This year’s NBA trade deadline was an absolute whirlwind. Numerous deals were struck in the lead-up to the final bell on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, from blockbusters like the Anthony Davis trade to smaller yet still impactful deals like the Anfernee Simons-Nikola Vučević swap. The landscape of the league rarely shifts so dramatically in the middle of the season, yet here we are—a second consecutive deadline that will lead to dramatic ramifications all over the NBA.
All the big moves also means there’s pressure to deliver for certain players. Some teams, like the Bulls, traded for players like Simons or Collin Sexton without the need for them to come in and perform at a high level immediately; the team’s goals are more big-picture than winning the next game. That isn’t the case across the board, though. Other players were acquired with the expectation they would be able to play well immediately. In some cases their new team needs them to do so. It isn’t ideal to bank the season’s hopes largely on a trade acquisition but sometimes it cannot be avoided.
