Memphis Grizzlies: Smart
The Grizz added several pieces to their future draft capital war chest. In total, they acquired five second-round picks as well as a first-round pick in 2026. That is a great haul. Losing Steven Adams to the Rockets and Xavier Tillman to the Celtics will sting in the short term, but these moves were meant for the long term.
This season is a lost season for the Grizz. It doesn't make much sense for them to be buyers, but it also didn't really feel like it made sense for them to be fully sellers either. This team is competitive when healthy. In retrospect, the team did a great job of being flexible for future endeavors. This was a smart deadline by the Grizzlies. Good job.
Miami Heat: Lackluster
The Heat traded for Terry Rozier and that felt like a very good start to the trade deadline. That ended up being their only move and it feels lackluster. Rozier is a great addition to a team in need of offensive firepower, but this team still isn't overly competitive.
It felt like there was another move to be made. Head coach Erik Spoelstra always seems to get the most out of his guys, but it does help to have a plethora of talented guys on the roster. At points, there were "LeBron James is coming back to Miami" rumors. While those might be a bit outrageous, that is the pedigree in which this team operates. Rozier was nice, but overall a lackluster deadline for a team expected to compete.