2025 NBA Trade Deadline Winners and Losers
The absolute best and worst of one of the craziest, star-ladened trade deadlines in NBA History
The 2025 NBA Trade Deadline was a historic week-long event consuming the eyes, ears and even hearts of many in the first week of February. From salary dumps to trades so big that the entire world assumes Shams Charania was hacked, the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline was one to remember. Upon a bevy of trades, there were some very clear winners, some no-doubt losers and quite a bit of gray area for those in-between.
Winner #1 - Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers stand at the very top of totem pole. The Lakers were a giant question mark looking forward into the NBA ether. After multiple consecutive playoff defeats at the hands of the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles’ crossroads of an aging roster and talent deficiency in comparison to the best of the best seemed solutionless. That was until Nico Harrison met Rob Pelinka for a cup of coffee.
The Lakers’ GM Rob Pelinka pulled off the heist of the century. Luka Doncic is the sole player in NBA history to record 10,000+ points, 3,000+ rebounds, 3,000+ assists while garnering five All-NBA First-Team selections in their first six seasons. Not only is Doncic off to one of the greatest statistical beginnings in NBA history, the Slovenian jumbo guard has won on the biggest stage leading the Mavericks to a 2022 Western Conference Finals run and a Finals berth in 2025.
Trading Anthony Davis is not an easy decision. Max Christie is a very respectable 3&D guard. Los Angeles now finds themselves without a 2029 or 2031 first round pick following the trades for Doncic and subsequently Mark Williams. However, none of that matters. The new franchise icon is in LA for good.
Loser #1 - Overly Aggressive NBA Franchises
The Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns will be the future case studies for GMs to evaluate team-building practices. For all of the reasons listed above, the Mavericks' unprecedented trade of their best player without a trade request is utterly shocking. While Dallas does boast a strong collection of players on roster now, the absence of their own draft pick control from 2027-2030 looms large as a significant future pitfall as Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving age.
In a less surpising fashion, the Suns’ dilemma has been clear. The trade with the Washington Wizards for Bradley Beal was never sensible. The overlap with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker amidst a new CBA was always a dangerous game. The decision to make that trade for Beal while simultaneously allowing him to keep his No-Trade Clause was flat-out front office malpractice. This combination of decisions ultimately came back to bite the Suns at the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline as Beal, Durant and Booker remain in Phoenix. The inability to trade Beal in the franchise’s hunt for Jimmy Butler has no caused unrest including the increased likelihood that the 2024-25 season will be Durant’s last in the desert.
The Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks are now the poster-children for what not to do with young, early prime star players. The Suns mismanaged all of their future assets in an over-aggressive win-now pursuit spearheaded by brand new owner Mat Ishbia. As the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, Devin Booker’s future in Phoenix is now in jeopardy. Luka Doncic was meant to be the torch-bearer from Dirk Nowitzki for Dallas, but now serves that role for LeBron James in Los Angeles.
Winner #2 - Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler
Very rarely is there a true win-win trade in the NBA. The Miami Heat finding a trade with the dangerously desperate Golden State Warriors may have been a true win-win deal. The two winners, however, are the Heat organization and Jimmy Butler himself.
As Phoenix’s pursuit for Butler dried up, it appeared Miami’s options may have as well. However, Pat Riley and the Heat were able to walk away from the 35-year-old disgruntled star in winning fashion with a package of Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Davion Mitchell and a 2025 Warriors’ Top-10 Protected first round pick. Despite almost no leverage in an untenable situation, the Heat managed to find some cap relief, players who fit — especially Wiggins — and meaningful draft capital.
Jimmy Butler ultimately achieved his two biggest desires as well. Get out of Miami and get paid. Not only did Butler land in one of his initially preferred landing spots, Butler turned the Warriors’ desperation into his own financial gain. After a pursuit of a reunion with Kevin Durant was shut down, the Warriors turned all of their attention to Butler. With time ticking and the Steph Curry window closing, Golden State broke open the piggy bank. Butler’s two-year, $121 million extension pins him as one of the five highest paid players in the NBA next season. A massive victory for Butler given his series of antics over his career.
Loser #2 - Directionless franchises
The Toronto Raptors and Atlanta Hawks both struck a series of deals ahead of the February 6th NBA Trade Deadline. Toronto managed to land Brandon Ingram at low-cost from the Pelicans, but the Raptors still find themselves in NBA purgatory. With $118 million owed just next season alone to Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl, the Raptors will boast one of the most expensive starting-fives in the NBA if they manage to retain Ingram, who is currently on an expiring contract. With Ingram’s injury history, Toronto’s poor 2024-25 season and limited financial flexibility moving forward, Masai Ujiri has steered the ship directly toward mediocrity.
The Atlanta Hawks operated as a re-tooling team at the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline. Over the past few years, Atlanta has struggled to escape .500 basketball over the past few seasons despite a large trade for Dejounte Murray back in 2022. Without team control of their draft assets in the 2025, 2026 and 2027 drafts — all owed to San Antonio — the Hawks’ future looks bleak and selling off De’Andre Hunter definitely doesn’t convince Trae Young of his future in the ATL. The San Antonio Spurs are salivating at the potential likelihood of a future Trae Young trade request and a painful Hawks’ rebuild without their near-future first round picks.
Winner #3 - The new NBA CBA
The NBA’s heavily-scrutinized NBA CBA is a far-and-away winner of its first official NBA Trade Deadline. Competitive balance was at the heart of the NBA’s perspective. Excessive spending spear-headed by Steve Ballmer of the LA Clippers and Mat Ishbia of the Phoenix Suns was deemed to place other franchises at a competitive disadvantage.
The newest NBA literature — agreed to by the NBPA — severely hampered team’s flexibility to spend and then doubled down on long-term ramifications of those spending teams. There were a variety of teams who worked all week long to avoid penalties.
The Milwaukee Bucks shaved off salary to avoid the second apron by trading NBA champion Khris Middleton and assets to the Washington Wizards for the significantly cheaper Kyle Kuzma. The Philadelphia 76ers, in a down year, jumped out of the first apron and luxury tax altogether in salary-related trades with the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons. The Utah Jazz were one of the biggest beneficiaries of this CBA as Danny Ainge, Justin Zanik and the Utah front office functioned as a facilitator by eating and re-distributing salaries by utilizing exceptions and expiring contracts to net a multitude of future draft assets.
The Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics will be the guinea pigs moving forward of the aftermath of freezing future picks. Beginning on the 2025 NBA Draft night, the Suns, Wolves and Celtics will be unable to trade their 2032 1st round picks unlike the other 27 non-second apron teams. This CBA has now provided competitive advantages to the lesser-spending teams and long-term headaches for those who spend well above the NBA’s liking.