As last season reminded us, not all NBA trades have the same impact.
There were 17 deals in all, with 56 players and 23 draft picks involved (including five first-rounders). But when you analyze all the moves that were made back then, looking at them through the prism of this season and trying to find the ones that left some sort of lasting mark, you quickly realize the vast majority of them were exercises in futility.
With the 2020-21 trade deadline nearing on March 25 and so many signs that the action might be slower this time around, I wanted to re-examine the aforementioned moves and get a better sense of the winners and losers all this time later. Consider this the anti-instant grade approach.
The verdict? By this subjective measure, only four of the 17 moves qualify as memorable now. This deduction is the result of an inexact science approach, but it’s fairly obvious when you look at it closely. Which players acquired helped a team get…
