NBA Trade Deadline 2018: Winners and losers

Breaking down the winners and the losers of the 2018 NBA trade deadline.

There wasn’t much anticipation for the final day of the 2018 NBA Trade Deadline. While Blake Griffin switching conferences came out of left field, most of the rumors leading into the last day of deals circled around secondary players and secondary teams. The first transaction of the day wasn’t anything special as the Chicago Bulls sent Jameer Nelson to the Detroit Pistons for Willie Reed.

But, only a few hours later things would escalate and quickly. After deciding to hold on to the 2018 Brooklyn Nets pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to reshape about a third of their roster in a couple of hours. They lost Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, and Jae Crowder and brought in Rodney Hood, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr.

Suddenly, a day that most would go quietly to the three o’clock deadline had thrown a wrench into one of the biggest teams in the entire NBA. Others moves were made besides the ones the Cavaliers were part of and some deals that we expected to be completed never materialized in the end. The 2018 NBA Trade Deadline is one that will have a big impact on storylines that we as fans and media follow closely going forward.

The NBA has morphed itself into a league that requires year-round coverage and days like today remind us why that transition has occurred.

When it comes to moments like this there are only two sides of the coin that one can fall on, either you are a winner or you are a loser. Some moves had a bigger impact on the league’s future than others and that means some winners and losers are bigger than others. Below we have listed out five of the biggest winners and losers from this year’s trade deadline.