Will it be madness, a bunch of malarkey, or something in the middle?
The NBA trade deadline always has the potential to be one of the most consequential days on the league’s calendar. This year’s version could be full of monumental transactions that change the fortunes of playoff contending teams, reshape franchises, or it could be full of small time deals that don’t really move the needle for the average fan. Leading up to Thursday, it was tough to gauge how things would break a bunch of reasons—most notably there being less sellers than years past thanks to the NBA’s new playoff format. Chances are the 2021 deadline falls somewhere in the middle of being certified mayhem and a dud since there are a number of notable names believed to be serious trade targets.
For the transactions that have been widely reported, we’ll update and grade them as they hit the timeline leading up to and through Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline.