2019-'20 NBA Trade Deadline: Winners & Losers

Players Traded For: Clint Capela , Dewayne Dedmon , Skal Labissiere , Derrick Walton Jr., Nene (Waived)

 

Players Traded: Jabari Parker (Kings), Alex Len (Kings), Evan Turner (Timberwolves), 

 

 

Dewayne Dedmon : While Clint Capela ’s role should remain very similar to the one he had in Houston, Dedmon should see a bigger role on his old team. He’ll likely be the primary back up to Capela and Damian Jones will be his main competition for minutes. The Kings and Dedmon had a very rocky relationship and a change of scenery is just what Dedmon needed and he’s very familiar with the team considering he played in Atlanta the last two seasons. 

 

 

Damian Jones : Jones days of getting a true rotation commitment is likely over because of the addition of Dedmon. He will still be prioritized over Bruno Fernando when it comes to playing time, but, it will be hard for him to get minutes at Power Forward because Collins plays a lot of minutes and Skal Labissiere will take a few of his back up minutes. 

 

Players Traded For: Andre Drummond

 

Players Traded: John Henson (Pistons), Brandon Knight (Pistons)

 

 

Tristan Thompson : Andre Drummond joining the Cavs destroys Thompson’s value. Thompson won’t be starting anymore and Drummond logs a lot of minutes and it will be hard for Thompson to see games in the 30’s anymore unless an injury occurs. Will the Cavs give Thompson a few minutes at Power Forward? We’ll have to wait and see. The intention was for the Cavs to trade Thompson prior to the trade deadline passing, but it didn’t happen. Thompson has been averaging a double-double this season and now he’s relegated to the bench. 

 

Larry Nance Jr.: Nance value drops off a bit because he will be more restricted where he gets minutes. He’ll benefit mainly when Kevin Love is out of the lineup but his days of getting minutes at Center are likely over. Nance has been playing 25 minutes per game this season and his playing time will drop a bit. Nance has been in a nice groove scoring in double figures in his last nine games. It wasn’t supposed to fall out like this as Thompson was supposed to be off the team, but now Drummond lowers Nance’s minutes ceiling. 

 

Players Traded For: Gerald Green , Keita Bates-Diop , Noah Vonleh , Jordan McRae

 

Players Traded: Shabazz Napier (Wizards, Nuggets flipped him), Malik Beasley , Juancho Hernangomez . Jarred Vanderbilt

 

 

Michael Porter Jr.: From Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez being dealt, Porter should start logging more minutes as the season continues. He’s playing over 14 minutes per game and Paul Millsap has been banged up for a while and the Nuggets continue to suffer through mid-court health issues. Porter is a piece for the future as he was deemed untouchable at the NBA Trade Deadline. He should see more Small Forward minutes behind Will Barton . 

 

Monte Morris : Morris keeps his back up role after the Nuggets flipped Shabazz Napier to the Wizards right after acquiring him. Jamal Murray is healthy again, but he should still see 20 minutes per game and if Murray goes down, he’ll be the primary fill-in option. 

 

 

Jordan McRae : This trade is a major blow to his value as he was able to take advantage of the many injuries the Wizards were suffering from and now he will be battling for back up minutes against Torrey Craig and Michael Porter Jr.  McRae will likely see his minutes drop and he was scoring 12.8 points per game with Washington and now we can expect his scoring and shots to drop as well. 

 

Players Traded For: John Henson , Brandon Knight

 

Players Traded: Andre Drummond (Cavaliers)

 

 

Christian Wood : Wood will see his stock rise over the next few months because with Andre Drummond off the team, Wood’s offense will be heavily relied on. He can stretch the floor and play in the post. Wood will see his 18 minutes per game rise to at least the mid-to-late 20’s. Expect his scoring to rise and he should be able to take at least 10 shots per game. Expect more help with blocks in the post. Thon Maker shouldn’t take much playing time away from him. 

