NBA 2024 Winners and Losers at the Trade Deadline

The 2024 NBA trade deadline defied expectations in a number of ways, with a flurry of moves from unexpected teams. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the winners and losers coming into the final stretch of the 2024 NBA season.

From blockbuster trades shaking up playoff contenders to surprise deals reshaping rebuilding teams’ futures, the NBA landscape has been altered in unexpected ways. Some teams have emerged stronger with key acquisitions, while others look to have been fleeced, at least on the surface.

2024 NBA Trade Deadline Winners

New York Knicks

The New York Knicks front office really put in some work over the last month and a half, picking up several great players and other roleplayers. In particular, the additions of OG Anunoby and Bojan Bogdanović have been incredibly impactful already, putting them in a real contending position.

Anunoby already seems to be the perfect player for the Knicks, filling several holes in the Knicks roster in one fell swoop. First and foremost, Anunoby takes the Knick’s defence to the next level, marking the opposing team’s best guard night in and out and giving Jalen Brunson some much-needed breathing room.

Meanwhile, Bogdanović adds some depth to the roster as a 20 ppg scorer, especially if they want to go on a deep playoff run. The Knicks came out like bandits this time around, which is crazy considering how awful their front office has been throughout most of NBA history.

Toronto Raptors

While some people may disagree, the Toronto Raptors entering full rebuild mode is honestly the best choice for the franchise at this point. Instead of continuing to be a middle-of-the-pack team year after year, why not let some of the young guys really develop and send off Pascal Siakam while his trade value is high?

In return for Siakam, the Raptors gained several promising young players to potentially pair with Scottie Barnes, although we are most excited about RJ Barrett. It’ll be great for the young guy to develop in his home country, the Great White North.

Give it a couple of years, and people may be talking about the 2024 trade deadline in a completely different light, at least when looking at Toronto.

Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns front office was quite low-key going into the trade deadline, but they really made the most of their pieces. In return for some miscellaneous drafts and other compensation, they were able to pick up two solid roleplayers, David Roddy and Royce O’Neale.

O’Neale, in particular, should be great for the Suns – he’s a decent defender, can hit his spot-up threes, and has some great size at 6’6. That size is really going to be big for the Suns, especially on the boards, as most of their three-and-D guys are small, like Grayson Allen.

Let’s also not forget that Phoenix’s creativity in these trades not only picked up some solid players for really nothing but also freed up some space on the roster for further acquisitions in the buy-out market.

2024 NBA Trade Deadline Losers

Milwaukee Bucks

Aside from changing coaches, the Milwaukee Bucks picked up Patrick Beverley before the trade deadline to help their backcourt on the defensive side of the ball. However, what the front office has neglected to look at is that Damian Lillard and Beverley have never really gotten along throughout their careers.

Now, don’t get it twisted, they are both professional athletes who can put aside their personal feelings, but Beverley just wasn’t the play. And, adding insult to injury, they gave up a solid second-round pick for the aging point guard.

Going into the season, Vegas has the Bucks as a strong favourite, but as time goes on, they continue to slip.

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are a little bit different than some of the other losers on our list, as they simply didn’t make any moves – but that’s the problem. Dejounte Murray is very evidently unhappy playing next to Trae Young, as he prefers to play the point guard position, and the Hawks missed several great opportunities to get a solid player for him.

Instead of forcing Murray to conform to Trae Young, they really need to let him go while his stock is high, sitting at 21.5 ppg. Having two ball-dominant guards in your backcourt is simply a recipe for disaster.

Los Angeles Lakers

Based purely on the cryptic messages LeBron James posted on his Twitter/X, you can tell he is not happy, and for good reason. The Lakers really needed to shake up their roster before the trade deadline, as they continuously drop games to less-than-stellar teams.

It really seems as though the Lakers front office has no desire to be a real contending team, instead preferring to hold onto their picks and grow for the future. That may seem all good and well, but it’s really a shame, especially when you understand how well Dejounte Murray would’ve fit into the Lakers roster.

All LA needed to do was pick up a solid front-court player to pair with LeBron and Anthony Davis, but they couldn’t even do that.