Impact On Eastern Conference
Looking at the Eastern Conference right now, the Toronto Raptors Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks currently sit 7-10 in the standings and if the season ended today, they would be battling it out for the final two spots in the playoffs.
Boston made plenty of moves at the trade deadline, highlighted by bringing in Derrick White from the Spurs and freeing up roster spots to grab one or two veterans in the buyout market. The Celtics’ biggest need as a franchise this season has been in their backcourt and by acquiring White, they now look like they have the pieces in place to make a run not only at a play-in tournament spot, but possibly an actual playoff spot as well.
The Hawks made zero moves and the Hornets added Montrezl Harrell, giving them some extra depth in the frontcourt, but the Brooklyn Nets really stole the show at the trade deadline and made the biggest trade with the Philadelphia 76ers that will have great implications on the playoffs this season and potentially how things could shape up in the Eastern Conference in future seasons.
News of James Harden being unhappy in Brooklyn surfaced a few weeks before the trade deadline and while Harden had not come out and said he had wanted a trade from the Nets, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the morning of trade deadline day that the former league-MVP wanted out of Brooklyn, but did not want to come public with said information because he was worried about the backlash he would received for switching teams once again.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Emerging Names To Watch As NBA Buyout Candidates
In the deadline’s biggest trade, the Nets sent James Harden and Paul Millsap to the 76ers for All-Star Ben Simmons, who has not played all season, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks.
Harden is a Top-15, Top-20 player in the entire NBA, so one would assume that the Nets lost this trade. Well, those assumptions would lead them to being wrong!
On paper, the Nets have more depth, they are more well-suited defensively and they can put more focus on getting Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving the ball with James Harden out of the equation. This was actually a really good trade for the Nets, especially if Ben Simmons makes his season-debut in a week or two and can actually make an impact on both ends of the floor.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Emerging Names To Watch As NBA Buyout Candidates
Not only does this trade shake up things in the Eastern Conference with the 76ers now having higher odds to win a championship, but even though they are on a 10-game losing streak, the Nets definitely look like a better team.
Should Kevin Durant be able to come back from his sprained MCL in the next few weeks, along with Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond entering the fold, we are suddenly looking at a deeper Nets team that could wind up winning their way out of the play-in tournament range, throwing someone like the Raptors, 76ers or Cavaliers in there instead given how close the Eastern Conference standings are right now.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Emerging Names To Watch As NBA Buyout Candidates
The trade deadline directly impacted how things are going to play out in the Eastern Conference, but what about the Western Conference?
