Holy smokes. The Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook trades must have opened some floodgates or something, because the NBA's 32 [CORRECTION: 30, LOL] teams somehow combined to trade, in total, like 72 different backup centers and 14,000 future second-round draft picks ahead of this afternoon's 3:00 p.m. trading deadline. We're here this afternoon to help you sort through all of the day's hot trading action; below you'll find a rundown of all the transactions, with expert analysis for each. We're doing deep dives on every trade, so get comfortable.
Toronto Raptors trade center Khem Birch plus a 2024 first-round draft pick and two future second-round draft picks to San Antonio Spurs for center Jakob Poeltl.
Ley: Khem Birch.
Burneko: Whoa.
Oklahoma City Thunder trade center Mike Muscala to Boston Celtics for guard Justin Jackson and two future second-round draft picks.
Ley: A question worth asking: Will this tilt the balance of power in the East?
Burneko: Will this tilt the balance of power in the East? Only time will tell.
Los Angeles Lakers trade center Thomas Bryant to Denver Nuggets for guard Davon Reed and three future second-round draft picks.
Ley: Bold prediction time: This is the most second-round draft picks that will ever be included in an NBA trade.
Burneko: Folks, we are talking about wild trade action right now.
Milwaukee Bucks receive forward Jae Crowder from Brooklyn Nets; Indiana Pacers receive center Serge Ibaka, forward Jordan Nwora, and guard George Hill from Milwaukee Bucks; Brooklyn Nets receive five future second-round draft picks from Milwaukee Bucks.
Ley: I rescind my previous bold prediciton.
Burneko: Honestly I'm not sure what happened here; people keep reporting this as a multi-team trade but unless I am reading it wrong it looks like the Bucks just made two different trades, and I have no idea what anybody got from the Pacers. Luckily none of the players involved are good so it won't matter.
Portland Trail Blazers receive wing Matisse Thybulle from Philadelphia 76ers; Philadelphia 76ers receive forward Jalen McDaniels from Charlotte Hornets; Charlotte Hornets receive wing Svi Mykhailiuk from Trail Blazers.
Ley: If I'm a GM and that trade gets proposed to me, I hang up the phone immediately. Sometimes I wonder how these guys have jobs.
Burneko: That's crazy. This is all so crazy.
Denver Nuggets trade guard Bones Hyland to Los Angeles Clippers for two future second-round draft picks.
Ley: Well well well.
Burneko: Dang!
Atlanta Hawks receive guard Saddiq Bey from the Detroit Pistons; Detroit Pistons receive center James Wiseman from Golden State Warriors; Golden State Warriors receive forward Kevin Knox II from Detroit Pistons and five future second-round draft picks from Atlanta Hawks.
Ley: OK, now that is wild.
Burneko: Sick.
Portland Trail Blazers trade guard Gary Payton II to Golden State Warriors for forward Kevin Knox II and five future second-round draft picks.
Ley: I truly can't believe this.
Burneko: In combination with the trade right before this one, this amounts to the Warriors trading the 2020 second-overall pick for a guy they had on their team last year and let go. That rocks.
Houston Rockets trade guard Garrison Mathews and forward Bruno Fernando to Atlanta Hawks for guard Justin Holiday and center Frank Kaminsky.
Ley: Are those guys real?
Burneko: I'm reasonably confident at least two of these people are real.
Los Angeles Clippers receive guard Eric Gordon from Houston Rockets and three future second-round draft picks from Memphis Grizzlies; Houston Rockets receive wing Danny Green from Memphis Grizzlies and guard John Wall from Los Angeles Clippers; Memphis Grizzlies receive guard Luke Kennard from Los Angeles Clippers.
Ley: A question worth asking: Will this tilt the balance of power in the West?
Burneko: The John Wall part of this makes me want to sob.
Los Angeles Lakers trade guard Patrick Beverley to Orlando Magic for center Mo Bamba.
Ley: Wow.
Burneko: Heh.
Oklahoma City Thunder trade forward Darius Bazley to Phoenix Suns for forward Dario Saric and a future second-round draft pick.
Ley: OK! I see what they're doing here!
Burneko: Right on.
New Orleans Pelicans trade guard Devonte' Graham and four future second-round draft picks to San Antonio Spurs for guard Josh Richardson.
Ley: Oooohhh, now this is interesting.
Burneko: That's cool.
Charlotte Hornets trade center Mason Plumlee to Los Angeles Clippers for guard Reggie Jackson.
Ley: That's nice.
Burneko: Nice, nice.
