The NBA Trade Deadline is one of the most exciting times of the NBA calendar year, showcasing not only the lack of loyalty to the players, but also putting the drama on an extremely tall pedestal. With the general managers all over the league trying to swing a deal in order to “compete” with the Golden State Warriors, the deadline was a beautiful mess of players and picks swapped, with one disappointment in one certain city.

In the center of attention, there stood the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Pelicans. Set in a scene similar to an old western showdown, the whole world of NBA Twitter was expecting a blockbuster trade to occur between the two squads. This is due to All-Star power forward Anthony Davis publicly stating his desire to be traded to LA amongst other teams, and Lebron James publicly stating his desire to bring “The Brow” to his team. In the end, we didn’t get the trade we wanted, however, a plethora of trades occurred between teams not named the Lakers–most notably in Philadelphia and Toronto/Memphis, and the other LA team too.

With a mass amount of avid NBA fans at the school, a few had the chance to speak on their teams and what the thought of the deadline moves. One of these students, senior Mavericks fan Trey Herbstreit, said he was excited leading up to the deadline.

“I liked the couple of days leading up to the deadline because they had some big names like Kristaps Porzingis and Tobias Harris getting traded, but the official trade day was pretty quiet,” Herbstreit said.

As mentioned before, many people wanted to see blockbuster trades, such as Anthony Davis getting traded to the Lakers, however unreasonable the offer may have been. The Lakers’ last offer to New Orleans included Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Ivica Zubac, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and two first-round draft picks, according to Los Angeles Times’ Brad Turner. This final offer led up to the Lakers pulling out of trade talks with the Pelicans.

“I wanted to see Anthony Davis come to the Lakers,” senior Lakers fan Ethan Kieke said. “But not what the Pelicans were asking for.”

The viewpoints on trades, of course, differ between fans inside and outside of the fanbase.

“One big trade I would have liked to see was Mike Conley to get out of Memphis and on a team who can win,” Herbstreit said. “Also, a three-team trade to where Anthony Davis went to the Lakers, and where their young core splits up.”

Fans often keep track of other teams in their conference to see any moves they potentially make in order to see if those teams could be threats now or not.

“I liked how the 76ers traded for Tobias Harris,” senior Heat fan Isaac Oetting said. “That team is going to be good now, and potentially dangerous for my team.”

Sometimes, the trades teams make can start off as headscratchers, but end up being good for the team (Kings trading Demarcus Cousins to the Pelicans last year).

“I thought Marc Gasol to the Raptors was a good trade,” Kieke said. “He can now contend for a title in a Lebronless Eastern Conference.”

There also can be trades that are simply funny for all parties involved. It could be an awkward pairing of players, or players just getting shipped around nonstop (such as Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin).

“I thought it was funny how Wade Baldwin and Nik Stauskas got traded right before the deadline after getting traded twice in the same week before,” Oetting said. “And it was all for cash considerations.”

Full List of Trades

1. The Trade
2. New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Markieff Morris, 2023 second-round pick
3. Washington Wizards Receive: Wesley Johnson

1. The Trade
2. Dallas Mavericks Receive: Justin Jackson, Zach Randolph
3. Sacramento Kings Receive: Harrison Barnes

1. The Trade
2. Cleveland Cavaliers Receive: Marquese Chriss, Brandon Knight, 2019 first-round pick (lottery protection, via Houston)
3. Houston Rockets Receive: Wade Baldwin, Iman Shumpert, Nik Stauskas
4. Sacramento Kings Receive: Alec Burks, 2020 second-round pick

1. The Trade
2. Washington Wizards Receive: Jabari Parker, Bobby Portis, 2023 second-round pick
3. Chicago Bulls Receive: Otto Porter Jr.

1. The Trade
2. Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Reggie Bullock
3. Detroit Pistons Receive: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, 2021 second-round pick

1. The Trade
2. Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, Mike Scott
3. Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, Landry Shamet, 2020 first-round pick (lottery protection), 2021 first-round pick (unprotected from Miami, via Philadelphia), 2021 second-round pick (from Detroit, via Philadelphia), 2023 second-round pick (from Detroit, via Philadelphia)

1. The Trade
2. Milwaukee Bucks Receive: Nikola Mirotic
3. New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Stanley Johnson, Denver’s 2019 second-round pick (protected for Nos. 56-60), Milwaukee’s 2020 second-round pick, Washington’s 2020 second-round pick (via Milwaukee), Washington’s 2021 second-round pick (via Milwaukee)
4. Detroit Pistons: Thon Maker

1. The Trade
2. Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Malachi Richardson, 2022 second-round pick, draft rights to Emir Preldzic
3. Toronto Raptors Receive: Cash considerations

1. The Trade
2. Phoenix Suns Receive: Wayne Ellington, Tyler Johnson
3. Miami Heat Receive: Ryan Anderson

1. The Trade
2. Orlando Magic Receive: Markelle Fultz
3. Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Jonathon Simmons, 2019 second-round pick (from Cleveland, via Orlando), 2020 first-round pick (top-20 protection from Oklahoma City, via Orlando)

1. The Trade
2. Toronto Raptors Receive: Marc Gasol
3. Memphis Grizzlies Receive: CJ Miles, Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright, 2024 second-round pick

1. The Trade
2. Clippers Receive: JaMychal Green, Garrett Temple
3. Grizzlies Receive: Avery Bradley

1. The Trade
2. Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Mike Muscala
3. Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Michael Beasley, Ivica Zubac

1. The Trade
2. Indiana Pacers Receive: Wade Baldwin IV, Nik Stauskas, second-round pick
3. Houston Receives: LUXURY-TAX RELIEF (and something to be determined)

1. The Trade
2. Philadelphia 76ers Receive: James Ennis
3. Houston Rockets Receive: 2021 second-round pick (swap rights)