The 2025 NBA trade deadline may have been the most consequential one ever, with the Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler deals only the tip of the iceberg. Senior NBA insider Shams Charania is exhausted after covering the flurry of news, via ESPN.

This was Charania's first trade deadline as a part of ESPN after replacing retired insider Adrian Wojnarowski in October. Recreating the iconic Butler photo was appropriate, as he worked around the clock to break an inhuman amount of news.

Shams Charania covered a surprisingly aggressive deadline

Charania's colleagues at ESPN remarked about how crazy this deadline was.

“Shocking and historic. The stars in the West seemingly moved all over the place,” Michael C. Williams said. “In Los Angeles, a new superstar duo of LeBron James and Doncic has emerged. The Lakers then grabbed a lob threat to help Doncic in Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets.”

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“Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving will now team up in Dallas, and the Mavs also added wing help in trading for Caleb Martin,” Williams continued. “The San Antonio Spurs hit the gas on their rebuild by acquiring speedy point guard De'Aaron Fox to pair with Victor Wembanyama. Then, the Warriors finally landed their star in Jimmy Butler, who just ended arguably the most dramatic standoff between a player and team we've seen this season.”

Fellow insider Jamal Collier also pointed out the irony of how the deadline was originally supposed to be quiet.

“Fun! A few weeks ago, a front office executive told me he was preparing for a quiet deadline and instead, we got one of the wildest weeks in recent memory,” Collier said. “From the shock of the Doncic trade, All-Stars and former franchise cornerstones (Khris Middleton, Zach LaVine, Fox) all landing on different teams to finally resolving the Butler drama, this deadline had a little bit of everything.”

With so many stars now on different teams, the second half of the season will be extra intriguing as they all try to adjust before the playoffs.