The single most surprising trade in sports history occurred on February. 2 2025, when perennial MVP candidate Luka Dončić was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis. At this point, everyone has heard of the trade and fans opinions of it, but there is another key way that this deal affected the NBA.
The insane trade opened the floodgates of the greatest trade deadline of all time. We’re seeing stars flying around left and right at this point, and teams are panicking to make a move. However, as always, every trade has a winner and a loser. Let’s find out who won each trade.
De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs and Zach LaVine to the Kings
For the Sacramento Kings, this trade is incredibly volatile. De’Aaron Fox is an explosive point guard who used to be the best driving guard in the league. The Kings need LaVine to keep playing at his all-star level for the rest of his contract with them for this trade to make sense.
Let’s be completely honest here. The Kings are no better from this trade. Sacramento hasn’t done anything to actually raise their ceiling. They will continue to be subpar, so I grade this trade as a C+ for the Kings.
As for the San Antonio Spurs, this trade is easily an A. They managed to keep all of their important pieces, and somehow acquired an all-star caliber point guard along the way. While it seems like he has stepped back from this playstyle, in my eyes Fox has the potential on the Spurs to revitalize his all-star days.
After all, it wouldn’t have made sense for the left-handed De’Aaron Fox to drive to the rim every possession with a left handed center on his team, that being Domantas Sabonis. Having Wemby instead could make all the difference. The Spurs have finally given Wemby some help, and have drastically raised their ceiling. Expect San Antonio to make a strong play-in push.
Finally, for the Chicago Bulls. This trade hasn’t drastically changed them as it has for the other teams, but it’s still a positive. Just last year, the Bulls were stuck. Their front office had a reputation of doing absolutely nothing, and fans were in despair. They essentially had no opportunity to shape their own future.
With this trade, Chicago acquired a few valuable players whose contracts will expire soon, giving them the option to re-sign them or use that cap space for a different purpose. Recovering their own first round pick is also a bonus. There is still a lot more work to be done, but it’s a start. Thus, I grade this trade as a B for the Bulls.
In the Toronto Raptors’ point of view, this trade is complicated. With Ingram’s contract expiring this season, the Raptors will be hard pressed to re-sign him while also saving cap space for their lottery draft pick. Additionally, while Brandon Ingram can play at an all-star level, he is relatively oft-injured and inconsistent.
The Raptors’ asset management is what saves this trade for them. Instead of giving up even a good first round pick, the Raptors sent a low value pick from the Indiana Pacers as part of this deal, along with a second-rounder, Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk. Overall, not bad for Toronto.
The only gripe I have with this trade from the Raptors’ point of view is that they look eerily similar to how they were a few years ago. Back then, they had a surplus of wings (Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes and Gary Trent Jr.) and a small guard in Fred VanVleet. Now, they have the same amount of wings in RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and Gradey Dick, and a small guard in Immanuel Quickley. They had no superstars then, and they face the same issue now. This trade is a B for Toronto.
From the New Orleans Pelicans’ point of view, trading Brandon Ingram was better than letting him walk in free agency. Everyone knew that he and Zion Williamson didn’t fit well together, and one of them would have to go. One still has a chance to improve as he gets older, while the other has already hit that age. It was an obvious decision.
Unfortunately, BI’s value in the market has dropped significantly over the past few years, despite the fact that he hasn’t actually gotten worse. Yet somehow, the return for him from the Raptors was even lower than that value. While the Pelicans were right to trade Ingram, they didn’t get enough for him. This trade is a C for the Pelicans. Passing, but barely.
Looking at this trade from a purely on-court perspective, Butler is a great fit for the Golden State Warriors. He fixes their issue of getting points in the paint, and also gets to the free-throw line relatively frequently. While he is aging, Butler is still a strong offensive player and versatile defensively, and still holds the same power in the playoffs that he has always had.
Losing their own first round pick does sting for the Warriors. As of now, that pick will be at the bottom of the lottery. However, acquiring Butler has presumably made Golden State better, meaning that the pick may end up being worth less.
There is the possibility that Butler ends up injured or declines heavily with age, making his 120 million dollar contract a risky move. Overall though, this trade is a B for the Warriors because it only made them better.
The same cannot be said for the Miami Heat. Yes, they had to trade Butler eventually, but they didn’t have to practically give him away. Other than a mediocre first round pick, the Heat lost this trade from every point of view. Even Andrew Wiggins is a huge step down from Jimmy Butler, and his player option will be a nightmare for Miami in the future. This trade is a D+ at best for them.
Many more trades have occurred around the league, but one team in particular turned this trade deadline into a masterclass. Out of all of the teams that made trades, who fared the best? Well, that title easily has to go to the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers definitively fleeced the Dallas Mavericks of Luka Dončić, giving up little for such a valuable player. This incredible asset management left them with enough to trade for Mark Williams in order to fill their center position. In just a few days, the LA Lakers went from a first-round exit to having a genuine shot at a title.
The NBA looks drastically different to how it did just days ago, and some teams look better than others. Predictions aside, we can be sure of one thing: the Mavericks lost. Good luck to any Mavs fans out there; the best you can do now is hope that Anthony Davis turns superhuman.
