Winners and losers from a wild NBA trade deadline week

Deadline day may have been a dud, but that's only because the 48 hours that preceded it were sheer madness. Here are the teams, players, and trends that won and lost the NBA's trade deadline week.

For analysis of every notable transaction, click here.

Winner: Thunder

The defending champions don't get top billing just because they turned a first-round draft pick and a few second-rounders into former 76ers guard Jared McCain, though McCain does give Oklahoma City another weapon off the bench. The Thunder are deadline week's biggest winner because the league's best team got a little better, none of its biggest competitors made meaningful additions, and the projected value of OKC's surplus draft capital soared.

By trading James Harden and Ivica Zubac while acquiring the currently sidelined Darius Garland, the Clippers may have bolstered their long-term trajectory but tanked their fortunes in the short term. The previously surging Clips had climbed all the way up to a play-in spot, but their playoff hopes now appear shot, which means their 2026 first-rounder - which is controlled by the Thunder - is surely lottery-bound. Meanwhile, the Jazz traded for former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. in a major talent upgrade for the rebuilding club. Utah could still find creative ways to tank down the stretch before trying to compete again next year, but if Jackson boosts the team's performance in the slightest, he'd be devaluing a protected pick that heads to OKC if it falls outside the top eight.

About those aforementioned competitors: the Nuggets, Spurs, and Rockets combined to acquire zero players. The East-leading Pistons addressed some of their shooting concerns by adding Kevin Huerter, but it was an underwhelming haul considering Detroit gave up once-prized prospect Jaden Ivey. Jose Alvarado will be a fan favorite with the Knicks and he's a better reserve than Guerschon Yabusele, but he's not moving the needle in a way that scares anyone. The Cavs are now the East favorites after swapping Garland for Harden, but Harden will have to slay his playoff demons to get Cleveland through the East before the Cavs can even think about OKC. Nikola Vucevic is a nice addition for the Celtics, but Boston isn't threatening for a title unless Jayson Tatum returns. You could argue the quasi-contender that improved the most was Minnesota, which added Ayo Dosunmo on deadline day. But the Timberwolves trail the Thunder by eight games in the standings.

At the moment, everything is still coming up Thunder.

Losers: Everyone who bought Giannis trade hype

For a variety of reasons, Giannis Antetokounmpo's latest calf injury only reinforced the notion that a Greek Freak blockbuster would make more sense in the offseason. Still, how could we not get excited about the prospect of the future Hall of Famer changing teams midseason and potentially joining a contender?

Alas, it wasn't meant to be, meaning the on-again, off-again Giannis sweepstakes will bleed into the summer. That might be a win for those of us in NBA content creation, but it also means we all have to listen to more of Antetokounmpo's convoluted tangents. Expect to hear more about how the two-time MVP would never ask for a trade, but also about how he doesn't want to waste his time playing for a mediocre team; how he wants to compete for championships, but perhaps not as the secondary star in another player's city; how he's committed to Milwaukee, but can still change his mind as quickly as breakfast choices evolve. "Just because I like my eggs scrambled today, I don't have the opportunity to eat my eggs sunny side up tomorrow?" Antetokounmpo jokingly asked The Athletic last month.

Antetokounmpo's latest social-media messaging will only grow increasingly hilarious in hindsight if and when trade discussions pick back up in the offseason:

Winners: Big-market Giannis suitors

Offseason trade discussions for Antetokounmpo should bring more bidders to the table, as a number of big-market and high-profile clubs will own more tradable picks once this year's draft is completed. The Knicks, Lakers, and Heat will see their tradable first-round pick totals increase by two apiece, while the Timberwolves - a smaller-market team that was linked to Antetokounmpo this week - will gain one.

Those teams might face increased competition for Antetokounmpo's services, but at least they'll have a real seat at the table.

Loser: Ja Morant (and the Grizzlies)

There will be no such competition for Ja Morant, with the Grizzlies reportedly failing to receive any serious offers for the fallen star.

