3 Biggest Moves At The NBA Trade Deadline In The Last 10 Years
NBA | March 22, 2021
As the 2021 NBA trade deadline fast approaches towards the end of this week, it’s a time for fans to get excited regardless of where their teams are in the standings. There’s motivation all across the league to finalize transactions that will help franchises in the stretch run of this season, and into the future.
But before we can look at head at some of the league altering moves that could happen in the near future, let’s take a peek back at the three biggest trades made at the deadline in the past decade.
2015 Isaiah Thomas Trade To The Celtics
It didn’t send many shockwaves throughout the league at the time. The Phoenix Suns were looking to get rid of an extra guard in Isaiah Thomas who did not quite fit the direction of their team moving forward. The Boston Celtics were looking to rebuild with a new young coach named Brad Stevens, and were only a couple years removed from the Paul Pierce-Kevin Garnett led veteran teams.
As it turned out, Thomas’ arrival in Boston ended up being monumental. Despite standing at a diminutive 5’9”, the former University of Washington star dazzled Celtics faithful for a couple of memorable years. He made two All-Star teams during his time there, and averaged 28.9 points per game in the 2016-2017 season.
2011 Deron Williams Trade To The Nets
Even though there had been rumblings that the Utah Jazz might try to get pieces back in return for All-Star point guard Deron Williams, the swap that sent Williams east was relatively stunning. There had not been a lot of Nets chatter with regards to potential suitors for him. But the two time All-Star(with Utah) was one of the upper echelon point guards of his era, and his arrival to the then New Jersey Nets had the tri-state area buzzing.
Williams remained solid for the Nets, averaging 16.6 points per game and 7.5 assists during his 5 seasons with the franchise. He didn’t quite catapult the team to the heights they thought he might be able to take them to, but still helped put the team on the map when they moved to Brooklyn in the 2012-2013 season.
2011 Carmelo Anthony Trade To The Knicks
Perhaps the godfather of all recent blockbuster NBA trade deadline transactions was Carmelo Anthony’s move from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks. Unlike the situation with Williams in Utah, it was pretty clear that the Nuggets were not going to re-sign Anthony, and were desperately trying to get assets in return for him.
Luckily for Denver, New York was just as desperate to acquire him. The Knicks parted with four players to guarantee Anthony’s arrival and eventual re-signing with the team. Melo continued to demonstrate that he was one of the greatest scorers in NBA history in the Big Apple, averaging 24.7 points per game. His career high scoring game came against the Charlotte Bobcats at Madison Square Garden, where he dropped 62 points. His tenure with the Knicks did not end with a title, but featured many memorable individual performances.
Tags: boston celtics | Brooklyn Nets | denver nuggets | nba trade deadline | new york knicks | phoenix suns | Utah jazz
