Biggest winners and losers of the NBA trade deadline

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 27: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers tries to pass over Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on January 27, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 27: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers tries to pass over Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on January 27, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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 Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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Biggest winners and losers of the NBA trade deadline
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 13: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Sacramento Kings is guarded by CJ McCollum #3 of the Portland Trail Blazers at Golden 1 Center on January 13, 2021 in Sacramento, California, Biggest winners and losers of the NBA trade deadline. 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 Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Finally, NBA fans can exhale, log out of Twitter, and rest after a long week of rumors, trades, and tear-filled goodbyes to their favorite players. The first week in February tends to be an exciting one in the NBA, as each year we see a flurry of moves of all varieties.

Some teams embrace a rebuild, and ship off their star players to contending teams. Some teams trade for a key role player who they think can elevate their ceiling. Good trades, bad trades, and everything in between can be found taking place before the trade deadline.

Biggest winners and losers of the NBA trade deadline

Each year there ends up being far more rumors than there are completed trades, but nonetheless, it is an exciting time to be an NBA fan. Now that the deadline has come and gone, however, it is time to analyze some of the deals that did get finalized.

This year’s trade season started slow but then heated up as we got closer and closer to the actual 3 p.m. deadline. We even saw fan favorites like CJ McCullom and Tyrese Haliburton get shipped off in massive deals.

Many contenders made smaller moves to prepare for a title run, and of course, we got the massive blockbuster deal between the Nets and 76ers. Now that no more trades can happen this season, the buyout market is the only major option left for teams to improve their rosters.

Teams are more or less locked in for the rest of the season, and as always, the trade deadline had some major implications for this season’s title race. So, let’s take a look at a few of the winners and losers of the NBA Trade Deadline