That shouldn't shock anyone. Morant is a non-shooting point guard who doesn't defend, doesn't get to the rim as often as he used to (or needs to), and doesn't play. The two-time All-Star has missed 48% of Memphis' games over the last five seasons due to a variety of injuries and suspensions. He hasn't played more than six consecutive games since the 2022-23 season, and he's still owed more than $87 million over the next two years. All that, and we haven't gone in on the off-court headaches that come with Morant.

I figured a traditionally shortsighted team that likes to spin its wheels might take a flier on Morant, but when even the Sacramento Kings deem you unworthy of a deadline-day Hail Mary, you know your stock has cratered.

It leaves the Grizzlies in an awkward spot, as Memphis already traded Jackson - a former Defensive Player of the Year - less than a year after moving on from Desmond Bane. Dealing Morant should've put the finishing touches on a full-throttle pivot to a rebuild. Instead, the mercurial guard and his team remain stuck in limbo. The Grizzlies reportedly dropped the asking price for the face of their franchise in an effort to put the saga behind them. It says something that Memphis wanted to move on so badly and still couldn't find a new home for Morant.

Winner: Pre-agency and planning for next year

The concept of pre-agency - where capped out teams acquire a pending free agent via trade or where cap-space teams pre-emptively spend what would've been free-agency money on a midseason trade - isn't new (see last year's Raptors trade for Brandon Ingram). But it certainly seems to be gaining popularity.

Two tanking teams that could've hoarded 2026 cap space - the Jazz and Wizards - traded for Jackson and Anthony Davis, respectively. Neither Utah nor Washington has ever been a free-agent destination, so pouncing on the opportunity to acquire legitimate stars is understandable. Between Jackson, Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, and Ace Bailey, among others, the Jazz suddenly boast a wealth of young talent - not to mention an impressive supply of draft capital.

Meanwhile, four weeks after buying low on the sidelined Trae Young, Washington added Davis to a core comprised of youngsters like Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, and Will Riley. We can debate the merits of using up to 65% of the cap on Davis and Young rather than continuing to stay patient, but at least the Wizards didn't give up any of their own draft picks to take this swing, making it a relatively low-risk, high-reward proposition.

I wonder how much the projected weak draft classes of 2027 and 2028 also factored into these decisions. If you're a team that has already spent years rebuilding and is punting this season to prioritize a loaded 2026 draft, it makes sense to start chasing wins again (and selling competitive basketball to your fans) next season when the rewards for losing look much less promising.

Elsewhere, the Pacers didn't fit the traditional requirements of a buyer, either, as Indiana stumbled into a gap-year after losing Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles injury in last year's Finals. The Pacers own the league's third-worst record and could add a franchise-changing talent via the draft to bolster a contending roster again next season. Still, they moved multiple first-rounders (and pending restricted free agent Benedict Mathurin) to acquire an excellent starting center (Ivica Zubac) whose contributions likely won't matter until next fall.

Finally, the tax-paying Timberwolves acquired pending free agent Ayo Dosunmu, an efficient scoring reserve Minnesota would've had little chance of signing in the offseason. The Wolves now own Dosunmu's bird rights, meaning they can exceed the cap to retain him.

Loser: Teams waiting for tax windfall

The NBA's luxury-tax system sees the league's non-tax-paying teams share 50% of the revenues generated from the taxes paid by the highest spenders. Entering deadline week, 14 teams were on track to pay the tax, which would've resulted in the 16 non-tax teams receiving payments worth roughly $14 million each. After a series of cost-cutting moves around the Association, the number of tax-payers is now down to seven, with the Clippers only about $900,000 away from making it six. Suddenly, the payout for non-taxpayers is in the $4 million range, marking a $10-million difference for the original 16 teams waiting on those checks.

No one should be shedding tears for multi-billion-dollar sports enterprises, but $10 million is $10 million.

Among the winners in this department, the Celtics went from a projected $500-million payroll in 2025-26 to ducking the tax entirely after a series of shrewd maneuvers over the last seven months. In addition to regaining access to various roster-building mechanisms, Boston also saved approximately $325 million. Remarkably, the Celtics didn't need to trade any first-round picks to accomplish the cost-cutting feat, and they've maintained a top-three record in the East while Jayson Tatum rehabs an Achilles injury. Unbelievable.

Joseph Casciaro is theScore's lead NBA reporter.