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NBA Trade Deadline Recap and Updated ROS Rankings

Given the amount of access that NBA fans have to players and reporters because of social media in 2015, it's rare that we're blown away or caught off guard by anything. It's also rare that our expectations are exceeded, but the 2015 NBA trade deadline did just that. It shocked and surprised us all.

There were 12 trades involving 38 players. It was real, and it was FANtastic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4-RNTsgHLw

Here's a rundown of all of the moves that were made, their fantasy implications, and the RotoWire rest-of-season rankings for eight-category rotisserie leagues, which have been updated to reflect the deadline moves.

TRADE 1

To MIA: Goran Dragic, Zoran Dragic

To NOP: Norris Cole, Justin Hamilton, Shawne Williams

To PHX: Danny Granger, John Salmons, 2 1st round picks

Pat Reilly might really be an illuminati or a witch or some sort of inhuman force designed to build great basketball teams. Thats \my only explanation for the fact that in the span of eight months he has recovered from losing the best player on the planet by creating a lineup that, when healthy, looks like this: Dragic, Wade, Deng, Bosh (get well soon!), and Hassan Whiteside.  Like everyone else, I'm hoping Bosh recovers completely from  the blood clot found in his lung.

Fantasy Implications

Goran Dragic(ranked 43rd before the deadline and 34th after the deadline): It's worrisome that Dragic is moving from the Suns (the second fastest team) to the Heat (the slowest team in the league), but Dragic's splits when he is the primary ball handler should give fantasy owners a lot of optimism.

Last season, Dragic averaged 22.1 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per 36 minutes when Bledsoe was off the court and just 18.2 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per 36 minutes when Bledsoe was on the court. If Dragic can approach something close to that level of production in Miami, then his rest-of-season ranking of 34th overall will be too low.

 

TRADE 2

To MIL: Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis, Miles Plumlee

To PHI: LAL pick (protected)

To PHX: Brandon Knight, Kendall Marshall

This was the trade that put the deadline over the top - the trade that no one saw coming and that was completed (mostly) for basketball reasons (as opposed to salary cap reasons). The most surprising part for me was that the Bucks essentially chose Carter-Williams over Goran Dragic when deciding who to take back in the trade for Knight. In the end, it was a bold move by all three teams, and there's a very good chance that in a couple of years one of these teams will look like a genius and another will look foolish. I just have no idea which team will be which. Did I mention how great this trade deadline was?

Fantasy Implications

Michael Carter-Williams (24th to 66th): MCW's move from the 76ers (who play at the seventh fastest pace) to the Bucks (who play at the 15th fastest pace) seems to be bad news for his fantasy value all the way around. Coach Jason Kidd runs a deeper rotation than coach Brett Brown does in Philly, meaningless minutes for MCW, and MCW is no longer the unquestioned number one option on his team, which should decrease his opportunity to fill the box score when he's on the court. It's possible that his shooting percentages improve as he's surrounded by a full compliment of legitimate NBA teammates for the first time in his career, but this trade is bad news for his value in the other fantasy categories.

Brandon Knight(23rd to 23rd): Knight's fantasy value should remain largely unchanged. The increase in fantasy value for Knight brought about by the Suns' fast pace of play (second in the league) will be counterbalanced by the fact that Knight will be sharing the ball-handling duties with Eric Bledsoe.

 

TRADE 3

To BOS: Isaiah Thomas

To PHX: Marcus Thornton, CLE pick

Considering some of the negative things we've heard recently about Thomas' inability to mesh with teammates, not to mention the challenges that his size creates on the defensive end, I was surprised that it cost the Celtics a first-round pick to acquire the dynamic guard, particularly when it seemed like part of the reason they moved Rondo was to give the point guard reigns to Marcus Smart. However, Danny Angie rarely makes a bad move, so I'm intrigued to see how Thomas is integrated into the Celtics' rotation.

Fantasy Implications

Marcus Smart(63rd to 59th): While Smart's ranking and projection didn't change much, my confidence that he'll be able to perform at this level has moved from "sure thing" to "I'm uneasy now". There is a real chance that Thomas could limit Smart's offensive production and possibly cut into his playing time.

Isaiah Thomas(83rd to 68th): Thomas will likely play at least as much in Boston (23-25 mpg) as he did in Phoenix's more crowded backcourt, and he will be the best offensive weapon for the Celtics when he's on the court.

TRADE 4

To DET: Reggie Jackson

To OKC: D.J. Augustin, Enes Kanter, Steve Novak, Kyle Singler

To UTA: Grant Jerrett, Kendrick Perkins, OKC pick (protected), 2nd round pick

The Pistons got Reggie Jackson for D.J. Augustine and Kyle Singler? The Pacers reportedly had serious interest in Jackson, but their bid fell short. What were they offering? A bag of basketballs and a day old doughnuts? I don't mean to disparage Augustine and Singler, they are fine players, but I certainly don't think they are capable of doing something like this in the NBA playoffs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eHfcxEPlOA&feature=youtu.be&t=20s

This move left me wondering if Thunder GM Sam Presti has lost a little on his fastball.

Fantasy Implications

Enes Kanter(109th to 138th): The Thunder's frontcourt now features Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, Nick Collison, Mitch McGary, and Kanter. Unless Kanter proves to be more effective than McGary, Collison, AND Adams, I think Kanter actually sees less playing time in Oklahoma City than he did in Utah, probably close to 24 mpg.

Reggie Jackson(161st to 82nd): While you can debate whether Jackson is a star-caliber player (most advanced metrics suggest "no"), there is little debate about his fantasy value for the rest of this season. During 13 starts this season, he averaged 20.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists. While it's true that he put up those numbers in just under 39 mpg, and Van Gundy rarely plays his guards over 30 mpg, if you were smart enough to pick him up before the deadline, you made an excellent move. Enjoy the ride.

Rudy Gobert(67th to 28th): It's kind of crazy that the Jazz are giving their starting center job to a player that played less than 10 mpg last season and who played in the Summer League this past summer, but given Rudy's production earlier this season, it's easy to see why they made the move. Gobert has averaged 12 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per 36 minutes this season, and now that he has a starting job secured, he may approach that level of production over the next 30 games. If so, then his current ranking of 28th will be too low. I'm fascinated to see where Gobert and Whiteside go in fantasy drafts next season.

 

TRADE 5

To BKN: Thaddeus Young

To MIN: Kevin Garnett

I always like it when the all-time greats get a chance to finish their careers on their terms. I was kind of hoping to see Garnett make an impact in the playoffs, but Garnet held all of the power here (he had a no-trade clause), so this is presumably what he wanted. It was a nice move by the Nets to pick up Young in the process without giving any of their precious few future assets.

Fantasy Implications

Thaddeus Young(29th to 63rd): Young was playing 38.4 mpg so far in February on the Timberwolves, a mark he's unlikely to hit in Brooklyn's crowded frontcourt. I'd expect him to be closer to 30 mpg for the rest of the season.

Gorgui Dieng/Anthony Bennett/Adreian Payne/Garnett: Presumably, one or more of these players will fill the void Young left in the rotation. Dieng is worth owning in all leagues and is up to 70th overall in our rankings. The other three are speculative adds until we see how the rotation shakes out.

TRADE 6

To BOS: Luigi Datome, Jonas Jerebko

To DET: Tayshaun Prince

This trade is a nostalgic homecoming for Prince, but I think the Pistons are much more interested in Prince's on-court production than nostalgia as they look for help to make a playoff push. I wouldn't be surprised to see Prince, and Caron Butler take most of the small forward minutes in Detroit down the stretch.

Fantasy Implications

Tayshaun Prince (289th to 258th): Prince isn't relevant in standard leagues but could have value in deep leagues if he gets the playing time. He's shooting a career-best 49% from three-point range.

 

TRADE 7

To HOU: Pablo Prigioni

To NYK: Alexey Shved, 2 2nd round picks

I was surprised the Knicks made a move and didn't do enough to get under the Luxury Tax Threshold (they were only over by about $2 million). Otherwise, there's not much to see here from a fantasy perspective.

Trade 8 

To HOU: K.J. McDaniels

To PHI: Isaiah Canaan, 2nd round pick

As one of the few people who still believe McDaniels should have been a top-10 pick in last year's draft, I'm disappointed to see him go to a deep team that is much more interested in preparing to make a playoff push than developing young players. Through just a few months in the league, he's already blocked a shot so hard that he gave someone a concussion! What's not to like?

https://youtu.be/UGSoZBkIZE4?t=16s

Isaiah Canaan (Not Ranked to 214th): Perhaps no player's value changed more at the deadline than Canaan's did. Canaan has only played in 25 games this season, but Sam Hinke and Brett Brown seem very committed to playing Canaan and are optimistic about what he can bring to the table:

https://twitter.com/Sec215/status/568796473296588800

https://twitter.com/ChrisVito/status/568900523107229696

As we often mention, minutes is the most important stat in fantasy basketball, and Canaan should see plenty given the state of the 76ers' roster. While our projections don't love Canaan, extrapolating a roleplayer's production on a playoff team to his production as a starter on a poor team isn't an exact science. (For example, my personal projections suggest he's a top-100 player). Considering Philadelphia's lack of talent and their fast pace of play, I think Canaan is a must-own in all leagues, and he should shoot up these rankings fairly quickly.

K.J. McDaniels(156th to 251st): Considering the crowded wing position in Houston and the team's emphasis on preparing for the playoffs, it's hard to see how McDaniels sees enough playing time to be relevant in standard leagues this season.

 

TRADE 9

To DEN: 

https://i.imgur.com/1HWQIPa.gif

To PHI: JaVale McGee, OKC pick (protected)

It always interesting to see how much a first-round pick costs in the NBA, in part because the price changes so frequently. For example, in the recent past, the Jazz bought what became the Rudy Gobert pick from Denver for $3M and also got two first-round picks for renting out over $25M+ of salary cap space to the Warriors before they signed Andre Iguodala. During this offseason, Milwaukee got a first for taking on Jared Dudley's $8.5M salary, and Boston got a first and Tyler Zeller for taking Marcus Thornton's $8.6M contract. This is the first time Hinke has bought a first-round pick using only cap space, and it cost him. Hinkie had to take McGee's $11.5M contract this season and $12M contract next season, but it's no big deal considering the 76ers were, and still are, below the NBA's salary floor.

Fantasy Implications

While it seems like McGee will get a shot to make an impression in Philadelphia, it also seems like Hinke was primarily after the draft pick, and not McGee, in this trade:

https://twitter.com/tmoore76ers/status/568795094054088704

I would stay away from McGee (and his potential for blocks) until you see him on the court for an extended period of time, even in deep leagues.

 

TRADE 10

To SAC: Andre Miller

To WAS: Ramon Sessions

Although Andre Miller has never played for the Kings prior to this move, this trade also felt like a coming home of sorts as Miller reunited with his soul mate George Karl. It's highly unlikely that either of these players have any standard-league value over the rest of this season.

TRADE 11

To DEN: Will Barton, Victor Claver, Thomas Robinson, POR pick (protected), 2nd round pick

To POR: Arron Afflalo, Alonzo Gee

A Blazers-Nuggets trade was rumored to be in the works for the majority of the season, with the only intrigue here being which Nuggets player would end up in Portland: Wilson Chandler or Arron Afflalo. I'm skeptical that Afflalo will be an appreciable improvement over the Blazers' current bench options - he's a poor defender by any metric and is shooting under 34% from three this season, but Neil Olshey has done such an excellent job of team building, earning him the benefit of doubt here.

Fantasy Implications

Arron Afflalo(125th to 167th): Afflalo will come off of the bench in Portland, which means his minutes will likely dip from the 32 mpg he saw in Denver to 24-26 mpg in Portland. As a result, he's droppable in standard leagues.

Nicolas Batum(38th to 54th): Batum has been playing the majority of this season with an injured wrist, and it's entirely possible that Afflalo's biggest contribution to the Blazers will come by allowing Batum to rest and get healthy for the post season. If so, Batum's playing time, and fantasy value, will likely decrease as a result of this trade.

Danilo Gallinari(186th to 124th): Gallinari is now the starting shooting guard for the Nuggets, which should bump his playing time and fantasy production to a level that's ownable in deep leagues and is at least interesting in standard leagues (that is unless he gets hurt again).

Rest-of-Season Rankings

These rankings are based on the rest-of-season RotoWire projections, which were updated to reflect all of the trade deadline moves. For custom rankings you can go here.

After DeadlinePlayer NameTeamPosBefore Deadline
1Stephen CurryGSWG1
2James HardenHOUG2
3DeMarcus CousinsSACC3
4Russell WestbrookOKCG5
5Kevin DurantOKCF4
6Anthony DavisNOPF6
7Damian LillardPORG7
8Chris PaulLACG8
9John WallWASG10
10LeBron JamesCLEF9
11Klay ThompsonGSWG11
12Draymond GreenGSWF12
13Kyle LowryTORG13
14Gordon HaywardUTAF14
15Paul MillsapATLF15
16DeAndre JordanLACC16
17Rudy GaySACF17
18Jeff TeagueATLG19
19Chris BoshMIAF18
20Ty LawsonDENG21
21Derrick FavorsUTAF28
22LaMarcus AldridgePORF20
23Brandon KnightPHOG23
24Marc GasolMEMC22
25Darren CollisonSACG26
26Serge IbakaOKCF27
27Wesley MatthewsPORG25
28Rudy GobertUTAC67
29Eric BledsoePHOG30
30Trevor ArizaHOUF32
31Kawhi LeonardSASF33
32Ricky RubioMING35
33Victor OladipoORLG34
34Goran DragicMIAG43
35Hassan WhitesideMIAC31
36Jimmy ButlerCHIG36
37Kyrie IrvingCLEG39
38Monta EllisDALG41
39Jarrett JackBKNG37
40Andre DrummondDETC40
41Markieff MorrisPHOF44
42Greg MonroeDETC42
43Al JeffersonCHAC46
44Josh SmithHOUF47
45Tim DuncanSASF45
46Khris MiddletonMILF48
47Mike ConleyMEMG50
48Kyle KorverATLG53
49G. AntetokounmpoMILF52
50Robert CovingtonPHIF55
51Andrew WigginsMINF54
52Pau GasolCHIF51
53Tyreke EvansNOPG49
54Nicolas BatumPORF38
55Blake GriffinLACF57
56Chandler ParsonsDALF58
57Joe JohnsonBKNG56
58Al HorfordATLC59
59Marcus SmartBOSG63
60Danny GreenSASG60
61Kevin LoveCLEF62
62Nerlens NoelPHIC61
63Thaddeus YoungBKNF29
64Zach RandolphMEMF64
65DeMar DeRozanTORG66
66M. Carter-WilliamsMILG24
67Mason PlumleeBKNC74
68Isaiah ThomasBOSG83
69Derrick RoseCHIG69
70Gorgui DiengMINC99
71Dirk NowitzkiDALF68
72Joakim NoahCHIC70
