Subscribe
Follow Us
What is the best word you can come up with to describe the 2025 NBA trade deadline? For everyone around the league, this trade deadline period was nothing short of shocking due to the number of former champions and All-Stars that were moved. Of course, everything started when the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks announced their trade involving superstars Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis.
Nobody knew of this trade happening outside of Rob Pelinka, Nico Harrison, and a few other people inside both organizations. Even when the trade was announced, everyone assumed it was some sort of joke because there was no way that the Mavs and Lakers traded away their signature players.
“It was almost like time stopped when we saw that,” one league executive told ClutchPoints. “The few of us that were together going through plans for the trade deadline sort of raised an eyebrow and laughed, but after a few minutes and confirmation came through, we were stunned. Luka is the future of the league. Davis is who the Lakers envisioned handing the franchise to after LeBron. This changed everyone's plans.”
Indeed it did, as this Doncic-Davis trade was the precursor to what ended up being a historic trade deadline for the NBA. De'Aaron Fox, Zach LaVine, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Kuzma, and Khris Middleton were all involved in trade deadline deals, as the league has been completely altered in the last week.
Almost every single team made some sort of change, which has to lead to the question of who ultimately won the NBA trade deadline. While there may be one clear winner, several organizations can walk away smiling after all is said and done. On the other side of things, there are three very clear losers whose futures are filled with a ton of uncertainty after their puzzling decisions.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers acquired Luka Doncic and Mark Williams. That's basically all you need to know to say that Pelinka and this organization won the 2025 NBA trade deadline.
This is Luka Doncic that we are talking about — a five-time All-NBA performer and recent scoring champion that is only 25 years old. Better yet, his motivation level to become the best player in the world has reached new heights because of everything that came out after the trade of what Dallas was thinking and saying behind his back.
The Mavericks better watch out because every time Luka plays them, he may wind up recording a 50-point triple-double. Revenge is Doncic's to have, and he is definitely going to get his against Dallas when he wins a championship in Los Angeles. To be perfectly honest, one championship with Luka is the floor for the Lakers over the next decade.
Even going out and getting Williams from the Charlotte Hornets was a fantastic move. Although Dalton Knecht, a first-round pick, and a swap is a steep price for an injury-prone big man, Williams is a complete game-changer in the sense that he has shown flashes of being one of the best big men in the league at 23 years old.
Not to mention, Williams averaged 20.0 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks throughout his last 10 games with the Hornets. He can score in the paint, outrebound anyone on the court, and has a standing reach of 9'9″.
The only thing that would've made this trade deadline better for the Lakers is if they traded Davis for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. But hey, Doncic is pretty good too.
Verdict: Biggest winners of the 2025 NBA trade deadline; A+++ work from Rob Pelinka
Dallas Mavericks
Look, everybody is giving Nico Harrison a ton of you-know-what for giving up Doncic for Davis. But at the end of the day, Harrison got a player he has wanted to bring to Dallas and one he believes can bring a championship to this organization alongside Kyrie. Don't get me wrong, this is still a bad trade in the grand scheme of things, but what if the Mavericks do win the NBA Finals this year or next year?
A championship is the only thing the Mavs are focused on right now, which is puzzling seeing as winning one instead of being in contention for multiple titles over the next decade isn't a better scenario.
Maybe this trade will lead Dallas to something else down the road. After all, Kevin Durant isn't happy with the Phoenix Suns and the Mavs have two of his close friends now in Irving and Davis. Should the Mavericks fail to win a title with Davis, Harrison will be known for making arguably the worst trade in the history of the NBA.
Verdict: Losers… if Dallas doesn't win a championship in the next two seasons, this is the worst move in NBA history
Charlotte Hornets
The goal in Charlotte isn't to win right now. General manager Jeff Peterson and his front office have done an excellent job of compiling future draft assets to play around with, and this trade deadline was no different.
Essentially, the Hornets turned Williams, Nick Richards, Caleb Martin, Vasilije Micic, and two second-round picks, into Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, Jusuf Nurkic, two first-round picks, a pick swap, and three second-round picks.
That is fantastic work by a front office that has a clear vision for the future and isn't afraid to sacrifice young talents they don't see a long-term commitment to for immediate capital.
Verdict: Still losing on the court, but this trade deadline was a massive win for Charlotte
Chicago Bulls
Why is Nikola Vucevic still on the Chicago Bulls' roster? No matter how much they like the guy, the Bulls had no reason to hang on to the veteran big man because he's been fantastic this year and now is the time to capitalize on his value.
In 51 total games, Vucevic has averaged 19.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting 39.4 percent from three-point range. Plenty of teams were showing interest in the Bulls' big man, yet the organization was asking way too much for him. Even getting a slew of second-round picks for Vuc at this stage would've been a win for the Bulls.
Instead, Chicago traded away Zach LaVine and now has like six different guards on their roster. There is no vision for the Bulls right now, and it's still puzzling as to why they don't simply start from scratch.
Verdict: Massive trade deadline losers
Cleveland Cavaliers
If there was one move that the Cleveland Cavaliers could've made in order to drastically improve their title chances this season, it was adding a reliable three-point shooting wing who could be a secondary scorer and solid on-ball defender. That is exactly what they are getting with De'Andre Hunter, who came at a pretty reasonable price given the demand for wing talents in the NBA today.
The Cavs gave up Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks, and two first-round swaps to acquire Hunter. Cleveland still gets to hold onto their first-round picks, and they added a terrific win-now piece on the wing who is having a career year.
In 37 games with the Hawks, Hunter averaged 19.0 points and shot 39.3 percent from three-point range. The best thing about adding Hunter right now is that he still has two more years left on his contract past this season, allowing Cleveland to keep their core group intact.
Verdict: Outside of Doncic, this was the best move made at the trade deadline — Huge win for Cleveland
Phoenix Suns
At this point, the Phoenix Suns better hit the whiteboard and start devising a plan for how to surround Devin Booker with the best team possible because the futures of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal look very bleak.
In what was a shocking turn of events, the Suns were seriously considering trades involving Durant without consulting with the superstar forward, and they came very close to striking a three-team deal with the Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors that would've reunited Durant with Stephen Curry. Ultimately, Durant shot this deal down, but the damage was done.
The two-time Finals MVP is not happy whatsoever that he was included in trade dialogue without being told the team was going to do so, and the Suns also ruined their trust with Beal by attempting to force his hand with a no-trade clause.
There is no coming back from what the Suns did at the trade deadline. It would be shocking if Durant didn't want to leave in the summer.
Verdict: No team lost more than the Suns since they destroyed relationships with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal
