Some stay put, some on move
Kyle Lowry stayed with the Raptors, and the Heat got Victor Oladipo instead. And on a trade deadline day where moves were getting made right up until the last possible moment, the Nuggets took a big swing at getting better for a playoff run while the Magic began a rebuild.
Lowry — perhaps the biggest prize on the market — didn’t get traded, the Raptors apparently unable to find enough assets to their liking. The Heat were one of the biggest pursuers for Lowry, who they may still target as a free agent later this year, wound up adding Oladipo from the Rockets.
It didn’t cost the heat much: Kelly Olynyk was on an expiring deal, and Avery Bradley has barely played for the Heat this season because of COVID-19 and then a calf injury. The deal also included pick swap in 2022.
Oladipo has wanted to be in Miami for some time, and the Rockets made that happen.
It can be a tough day around the league, but typically it comes with some sort of relief — the questions about players going from one team to another are over now, at least until the offseason.
“It’s not a great day around the league as far as trying to keep everybody focused, that’s for sure,” Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said.
The Magic swung three separate deals to move three of their four leading scorers this season, including All-Star Nikola Vucevic. He’s going to the Bulls, while Evan Fournier got moved to the Celtics and Aaron Gordon was sent to the Nuggets.
The Nuggets were busy, adding JaVale McGee in a deal from the Cavaliers as well Thursday for Isaiah Hartenstein and two picks.
Questions swirled around Lowry all the way to the deadline. But on his 35th birthday, Lowry woke up as a Raptor — and remained one.
“Everything will be fine,” Lowry said on Wednesday, when asked about the looming deadline and incessant reports about his trade prospects. “Everything will be fine, no matter what happens.”
The Raptors entered the day expected to move either Lowry, Norman Powell or both; in the end, it was just Powell, who went to the Trail Blazers for Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.
The Clippers — who had been seeking point guard help for weeks — got it in the form of Rajon Rondo, who was part of the Lakers’ run to the title last season and now returns to Los Angeles. The Clippers gave up Lou Williams in that deal with the Hawks, sending him back to his home state and the team with whom he spent two seasons from 2012-14.
Another veteran went to a Western Conference contender when New Orleans sent JJ Redick to the Mavericks.
The deadline passed without moves getting made for the Spurs’ LaMarcus Aldridge and Cavaliers’ Andre Drummond, a pair of veteran post players who haven’t been on the court for their current — and soon to be former — clubs in several weeks, after decisions were made in both cases for the sides to simply move on amicably. Aldridge and Drummond now likely become buyout recipients, which will make them free to sign with the club of their choosing.