The 2021 NBA trade deadline is officially in the books with a number of transactions seen throughout the day that may or may not shift the balance of power around the league.
Two of the biggest names that were anticipated to be on the move — Aaron Gordon and Victor Oladipo — did in fact end up moving on, while the biggest name who was rumoured to be available, Kyle Lowry, ended up staying with the Toronto Raptors until at least the end of this season.
In total, there were 16 trades made throughout the day. To help better understand these transactions so far, here’s a look at the winners and losers of this year’s trade deadline.
Winners
Toronto Raptors Coming into deadline day all eyes were on the Raptors as they appeared to hold the keys to everything with two of the most hotly-contested trade targets in Lowry and Norman Powell.
There was a lot of debate among Raptors fans about why they should sell and trade both of those players or just stand pat and keep the two of them, and what the club ended up doing was actually a combination of both.
As mentioned off the top, the Raptors ultimately decided to keep Lowry, but before that, they opted to flip Powell to Portland Trail Blazers for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr.
This looks like a half-measured approach from the Raptors, but looking holistically at the two transactions you’ll understand why making these two decisions will ultimately steer the team in the right direction.
Because the Raptors were mired in a nine-game losing streak before their win Wednesday night, the natural reaction heading into deadline day was that the Raptors were going to be sellers because their season was already going down the drain.
But while they entered deadline day as the No. 11 seed in the Eastern Conference, they’re also only 1.5 games back of the No. 10 and final spot in the play-in tournament. Not to mention, this losing streak they underwent was mainly because the team was decimated by COVID protocols and not entirely indicative of what the club’s actual potential was.
And this is why the moves the Raptors made at the deadline are positives. The notion that the Raptors were going to sell and tank was never on the table because this is a team that has viewed itself as a competitive club all season and there was no chance they were going to look to tank.
And so, in that sense, keeping Lowry was fitting. Toronto played hardball with any packages for Lowry because nothing they would get back in return would be able to match his productivity anyway.
Yes, the Raptors will have to deal with this all over again this off-season when he’s a free agent, but they’ll have his Bird rights and the possibility of re-signing him will remain.
As for Powell, he was always the more likely candidate to be on the move because the nature of his contract made it easier to do so.
With him also likely to be a free agent this summer at a price Toronto likely wouldn’t be able to afford, the Raptors had to make a move and made one with an eye towards possibly getting back into things this season and for their future.
The acquisition of Rodney Hood and his non-guaranteed contract gives the Raptors, essentially, a free look at a player who has flashed potential in the past and bringing in Gary Trent Jr. gives the Raptors a dynamic shooter and scorer — who’s similar to Powell in a lot of ways, and still on his rookie contract.
Throw in the two other transactions the Raptors made — dealing Matt Thomas to the Utah Jazz and Terence Davis to the Sacramento Kings both for second-round picks in moves that restock some of their draft picks and opens up a pair of roster spots to potentially be players in the buyout market — and you have a tidy piece of business done by the Raptors.
It didn’t address the hole they still have at centre, but it’s a deadline day that’s giving this current group a chance while opening up some future flexibility.
Chicago Bulls The Bulls are big deadline winners because of the big move they made for Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic, as well as the sneaky transaction they made with the Boston Celtics for Daniel Theis.
Chicago hasn’t made the playoffs since 2017 but looks to remedy that situation this season with their big move for two-time all-star Vucevic, whose combination of post and perimeter skills figures to add another layer of lethality to a Chicago offence that features a core of Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Coby White.
Better yet for Chicago, Vucevic is under contract until 2022-23 so he figures to be a big part of the Bulls’ future as well, and all it cost them was young big Wendell Carter Jr. — who’s game is like a younger, less mature version’s of Vucevic’s — the expiring contract of Otto Porter Jr, and two first-round picks which the team is counting on not being in the lottery.
And then, by adding Theis, a great defensive centre who can knock down the occasional three, the Bulls have shored up a major weakness of theirs at little expense.
Denver Nuggets The biggest impact trade of the day goes to the Denver Nuggets’ acquisition of Aaron Gordon.
Denver did have to give up a promising player in Gary Harris to make it happen, but given Harris’ health concerns the risk looks like it was worth it because you now have a talented Denver team adding a great athlete and playmaker in the frontcourt in Gordon.