 

John Henson : Henson could see his minutes go up as he should have more opportunity in Detroit than he did in Cleveland. Henson should see close to 20 minutes per game and he’ll help with boards and blocks and he can easily back up Wood. He’s better than Thon Maker overall and he should also see a minor scoring boost. If Markieff Morris is out, expect even more help with scoring. 

 

Players Traded For: Andrew Wiggins

 

Players Traded: D'Angelo Russell (Timberwolves), Alec Burks (76ers), Glenn Robinson III (76ers), Omari Spellman (Timberwolves), Jacob Evans (Timberwolves)

 

 

Andrew Wiggins : Meet the new prioritized scorer for the Warriors (until Stephen Curry comes back at least). Wiggins, who has scored 22.4 points per game this season for Minnesota could actually see his scoring increase over the next few months. He should see similar minutes with Golden State and there isn’t anyone there to take shots away from him. We don’t know when we’ll see Klay Thompson back on the court and other wing players traded, it’s all about Wiggins. Even when Curry comes back, Wiggins shouldn’t see his usage drop at all. He’s even blocked nearly a shot per game.

 

Damion Lee : Lee should be seeing even more playing time and he should be a locked in starter for the rest of the season. He’s already playing almost 28 minutes per game and he’s been scoring in double figures. He will serve as one of the Warriors best defenders and that should bump his minutes up to the 30’s. He grabs nearly one steal per game. Lee has had to earn every minute this year and with the Warriors trading multiple players at the deadline, he will have more opportunities to succeed. 

 

Jordan Poole : Poole is currently playing 21 minutes per game and is scoring 7.4 points per game. He’ll be seeing more minutes until newly acquired players get acclimated in the offense. He should see more shots from the arc and if he gets more playing time, the likelihood of his steals going up will be high. He can back up Damion Lee and he will likely draw spot starts. He’s mainly a bailout shooting option but he could become a source for cheap scoring and raise his average to double-digits. 

 

Ky Bowman: Bowman has bounced up and down from the G-League, but with D’Angelo Russell and Alec Burks traded, Bowman should be starting at Point Guard moving forward. He should see his playing time go up and we should also see his assists and steals go up. Once Curry is fully operating, he’ll be relegated to the bench and he could still end up playing 20-plus minutes backing up Curry once March hits. 

 

Players Traded For: Robert Covington , Bruno Caboclo

 

Players Traded: Clint Capela (Hawks), Nene ’ (Hawks), Jordan Bell (Grizzlies, Rockets flipped him)

 

 

P.J. Tucker : It’s pretty embarrassing that Tucker is the Rockets starting Center. It makes no sense and they’ll realize that when they get matched up in the playoffs against a team with skilled big men. Tucker will continue to see heavy minutes and with Clint Capela off the team, he should see more plays called for him in the post. With Tucker playing in the post more, he could see his rebounding numbers go up. He’s currently grabbing 7.2 boards per game. He’ll still stretch the floor and shoot long-range jumpers, but unless the Rockets get Isaiah Hartenstein and/or Tyson Chandler more involved, it’s all about passing the ball to Tucker in the post. Robert Covington will be the third scoring option, but he’ll mainly score from the arc and Tucker will be needed as the fourth option in the post. 

 

Players Traded For: Marcus Morris , Isaiah Thomas (Waived)

 

Players Traded: Maurice Harkless (Knicks), Jerome Robinson (Wizards), Derrick Walton Jr. (Atlanta)

 

 

Marcus Morris : Morris goes from being the top scorer in New York to being a potential final piece of the Clippers Championship puzzle. He’ll provide toughness in the post and he’ll serve as a bailout shooter from the arc. He won’t be scoring 19.6 points per game. He should be able to lift his rebounding a bit, but the problem with his value is that he has Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in front of him. Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell will handle the minutes at Center and Morris will likely not get 30 minutes per game as he’s been getting, but if he’s hot from the field, Doc Rivers can always shift George and Leonard down to SG and SF, but, for now, Morris will serve as a backup enforcer and defender and as much as he’ll thrive in the second unit when on the court with them, it will be hard for him to put up 15 shots per game. 

