The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most popular basketball league in the world. The NBA has 30 teams in their league, and there are 29 teams throughout the United States and one team in Toronto, Canada.
The NBA is a business where players can be waived from a team and traded to another. It is estimated that around 10-15% of players on rosters may not return to their fellow team the next season. This statistic includes players being waived, traded, or choosing to retire that year. The 2024-25 NBA free agency opened up on June 30, 2024, at 6 p.m. ET, and the 2024-25 NBA trade deadline closed on Feb 6, 2025, at 3 p.m. ET. During the offseason, NBA players are also eligible to get traded to other teams.
The NBA trade deadline is the most chaotic time for teams, fans, and especially, players. Players can be traded for draft picks and other players. There are usually two NBA teams involved in a trade, but there can also be a three-way trade, which involves three NBA teams.
The biggest trade in the NBA was Luka Dončić getting traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. Dončić was traded for All-Star Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a future first-round pick. This trade made many Maverick fans upset with the Dallas front office. Maverick fans were outside of the American Airlines Center the next day, some of whom brought a coffin for a Dallas Mavericks “funeral” and had signs about Dončić being traded.
“I think this trade was horrible for the team, players, and fans. I didn’t like this at all, and this was very unexpected for everyone,” Jack Rodgers ‘28 said.
The Lakers needed a center after Davis went to the Mavericks. So they started looking at centers and found Mark Williams from the Charlotte Hornets. The Lakers received Mark Williams, and the Hornets received rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and draft picks. After the trade, the Lakers were doing Mark Williams’ physical for the team, but Williams failed the physical for the Lakers. This caused the trade to be rescinded and ultimately not go through. This caused Mark Williams to stay on the Hornets, and it caused rookie Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish, and the draft pick to go back to the Lakers.
An NBA player was traded during the deadline three times in five days. The NBA player is PJ Tucker, who is 39 years old. Tucker was drafted in 2006 and has played for 7 different teams in the NBA. The forward was traded to three teams in five days after the Miami Heat traded him to the Toronto Raptors with a second-round pick and cash in exchange for Davion Mitchell.
The San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, and Sacramento Kings traded with each other on the NBA trade deadline. This was the second-biggest trade in the season this year. The Spurs traded for Sacramento Kings superstar De’Aaron Fox, who played with the Kings for eight seasons and averaged 21.5 points per game and 6.1 assists per game with Sacramento Kings.
“I think the De’Aaron Fox trade was the best trade. I feel like Fox’s speed and Wemby’s height will go well with each other,” Max Kuperman ’25 said.
