Several players were moved yesterday, including my predicted move of D’Angelo Russell to the Minnesota Timberwolves that I called over two months ago right here on this website.
But there were also some head scratchers, most prominently the openly disloyal move of Andre Drummond to the Eastern Conference basement dwelling Cleveland Cavaliers, giving the Cavs a $61 million payroll in Drummond and Kevin Love. The Cavaliers gave up little for the value Drummond brings to the table, so big ups to Koby Altman, but shame on the Pistons.
The Los Angeles Lakers had the opportunity to get their mitts on Marcus Morris, but balked at the value of Kyle Kuzma and Morris headed to the Los Angeles Clippers for Moe Harkless. The Clippers executed a three team trade that brought Isaiah Thomas from the Washington Wizards and will be sent to the waiver wire, do not pass Go, do not collect even $200 from the Clippers. (Why does no one want Isaiah Thomas? Pick him up, Sam Presti.) Jerome Robinson headed to Washington in the deal.
As for my guy Russell, he is aligned with Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota, and Andrew Wiggins – despite all catcalls from the peanut gallery – will flourish with the Warriors, once he gets to work in offensive schemes with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Marcus Morris would have been a nice addition at Golden State, but would have made Draymond Green more irrelevant than he’s made himself this season. Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman will likely get as much (sic) as little playing time in Minnesota as they did with the Warriors.
Devin Booker is stalwart in Phoenix, even though teammate Kelly Oubre, Jr. was shopped and considered yesterday. Though you have to think he would have wanted to be in the Russell-Towns wolfpack.
Miami got their (old) man in Andre Iguodala by shipping James Johnson, Justise Winslow, and Dion Waiters in exchange for Iggy, Solomon Hill, and Jae Crowder. It was Johnson’s second time being a Memphis Grizzly, but it would be very short lived; The Grizzlies swiftly dealt Johnson to Minnesota for Gorgui Dieng. Memphis has agreed to waive Waiters as they had no Gummy Grizzly Bears in town.
Houston, who was in the middle of a four team, 12 player swap earlier in the week, took part of that deal – Jordan Bell – and shipped him to Memphis for Bruno Caboclo, who did not play last night in L.A.
The Atlanta Hawks, also a part of the big trade earlier this week, added a little more depth in the middle with Skal Labisserie coming over from the Portland Trailblazers for cash. Atlanta had more cash to give out, bringing the Clippers’ Derrick Walton, Jr. on board before the deadline expired in their mid-season roster enhancement.
Orlando added James Ennis from the Philadelphia 76ers, and in one of the most underreported and unheralded moves, #VFL Jordan McRae moved to the Denver Nuggets’ roster for the recently acquired Shabazz Napier, who should have a shot at significant minutes in Washington, maybe even a starting nod.
And, finally, the Philadelphia 76ers boosted their outside shooting by acquiring Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III in exchange for three second round picks in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Already, Robert Covington has made his presence felt … see below …
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Orlando Magic 103
New York Knicks 105
The New York Knicks ran out to a 30-19 first quarter, but then had to hold on while the Orlando Magic tried to claw their way back into the game, ultimately with the Knicks winning their 16th game of the season on NBA Trade Deadline Day. The Knicks now have won three straight, matching their previous win stretch of the season. New York chose its preferred leader in Julius Randle, who dropped 22 in the game, and apparently is focused on Leon Rose taking over their vacant President of Basketball Operations position. Things are looking up in New York.
ORLANDO: Picked up James Ennis from the Philadelphia 76ers
NEW YORK: Traded Marcus Morris for Moe Harkless and a 2020 first round pick
| MAGIC (22-30) 8th in the East | KNICKS (16-36) 13th in the East |
| Nikola Vucevic 25 points – eight rebounds – three assists – one steal – three blocks | Julius Randle 22 points – eight rebounds – four assists – one steal – two blocks |
| Markelle Fultz 16 points – four rebounds – six assists | Taj Gibson 19 points – five rebounds – one block |
| Aaron Gordon 16 points – four rebounds – five assists – one steal | Elfrid Payton 15 points – four rebounds – nine assists – seven steals |
NEXT GAMES
Milwaukee at Orlando – Saturday
New York at Detroit – Saturday
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New Orleans Pelicans 125
Chicago Bulls 119
Seventy two points in the first half gave the New Orleans Pelicans a 10 point advantage against a home court Chicago Bulls team, who then went on to score 19 points in the third quarter while New Orleans added to their lead and eventual win in Chicago. The Pelicans’ 31-19 third quarter, as Zion Williamson went nine for 11 on the night, while J.J. Redick hit three three pointers and Brandon Ingram contributed 15 points in the win. Zach LaVine led all scorers with 22 points.
NEW ORLEANS: Stood pat at the trade deadline.
CHICAGO: Stood pat at the trade deadline.
| PELICANS (21-31) 11th in the West | BULLS (19-34) 9th in the East |
| Zion Williamson 21 points – four rebounds – one assist – two steals – one block | Zach LaVine 22 points – three rebounds – three assists – one steal – one block |
| J.J. Redick 18 points – one rebound – five assists | Chandler Hutchison 16 points – eight rebounds – one assist – two steals |
| Brandon Ingram 15 points – three rebounds – five assists – two steals | Adam Mokoka 15 points |
NEXT GAMES
New Orleans at Indiana – Saturday
Philadelphia at Chicago – Sunday
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Philadelphia 76ers 101
Milwaukee Bucks 112
The Philadelphia 76ers reportedly have locker room issues and made some moves to help with their bench scoring and outside shooting. They could have used the help and need to table whatever issues are keeping them from winning games, as they slip further and further into the lower seed ranks of the Eastern Conference; this is a team that started the season as the last team to be undefeated. Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks continue to play near flawless basketball, as demonstrated in their near replicated second and third quarters, where they took command of the Sixers with a 64-48 run over the visiting team. Giannis Antetokuonmpo was spectacular with 36 and 20, while #VFL Tobias Harris put up a valiant effort with 25 and seven for the Sixers. It was the fifth straight game that Antetokuonmpo scored 30+ and had 15+ rebounds, and 12th overall this season.
