The most accurate thing that can be said about the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline was that it was active but not very impactful. A lot of players changed hands, mostly in the spirit of freeing up cap room or getting under a certain luxury tax threshold in future years. Such is the madness of modern NBA math.
Among the acquisitions that will actually matter on the court, there were a handful of contenders that did well to shore up their bench units while sending very little out the door, most notably the Boston Celtics (Xavier Tillman), Dallas Mavericks (Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington), Minnesota Timberwolves (Monte Morris), and Phoenix Suns (Royce O'Neale, David Roddy).
Those are all solid moves, but in the eyes of those who set the odds for America's legal betting apps, they're not needle-movers. To that end, what transpired last Thursday really only made an in impact in the futures market for a team or two: definitely the New York Knicks, and less certainly the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Let's start with the Thunder, who acquired veteran swingman Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for half a six-pack of bench flotsam and two second-rounders. The Thunder are the youngest team in the league and also one of the best. Hence, their decision to add a versatile offensive player with a good amount of playoff experience – one who can sub in for poor-shooting Josh Giddey in crunch time – makes all the sense in the world.
When he's healthy, Hayward contributes in all facets of the game. But that's a big “when.” He's been injured a lot over the past five seasons and hasn't suited up in the current campaign since Dec. 26. Best-case scenario is he's in fine shape come playoff time and contributes to a deep run. Worst-case scenario is he's stuck in street clothes and his $31.5 million salary comes off the books at season's end when he becomes a free agent. Not such a bad worst-case scenario, really.
While most sportsbooks shrugged at the Hayward acquisition and left Oklahoma City's odds to win the NBA title right where they were, the SuperBook – generally regarded as one of the sharper books around – moved them from 20/1 on Feb. 7 to 16/1 on Feb. 9.
New York 'a model franchise'?
Since sending R.J. Barrett and Immanuel Quickley to Toronto in exchange for O.G. Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa on Dec. 30, the New York Knicks have the best record in the NBA. And, really, part of the reason why the actual trade deadline didn't produce more headlining deals like that was because they got done a few weeks earlier, as best evidenced by the Pascal Siakam and Terry Rozier transactions.
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For what seems like the entire 21st century, the Knicks have been viewed as a franchise with a trust-fund clown of an owner that has constantly gotten in its own way. No more. As The Ringer wrote late last week, “We've come a long way since 2019, when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving preferred to sign with the Nets rather than the chaotic Knicks. A half decade later, the Knicks, believe it or not, look like a model franchise.”
On Thursday, the Knicks traded Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, two second-rounders, and the corpses of Evan Fournier and Ryan Arcidiacono to the Detroit Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. With both Anunoby and Julius Randle out for a few more games with injuries, these veteran sharpshooters – Bogdanovic, who can get buckets from anywhere on the floor, is a whole lot more – will immediately see major minutes. And when Anunoby and Randle come back, they'll anchor a suddenly dynamic bench alongside Achiuwa, Josh Hart, and – should Mitchell Robinson return this season – Isaiah Hartenstein.
All in all, the betting apps now list the Knicks as legitimate title contenders. FanDuel shifted their title odds from 21/1 on Feb. 7 to 16/1 on Feb. 9, while the SuperBook went from 20/1 to 16/1 in the same span. Bet365 (28/1 to 20/1) and DraftKings (25/1 to 20/1) were the least bullish on New York's championship hopes, while Caesars Sportsbook (20/1 to 18/1) and ESPN BET (25/1 to 18/1) occupied the middle ground.