2025 NBA Trade Deadline Thread

[SparzWizard]

Interesting how the 2016 draft class has played out thus far. Brandon Ingram is now on his third team, while Jaylen Brown still with the C's.

[Who]

Pelicans new look roster

G: CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado
G: Herb Jones, Jordan Hawkins
F: Trey Murphy III, Bruce Brown
F: Zion Williamson, K Olynyk
C: Y Missi, J Earl Robinson

Injured: Dejounte Murray

Probably best to just use a 9 man rotation and drop James Earl Robinson. Kelly Olynyk will give them a stretch five who can open up their offense.

I am a fan of Trey Murphy III. I love this for him. Big opportunity with Ingram gone. Very good defender. Putting up 22ppg this season with all the injuries the team has had. He can be a top 10 SF in this league.

Herb Jones & Trey Murphy together are one of the best wing defender combinations in the league.

I love the bench mob of Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins (shooter), Bruce Brown & Kelly Olynyk. That should be one of the better benches in the league. A top 10 bench.

I'd like to see them move on from CJ McCollum before next season. Bring in a legitimate center to start for them instead. Dejounte Murray as a tall rangy defensive PG could create a phenomenal perimeter defense with Trey Murphy & Herb Jones. Great foundation for a scrappy hard working team.

[Who]

Toronto Raptors roster

Starting 5

G: I Quickley
G: RJ Barrett
F: B Ingram
F: Scottie Barnes
C: J Poeltl

That is a strong looking starting five for Toronto. Quality players at all 5 positions. 4 guys who can go for 20pts on any given night. Three big versatile wings in RJ, Ingram and S Barnes. Good size & athleticism.

Bench

A bit sad Kelly Olynyk is gone. I loved his fit on this squad. A great counter to Poeltl. All school interior center in Poeltl. Stretch five in Olynyk. They could matchup to or create matchup problems as they desired with those two. Or play them together in a twin tower alignment against teams with 2 legit bigs.

G: Davion Mitchell, Jamal Shead
G: Ja'Kobe Walter, Ochai Agbaji
F: Gradey Dick, Garrett Temple
F: C Boucher
C: J Mogbo, Orlando Robinson

Bench has a lot of youth / inexperience.

Davion Mitchell a below average backup PG. Ja'Kobe Walter looks like he has talent but not a dependable performer yet. Two way potential with him. Gradey Dick a fine scorer / shooter but does little else thus far. Boucher a below average backup PF. Mogbo a good hustle energy big.

Main bench guys are weak but their 3rd stringers are interesting. Agabji is a very good 3rd stringer. A borderline rotation guy. Shead has had some good moments this season. Good 3rd stringer. He might challenge Davion Mitchell next year. Old man Temple is still around. Probably his last year. He turns 39yo during the playoffs. Orlando Robinson a solid 3rd stringer.

They lost two very good bench players in Bruce Brown (who struggled for them) and Olynyk. They had a good bench prior to this trade because of them. They have traded that depth for a better starting 5.

[SparzWizard]

Wow

The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, sources tell Shams Charania.

[Phantom255x]

https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1887369554042454044?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet&mx=2

Just In: The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, sources tell ESPN.

I?m stunned they traded Knecht. Mark Williams is good but subpar defensively

[jpotter33]

https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1887369554042454044?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet&mx=2

Just In: The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, sources tell ESPN.

I?m stunned they traded Knecht. Mark Williams is good but subpar defensively

Uh, yeah. They threw the rest of their assets + Knecht in the Mark Williams basket? Not sure about that one. That 2031 unprotected first is a potentially very valuable pick, especially with Lebron's age and Luka's unpredictably health-wise.

[SparzWizard]

So...they offered a big package for a guy like Mark Williams while they offered AD and Max Christie and one pick for Luka Doncic. Interesting.

Mark Williams, when healthy, is pretty solid. Now he'll be banging bodies with Jokic, Holmgren, Wemby, and Sengun...the wild, wild West.

[Roy H.]

https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1887369554042454044?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet&mx=2

Just In: The Los Angeles Lakers are trading Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick and a 2030 pick swap to the Charlotte Hornets for center Mark Williams, sources tell ESPN.

I?m stunned they traded Knecht. Mark Williams is good but subpar defensively

Wow.  They really overpaid there.  Desperation move.

Also, this seemingly shuts the door on any Kessler deal.  Utah will want at least that much.

Funny, the Lakers ended up paying what they "should" have for Luka:  AD, Knect, Christie, two #1s and a swap.  They just got Williams for free.

