5 Main Takeaways from the 2021 NBA Trade Deadline

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1. Houston Rockets botched the James Harden trade

Houston gave away Victor Oladipo to Miami, making it clear that a full rebuild is now in store. This trade looked quite poor for Houston, as it showed what they really got from James Harden. Essentially, they got future draft picks. No key player came to Houston for good as a result of this trade. They messed up greatly as they had a chance to land Ben Simmons or Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, plus picks, and ended up with about 20 games from Oladipo, Kelly Olynyk, Avery Bradley, and some draft picks, for superstar James Harden.

2. No title contender got better at the deadline than Denver 

Denver made big waves on Thursday, as they were clearly trying to improve their current roster with bigger names with the West wide open after LeBron & AD’s injuries. They were able to get Aaron Gordon, and only lost an injured Gary Harris, unproven RJ Hampton, and a 2025 draft pick. Additionally, they picked up JaVale McGee from Cleveland. No title contender improved their roster more on deadline day than Denver did.

3. Miami Heat will be the #1 free agent destination this summer

Like Denver, Miami made it clear that they are in win-now mode. They traded for Victor Oladipo, and greatly enhanced their starting lineup. MIA now has a great core of established veterans with Jimmy Butler, Victor Oladipo, and Goran Dragic, along with a promising young group of Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson. Miami will be a top destination for free agents this summer with significant cap space in South Beach.

4. OKC is building the biggest stockpile of draft picks ever seen before

It has been known for a while now that Oklahoma City wants to rebuild, and they’re getting all the future assets they can. The Thunder have made trades over the past couple of years that leave them with the biggest stockpile of draft picks that any team has ever seen before. With their draft capital, the Thunder are in a great position to become competitive in the future and it’d be a surprise if they’re not competing on a perennial basis in 5-10 years.

5. Chicago’s rebuild is over, it’s time to compete again in the Windy City

Chicago showed the rest of the NBA that they wanted to compete again. Chicago gave up some of their youth and draft picks for a proven All-Star in Nikola Vucevic. The team clearly wants to pair him with Zach Lavine in hopes of doing some damage in the Eastern Conference instead of continuing their rebuild and focus on developing young talent. Chicago also secured more Center depth with the addition of Daniel Theis via trade with Boston.