The next step, the team reasoned, was to put them in position to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Washington had a limit. None of its top young players was on the table. Neither were its most valuable draft picks. What the Wizards would do is take back some of the Mavericks\u2019 bad contracts, fork over a couple of good-but-not-great first-round picks and sweeten it with three second-rounders. After a short negotiation, Dallas agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the span of a few weeks, Washington has landed two of the NBA\u2019s most notable distressed assets. The Wizards jumped on Young when the asking price was CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert. And they leaped at the chance to grab Davis<\/a> when the principal cost was two picks (Oklahoma City\u2019s in 2026, a top-20 protected first from Golden State in 2030) they were willing to part with.\u00a0<\/p>\n Davis likely isn\u2019t enthusiastic about joining the Wizards. Washington has no immediate plans to extend Davis, who has two guaranteed years left on his contract. And while being competitive is good for the Wizards, it\u2019s probably not all that Davis, who will turn 33 next month, is looking for in the final phase of his career.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the Wizards have a plan. Be competitive over the next two seasons and hope that by 2028 its young core is ready to turn a corner. Young and Davis can help them get there. And that makes Washington a big deadline winner.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some other notable winners and losers from this week \u2026<\/p>\n Winner: Milwaukee<\/p>\n I think the Bucks entered trade talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a> in good faith. They wanted a package of young players and draft picks, sources tell SI. If a team came up with one they liked, the Bucks would have pulled the trigger.\u00a0<\/p>\n But they didn\u2019t, and at the end, no team came close. Milwaukee wasn\u2019t enthralled by Golden State\u2019s pick-heavy package. The Bucks liked Jaden McDaniels but needed Minnesota to come up with more picks. Miami was the last of the finalists, a source tells SI, with the Heat spending the hours before the deadline attempting to manufacture another first-rounder.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Bucks did not trade forward Giannis Antetokounmpo by the deadline. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images<\/p>\n The Bucks wouldn\u2019t budge. They recognize that they have a generational talent that should yield a return commensurate with it. Keeping Antetokounmpo could make things uncomfortable\u2014especially if Giannis pushes to play again this season\u2014but not enough for Milwaukee to just take the best offer on the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n My two cents: They were right. The teams that wanted Antetokounmpo now will still want him in June, along with other teams (Knicks, Lakers) that didn\u2019t have the assets to get into the race. Moreover, Milwaukee will have as many as three first-round picks to deal entering this draft. It\u2019s not impossible for them to be able to swing a trade that entices Antetokounmpo to want to stay. Either way, without an overwhelming offer, the Bucks were right to stand pat.\u00a0<\/p>\n Loser: Dallas<\/p>\n Financial flexibility is good. Ripping the Band-Aid off the Davis error, er, era, is, too. And the reality is there was no market right now\u2014literally none\u2014for the former All-NBA big man. But there\u2019s no way to call a couple of low first-round draft picks a win. And it\u2019s a little puzzling that Dallas wouldn\u2019t wait until the offseason, when teams might be more open to Davis. Or, failing that, giving a Davis\/Cooper Flagg\/Kyrie Irving trio a try in the fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n It just feels like the Mavericks were desperate to end this saga and move on. They have Flagg, a true franchise player to build around and some financial room to operate. But the final tally for Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> is Max Christie and three (likely) high first-round picks. That\u2019s a disaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n Winner: Boston<\/p>\n Trading a defensively challenged guard (Anfernee Simons) for a defensively challenged center (Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107) is a win for the Celtics, who were starved for frontcourt depth. Neemias Queta has been one of the NBA\u2019s most improved players this season and Luka Garza has emerged as a solid floor-spacing big. But with the postseason looming, Boston knew it needed another big to compete.\u00a0<\/p>\n Enter Vu\u010devi\u0107. Vu\u010devi\u0107, 35, is a terrific scorer, a 16.9 ppg player this season who is connecting on 37.6% of his threes. He isn\u2019t a defender, particularly in the pick-and-roll. But Boston needed another usable body in that frontcourt and Vu\u010devi\u0107 is it. Simons was better than expected for the Celtics this season, but he is replaceable on the buyout market. Or if a certain All-NBA forward can come back.\u00a0<\/p>\n Loser: Miami<\/p>\n The Heat tried, give them that. But Thursday\u2019s deadline came and went with Miami doing nothing to upgrade a stale roster. The Heat failed in the pursuit of Antetokounmpo, passed on making a real offer for Ja Morant and did nothing with Terry Rozier\u2019s $26.6 million expiring contract. Not a great week for the Heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n Winner: Utah<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I like about the Jazz\u2019s trade for Jaren Jackson Jr.: Utah gets a prime, All-Star forward who doubles as one of the NBA\u2019s top defenders. In no world were the Jazz landing a player like Jackson in free agency. By trading for him before his contract extension kicks in, they have him locked in until 2029.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I don\u2019t like: The fit is kind of \u2026 eh. Along with Lauri Markkanen, Utah has a pair of dynamic power forwards. But Jackson isn\u2019t a center, which means the Jazz will probably look to go with a jumbo lineup next season with Walker Kessler in the middle, bumping Markkanen to small forward. Markkanen played that position in Cleveland but blossomed into an All-Star in Utah as a power forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then there is the cost. Jackson and Markkanen will make a combined $95 million next season. Kessler is a restricted free agent. He\u2019s missed most of this season with a shoulder injury but was a double-double machine last season who led the NBA in offensive rebounds. There will be significant interest in Kessler, which could force the Jazz to pay $20 million to $25 million a year. That\u2019s a more than $100 million frontcourt.