[Phantom255x]

Ainge please do us a favor and give us Walker Kessler

[SparzWizard]

West

Frontrunner = OKC
Contenders = MEM, SAS, GSW
Good Playoffs Teams = DAL, HOU, MIN, PHX, DEN
Borderline Playoff Teams = LAC, LAL, SAC
Lotto = POR, UTA, NOP

LAC are a question mark. Middling team if Kawhi isn't healthy which he probably won't be. A good playoff team if he is healthy.

Think you're underrating the Lakers. They would fit into the "Good Playoffs Team" bracket, especially now that they acquired the best offensive player in the world and playing next to one of the most complete basketball players of all time. They're also 2 games behind the #3 seed in the West

I don't think they have the supporting cast around Luka & LeBron to be a title contender. It will be interesting to see if they can make 1-2 more moves before the deadline. They need to.

Now you can revise this. Lakers to 'contention' with the Mark Williams acquisition. Crazy that they're able to pull this out without giving up Austin Reaves. Rob Pelinka making big moves these last few days.

Doncic
Reaves
Hachimura
LeBron
Williams

Vanderbilt
Vincent
Finney-Smith
Hayes

WCF?

[Phantom255x]

West

Frontrunner = OKC
Contenders = MEM, SAS, GSW
Good Playoffs Teams = DAL, HOU, MIN, PHX, DEN
Borderline Playoff Teams = LAC, LAL, SAC
Lotto = POR, UTA, NOP

LAC are a question mark. Middling team if Kawhi isn't healthy which he probably won't be. A good playoff team if he is healthy.

Think you're underrating the Lakers. They would fit into the "Good Playoffs Team" bracket, especially now that they acquired the best offensive player in the world and playing next to one of the most complete basketball players of all time. They're also 2 games behind the #3 seed in the West

I don't think they have the supporting cast around Luka & LeBron to be a title contender. It will be interesting to see if they can make 1-2 more moves before the deadline. They need to.

Now you can revise this. Lakers to 'contention' with the Mark Williams acquisition. Crazy that they're able to pull this out without giving up Austin Reaves. Rob Pelinka making big moves these last few days.

Doncic
Reaves
Hachimura
LeBron
Williams

Vanderbilt
Vincent
Finney-Smith
Hayes

WCF?

Matchups will matter. I still think they?d lose to OKC, Denver and Memphis in a series.

Funny enough if the season ended today they?d play Jokic and the Nuggets first round

[Who]

Why go all-in on Mark Williams?

If you are going to go all-in on a LeBron / Luka duo, you need to get a veteran player. Not an up and coming young player. They can't wait 2-3 years for him. They need somebody now. Right now.

They needed a win-now player to contend for a title. They just pushed 2 of their top 3 assets (A Reaves other one) for a win-later move.

[SparzWizard]

Why go all-in on Mark Williams?

If you are going to go all-in on a LeBron / Luka duo, you need to get a veteran player. Not an up and coming young player. They can't wait 2-3 years for him. They need somebody now. Right now.

They needed a win-now player to contend for a title. They just pushed 2 of their top 3 assets (A Reaves other one) for a win-later move.

It was a position of need though. Williams-acquisition was a present-day and future move. Future move as in surrounding Luka with a core. As for depth...gotta remember that not many teams roll with 10-man rotations in the playoffs. Hayes, DFS, Vincent, and Vando are decent bench players. Even the Celtics had only Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and the corpse of Luke Kornet as their 6-8 men last season in the postseason lol

Knowing the Lakers tho, they might try and pick up someone like Dwight Howard to come back. Or strike another deal to get Robert Williams or Marcus Smart lolol

[Who]

One of the things I was concerned about for LAL if they acquired Walker Kessler was:

W Kessler is what they need defensively. He is a top defensive player. But he is not the above the rim lob finisher type of center that works so well with Luka Doncic.

Mark Williams is that above the rim / lob finisher. He has a bunch of floaters and nice touches around the basket as well. One of the top finishers as a roll-man in the league. Perfect for Luka offensively.

But not the defensive leader / rim protector that LAL need. He has the physical tools to be one but he hasn't developed those tools well enough yet.

[Who]

So do the Lakers just have 2 guards on their roster now? And one of those is Gabe Vincent who JJ Redick clearly does not rate or trust.

Guards = Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, Shake Milton, Bronny

Forwards = LeBron, Luka, D Finney Smith, Hachimura, Cam Reddish, Vanderbilt

Big Men = Mark Williams, Jaxson Hayes, Maxi Kleber, C Koloko

It sounds like their plan may be to use DFS & Vanderbilt (if he is ever healthy again) against defensive stoppers in the backcourt alongside Austin Reaves.

G: A Reaves, G Vincent, S Milton
F: D Finney Smith, Vanderbilt
F: Luka, Cam Reddish
F: LeBron, Hachimura, Maxi Kleber
C: Mark Williams, Jaxson Hayes

One guard. Three big forwards. One big. Lineups.