The Mavericks' Anthony Davis walks the floor during a timeout in Tuesday's game against the 76ers in Philadelphia. The final numbers from the trade deadline: no fewer than eight current and past All-Stars, some of them recent All-NBA selections, some among the league's highest scorers and even three Olympic gold medalists, all headed to new homes.
Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis got blindsided by a blockbuster. De'Aaron Fox gets to throw lobs to Victor Wembanyama now. Jimmy Butler got his wish, sort of. Tucker has, on paper, been on four teams in about a week. Dennis Schroder was basically part of four teams in the span of about 18 hours. Zach LaVine went to Sacramento, a place he considers home.
It's over. It was wild, but the trade deadline has passed. Thursday at 3 p. Eastern has come and gone and more than a few teams β the Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas, Miami, Golden State, San Antonio, Sacramento, Milwaukee and Charlotte among them β have to be feeling good about what they pulled off over the last few days. Teams navigated their ways around first aprons, second aprons, tax lines and more. Some did it with an eye on the future.
Some did it with eyes on contending now, like the move that brought Butler to the Warriors. The Lakers did it with eyes on both now and the future, figuring Doncic alongside LeBron James will be great immediately and betting that Doncic β if they can keep him β will be the face of the franchise for years to come. Phoenix was Butler's preferred destination after his relationship with Miami deteriorated and couldn't be salvaged.
In the end, it was Golden State that got the Butler deal done β at a big price, with Andrew Wiggins leading the list of what the Warriors had to give up. Butler sent a response; Curry didn't say what it was, other than revealing it was "a very pleasant message.
