Trade deadline sees Irving, Durant bolster West teams
First it was Kyrie Irving to Dallas. Then came Kevin Durant to Phoenix.
The breakup in Brooklyn is rebuilding some contenders in the West.
Trade deadline day in the NBA on Thursday featured plenty of moves, with the Suns making the biggest as they chase the first championship in franchise history.
They acquired Durant by sending Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029, and a first-round pick swap in 2028 to the Nets, who also sent T.J. Warren back to his original team in Phoenix.
New Suns owner Mat Ishbia called it a “transformative day” for the team.
“Not only is Kevin one of the greatest and most accomplished players in the history of the sport, but his character also embodies the world-class commitment to excellence we are instilling across every facet of this organization,” Ishbia said in a statement.
Jae Crowder, who didn’t play this season in Phoenix, was moved to Milwaukee in the four-team trade. The Bucks sent Jordan Nwora, George Hill, Serge Ibaka and three future secondround picks to the Indiana Pacers.
Bridges, Johnson and Crowder helped the Suns reach the NBA Finals in 2021, and a return trip looks possible with Durant in their lineup.
“It’s a close group,” coach Monty Williams said. “You can imagine that’s a tough blow to the group for the human side of it, but also exciting about what could be.”
A day earlier, the Lakers agreed to send Russell Westbrook to Utah as part of a three-way deal including Minnesota that brought D’Angelo Russell back to Los Angeles.
“Just like that it’s a war in the West!” Sacramento Kings guard Terence Davis II tweeted.
The Lakers stayed busy up until the deadline with a couple more moves as they try to build a contender around NBA career scoring leader LeBron James. They added another big man in Mo Bamba from the Orlando Magic for Patrick Beverley, a secondround pick and cash considerations. The Magic said they would not require Beverley to report to the team.
The deadline was 3 p.m. EST, though most of the deals weren’t approved by the league office until much later as teams swapped not only players, but plenty of draft picks.
“I’ll show you how wrong I was,” said Cleveland president of basketball operations Koby Altman, whose team was one of few that made zero moves. “I thought it was going to be a quiet, quiet deadline. But this is the NBA, and the NBA never stops. And, it’s really fragile. It’s a really fragile industry, and you don’t know what’s going to tip one way or the other.”