Our experts give their biggest winners, losers and surprises from the NBA trade deadline and assess who has the most uncertain future going forward.
1. Who was the biggest winner at the trade deadline?
Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: Cleveland. The Cavs managed to improve their team and save money in the process. Channing Frye is one of the best shooting bigs in the league, and while no one will confuse him for Rudy Gobert defensively, Frye is a solid vet who knows coverages and will execute on the defensive end.
Factor in his contract declines over the next two seasons, and Cleveland got themselves some cost certainty for a skill position that is demanding a premium on the market.
Tom Haberstroh, ESPN Insider: Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only did they upgrade the roster with Channing Frye, but each of their peers in the East failed to make a significant move at the deadline. Frye may duplicate Kevin Love's talents a bit, but that's a good problem to have. LeBron James' path to the NBA Finals has never been easier.
Chad Ford, ESPN Insider: Hooray for teams like the Kings, Celtics and others. Many teams are hungry to make the playoffs or improve their playoff positioning and are perhaps tempted to give up serious assets for rental players like Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol. But sometimes the best move at the trade deadline is to do nothing. The lesson of the Brooklyn Nets must be sinking in.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: Tie between Golden State and San Antonio. Neither team needed to tempt fate, and neither did. More importantly, the teams behind them in the West did not close the gap. In the East, Cleveland improved by getting Frye, but not so much that it should worry the Warriors or Spurs.
David Thorpe, ESPN Insider: I really like what Detroit can look like moving forward. Stan Van Gundy is great at getting more from guys, and both Tobias Harris and Donatas Motiejunas have significant upside still to be reached.
You need talent up and down the roster. Kawhi Leonard and Andre Iguodala are the past two Finals MVPs, despite neither having been close to being their team's best player in the year they won the award.
Now the Pistons have some real talent to play around Andre Drummond, who will benefit from that as much as they will from him.
2. Who was the biggest loser at the trade deadline?
Ford: The Clippers, the team that did not resist the urge to sacrifice the future for now. Giving up a future first-round pick for Jeff Green stinks on several levels. First, while he may be an upgrade over Lance Stephenson, he's not a game-changer. This move doesn't push the Clippers into the Western Conference finals. Second, he's an unrestricted free agent this summer with no particular reason to stay in L.A. Third, the Clippers gave up the bulk of their tradable assets to get him.
Haberstroh: Houston coach J.B. Bickerstaff. If he thought the team was broken before the deadline, it's now smashed to pieces. Its franchise cornerstone, Dwight Howard, knows that the front office tried to move him -- and failed. Now they're stuck in a toxic situation left to rot.
Thorpe: I don't know what to say about the Kings. They built a flawed roster around the league's most talented center, and as of today, they still have done nothing to rectify it other than firing an assistant coach.
I'm not convinced there were great moves to make, but certainly something could have been done. Hire a GM or make a deal for some ball movers or athletes. Get Pau Gasol to help make a run for the eighth seed. Instead, nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Doolittle: I hated the Clippers' deadline week and have pretty much given up on Doc Rivers as an executive. Jeff Green doesn't help the Clippers in either performance or fit. But given reports that L.A. passed on Channing Frye to get him ... I have no words.
Elhassan: J.B. Bickerstaff. Poor J.B., he's got to walk into a locker room knowing that (A) a report came out that Dwight Howard and James Harden tried to get each other traded in a previous season, (B) Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza and Patrick Beverley were all allegedly shopped heavily this week and (C) he himself called this team a broken bunch.
Lots of turmoil and very little change mean coaching this team down the stretch ought to be a delight.
3. What was the biggest surprise?
Thorpe: I don't rank it high as a surprise, but I did expect Dwight Howard to be moved. And I understood the idea: The mix with Harden hasn't been great, and he is someone who will be valued elsewhere in July.
That said, not trading him makes sense too, because at any point, he and Harden can mesh together well enough to plow back into contention, though probably not this year and not without more help around them.