The imagination can run wild thinking what kind of lob combination Nikola Jokic might be for Gordon, and Jamal Murray now has another big who’s adept at finding re-locating shooters and cutters.
And in a separate transaction, the Nuggets made a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers for JaVale McGee for a pair of future second-rounders. McGee isn’t exactly a game-changing player, but he’s a guy with championship experience and figures to be a needed veteran for Denver’s playoff push.
Magic City Lou Williams is heading to the Atlanta Hawks and, more importantly, will basically be right next to gentlemen’s club Magic City, renowned for their famous chicken wings and a Williams favourite.
Going back the other way to the Los Angeles Clippers in this transaction is Rajon Rondo, who figures to be a needed voice in that locker room, but the real big winner of this transaction is definitely Magic City.
Business will be booming.
Losers
Orlando Magic Though it was expected, the Magic’s teardown on deadline day that saw them trade Vucevic, Gordon and Evan Fournier is still disappointing nonetheless.
The return the Magic got in each of these transactions was alright — except perhaps only getting a pair of second-round picks for Fournier — and it’s true this is a team that’s been spinning its tires for the last little bit before falling off a cliff this season, but anytime a professional sports organization feels the need to take a step back and trade away all of its core pieces in an effort to begin anew, it’s never good news.
Houston Rockets The Rockets were successful in trading Victor Oladipo right at the buzzer of the deadline, but the return they got back for him was pitiful.
Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and a pick swap that’ll probably never come to be just isn’t good enough.
But as bad as the haul is, the real reason why the Rockets are losers at the deadline is because this just may have been all Oladipo could’ve got them anyway.
Oladipo hasn’t been anywhere near the same player he was after suffering a ruptured quad tendon in his knee a couple seasons ago and the Rockets should’ve known that when they initially acquired him and not Caris LeVert in the James Harden deal at the beginning of the season.
Harden, of course, put Houston in a precarious position, but they had an option to take either LeVert from the Brooklyn Nets or Oladipo from the Indiana Pacers and chose the latter.
And what you saw Thursday is the sad result of that.
Canada Basketball
The very first trade made on deadline day was a minor-looking deal between the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons as the Pistons swapped Delon Wright for Cory Joseph and a pair of second-round picks.
Though small on the NBA scale, this transaction could have big implications for the Canadian men’s national team because his contract isn’t guaranteed for next season, there’s a strong likelihood that Detroit might waive him in the off-season making him a free agent.
This would be problematic for Canada Basketball because guys usually want to take care of their professional situation before committing to the national team.
Olynyk will also become an unrestricted free agent in the summer, meaning Team Canada might not have two of its most senior members for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Victoria.
Great Kyle Lowry scrums On Wednesday night when so much was uncertain about his future, Lowry held court with the media for a little over 23 minutes.
It was spectacular and had an air of finality to it.
Well, Lowry is still a Raptor for the time being so what are the chances such an epic press conference may happen again anytime soon?
Vancouver Canucks winger Dakota Joshua is set to make his season debut Thursday after missing time for cancer treatment.
Head coach Rick Tocchet says Joshua will slot into the lineup Thursday when Vancouver (8-3-3) hosts the New York Islanders.
The 28-year-old from Dearborn, Mich., was diagnosed with testicular cancer this summer and underwent surgery in early September.
He spoke earlier this month about his recovery, saying it had been “very hard to go through” and that he was thankful for support from his friends, family, teammates and fans.
“That was a scary time but I am very thankful and just happy to be in this position still and be able to go out there and play,,” Joshua said following Thursday’s morning skate.
The cancer diagnosis followed a career season where Joshua contributed 18 goals and 14 assists across 63 regular-season games, then added four goals and four assists in the playoffs.
Now, he’s ready to focus on contributing again.
“I expect to be good, I don’t expect a grace period. I’ve been putting the work in so I expect to come out there and make an impact as soon as possible,” he said.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be perfect right from the get-go, but it’s about putting your best foot forward and working your way to a point of perfection.”
The six-foot-three, 206-pound Joshua signed a four-year, US$13-million contract extension at the end of June.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
