Best Moves from the NBA Trade Deadline

For some people, the NBA season doesn’t start until the day after the trade deadline. Now that we are officially past the 3 P.M. deadline on February 8, 2024, we can break down who the deadline winners were.

Let’s kick things off with the New York Knicks. As of February 8, 2024, the Knicks are the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, tied with the same amount of wins as Cleveland and Milwaukee. Even with Julius Randle and Og Anunoby missing time, the Knicks have won 9 out of their last 10 games. Not only have they been able to win, but at the deadline they were able to acquire Bojan Bogdanović and Alec Burks without giving up a first-round pick. They also were able to trade away Evan Fournier. Fournier, who is making $ 18 million a year hasn’t played over

10 minutes in a game since December 30th, 2023. When the Knicks’ are at full health their starting lineup would consist of Jalen Brunson, Og Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanović, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson. They're certainly a contender in the East.

The Dallas Mavericks were also very active at the deadline. They started off the deadline by trading Richaun Holmes and draft compensation for Daniel Gafford. Daniel Gafford is averaging 10.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. Gaffords’ fit for Dallas is perfect, especially in the pick-and-roll game with Luka Doncic. The Mavericks also acquired forward P.J. Washington. The package was centered around Grant Williams, Seth Curry, and a light-protected first-round pick, per league sources. Washington fits the player mode the Mavericks need right

now. He is a great rebounder and has shown the ability to shoot over 38% from 3.

Knicks and Mavericks both get A+ grades for this season's trade deadline, and it should be interesting to see where they both end up.