 

Players Traded For: Justise Winslow , Gorgui Dieng , Dion Waiters , Jordan Bell

 

Players Traded: Andre Iguodala (Heat), Jae Crowder (Heat), Solomon Hill (Heat), Bruno Caboclo (Rockets)

 

 

Josh Jackson : The Grizzlies have a big hole to fill at Small Forward and Jackson has been down in the G-League for most of the season and we’ve seen flashes of explosiveness in the lane and he’s played 20-plus minutes in 2 of his last 3 games. With Jae Crowder off the team, we all know that Kyle Anderson isn’t a building block for the future and with Justise Winslow still hurt with the Back injury, Jackson could see more games in the 20’s moving forward. Even when Winslow is healthy, Jackson could still get a true rotation commitment from the Grizzlies. They’ll want Jackson to shoot a decent amount of three’s, but they should let him attack the lane with Jaren Jackson Jr. hanging at the arc until the lane opens up. Continue to monitor Jackson, as his role should start to blossom. 

 

 

Brandon Clarke : Clarke had done a good job backing up both Jonas Valanciunas and Jaren Jackson Jr. and now the Timberwolves have more depth at Center now as they’ve brought in both Gorgui Dieng and Jordan Bell . They have also been playing Valanciunas a bit more and the more games he see’s playing 30-plus minutes, there won’t be as many minutes to divide up at Center and there will be a bunch of players fighting for backup PF minutes. We’ll have to see if Clarke can fight through it as he has home court advantage, but Memphis knows what Dieng can handle as a back up and that certainly makes it a very crowded front-court in Memphis.

 

Players Traded For: Andre Iguodala , Jae Crowder , Solomon Hill

 

Players Traded: Justise Winslow (Grizzlies), Dion Waiters (Grizzlies), James Johnson (Timberwolves)

 

 

Derrick Jones Jr. Jones will hang onto his minutes for a couple of weeks, but once Andre Iguodala gets more involved, it will be a dogfight when it comes to mid-court playing time in Miami. Jones has scored in double figures in three of his last four games and he’ll provide help on the defensive end with boards and steals, but the other problem he faces is splitting time with Tyler Herro and Jae Crowder . Crowder can do what Jones can do and guard the elbow and it will come down to which of the wing players has the hot hand from the perimeter and Jones will likely not see as many 30-minute games moving forward and he should be still able to get 23 minutes per game. His shots will likely drop, but his defense will keep him in games. 

 

Duncan Robinson : Robinson can play many positions, but with the Heat making the moves they’ve made it will become harder for him to get playing time and shots. Robinson serves as the Heat’s ultimate bailout scorer and he’s good at running the floor. Robinson will likely see his 28.5 minutes per game drop unless another wing player is in foul trouble. Jae Crowder plays better defense and he will likely be given mid-20’s minutes. If the Heat need to keep up with an offensive powerhouse on a given day, Robinson could be slipped a few extra minutes, but the mid-court is just too crowded. 

 

Jae Crowder : Crowder goes from being on a team with hardly any swing-men to a very crowded situation in Miami. It’s going to come down to Crowder’s defense. He’s grabbed 6.2 boards per game and even a steal per game as well. Crowder will likely not see nine shots per game. The Heat could look to start Crowder potentially and bring Andre Iguodala off the bench, but that’s likely not going to happen. Crowder will still be part of the Heat’s rotation, but it’s hard to see him playing 29 minutes per game in this rotation. He’ll hang at the arc and will be fed when the defense collapses in the paint. There is a lot of competition when it comes to the Heat’s mid-court and Crowder will have to earn his playing time. 

