- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The trade window for the 2014-15 NBA regular season concluded on Thursday February 19, with an immense number of big-name moves capping off one of the busiest trade periods in recent memory.
Certain trades made it obvious that a number of franchises were looking to the future, while others where looking to build a roster capable of winning a championship in the next few years.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
This time it’s not LeBron James returning home, instead it’s future Hall of Famer and 15-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, comfortably in the middle of his 20th season in the NBA.
Thaddeus Young was traded to Brooklyn in exchange for the veteran, who returned to where it all began.
Garnett has an unbelievable amount of experience within the league, which will be invaluable to a franchise looking at rebuilding towards the future.
Having obtained the 2014 number one draft pick Andrew Wiggins from Cleveland in August 2014, the Timberwolves are evidently looking to build around both him and young point guard Ricky Rubio.
This is where the leadership Garnett will provide will be the essential piece to rebuild this organisation.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
Having traded the best player, Reggie Jackson, in a three-team deal, many believe OKC still managed to come out on top with the acquisitions of big-man Enes Kanter, veteran guard Steve Novak and role-playing guard D.J. Augustin, to complete a bench worthy of another crack at securing an NBA finals berth.
After the trade of previous big-man Kendrick Perkins, the Thunder were longing to find an able replacement and stepping up was Enes Kanter. Having lost the services of Reggie Jackson in this particular trade, OKC needed to recruit point guards able to shadow Russell Westbrook should injury occur.
The Thunder accomplished this, and turned the trade back in their favour.
3. Miami Heat
Following the loss of LeBron James at the beginning of the season back to Cleveland, the Heat have struggled to retain the form that took them to back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.
Enter Goran Dragic.
Since James’ departure and because of the ageing health of stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, it’s time for Miami to look toward the future. In a three-team trade involving the Phoenix Suns and New Orleans Pelicans, the Heat didn’t sacrifice any crucial part of their immediate future plans, to gain a player who will be there for a while.
2. Dallas Mavericks
Dallas got started early in the trade season with the acquisition of Rajon Rondo, NBA champion and four-time All-Star, from the Boston Celtics in exchange for fellow point guard Jameer Nelson.
With this magic trade, the Mavericks seem to have gathered the last piece to complete the task of building a roster gifted enough to reach the same heights as their 2011 Championship-winning season, the first in franchise history.
As Dallas already have established scorers in Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis, Rondo is a marvellous addition as he’s one of the most proficient distributors of the basketball. He is currently sitting fourth overall in assists with 8.3 on average per game. Rondo is also a very talented ball-handler and perimeter defender, capable of closing down the space of a shooter quickly. Rajon is exactly what Dallas was looking for.
On February 18, the Mavericks also managed to pick up six-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire from the New York Knicks, which will add considerable size to the Mavs bench, greatly increasing their credentials for a second NBA title.
Even though his body may be ageing, and an additional injury cloud hanging over his head, Stoudemire’s experience to Dallas is invaluable.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The 2015 trade period saw Cleveland’s talent pool grow ridiculously large. The Cavaliers were the evident winners from a three-team trade involving both the New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder.
Cleveland were able to convince the Knicks to trade two of their three best players, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, in exchange for guard Dion Waiters and a 2019 second round pick.
Smith is a renowned scorer, subsequently releasing pressure from the shoulders of star LeBron James, while Shumpert is a solid defender and emerging talent.
After losing big man Anderson Varejao, Cleveland where in desperate need of a 7-foot centre – and that they got. Timofey Mozgov joined the roster from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for two first-round 2015 picks, a small price to pay.
Mozgov will happily fix any defensive struggles, and will allow the likes of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson to fill more offensive orientated roles.
These trades obviously shows that Cleveland wish to become dominant over the course of the next few seasons. Matched with the ‘Big 3′ (James, Love and Kyrie Irving), Cleveland posses the best starting five in the league: Irving, Smith, James, Love and Mozgov.
When they eventually gel together, the Cavaliers will be a significant presence in the finals.
As multiple big-named stars made moves, it will be interesting to see what eventuates following the trades and how each team will perform after significant acquisitions.
The best time to analyse this is in the period leading up to the playoffs and the finals themselves. Bring it on!
Build your own ultimate team! Pick your key players and take a shot at big cash prizes every day with Draftstars. For great odds on NBA games every day head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.