2017-18 NBA Trade Deadline recap

The moves
Bulls get Noah Vonleh; Blazers get draft rights to Milocan Rakovic and cash

Bulls get Willie Reed; Pistons get Jameer Nelson and rights to 2022 2nd round pick swap

Cavs get 2024 2nd round pick; Heat get Dwayne Wade

Cavs get Rodney Hood, George Hill, rights to Arturis Gudaitis; Jazz get Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose;
Kings get Joe Johnson, Iman Shumpert, Cavs 2020 2nd round pick, cash

Cavs get Larry Nance Jr, Jordan Clarkson; Lakers get 2018 1st round pick, Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye

Grizzlies get Brice Johnson, undisclosed 2nd round pick; Pistons get James Ennis

Hawks get Okaro White; Heat get Luke Babbitt

Knicks get Emmanual Mudiay, 2018 2nd round pick; Nuggets get Devin Harris, 2018 2nd round pick; Mavs get Doug McDermott

Suns get Elfrid Peyton; Magic get 2nd round pick

Pelicans get Rashad Vaughn; Nets get Dante Cunningham

Raptors get Malachi Richardson; Kings get Bruno Caboclo

Also, Tony Allen waived by the Bulls, Greg Monroe signs with the Celtics

Team by team
Bulls -- Picked up a last look at Noah Vonleh (his 3rd team though still on his rookie contract), Willie Reed (who has already been waived) and all it costs them was the recently received Jameer Nelson (who would've been waived anyway), a 2nd round pick swap (2nd round pick swap? Is that a thing?), and some cash. Well, along with Omer Asik, they picked up a lot of veteran bodies down low, to go with Robin Lopez, they surely have depth there now (of course, they're all injury-prone). Not sure what these moves do for them but they don't cost much, so worth a try, I reckon.

Cavs -- They did the most to remake their team, which clearly needed to happen. Brought in George Hill (I like the move, gives them a confident ball handling PG that can score and play D off the bench), Rodney Hood (streaky shooter but can fill it up on any given night), Larry Nance Jr (active young scorer down low), Jordan Clarkson (much maligned but I think he's a good fit for the Cavs, a confident reliable presence off the bench), a 2nd round pick (top 55 protected meaning it's basically worthless) and the rights to Arturo Gudaitis (AKA future trade filler). I think all four of those guys will help the Cavs. And all they had to give up was mostly addition by subtraction: Isaiah Thomas (hmmm, well that was a disaster, huh? He was hurt most of the time, he was divisive in the locker room and he wasn't very good on the court, getting rid of Thomas was more important than getting anything in return), Jae Crowder (another part of the Kyrie trade that never really fit in with the Cavs), Dwayne Wade (okay I'll say it: he's virtually useless at this point in his career, surprised the Heat took him back), Channing Frye (always thought he could've be more useful to the Cavs than they ever let him be, felt to me like he was more valuable than just trade filler), Derrick Rose (meh, he never did get into the swing of things in Cleveland), Iman Shumpert (though I was never much of a Shump fan, he did serve a worthwhile need to the Cavs that doesn't really get replaced in any of these moves), a 2018 1st round pick (not a big deal, the Cavs don't draft particularly well to be honest) and 2020 2nd round pick (probably a worthless pick anyway).  I kinda love these moves for the Cavs, I think they've brought in a raft of hungry, underappreciated players and shipped out a pile of lethargic overrated players. The Cavs are still in the driver's seat in the Eastern playoffs.

Hawks -- Okaro White, ladies and gentlemen! The future starts now! Honestly I don't know who Okaro White is but I do know Luke Babbitt and White is probably just fine. Not sure what this move does for either team but it doesn't look like it'll hurt anything.

Grizzlies -- Brought in a rookie (I kinda like Brice Johnson with the Tarheels, never saw him with the Pistons) for a vet that's been hanging around forever (Ennis has been around been never really played anywhere). Got themselves a bonus 2nd round pick, which isn't bad, they need every lottery ticket they can get.

Jazz -- Brought in Derrick Rose (soon to be waived? They don't really need another ball hogging PG) and Jae Crowder (I think he can be useful to the Jazz, his defense and veteran presence can lift a young team), though it cost them Rodney Hood (inconsistent but damn good at times, I guess they weren't planning on bringing him back) and Joe Johnson (agitating for a trade/waiving, I'm sure) and they sent out cash to make this happen?  Hmmm....I guess they needed to do this because I'm not seeing these moves as upgrades.

Heat -- Back comes Dwayne Wade (not as old as Udonis Haslem...can't think of anything else nice to say about him) and Luke Babbitt (uhhh....I'm guessing he has a hot girlfriend....can't think of anything else to say about him). Neither of these moves make the team better (or, to be fair, worse I guess). All it cost them was Okaro White (minor character on Starsky & Hutch, right?) and a 2024 top-55 protected 2nd round pick (the farthest away possible move to make, meaning its basically just imaginary), so...whew, almost like they didn't make a move, isn't it? Yeah, they brought back the hometown fave Hall of Famer but hard to imagine they win a single extra game because of him.

Kings -- Brought in Bruno Caboclo (big man project making Giannis Papagiannis expendable), Joe Johnson (who I assume will be waived any day now) and Iman Shumpert (I kinda like his potential for veteran presence in this youth movement, he can be a good player for them), they also get a bunch of cash and a 2020 2nd round pick from the Cavs (already earmarked for a European stash pick, I'm sure). And all it cost them was George Hill (I still believe in Hill but on this team I thought he was utterly worthless, not a good fit for where they are and what they need to be doing, his absence is a welcome addition) and Malachi Richardson (never really found his place in Sacramento). Great day for the Kings!

Suns -- Brought in Elfrid Peyton (not sure they bring him back next year but they do need PG depth for the rest of the year) and give up only a 2nd round pick. A temporary fill-in for a pick that was not likely to help them and if they can get a good deal on Peyton, they may well bring him back.

Lakers -- Brought in Isaiah Thomas (wouldn't be surprised if they waive him, he doesn't serve any purpose for them and has the chance to be a real bring-down in the locker room) and Channing Frye (again, I think Frye would've be useful for the Jazz but not for the Lakers, I'm guessing they'll use him for minutes rather than waive him) and a 1st round pick (won't be a great pick but Larry Nance and Kyle Kuzma show the Lakers have an ability to make the most of those late 1st rounders). Gave up on Jordan Clarkson (like him, don't love him, Lakers need cap room to go after free agents) and Larry Nance (that kinda hurts, man, I think Nance is pretty good and fit the Lakers well, but worth it to make salary cap space).

Knicks -- Brought in Emmanuel Mudiay (who just wasn't gonna make it in Denver), worth another look in New York, I guess. And sent out Doug McDermott (follow me now: when McDermott scored, the Knicks won games; not saying he was the most important player on the team but was helpful when effective, I think he can still be a good player in the NBA). And swapped 2nd round picks. I dunno, I don't really see the point of this since both contracts are expiring and the Knicks may well have a better 2nd round pick. Not sure what this does for the Knicks, seems to me they need all the scoring they can get rather than PG depth. And if they're just looking to save money, why not dump the entire roster?

Magic -- Got a 2nd round pick for Elfrid Peyton. Since they weren't bringing back Peyton, I guess they did well to get something for him. I like those early 2nd round picks, maybe the Magic can do something with it.

Mavs -- Pick up Doug McDermott (Dirk replacement?) for Devin Harris (you may remember him from that classic Brooks/Reiner routine "The 2000 Year Old Point Guard"). I like McDermott, I wouldn't be surprised is the Mavs re-sign him this summer.

Nuggets -- Brought in Devin Harris as a veteran version of Emmanual Mudiay and (likely) upgraded their 2nd round pick. Not really much difference but Harris replaces the veteran leadership they gave away with Jameer Nelson earlier in the year. A minimal move but not a bad one.

Pistons -- Brought in Jameer Nelson (nice veteran PG off the bench) and James Ennis (nice veteran practice player) for a guy they never really played there (Willie Reed) and a rookie that never found his space (Brice Johnson), and upgraded their 2022 2nd round pick for good measure. Not much of a move but probably fits them a little better for now.

Raptors -- Brought in Malachi Richardson (gives them some Guard depth, I suppose, hasn't done much yet in the league). Sent out Bruno Caboclo (I've liked his work in int'l play but he has yet to do much in the NBA). They've known for a while that Caboclo wasn't going to work so they redeemed him for a few years of a SG to develop. Ehh, I guess this move is something they wanted.

Pelicans -- Brought in Rashad Vaughn (disappointing so far but young enough to be intriguing, I suppose) while sending out the veteran Dante Cunningham. Both contracts were expiring so I'm not sure what this does for them unless they think can develop Vaughn.

Nets -- Brought in Dante Cunningham for a guy that never actually played for them (Rashad Vaughn). In a sense this completes their previous deal with the Bucks, I guess they just like the chances of getting something out of Cunningham more than Vaughn.