by Steven Rasco
It’s Thursday, the 30th of January, just a week before the NBA trade deadline. You just finished reading an article from the log by Steven Rasco (myself) talking about the big names to expect to be moved in what could be seen as a really fun and dramatic deadline with about two big name stars in Jimmy Butler and De’Aaron Fox expected to be moved.
Fast forward about 3 weeks later to today and looking back you will find that over 12 big name/relevant stars were moved within just FIVE, yes, FIVE days.
The Luka Dončić Trade - The Most Shocking Trade in NBA History
To start the deadline talk, you must mention the one that jumpstarted it all: the Luka Trade. The infamous Shams Charania broke this through a tweet at 12:12 a.m. Eastern Time, it truly had people thinking that the reporter got his account hacked. But, can you blame them? Trading away a 26-year-old megastar who hasn’t even reached their prime but has already reached the NBA Finals is one of the most surprising aspects of the deal.
This deal was supposedly done in silence, according to Shams, with the Dallas GM Nico Harrison even seeming proud of the fact that he didn’t let anyone in the league know he had Luka on the trading block. Now, this is not something that a General Manager would typically be proud of as the normal route would be to let it be known that the star of your franchise is available, because then one can start a bidding war where they can squeeze out the best assets possible.
With every new detail that has come out, the trade seems to just get more confusing, causing more upset with hometown fans of the Mavericks and even upset with players of other teams that also seem perplexed at the idea of trading someone so good away.
According to multiple reports, the Dallas front office traded the star due to concerns about him being overweight and not healthy enough to avoid injury. Imagine the shock of fans when they traded him for Anthony Davis, a player well-known for being great but also known for having a history of being injury-prone. The Big Man suffered a left abductor strain in just his FIRST game in a Mavs uniform. Nico Harrison continues to state that he thinks that even with the major amounts of negative feedback he has gotten, that time will look back upon the deal as one that got the franchise their second championship, something he emphasized was the goal in a press conference after it was official. So far, a month later, the trade has already not panned out well for Dallas, with Anthony Davis being injured and the Lakers balling out as of late, but who knows? Only time can tell whether getting rid of Luka Dončić was the right move.
Now there is much speculation whether it is the craziest trade in NBA history, but if you ask some Columbus students its not just the craziest in the league’s history, but the craziest in the history of sports as we know it.
“It might just be the biggest and stupidest trade in the history of Sports as we know it,” said Jacob Alvarez-Drago Class of 26’.
“I must’ve refreshed at least ten times before realizing Sham’s didn’t get hacked, especially after he put out another tweet saying it’s real," said Jason Fernandez Class of 27’.
“I could not believe that the mavs front office would trade away their star player,” said Michael Castillo Class of 26’.
With these answers to the question of, “What are your thoughts on the Luka trade?” it's clear that even now some really see it as hard to believe the trade even happened. This trade, although the biggest of the deadline, kicked off what was then a frenzy of players being moved at the deadline.
Surprising and Not-So-Surprising Trades and Drama at the Deadline
The overhaul of trades made people so numb that a deal where Khris Middleton was moved for the first time in his career out of Milwaukee to the Washington Wizards was seen as small when compared to other deals made at the time. It is important to settle down and realize just how much the NBA changed from this deadline and appreciate the enjoyment as a fan of the game for that.
New #10 in Golden State, Jimmy Butler
Starting with the Jimmy Butler trade, (finally) one that has been stalled for honestly the whole month of January with just insanely messy handling of the situation by both the franchise and player. Although some may see the trade as an underwhelming return for a player that brought a team to 2 finals and 3 conference finals in just 5 years, one has to keep in mind that the Miami Heat had little to no leverage due to player antics and not taking good enough control of the situation.
The final return for Miami was Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Kyle Anderson, and GSW 2025 top-10 protected first-round pick. The Warriors also sent Dennis Schröeder and Lindy Watters III in this deal to the Pistons. The Bay have so far have to be walking away ecstatic about this trade as they are now 7-1 as of writing this with Jimmy Butler.
The Heat, on the other hand, have found themselves in a hole that they have dug themselves in as they now are 2-6 since sending Butler to Golden State. It will be interesting to see how this trade pans out as Miami, if they don’t make the playoff, will have their pick in the lottery and the Warriors pick, giving them two pretty valuable picks in what is said to be a stacked draft. Golden State, of course, gets to give their franchise player in Curry a chance to make one of his finals runs at a ring with his new star partner.
A Fox In San Antonio
The De’Aaron Fox trade, although it was something considered as simple speculation before February came around, was something that ended up feeling inevitable within the last 5-6 days of the deadline. The deal involved yet another player that has been anticipated by many to be moved for quite a while now in Zach Lavine.
The Kings were expected to get a haul out of Fox, especially from the likes of a team such as the Spurs, with a ton of young players and assets in draft capital to give up. However, the deal involved the Spurs giving up some of their older players that weren’t that important for the young project they have in mind for the future of the team.