73Nikola VucevicORLC72
74Rajon RondoDALG73
75Jamal CrawfordLACG76
76Kenneth FariedDENF85
77Deron WilliamsBKNG79
78Kevin MartinMING80
79Luol DengMIAF78
80Roy HibbertINDC75
81David WestINDF81
82Reggie JacksonDETG161
83P.J. TuckerPHOF82
84Jason SmithNYKF86
85Robin LopezPORC84
86DeMarre CarrollATLF89
87Mario ChalmersMIAG65
88J.R. SmithCLEG91
89Tobias HarrisORLF90
90Jeff GreenMEMF93
91Ryan AndersonNOPF94
92Paul PierceWASF96
93Ben McLemoreSACG97
94Elfrid PaytonORLG98
95Jae CrowderBOSF104
96Tyson ChandlerDALC95
97Trey BurkeUTAG101
98Manu GinobiliSASG102
99Patrick BeverleyHOUG100
100Kemba WalkerCHAG87
101Amir JohnsonTORF103
102Jose CalderonNYKG105
103Jared DudleyMILG106
104Patrick PattersonTORF108
105Brook LopezBKNC88
106Dwyane WadeMIAG111
107Jusuf NurkicDENC128
108O.J. MayoMILG113
109Jeremy LinLALG115
110Jonas ValanciunasTORC112
111Matt BarnesLACF116
112J.J. RedickLACG118
113Bradley BealWASG119
114Eric GordonNOPG114
115Evan TurnerBOSF120
116Tony ParkerSASG122
117Jordan ClarksonLALG124
118Cody ZellerCHAF123
119Corey BrewerHOUF110
120Marcin GortatWASC121
121Donatas MotiejunasHOUF126
122Jrue HolidayNOPG117
123K. Caldwell-PopeDETG149
124Danilo GallinariDENF186
125Spencer HawesLACC127
126George HillINDG129
127Avery BradleyBOSG130
128Louis WilliamsTORG131
129Brandon BassBOSF151
130Greivis VasquezTORG134
131Andre IguodalaGSWG133
132Wayne EllingtonLALG132
133Dante ExumUTAG135
134Courtney LeeMEMG136
135Wilson ChandlerDENF137
136John HensonMILF107
137Lance StephensonCHAG139
138Enes KanterOKCC109
139Andrew BogutGSWC138
140Harrison BarnesGSWF142
141Carlos BoozerLALF140
142Tony AllenMEMG146
143C.J. MilesINDG147
144Taj GibsonCHIF143
145Omer AsikNOPC141
146Jordan HillLALF144
147Dion WaitersOKCG148
148Timofey MozgovCLEC145
149Wesley JohnsonLALF150
150Alan AndersonBKNG152
151Langston GallowayNYKG154
152Mo WilliamsCHAG159
153Solomon HillINDF157
154Jodie MeeksDETG164
155M. Kidd-GilchristCHAF155
156Nene HilarioWASF158
157Tim HardawayNYKG160
158Gerald HendersonCHAG162
159Marcus MorrisPHOF166
160Marvin WilliamsCHAF163
161Ed DavisLALF165
162Hollis ThompsonPHIF168
163Tristan ThompsonCLEF167
164Rodney StuckeyINDG169
165Tyler ZellerBOSC189
166Nikola PekovicMINC173
167Arron AfflaloPORG125
168L. Mbah a MoutePHIF170
169Jared SullingerBOSF71
170Mike DunleavyCHIF171
171Jerryd BaylessMILG176
172C.J. WatsonINDG172
173Randy FoyeDENG238
174Dwight HowardHOUC174
175James JohnsonTORF175
176Boris DiawSASF177
177Evan FournierORLG181
178Alex LenPHOC178
179Kosta KoufosMEMC180
180Bojan BogdanovicBKNF182
181Darrell ArthurDENF209
182Terrence RossTORF183
183Steven AdamsOKCC184
184Nick YoungLALG188
185Devin HarrisDALG192
186Kelly OlynykBOSF92
187Iman ShumpertCLEG191
188Trevor BookerUTAF262
