Levi Hylton
Staff Writer
In-season trades can affect teams in different ways. Teams must rework their offense and defense to incorporate new players into their system. With the extended break that off-season trades provide, the coaching staff and the players can avoid being thrown into the fire. They must quickly figure out how to make this new team work by building chemistry between the players.These trades have led to various results: some teams have seen success with the new additions, some haven’t, and some teams have dealt with injuries, not allowing us to see the full potential of their team.
The team that started the hottest with their late December addition of OG Anunoby, the New York Knicks, have been affected by a myriad of injuries to their second and third-best players Julius Randle, and their new addition OG Anunoby. Ever since starting with the record of 11-2 in January surging to the third seed. Post All-Star break they have gone 4-5 and are currently the fourth seed. But they are in danger of slipping potentially to the eighth seed if they lose two games and the teams behind them gain traction as the standings in the east have tightened up due to teams being more competitive to fight for a playoff spot.
The Indiana Pacers is another team that made a blockbuster trade for Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors to provide rising star guard Tyrese Halliburton with a second option who can help with the team’s poor defense. The Pacers have had the best offense in the NBA. However, this has not translated to wins as they were the seventh seed when they acquired the All-Star forward but have since failed to consistently win games as they have since fallen to the eighth seed. As they have only gone 12-12. In addition, their promising young guard Benedict Mathurin will have a season-ending surgery to repair his torn right labrum. For a team that hangs its hat on offense, losing a scoring spark off the bench will affect that possibly ending their playoff push, as they are already struggling to stay out of the Play-In tournament.
The Dallas Mavericks headlined the trade deadline by acquiring PJ Washington, and Daniel Gafford. They added some much-needed front-court depth that complimented superstar guard Luka Dončić’s play. These additions looked fantastic right before the All-Star break as the Mavericks went 3-0 during that stretch although it was a very small sample size everything seemed to be clicking for this contending team. However, since the All-Star break, they have had a record of 4-5 due to their terrible defense. This team went on a three-game losing streak against some competitive Eastern Conference teams due to their terrible, defensive effort, leaving a lot on the table during these games.
