Trade Deadline and Buyouts Edition (7 Days of NBA)

One of the most interesting times of the season is the trade deadline and buyout season. Teams decide whether to blow up their roster and restart, retool to get better, or add that last piece they might need to make a push for the championship. This year, we saw all three, so let's jump into what went down.

1. Trade Deadline: Adding the Missing Pieces

This year's deadline saw several teams adding what they may think is the last piece that they need to try to win the finals. One of the biggest moves was Victor Oladipo to Miami, which adds a great backcourt piece to the Heat. Miami could use more depth and a shot creator off of their bench, and Oladipo provides exactly that. The Rockets got back Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk and the option to swap picks. One of the biggest pieces the Rockets got back in their Harden trade was Oladipo, and to get back that disappointing of a return should make any Rockets fan unhappy. I think the Heat easily won the trade, and the Rockets further prove that they are heading towards rebuilding. The Orlando Magic also blew up the roster, trading Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier. Vucevic, an All-Star, was traded to the Bulls for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and a pick. I think the Magic got a decent return in the trade, and Vucevic puts an All-Star with LaVine to help jolt this team. I think the Bulls will make the playoffs after making the trade, and I think the Magic got good pieces to help in their rebuild. Aaron Gordon was traded to the Nuggets for Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton and a pick. The Nuggets get help at the PF spot, and it adds good depth for the front court where they had a hole from losing Jerami Grant this last offseason. The Magic get back a young guard in R.J. Hampton and a pick that could be valuable. Evan Fournier was traded to the Celtics for Jeff Teague and 2 second round picks, and I think the Celtics easily won the trade. Fournier provides good depth for them, and they barely had to give up much. The Blazers added help for Dame with a trade for Norman Powell in exchange for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood, which I feel neutral about. I'm not sure the direction of the Raptors, but Norman Powell is a good upgrade for the Blazers even with giving up a good young scorer in Gary Trent Jr. for Powell. The last major trade was Rondo going to the Clippers for Lou Williams and 2 second round picks. Personally, I think the Hawks won this trade, as Rondo wasn't having a good year and Lou Williams is a good scorer. I think the trade hurts the Clippers as they lose scoring on their bench for an aging pass-first PG. Overall, the trade deadline shook up some of the top teams in the league and provided some well-needed boosts for the rest of this year.

2. Buyout Season: The Rich get Richer

The buyout market usually ends up the same every year, with some good players who were stuck on bad teams getting their chance to go play for a contender. The same happened this year with two big moves. LaMarcus Aldridge reached an agreement with the Spurs for a buyout and signed with the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets, who were already stacked, now could potentially have a starting lineup of 5 players who have been All-Stars. A group of Kyrie, Harden, Durant, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge is pushing the borderlines of a superteam, and I think that move locks them into the Finals. Unless someone gets hurt or they go into a gigantic slump, I can't see the Nets losing to anybody from the Eastern Conference. The other big move was Andre Drummond agreeing to a buyout with the Cavs and signing with the Lakers. The Lakers badly needed help inside, as Montrezl Harrell has been forced to carry the load. Harrell is a great center, but adding Drummond, who is one of the best rebounders in the history of the game, will provide great play from their big men. Hopefully Drummond can help carry the load while LeBron and Davis recover and they can be ready to go for the start of the postseason. Both of these moves see the best teams add prior All-Stars, and solidify that the top teams in basketball are ready to defend their "Championship or Bust" viewpoints.

I'll be back next week with the regular blog, I just thought it would be fun to do one focused only on the deadline and buyouts. Thank you for reading, and I will be back once again next week!

Standings:

East:

1. 76ers

2. Nets

3. Bucks

4. Hornets

5. Knicks

6. Hawks

7. Celtics

8. Heat

9. Pacers

10. Bulls

11. Raptors

12. Wizards

13. Cavaliers

14. Magic

15. Pistons

West:

1. Jazz

2. Suns

3. Clippers

4. Lakers

5. Nuggets

6. Trail Blazers

7. Mavericks

8. Spurs

9. Grizzlies

10. Warriors

11. Kings

12. Pelicans

13. Thunder

14. Rockets

15. Timberwolves