NBA Trade Deadline: Taking a look at the biggest losers

The “staying put” losers

For the record, the Spurs traded out some players and potentially ended up with two first-round picks at the deadline. At least one Texas team got it right!

Moving back to the losers…

While the New York Knicks made a move to acquire Cam Reddish in the days leading up to the deadline, they did nothing else. And Reddish has barely cracked the rotation. They were even reportedly shopping him!

The Knicks needed to either consolidate their rotation for a playoff push or sell off veterans to develop their young guys and secure a lottery pick. They did neither. They will remain in NBA purgatory because of it. There does not seem to be synergy between the front office and coach Thibs, and that could lead to an ugly divorce in the summer. Until then, the Knicks are losers at this deadline.

It is not necessarily the Los Angeles Lakers’ fault that they could not do anything at the deadline. No one wants Talen Horton Tucker or Kendrick Nunn. Would you trade an unprotected pick in the non-LeBron future to get off of Westbrook’s contract? I wouldn’t have. It is an indictment of how the roster was built, though.

To not have a single non-superstar player worthy of interest in the market (beyond guys like Monk and Reaves whose contracts are too small to have gotten much value in return) is a real low for the organization. And now they must trudge along with that roster. They are losers in that sense as well.

Honestly, I did not mind many of the moves made at the deadline. I do not love what the Trail Blazers did, but it has some direction and I am willing to see it play out. You could argue that the Warriors should have made a move to bolster the frontcourt in light of Draymond Green’s injury, but if he is that injured they are cooked regardless. I can’t wait to see how all of these trades look come playoff time, and whether I am wrong about some of these losers. Until next time!