They did trade 3 rather not-so-great first-round picks, except for them giving the Bulls their own 2025 pick back, allowing for Chicago to go into the lottery for Cooper Flagg and also for the Kings to receive Zach Lavine. This trade works perfectly for San Antonio as they get to keep their already great young core, led not only by just the generational Victor Wenmbenyama now but also by the All-Star point Guard in Fox, giving a very promising duo in Texas for many years to come. With the Devastating news that Wemby will miss the remainder of the season and the spurs having their first-round lottery pick plus the Hawk’s, they can add to their already scary young core with what is seen to be a strong draft class.
Careers ending in Washington?
Khris Middleton and Marcus Smart are both players who have been notorious for their high-level of play in the most important moments, especially come post-season. They have shown throughout their careers that they can be big reasons for their teams making it to the NBA Finals, with Middleton even winning it all with the Bucks in 2021 as a prominent figure in his team. Even with Smart having won the DPOY in 2022, a year his team went to the finals, he still eventually got dealt away just a year later, showing that no one is safe.
Smart and Middleton both have a history of being very injury-prone, with Smart showing signs especially as of late since he was dealt to the Grizzlies. Middleton has seemingly always had a problem with his ankles, recently having surgery on both of them. he has rarely been around for the Bucks recently and when he was there, he really wasn’t the same caliber of player he was even just a year ago. Memphis seemingly dealt Marcus Smart for a cheap return, as they reportedly were unhappy with just how banged up he always is.
Khris Middleton is and always will be a Milwaukee Bucks legend. From his clutch moments in the 2021 championship run to help Giannis win the first Larry O’Brien in the City’s History to his early days of being drafted and brought up by the Bucks, he represented the city every step of the way. The return for one of the franchise's greatest came in Kyle Kuzma, a player with a championship under his belt from his early years, but he, now supposedly in his prime, has picked up bad habits in Washington with inefficient shots and what is sometimes seen as a poor motor when playing. With the Bucks 7-3 since acquiring the 29 year-old let’s see if he could pick back up some old winning habits from his time in L.A.
Cavs find their Hunter
The Cavs made a very under the radar trade in acquring a stud in De’Andre Hunter, a deal announced my shams just an hour and 20 minutes before the deadline closed at 3:00 p.m. Cleveland got their hands on Hunter in the beginning of his prime, coming off what has been a career-high average in points and 3-point shooting with the hawks this season. He has come out blazing for the current best team in the NBA with 50/57/81 shooting splits on 14 points per game.
Although they did give up Caris Levert, someone who should be respected as a great shooter, they got back possibly the same level of shooting the ball, if not better, while also getting a guy who can get more points for your team and take over a game if he is needed to step up. Cleveland adding someone who is in their prime and has shown the ability to play at a high level, while they have already been the Number 1 seed in the East the whole season and currently having the best record in the NBA, it is something that gives an already great team another dimension to their game.
With 7 games having passed by since Cleveland made the trade, we can see that they stand at a ridiculous 7-0 undefeated record since acquiring the star from Atlanta. De’Andre Hunter has exceeded expectations so far in his stint with the Cavs
Raptors find Scottie Barnes his star partner of the future
A player who was also expected to be moved at this year’s deadline was Brandon Ingram. With such a messy situation over in New Orleans in recent years, Ingram has seemed to be a bright spot for the franchise in what could’ve been much worse times for the fanbase. With the player’s contract expiring this summer and with how much of a disaster the Pelicans as a franchise have become recently, it was no surprise they would try to trade him before he could leave them for nothing in the summer.
The Raptors gave up Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk and a 2026 first-round and 2031 second-round pick for the 27-year-old approaching his prime. Toronto wasted no time at all signing Ingram to a 3 year, $120-million-dollar extension before he could even play a game for the North. The 1x All-Star is still trying to recover from what was a devastating ankle sprain that he suffered back in early December, so the fact that they would give him an extension while giving him the freedom to recover for the rest of the season goes to show how much they want Ingram for the plans they have for him and Scottie Barnes.
The Raptors, of course, have been more of a developmental team as they stand at a record of 18-41, clearly a team trying their best to land a top pick in a loaded draft. With two stars already on the team and a young core, adding the right young high upside player might put Toronto back on track to compete in the East once again.
Student Thoughts on the Overall Deadline
“Really just had so many trades that it was overwhelming to be honest, kind of got numb to trades especially after 50 notifications from Shams,” said Jacob Alvarez-Drago Class of 26’.
“I think that everyones going to look back on this deadline as league shattering in five years,” said Jason Fernandez Class of 27’.
“Greatest Trade Deadline in the history of Sports," said Michael Castillo Class of 26’.
An overwhelming trade deadline to say the least, will be pretty hard for any in the future to even remotely replicate this. A time period so entertaining that it took the attention away from millions of Americans that the Super Bowl was the very same week.