Five storylines at the NBA trade deadline

Andre Iguodala (Google Images)

The NBA trade deadline came and went on Thursday. Teams are now basically set for the rest of the season. Here are five things we took away from the NBA’s trade deadline.

5) Contenders in the West made moves. The three teams chasing the Los Angeles Lakers for west supremacy made moves that should help. Houston and Denver were involved in the four team trade on Wednesday with Minnesota and Atlanta. The Rockets acquired power forward Robert Covington from the Timberwolves (averaging 12.8 points per game), while the biggest acquisition the Nuggets got from the deal will help them next year (the Rockets’ no.1 pick). Houston also acquired reserve center Bruno Cabalco from the Memphis Grizzlies. However Cabalco is out with a knee ailment and is not expected to be back anytime soon. The Clippers acquired Marcus Morris from the Knicks and Isaiah Thomas from the Wizards in the same trade. Both players bring a wealth of experience and skill to a Clipper team with high expectations.

4) Glenn Robinson and Isaiah Thomas were traded. This news would have been massive 25 years ago, but one needs to realize we are talking about Glenn Robinson III and a different Isaiah Thomas. Robinson III, was traded from Golden State to Philadelphia, and is the son of Glenn Robinson, who was the first overall pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 1994. The Isaiah Thomas who was traded from the Wizards to the Clippers cannot be confused with two-time NBA champion and Detroit Pistons legend Isiah Thomas. Still, Isaiah Thomas averaged 12.2 points per game this season in Washington, and is a two-time NBA All-Star with the Boston Celtics in 2016 and 2017.

3) Are Tristan Thompson’s days in Cleveland numbered? With the Cavailers acquisition of rebound beast Andre Drummond from Detroit, Cleveland now has three players who can play power forward/center on their roster. Drummond is now joined by Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. The odd man out seems to be Thompson. However due to Thompson’s history with the Kardashians, nobody, including Thompson’s hometown team, the Toronto Raptors, seems eager to acquire him and the extra offcourt baggage he brings.

2) The weakest teams were active. Most of the best teams stayed status quo. In a bit of a bizarre situation, the NBA’s three top teams (Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors) did  nothing, while the NBA’s weakest teams (Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers) were active among each other. One of the biggest moves of the day was between the Warriors and Timberwolves. D’Angelo Russell was traded from Golden State to Minnesota for Andrew Wiggins.

1) The Grizzlies players are thrilled that Andre Iguodala is not with them. There is no doubt that Memphis is thrilled they finally got something for 2015 NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, who was traded from the Warriors to the Grizzlies in the offseason. Iguodala never came to terms with the Grizzlies and wanted to be traded to a “preferred destination” according to clutchpoints.com.  On Thursday, Iguodala was sent to Miami in a three-way trade that also included Minnesota. The Grizzlies got Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters and Gorgui Dieng from the Heat. Earlier in the week, Grizzlies rising star Dillon Brooks said, “A guy that’s on our team that doesn’t want to be on our team, I can’t wait until we find a way to trade him so we can play him and show him what really Memphis is about.”