How Trades Have Shaped The Season

[garbageman]

The trade deadline is once again upon us, and as such, we should know to expect a few trades here and there followed by the realization that most of the good trades have already happened. Sure, people are going to be dropping salary or adding pieces, but by now, most teams have a pretty good idea whether they're buying or selling, and a whopper of a trade ain't going to do much to change that. As of this writing, there have been 37 trades since the 2025-2026 offseason started. Here, I'll take a look at the stories throughout the league that were created by trade activity this season.

The Timberwolves Are Officially in Dad Mode

Raby is one of the league's most respected GMs, and his longstanding record is enviable. But with the arrival of his firstborn, Raby's mind has been elsewhere. Last season, it was making rushed moves, or failing to make moves at all (see DeSean Hawkins), which is understandable. However, this season, I'm perplexed by the moves the T-Wolves have made. So far, they've spent 14 points and two green potential rookie contracts on Collin Sexton, Check Diallo, and Oscar Coon (ok, so the last one was a charity point to Chad), but for a rebuilding team, I'm not sure why the Wolves would have more use for Diallo and Sexton than they would for the points they spent on them. Sexton is extremely athletic, but he lacks a lot of essential skills and is a foul liability. Diallo looks like he'd be a great piece for the right team, but unless Raby has better luck than Doug at finding the right team and getting assets in return, I'm not sure what good he is in Minnesota. Doug tried to sell me on Diallo at least twice, so that means he tried to sell everyone else on Diallo at least once, and it didn't work. (Editor's note: Hey, now. He's an all star!)


Even Good Players On Max Contracts Are Albatrosses

The forewarning stories of organizations like the Grizzlies and Bobcats have made cap space a more valuable commodity in and of itself. Point in case, the Kings pay 10 points for the Jazz to take on Timothy Pulley. I know Pulley's had some bad TCs, but his potentials are all there still. He can rebound and block and score from the inside. Is he worth his expiring contract? No. Is he worth more than -10 points? I think so.

Over in the East, the Knicks found themselves face to face with the tax reaper, and with a focus on talking shit over respecting other GMs, Dr. Kavarga hasn't exactly endeared himself to the league. That could be part of the reason that he couldn't move the oversized contracts of Gary Harris or Chet Dooley (the other part is that there aren't a lot of teams that desperately need points with Louie being god knows where and Chad deciding to briefly go all in -- more on that later (the other, other part is that those are, indeed, terrible contracts)). However, all the salt in the world wouldn't stop the proudest GM from knocking on Varga's door for a shot at Nikola Jokic, the best player at his position in the game. We saw Jokic go to the Pelicans team for Eckbert Winkler, decent-looking rookie Tibor Pleiss, and 10 points. If James is smart (and able), he'll flip Winkler before trade deadline to cut even more salary.


The Charlotte Bobcats Do The Hokey Pokey

A few seasons back, I saw Doug engage in a series of trades that started steamrolling into an unstoppable avalanche. It was like Doug was on a trade bender where once he started trading, he wouldn't stop. He made trades, seemingly for the sake of trades (or for the sake of making Dario Saric rent U-Haul after U-Haul to and from and to Milwaukee), or to fix trades that a bad TC or a bad start deemed unfavorable. The Bobcats made several moves to compete now via trades to make up for their inability to sign anyone of note due to their tax offender status. They traded Kyle Kuzma for both Aaron Donald and Harland Ellinger (a trade that allowed the Hawks to reload without losing a step, but one that I thought got great value for the Cats). They drafted Timo Cruz, not the highest potential guy at his spot, but definitely the most ready to play. They traded their 2027 1st for three point shooting ace Bradley Beal. Their big man Udoka Azubuike had a monster training camp.

Then the first two sims came, and the Bobcats had only a middling record on a really rough starting schedule. Things would've evened out. They would've been a playoff team. But that wasn't good enough for Chad, so he re-sold off all of those pieces and managed to get back Grayson Allen and former Cats draft pick Josh Hart while taking on some contracts. What's more, he traded Azubuike for Mike Piazza. We'll see if they're out of the tax next year. If not, I expect another turnaround to get some wins and chip that tax away. In any case, Charlotte has been a movement hub so far this year, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a little more activity from them at the trade deadline. There have been so many moving pieces that it's hard to say if the Bobcats got the best deals they could, but their activity has shaken out a lot of points, and I'd say that's a net positive for Chad in my book.


The Warriors Come Out And Play-ay

Given the barren landscape of the Western Conference, it's absolutely great to see one of the new GMs survey the field and cash in. Between the Clippers, Thunder, and Warriors, we have three new GMs who were handed teams with little more on their rosters but hope, and the Warriors have the right mindset trying to cash in their chips now while the field isn't crowded. Their record doesn't show it yet, but slowly and surely, the Dubs are going to find their way into the playoffs this year. They've got a potent offense in Harland Ellinger and Van Grimaldi. They're still missing the pieces they'd need to really make a splash, namely a decent big (Whiteside can do some important things really well on defense, but not having an offensive big really hurts in terms of diversifying an offensive strategy), but I like where the mindset is, and if nothing else, they got some great players with great value to work with.


The Southwest Is Gearing Up For War

After about a zillion seasons in a row with 78 taking the same team plus or minus a few poached RFA contracts, the Spurs have cashed in on their rebuild pieces to field a fierce team with Vernon Desantis to add to a lineup featuring Juicy James, rookie contract sensation Bryce Dejean-Jones, and 6th man of the year turned starter, Tua Tagovailoa. In response, the Pelicans made some moves (in addition to their main one for Jokic, but we already talked about that), cashing in Glenn Irvine to the Mavs for a couple solid role players in Darnell Mitchell and James Ellis. To solve their guard spot thinness, they traded some points for Jrue Holiday. They've gone 19-10 since adding Jokic, and most of that success comes with the other additions as well.

Not to be bested, 78 seeks to defend his title by dealing picks, points, disposable contracts, and James McCormick for Keith Pfeffer. This adds a lot of balance to the Rockets, but it'll take some games to figure this offense out. While the Spurs look to be in firm control of the division, it's nice to see a Southwest Division that's actually competitive.


Kieth Robison Is On The Block

Come on, guys! He's a good player, and he's available for mere POINTS! Someone should be jumping all over this.


Follow the Bouncing Bulls

And finally, I turn the microscope on myself here because the Bulls have been trading up and down all season long, going from a complete rebuild after offloading Dennis Smith, Jr. and Vernon Desantis in the offseason, followed by the acquisition of Wanderlei Silva via sign-and-trade in Restricted Free Agency making the team too good, which prompted them to trade Josh Hart for Aaron Donald, which could have made them a really good team except for a big problem: In the two months since acquiring Aaron Donald with a full roster, Donald, Haugh, and Silva have only suited up together twice. On both occasions, they weren't able to finish the game together due to injury. The bad luck in the injury department has the Bulls flailing to offload Donald with the team never getting it together enough to be a winner this season and the injury to Leroy Haugh making it very difficult to get back in the fight for eighth.

[garbageman]

1525 words, 6 points