grading all 30 teams on their trades
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 02: Russell Westbrook #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to a play during the third quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on January 02, 2022 in Los Angeles, California, NBA Trade Deadline: Grading all 30 teams on their trades. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /

NBA Trade Deadline Grades: Lost Hope

Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have given up hope. They have one of the greatest players of all time still in the tail end of his prime, an elite defensive big with strong scoring chops, and… well, that’s about it.

Malik Monk can shoot, I guess. The Lakers stood pat at the deadline because they weren’t going all-in on a lost season. That’s a reasonably good decision, and thus they have a reasonably good grade.

To briefly step out of the purview of the deadline, the Lakers are in this mess because they had an absolutely terrible two seasons of transactions after assembling a championship team in 2020.

Trading for Russell Westbrook is the chief of those bad moves, and it will likely prevent James from winning another title or at least having a real chance to compete for one. Given how he advocated for adding Westbrook this summer, that’s in large part his fault.

Grade: B

New York Knicks

The Knicks have a roster filled with mediocre veterans on reasonable contracts, and that combination has not proven good enough to compete in an improved Eastern Conference.

They also have a strong collection of young talent that hasn’t been able to get much playing time because Tom Thibodeau loves playing his vets high-minute totals.

Trading some veterans at the deadline may or may not have improved this team’s chances this year, but it would have forced Thibs to play the young guys more, which is their best shot at winning long-term.

Grade: C

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz had the league’s best record last season. They brought back basically the entire core that led them to that record, and one could make a strong case for them being right in that mix again this season if Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert had not missed so much combined time.

What did the Jazz conclude about their status at the trade deadline? That they were not a true contender this season, and that it was not worth making a move to improve for this season.

They made just one move to reduce their luxury tax bill for this year, swapping Joe Ingles’ expiring contract for Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Juancho Hernangomez, two players unlikely to help in the postseason this year.

Grade: D+