By Luke Essig, Staff Writer

Last Thursday marked the most hectic week of trades in National Basketball Association (NBA) history. Stars were traded, superteams were created and nobody saw most of these moves coming.

The first and likely biggest trade was that of Luka Dončić moving from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers. This trade shocked fans all across the league. Dončić, who was supposed to be the cornerstone of the Mavs franchise for decades to come and have a statue next to Dirk Nowitzki, was notified via text message the day of the trade that he’d be moving to Los Angeles, one week after closing on a $15 million house in Dallas.

While this was a massive move right before the deadline, it actually left the Lakers with an arguably worse roster to win a championship than the Mavericks. They traded away their only big man, Anthony Davis, which could have major impacts on the team, especially since the Lakers have struggled with size for years. 

The Lakers quickly found a fix for their size issue: trading for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams. The Lakers sent their rookie sharpshooter Dalton Knecht to Charlotte in return for Williams, who has averaged 15 points and nine rebounds this season, making him exactly what the Lakers need. 

The Hornets found a replacement for Williams, trading for the Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić. However, Williams failed his physical and the trade was rescinded, leaving him in Charlotte. Now, the deadline has passed and the Hornets have an abundance of talent at center while the Lakers have none.

The San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls made a massive three-team trade that sent Kings guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio and Bulls forward Zach LaVine to Sacramento. LaVine has been rumored to be traded for years now as the Bulls have failed to build anything impressive during his time there. 

The Bulls received back Zach Collins, Tre Jones and Kevin Huerter, who are all on expiring contracts and will most likely not be on the team in 2026. Additionally, they received their own 2025 first-round pick from the Spurs. This return was not enough and raised a lot of eyebrows as to what the Bulls are doing. 

The Kings got great additions from the trade. They got an all-star in LaVine, three first-round picks and three second round picks. LaVine has been solid in his three games with the Kings so far, averaging 19 points. Fox at San Antonio, on the other hand, has been deadly in a Spurs uniform, even more than he was before the trade. He is averaging 18 points and nine assists so far and has been looking like an amazing compliment to Victor Wembanyama. Additionally, the Kings grabbed Jonas Valanciunas from the Wizards to back up Domantas Sabonis.

The Wizards also made an interesting move that left Milwaukee Bucks fans furious. They traded Kyle Kuzma and in return got Khris Middleton. At 33 years old, fans were hoping Middletom would retire with the team, but he was traded for a younger but statistically weaker player in Kuzma. Middleton won a ring with the Bucks in 2021 and was extremely valuable to the team. 

This move also scratches some heads for Wizards fans. For one of the worst teams this season, trading for a 33-year-old who is getting paid $30 million a season while they are supposed to be rebuilding doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. They also picked up former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart from the Memphis Grizzlies to bulk up their defense. 

The Wizards also received Xavier grad Colby Jones from Sacramento. Jones has had a slow start to his NBA career, only playing in five games for the Kings and scoring four points across all five games. However, Jones has made a name for himself in the G League, averaging 18.7 points over 12 games for the Stockton Kings. 

The final blockbuster move was the Miami Heat moving on from forward Jimmy Butler. Butler, who had carried the Heat through the 2020 NBA Finals, but they had enough of his attitude. They had suspended Butler three times this season for disciplinary reasons, and they finally got rid of him right before the deadline. They shipped him to the Golden State Warriors in a complicated five-team trade. In return, they received Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a first round pick. The Warriors then went and signed Butler to a massive two-year, $121 million contract.