PHILADELPHIA: Added Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III from the Golden State Warriors for three second round picks; traded James Ennis to the Orlando Magic for a second round pick.
MILWAUKEE: Stood pat at the trade deadline.
| SIXERS (31-21) 6th in the East | BUCKS (44-7) 1st in the East, NBA |
| #VFL Tobias Harris 25 points – seven rebounds – four assists – one steal | Giannis Antetokuonmpo 36 points – 20 rebounds – six assists – one steal |
| Joel Embiid 19 points – 11 rebounds – six assists – one block | Khris Middleton 21 points – seven rebounds – three assists |
| Al Horford 15 points – six rebounds – one assist – one steal | Eric Bledsoe 14 points – eight rebounds – six assists – two steals |
NEXT GAMES
Memphis at Philadelphia – Tonight
Milwaukee at Orlando – Saturday
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San Antonio Spurs 117
Portland Trailblazers 125
A seven point jump by the Portland Trailblazers in the second quarter, and a margin double that in the fourth gave the team its fifth win in their last six games, and have the Blazers within four games of .500, a point they’ve struggled to get close to all season long. Damian Lillard shot 45 percent from the field and perfect from the line to net a game high 26 points and 10 assists, Carmelo Anthony added 20, C.J. McCollum 19, and Gary Trent, Jr. and Anfernee Simons had 18 and 10 off the bench, respectively. Trey Lyles led the Spurs with 23 points.
SAN ANTONIO: Stood pat at the trade deadline.
PORTLAND: Traded Skal Labissiere to the Atlanta Hawks for cash after 33 games played.
| SPURS (22-29) 10th in the West | TRAILBLAZERS (24-28) 9th in the West |
| Trey Lyles 23 points – 10 rebounds – two steals | Damian Lillard 26 points – two rebounds – 10 assists |
| DeMar DeRozan 21 points – seven rebounds – six assists – three steals | Carmelo Anthony 20 points – eight rebounds – four assists |
| LaMarcus Aldridge 20 points – eight rebounds – four assists – two steals – one block | C.J. McCollum 19 points – three rebounds – six assists – one block |
NEXT GAMES
Portland at Utah – Tonight
San Antonio at Sacramento – Saturday
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Houston Rockets 121
Los Angeles Lakers 111
After the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers played to a 63-63 tie at the half, the Rockets took control and outscored L.A. 58-48 to take the 10 point win and vindicate those who decry small ball. And for those who exhibited a public outcry at the Rockets’ acquisition of Robert Covington, the young man had a very nice debut on the road, outdoing team leader James Harden, who had 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. L.A. was led by Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Houston heads to Phoenix tonight, where head coach Mike D’Antoni had his best years playing small ball.
HOUSTON: Earlier in the week, Houston received Robert Covington and Jordan Bell in a four team, 12 player trade while shipping out Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks; on trade day, they acquired Memphis’ Bruno Caboclo by shipping Bell to the Grizzlies.
LOS ANGELES: Stood pat at the trade deadline.
| ROCKETS (33-18) 4th in the West | LAKERS (38-12) 1st in the West |
| Russell Westbrook 41 points – eight rebounds – five assists – one steal | Anthony Davis 32 points – 13 rebounds – three assists – three steals – three blocks |
| Eric Gordon 15 points – two rebounds – one assist | LeBron James 18 points – nine rebounds – 15 assists – two steals |
| Robert Covington 14 points – eight rebounds – four assists – two steals – two blocks | Danny Green 15 points – two rebounds – three assists – three steals |
NEXT GAMES
Houston at Phoenix – Tonight
Los Angeles at Golden State – Saturday
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FRIDAY’S LINEUP
(All Times Eastern Standard Time)
| 7 p.m. Memphis Grizzlies Philadelphia 76ers Fox Sports Southeast | 7 p.m. Dallas Mavericks Washington Wizards NBC Sports Washington | 7:30 p.m. Atlanta Hawks Boston Celtics NBC Sports Boston |
| 8 p.m. Toronto Raptors Indiana Pacers TNT | 8 p.m. Detroit Pistons Oklahoma City Thunder Fox Sports Detroit | 9 p.m. Houston Rockets Phoenix Suns AT&T SportsNet Southwest |
| 10 p.m. Miami Heat Sacramento Kings NBC Sports California | 10:30 p.m. Portland Trailblazers Utah Jazz ESPN |
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Tracy Graven is a Senior NBA Analyst for BackSportsPage.com.
He has written the NBA, and done NBA radio, for the last two decades for HoopsWorld, Swish Magazine, and HoopsHype, the Coach Scott Fields Show and NBARadioShow.com, and is also tackling the NFL, NCAA, and will be pinch-hitting on some Major League Baseball coverage for BackSportsPage.
He’s spent 20 years in locker rooms in
- Orlando
- Boise (G League)
- San Antonio
- Phoenix
- Denver
- Oklahoma City
- Atlanta
A corporate trainer by day, he currently resides in SEC Country near Knoxville, Tennessee.
Reach him on Twitter at @RealTMoneyMedia
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