189Jason ThompsonSACF190
190Luis ScolaINDF193
191David LeeGSWF194
192Kyle O'QuinnORLC195
193Mike ScottATLF197
194Joe InglesUTAF198
195Kris HumphriesWASF196
196Zaza PachuliaMILC185
197Terrence JonesHOUF179
198Derrick WilliamsSACF199
199Marreese SpeightsGSWF200
200Shane LarkinNYKG202
201Kirk HinrichCHIG205
202Dennis SchroderATLG206
203Ryan KellyLALF203
204Kent BazemoreATLG207
205Marco BelinelliSASG208
206Louis AmundsonNYKF204
207Gerald GreenPHOG210
208J.J. HicksonDENF220
209Paul GeorgeINDF211
210J.J. BareaDALG216
211Elijah MillsapUTAF215
212Anthony TolliverDETF218
213Kevin SeraphinWASC217
214Isaiah CanaanPHIGNR
215Tiago SplitterSASC221
216Anthony BennettMINF258
217Aaron GordonORLF223
218Chris AndersenMIAC222
219Jason TerryHOUG212
220Andre RobersonOKCG201
221Chris KamanPORC225
222Brandan WrightPHOF226
223Bismack BiyomboCHAF224
224Channing FryeORLF227
225Jerami GrantPHIF229
226Caron ButlerDETF265
227Kevin GarnettMINF219
228James EnnisMIAF254
229Shabazz NapierMIAG228
230Garrett TempleWASG230
231Miles PlumleeMILC277
232Shabazz MuhammadMING253
233Al-Farouq AminuDALF232
234Austin RiversLACG233
235Patty MillsSASG235
236Otto PorterWASF234
237Beno UdrihMEMG236
238Jakarr SampsonPHIF240
239Nikola MiroticCHIF239
240Gary HarrisDENGNR
241Leandro BarbosaGSWG241
242Dante CunninghamNOPF237
243Shaun LivingstonGSWG243
244Henry SimsPHIC242
245Jameer NelsonDENG245
246Ersan IlyasovaMILF244
247Lance ThomasNYKF246
248D.J. AugustinOKCG77
249Aaron BrooksCHIG248
250Ian MahinmiINDC247
251K.J. McDanielsHOUF156
252Vince CarterMEMG250
253Norris ColeNOPG187
254Omri CasspiSACF252
255Aron BaynesSASC251
256Matthew DellavedovaCLEG255
257Kyle SinglerOKCF153
258Tayshaun PrinceDETF289
259Steve BlakePORG214
260Mitch McGaryOKCC259
261Zach LaVineMING260
262Pero AnticATLC261
263Quincy PondexterNOPF249
264Joey DorseyHOUF256
265Charlie VillanuevaDALF267
266Rasual ButlerWASF263
267Nick CollisonOKCF264
268Damjan RudezINDF266
269Adreian PayneMINFNR
270Carl LandrySACF270
271Nick CalathesMEMG271
272Richard JeffersonDALF273
273Jon LeuerMEMF274
274Robert SacreLALC275
275Rodney HoodUTAF290
276Kostas PapanikolaouHOUF272
277Jason MaxiellCHAF276
278Marcus ThorntonPHOG231
279Thabo SefoloshaATLG279
280Tarik BlackLALF281
281Cory JosephSASG283
282John LucasDETG285
283Ray McCallumSACG286
284Brian RobertsCHAG291
285P.J. HairstonCHAG287
286Danny GrangerPHOF268
287Quincy AcyNYKF292
288Anthony MorrowOKCG213
289Alexey ShvedNYKGNR
290Andre MillerSACG298
291Larry DrewPHIG296
292Tyler JohnsonMIAG288
293Cole AldrichNYKC297
294Jonas JerebkoBOSF282
295Matt BonnerSASF299
296Shawn MarionCLEF300
297James YoungBOSFNR
298Amar'e StoudemireDALF280
299Willie GreenORLGNR
300JaVale McGeePHIC295