 

Players Traded For: D'Angelo Russell , Omari Spellman , Jacob Evans , James Johnson , Malik Beasley , Juancho Hernangomez , Evan Turner , Jarred Vanderbuilt

 

Players Traded: Andrew Wiggins (Warriors), Robert Covington (Rockets), Shabazz Napier (Nuggets-Wizards), Jordan Bell (Rockets-Grizzlies), Keita Bates-Diop (Nuggets), Noah Vonleh (Nuggets), Gorgui Dieng (Grizzlies) 

 

 

Josh Okogie : Okogie had already been trending up when Jeff Teague got traded, but now with both Andrew Wiggins and Shabazz Napier off the team, it is possible that Okogie could become the third scoring option on the team. His minutes and scoring stats will go up. He’s also grabbed 1.1 steals per game and the Timberwolves could use all of the defensive relief that they could get. Okogie won’t just shoot from the arc. He’ll look to attack the basket and he’ll draw a lot of contact. The Timberwolves need attackers. They have a lot of shooters, but Okogie will also help keep plays alive by grabbing rebounds. His stock is definitely still on the rise. 

 

Jarrett Culver : When Teague got hurt earlier in the season, Culver took over and showed his ability to play three different positions on the court. The rookie has been struggling shooting a bit, but familiarity is key and with eight new teammates, he’ll be relied on to help run the offense over the next few weeks and then his competition for time with the ball begins. Nothing is stopping newly acquired Jacob Evans or Malik Beasley from taking minutes away from Culver. Culver has even grabbed one steal a game and he does have the ability to run the point and could serve as D’Angelo Russell’s back up. 

 

Juancho Hernangomez : Hernangomez was buried on the bench in Denver, but he showed the ability to drive the lane and the Timberwolves could use his toughness at the elbow. He played fewer than 13 minutes per game in Denver and wasn’t helping out with scoring as much but the Timberwolves Power Forward spot is very open and if Hernangomez doesn’t start, he should see close to 20 minutes per game off the bench. If he can see the immediate minutes increase, expect his points and boards to go up. We saw what he can do when filling in for injuries in Denver last year. 

 

James Johnson : Johnson got off on the wrong foot to start the season because he was out of shape. As I said before, the Timberwolves don’t have much PF depth and Johnson can help run the point. The Heat didn’t need him to do it as much because Bam Adebayo helps out in that regard, but being able to have the guards set up on transition is huge so they can get high-percentage shots and having Johnson be able to guard the post and then lead the break could earn him the starting spot. He played in only 18 games this season, but the opportunity is certainly there for him. 

 

Players Traded For: Maurice Harkless

 

Players Traded: Marcus Morris (Clippers)

 

 

Julius Randle : Randle has already been having the most success overall on this revolving door of a Knicks squad, but now this will be his chance to lift his scoring even more with Morris off the team. There is no debate anymore as Randle will be the top scoring option for the rest of the season and other members of the Knicks will see more shots, but remember, Maurice Harkless can also serve as a bailout shooting option and that will create competition for shots among Harkless, Reggie Bullock and R.J. Barrett. Randle should be able to see three more shots per game and by the time the season is over, he’ll be scoring over 20 points per game. If Kevin Knox can ever get his act together, there will be a lot of competition for small forward minutes for the rest of the season. The Knicks need all of the help they can get shooting from the arc and that’s where Bullock and Randle will be given a few extra looks along with Harkless.

 

Players Traded For: James Ennis

 

Players Traded: N/A

 

Players Traded For: Glenn Robinson III, Alec Burks

 

Players Traded: James Ennis (Magic)

 

 

Josh Richardson : Richardson is seeing almost 13 shots per game and that could drop off meaning his scoring could drop a bit. He’ll still be prioritized when it comes to starting, but when he’s not hitting his three-pointers, the Sixers will shift to other options such as Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III. His minutes may drop off a bit if he’s cold shooting from the field where as the Sixers had no other choice but to keep him firing away before adding other options. He could still hold value, but it will certainly be more threatened now with Robinson and Burks on the team. 

 

Players Traded For: N/A 

 

Players Traded: Skal Labissiere (Hawks)

 

Players Traded For: Jabari Parker , Alex Len

 

Players Traded: Dewayne Dedmon (Hawks)

 

Players Traded For: Shabazz Napier , Jerome Robinson

 

Players Traded: Isaiah Thomas (Clippers-Waived), Jordan McRae (Nuggets)