76ers acquire Jaylen Brown from Celtics for Paul George, two 1st-round picks, two 2nd-round picks
Remember that Seinfeld episode when Jerry was dating smokeshow Christine Taylor, and yet everyone made it seem like he was dating a complete loser? That’s what I feel like Jaylen Brown is right now. Brown averaged nearly 29 points per game last year, albeit without Jayson Tatum, and yet the Celtics have been trying to unload him for anything. I understood trading him for Giannis Antetokounmpo, even though I was surprised by the news, but it’s astonishing that Boston accepted Paul George and two first-round picks for Brown.
Perhaps Brown is a loser after all, but he seems great to me. This should be a huge win for the 76ers. Brown, 29, is much younger than George, who is 36. Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s draft picks will be in the 20s because they have so much talent now with Brown joining the rest of the roster. The Celtics, meanwhile, have certainly gotten worse as a result of this trade.
Grade for 76ers – A+
Grade for Celtics – D
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Timberwolves acquire LaMelo Ball from Hornets for 2033 1st-round pick, three 1st-round pick swaps, three 2nd-round picks
When I first saw this trade, my immediate reaction was that this was a win for the Timberwolves. Anthony Edwards plus LaMelo Ball sounds like a winning combination, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this isn’t a great trade for Minnesota.
There are a couple of issues with Ball. The first is that he’s always banged up. There’s a reason why the Hornets were eager to trade him. The availability factor is very real. And second, Ball plays the type of selfish basketball that won’t mesh well with Edwards. I don’t think this is a good fit.
I also don’t like this trade for the Hornets. They were a young, emerging team, and now they’ve set themselves back. Also, the picks from Minnesota likely won’t be very good.
Grade for Timberwolves – C
Grade for Hornets – C-
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Heat acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis from Bucks for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez, Kaspara Jakucionis, three 1st-round picks, pick swap, 2nd-round pick
A Giannis Antetokounmpo trade has been discussed for a long time, and it finally happened. He and Bobby Portis will be taking their talents to South Beach in exchange for half of Miami’s roster and a slew of draft choices.
The Heat are getting the best player in the deal, but it’s hard to like this trade. Antetokounmpo is obviously outstanding when he’s on the court, but he’s always injured. He played just 36 games last year, and he’s turning 32 during the early portion of the 2026-27 season. The injury situation is only going to get worse as he ages.
If Antetokounmpo stays on the court, it’ll be nice for the Heat, but then again, they won’t have anyone surrounding him outside of Bam Adebayo. They gutted most of their roster to make this trade, so it’s difficult to envision them being serious threats for the Knicks, Celtics, Pacers, and Pistons this upcoming season. The Bucks, meanwhile, acquired some young talents for an aging, injury-prone player, so they won this deal.
Grade for Heat – C
Grade for Bucks – A
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Bullets acquire Trae Young from Hawks for C.J. McCollum, Corey Kispert
“That’s it?” Those were my exact words that I said aloud when I saw the details of this trade. The Hawks have traded Trae Young to the Bullets for C.J. McCollum, Corey Kispert, and, well, that’s it.
It’s shocking that Young commanded no trade value. McCollum is a fossil – he recently turned 34 – and Kispert is a mediocre talent. He’s not very good, but he’s at least fairly young. Still, it’s astonishing that the Hawks couldn’t have obtained at least one draft pick.
Now, I know that Young has a bloated contract, and he hasn’t played as well lately, but he’s still just 27 and could perform on a high level again in the future. I also know that Young forced his way out, but if the Hawks were a better franchise, they could have circumvented that and obtained proper value for their dynamic guard.
Grade for Bullets – A
Grade for Rockets – D
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Rockets acquire Kevin Durant from Suns for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, No. 10 overall pick, five 2nd-round picks
At first glance, this seems like a lopsided trade in favor of Phoenix. The Suns, after all, traded Kevin Durant for eight players. After diagnosing it, however, it feels like the Suns obtained a quarter, two dimes, and five pennies for a whole dollar.
