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?
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