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then there are the ages. Markkanen is 28. Jackson is 26. Prime years. On the other end, Keyonte George, who is in line for a sizable extension this summer, is 22. Ace Bailey is 19. Whoever the Jazz draft this June will be around the same age. It\u2019s not exactly a two-timeline situation, but Utah\u2019s collection of stars (or would-be stars) are at different phases of their careers. Will those timelines intersect? The Jazz\u2019s success with this group depends on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n New Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. will pair with Lauri Markkanen in an expensive frontcourt for Utah. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Loser: Chicago<\/p>\n After seven trades in six days the Bulls have a roster that looks \u2026 jumbled. They have seven guards in the rotation. Nick Richards is the only healthy center on a standard NBA contract. \u201cI\u2019m definitely worried about so many new players on the team and how little time we have for cohesion,\u201d said Art\u016bras Karni\u0161ovas, Chicago\u2019s executive vice president of basketball operations. He should be. This Bulls team isn\u2019t built\u2014or rebuilt\u2014to win. It\u2019s to free fall into the lottery.\u00a0<\/p>\n And maybe that\u2019s the point? Six of the players picked up are on expiring deals, positioning the Bulls to have cap flexibility. Chicago collected nine second-round picks, which Karni\u0161ovas plans to use to retool the roster, via trade or the draft. But they sold pretty low on Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu and basically gave Vu\u010devi\u0107 away for virtually nothing. That\u2019s a hard sell to a fan base that hasn\u2019t seen a playoff series win in more than a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n Winner: Oklahoma City<\/p>\n Jared McCain for \u2026 what? Several executives were surprised the Thunder could pick off the second-year guard for a package of picks that included just one first-rounder, a 2026 Houston pick that will likely wind up in the 20s.\u00a0<\/p>\n McCain has had a reduced role this season, but he looked like a Rookie of the Year favorite last season before an injury ended his season after 23 games. He\u2019s a 6′ 3″ combo guard who has connected on 38.1% of his threes over parts of two seasons. He joins a crowded Oklahoma City backcourt, but that kind of depth is valuable\u2014certainly more valuable than one late first-round pick.\u00a0<\/p>\n Winner: Indiana<\/p>\n Make no mistake: Indiana is taking a big risk here. By protecting its 2026 pick between Nos. 1\u20134 and Nos. 10\u201330, the Pacers are betting the lottery gods will be looking out for them. If not, there will be plenty of cringing over having forked over a high lottery pick in a terrific draft.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, Ivica Zubac, 28, is an elite defensive center<\/a>, one that should complement the returning Tyrese Haliburton and All-Star forward Pascal Siakam next season. It\u2019s a roll of the dice, but if Indy comes away with a top-four pick it will be formidable, both next season and in the years to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n Loser: Golden State<\/p>\n O.K. it wasn\u2019t that bad<\/a> but the Warriors believed they had a real shot at Antetokounmpo, so much so that they had prepared Draymond Green for the possibility he could be traded, and they certainly hoped at the start of the season that Jonathan Kuminga could bring back a significant asset. Waiting on Antetokounmpo may have even cost them a shot at Jackson.\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, they get Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is, an ex-All-Star who has battled a variety of injuries and illnesses the last two seasons. If healthy, Porzi\u0146\u0123is is still a force, a rim-protecting big and three-point threat who should thrive in Golden State\u2019s offense. But Porzi\u0146\u0123is has been limited to 17 games this season, averaging a career-low 24.3 minutes. Will a return to a contender and the motivation to earn a new contract inspire Porzi\u0146\u0123is? We\u2019ll see.\u00a0<\/p>\n Winner: L.A. Clippers<\/p>\n Is Darius Garland a franchise guard? No, but getting a 26-year-old, two-time All-Star for a disgruntled James Harden<\/a> is a solid save. The Clippers\u2019 front office will cross its fingers on draft lottery night\u2014a Pacers pick that lands between five and nine will give L.A. a desperately needed chance to add another potential cornerstone player\u2014but getting a couple of first-round picks along with Bennedict Mathurin is a good return for Zubac.\u00a0<\/p>\n A rebuild was always coming in Los Angeles. Harden may have forced the Clippers\u2019 hand, but Lawrence Frank & Co. did a nice job getting top value for the team\u2019s veteran talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n No market developed for Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n Loser: Ja Morant<\/p>\n Clearly, there was no market for Morant<\/a>. Injuries and bouts of immaturity have cratered his value. \u201cYou just can\u2019t count on him to be available,\u201d texted one team exec. The landscape could change this summer, but with two years and $87 million remaining on his contract, it seems unlikely that the Grizzlies will get anything more than matching salaries for their fallen star.<\/p>\n More NBA from Sports Illustrated<\/p>\n Listen to SI\u2019s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple<\/a> and Spotify<\/a>. Watch the show on SI\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Earlier this week, as the Washington Wizards engaged teams on various trades, a conversation with the Dallas Mavericks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461755,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-461754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461754","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461754"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461754\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461755"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461754"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461754"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461754"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/01kgrhreens0279zspqh.jpg\" "\\"The")
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