Durant will turn 37 prior to the 2025-26 season, but he can still perform at a high level. He averaged 26.6 points per game last year despite looking unmotivated at times as a result on playing on such a bad team. The Rockets needed a dynamic talent like Durant to help get them over the top, which will be possible with the league being so wide open. And the compensation isn’t really that bad. Green has a massive salary. Brooks is poor in the locker room. The second-round picks don’t really matter. The only value is the No. 10 pick.
While I like this trade for the Rockets, it also makes sense for the Suns. Phoenix is in no position to win now, so trading Durant for a bunch of players can help the rebuilding process.
Grade for Rockets – A-
Grade for Suns – B
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Magic acquire Desmond Bane from Grizzlies for Cole Anthony, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, four unprotected first-round picks
The Magic made some noise in the regular-season this year, but ultimately were eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs again, losing their initial series to the Celtics in five. Their offense outside of Paolo Banchero was dead, so they needed to acquire some explosive threats. They did so with Desmond Bane, so their team will benefit in the short term.
However, the Magic seem to have surrendered a lot for Bane. Four unprotected first-round picks seems insane on the surface. The unprotected aspect of it may not come into play though, given that the Magic now have plenty of talent with Bane, Banchero, and Franz Wagner. I don’t think this trade is as bad as some are making it out to be, though I would grade the Grizzlies higher because they acquired so many assets.
Grade for Magic – B
Grade for Grizzlies – A
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Spurs acquire De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin
Kings acquire Zach LaVine, Sidy Cissoko, three first-round picks (2025 Hornets, 2027 Spurs, 2031 Timberwolves), three second-round picks
Bulls acquire Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter, own 2025 first-round pick
What a wild time in the NBA. Just 24 hours after the Mavericks and Lakers exchanged Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis, there was another trade involving De’Aaron Fox and Zach LaVine. Three teams took part in the deal.
The Spurs were the big winners of the trade. They obtained Fox for pretty much just a mid-first-round pick, which is worth it. Fox is a very talented 27-year-old guard who will be a great second option to pair with Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio needed a No. 2 to take the next step, and now they have that player in Fox.
The Kings didn’t do as well as the Spurs, but they were able to get a talented, albeit injury-prone player in LaVine for Fox. They also picked up three first-round picks, though Charlotte’s selection is protected. Still, there’s not that huge of a gap between Fox and LaVine – the two are just a couple of years apart, unlike Doncic and Davis – so I like this move for Sacramento.
The big loser in this trade is Chicago. I don’t understand what the Bulls are doing. Sure, they get their own pick back, which will be in the 11-15 range, but they lost LaVine for pretty much nothing otherwise. Perhaps they believe they need to rebuild, but they should have been able to get something more for LaVine than a mid-first-round pick and three bench scrubs.
Grade for Spurs – A+
Grade for Kings – A-
Grade for Bulls – D
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Lakers acquire Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris from Mavericks for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, 2029 1st-round pick
This trade broke when we were broadcasting the latest episode of the WalterFootball After Dark Show. When people brought it up in the comments, I thought it was fake. It turns out that this trade is very real, as Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis will be swapping teams.
I don’t understand this deal for the Mavericks. Doncic is in his prime. Sure, he gets hurt a lot, but he turns only 26 in a few weeks. By comparison, Davis will be 32 next month. Doncic will be great for the next six-plus years, while Davis will begin declining soon. There’s a chance this trade was the byproduct of Mark Cuban’s mental regression, which has been quite apparent recently if you’ve paid attention to anything he has said the past year. Cuban, 66, is losing his marbles, so perhaps he should be asked to take a step back from the team.
The Lakers, meanwhile, made out like bandits. Pairing Doncic with LeBron James gives them a chance to win the championship this year, provided they can obtain a center prior to the trade deadline.
Grade for Lakers – A+
Grade for Mavericks – MILLEN
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