Picking the five biggest winners of the NBA Trade Deadline

The NBA Trade Deadline of 2024 has come and gone and the top contenders in the association have shaped their rosters for a championship run. While we didn’t see any blockbuster deals such as Kevin Durant to Phoenix in 2023 or James Harden to Philadelphia in 2022, some key names were moved around that should not go unnoticed.

Many contenders made some important team-building moves and many also, either surprisingly or unsurprisingly, stood pat and will stick it out with their squad as currently constructed. We’ll sift through these moves and rank the five biggest winners of this year’s deadline. These winners will be chosen based on current impact, future impact, estimated loss, and fit. Additionally, deals that were made before deadline day such as the Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby trades will not be considered for these rankings.

Milwaukee Bucks

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The Bucks didn’t make any major roster shakeups (their preseason trade for Damian Lillard was enough of that), but they did however improve a massive need with their trade for 76ers guard Patrick Beverley. To get the veteran, Milwaukee traded away guard Cameron Payne and a 2nd-round draft pick.

While many expected the Bucks to be a little bit more active, swapping Payne for Beverley provides them with reinforcements in a major area of need: perimeter defense. Since trading away Jrue Holiday in the Lillard deal before the season, the team has struggled mightily with containing opposing guards. Beverley, while limited offensively, is an ideal player to be the point of attack defender that the Bucks can utilize, and he will be crucial for them down the stretch. Assuming he takes on the backup point guard duties that Payne was occupying, he will be needed to make shots, especially from three which is an area that he has struggled in this year. Beverley will be a free agent at the end of the season, but it is nonetheless a very smart pickup by a Milwaukee team looking to solidify their holes before the playoffs.

Philadelphia 76ers

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Unlike their Eastern Conference foes in Milwaukee, the 76ers were slightly more active in their midseason acquisitions. Along with Payne, Philadelphia also made a big splash in getting Pacers wing Buddy Hield as well as multiple future 2nd-round picks. They shed a great deal of salary in the deals, sending away the likes of Beverley, Furkan Korkmaz, Marcus Morris, and Danuel House. All of these players were guys that were not in favorable roles in Philly, so they were moves that were a long time coming.

The addition of Hield is a major upgrade to a 76ers team right now that is struggling in the absence of injured superstar Joel Embiid. Hield, a career 40% three point shooter on heavy volume is averaging 12.0 points per game this year will be a very nice upgrade as a spot starter on offense. The team is currently 21st in the league in three point percentage at 36.2%, a number that Hield can certainly bring up. The addition of Payne will also help as well, because while he is not as good on defense as Beverley, he is certainly a better shooter. His presence in the backcourt should alleviate some of the pressure that has started to accumulate on budding star Tyrese Maxey. Both Hield and Payne are free agents after the season.

Oklahoma City Thunder

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Six months ago, few would have thought the Thunder would be in a position to acquire high-end talent to fuel a championship run in 2024. Few may have thought it but that’s exactly what they did in acquiring Hornets forward Gordon Hayward in exchange for Davis Bertans, Tre Mann, and Vasilije Micic and a couple of 2nd-round picks. There is no major loss here, as getting Bertans off of the books is a blessing, and neither Mann nor Micic could carve out a role in Oklahoma City.

Hayward, while not the player he once was, should instantly become the best option off the bench on this young Thunder team. Depth has been among the few problems that Oklahoma City has dealt with this season, as they haven’t been able to get much outside of their starting core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey, and Luguentz Dort. Hayward will provide valuable scoring and floor spacing to the second unit, while also being a good enough defender to play crunch-time minutes whenever necessary. Perhaps the only relevant downside to the deal is that Hayward has been out with a calf injury since late December and it has been rumored that he’ll be out until after the All-Star break. Even still, that leaves plenty of time for Hayward to get healthy for a playoff push. Hayward will also be a free agent at the end of the year, although there is no reason to think that there wouldn’t be mutual interest in keeping Hayward in a Thunder uniform long term.

Dallas Mavericks

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The Mavericks were perhaps the most active team in the league on deadline day this season. They moved with the necessary urgency to fill some alarming holes and were able to acquire Hornets forward PJ Washington as the centerpiece of the day, along with Wizards center Daniel Gafford. In those deals, they sent away Grant Williams, Seth Curry, Richaun Holmes, and a couple of future 1st-round picks. Curry and Holmes had both barely played for Dallas this year while Williams apparently had some chemistry issues with players and coaches.

With Dereck Lively II currently out with a broken nose and Maxi Kleber having such a difficult time avoiding the injury bug, frontcourt depth was desperately needed. Washington is a big upgrade offensively, and while he has had a tough year shooting the ball, he still will be able to space the floor appropriately either at the power forward or center position. Defensively however, he will struggle at the five, and that will likely be the cause for his limited minutes. Gafford has the opposite problem. He is a good rim protector, averaging 2.2 blocks per game but will be limited offensively. He is second in the league in field goal percentage at 69% percent, but that includes no outside game whatsoever which will clog things up for stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Both players are under contract through 2026, so the pressure is on for them to work out as valuable depth pieces in Dallas.

New York Knicks

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The Knicks made the biggest splash of the day, acquiring likely the best player that was traded in Pistons forward Bojan Bogdanovic. He was added along with Alec Burks in exchange for a haul that included Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono, and a couple of 2nd-round picks. Out of these players, only Grimes was playing valuable minutes on this year’s team.

New York is another team that badly needed shooting depth and those prayers were answered with the acquisitions of Bogdanovic and Burks. Both Julius Randle and Anunoby are currently out with injuries so the two former Pistons will be immediately thrust into heavy roles as the Knicks try to maintain their place in the top half of the Eastern Conference. The biggest impact that both players, but especially Bogdanovic, will provide will be come playoff time, as last year opponents were able to sit off of non-shooters such as Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, and Isaiah Hartenstein. This consequently clogged up the pain for Randle and Jalen Brunson, extinguishing the New York offense. With Bogdanovic playing heavy minutes off the bench and providing the same quality of offense that has led him to average 20.2 points per game and 42% from three this season, the team will be able to keep the offense spaced much more efficiently. Burks will be a free agent after the year but Bogdanovic will be with the team until 2025. The final crucial aspect of this deal is that New York did not give up any 1st-round picks for these two players, leaving the door wide open for a blockbuster trade for a superstar this upcoming summer.