Doolittle: It's disappointing that the Raptors weren't able to upgrade at the 4. I can understand not mortgaging the future, but this Toronto team has done enough to merit an aggressive approach. Of the potential top-four seeds in both conferences, no one had a more obvious hole to fill than the Raptors.
Haberstroh: How dry the rental market was. Ryan Anderson, Pau Gasol and Howard all seemed prime to be moved because of the threat that they can walk for nothing this summer. Instead of bailing on the season and moving the players in exchange for long-term assets, the teams have chosen to stay the course, even if it leads to a dead end.
Elhassan: I can't believe the Bulls played the middle-of-the-road card. They didn't cash in on Pau Gasol's value before he becomes a free agent this summer, indicating on some level a belief in this roster. But then they traded away Kirk Hinrich for cap savings.
They should have pulled the plug a while ago, but if they were sold on this roster moving forward, why did they weaken it?
Ford: The Hawks couldn't find an acceptable deal for Al Horford. Horford was the one game-changer who I thought was available. The fact that he is an unrestricted free agent this summer is a problem for a trade partner, but I'm surprised the Hawks couldn't find a workable offer. He could've helped a team like the Raptors or Celtics get over the top in the East. Now the Hawks risk losing him for nothing this summer.
4. Who has the most uncertain future going forward?
Doolittle: Chicago. Without an impact acquisition, this team has a real chance of missing the playoffs. They are now relying on Derrick Rose to prove himself again as a franchise player, which I don't think can happen.
Thorpe: This is not about the trade deadline but the surrounding circumstances, but I just don't know what Miami is going to do.
Chris Bosh is such a talent, an integral part of their current and future success. With his current health concerns, we can only hope that he is perfectly fine to be the husband and father he hopes to be going forward, and then, more selfishly, the amazingly unique basketball player he has been for quite some time. Until his health situation is resolved, Miami is stuck.
Elhassan: I think everyone wants to know what's going to happen to Dwight Howard at season's end.
On the one hand, he still is an impact player on both ends of the floor. But he's deteriorating every day, his health is a concern and his price tag will be enormous. Who's going to bet big on Dwight?
Haberstroh: Orlando Magic. Are they trying to win now? Dealing a 23-year-old for two veterans makes sense for a team looking to contend, but their deadline drew the most head scratches in the Casa Haberstroh. If they're trying to land a big-time free agent this summer, I can think of at least 20 better destinations than what they have in Orlando.
Ford: Lance Stephenson. Memphis might be the last stop in this rodeo. He has a team option on his contract this summer. If he can turn it around and help the Grizzlies, he can save his career. If he struggles -- on the court or with a poor attitude -- I think he might not find a team to sign him in the summer. The league gives talented guys multiple chances, but I think this could be his last.
5. What was your biggest takeaway?
Haberstroh: It remains the year of the Golden State Warriors. No team put a dent in the Dubs' championship hopes. The Thunder, Clippers and Cavs all made moves on the margins, but the Warriors will continue to sleep soundly as they chase 72.
Doolittle: Maybe the buyout market will be better, but I'm surprised there were so few moves that are likely to have a significant impact on this year's postseason. Most of the moves were glorified accounting transactions or talent-for-talent deals that don't move the needle for either team
Elhassan: Being under contract used to be a negative for the longest time, but in an NBA where the cap jumps are far outpacing the negotiated raises in existing deals, the most tradable assets these days are guys who are signed long term.
Ford: Not much. With enormous cap room coming for teams this summer, it feels like they are more willing to let things play out this season and rebuild over the summer. But I think we could be in for one of the most explosive free-agent periods we've seen in a long time in the NBA.
Thorpe: Golden State and the Spurs are significantly better than anyone else in the league, and no team did anything close to enough to contend with them. Whether it takes four, five, six or seven games, I'd say it is more likely than ever that the title will be won by one of the past two champions.