The 2025 NBA trade deadline started in earnest with the trade bombshell that seemed so ludicrous, fans and players alike thought someone was playing a prank: Luka Dončić being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team deal that also included Anthony Davis going to the Dallas Mavericks.

That blockbuster wasn’t the only other substantial move. De’Aaron Fox and Jimmy Butler changed teams. Brandon Ingram, too. Even Kevin Durant was swept up in trade rumors.

To break down some of the best and worst of this year’s wacky deadline, The Athletic brought together three of its writers: James L. Edwards III, who covers the New York Knicks; Darnell Mayberry, who covers the Chicago Bulls; and Josh Robbins, who covers the Washington Wizards.

Which team helped itself the most during this trade-deadline cycle?

Edwards: The Lakers are the easy choice, because THEY GOT FREAKING LUKA DONĈIĆ. I’m still baffled by this. It makes no sense that Dallas didn’t entertain anyone else. It’s malpractice. I don’t think Los Angeles is a title contender this season, but it’s set up for the next decade … BECAUSE IT HAS FREAKING LUKA DONĈIĆ.

Other than that, I like what Charlotte did. The Hornets were proactive in a normal way, unlike the Mavericks. Mark Williams has a lot of potential, but he’s always hurt and has been very bad defensively, particularly this season. To get Dalton Knecht and multiple first-round picks between the trade with Los Angeles and the deal with the Phoenix Suns to take on Jusuf Nurkić, that’s good work for a team finally being honest with itself.

Mayberry: The Lakers are the only answer here because of Dončić’s MVP-caliber talents. When no one expected it, Los Angeles again landed the next great Laker. Would it surprise anyone to see Dončić and the Lakers win a championship someday? From strictly a value standpoint, the Dončić trade was the most lopsided in NBA history.

Robbins: The Lakers, for the obvious reason of obtaining a perennial MVP candidate who is still in his mid-20s.

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Who were the biggest winners of an unprecedented NBA trade deadline?

Having said that, the San Antonio Spurs committed highway robbery when they brought aboard Fox in their three-team trade with the Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls. Obviously, the whole league knew he wanted to go to San Antonio. The Spurs did not have to include Stephon Castle, Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell or Keldon Johnson — key members of their nucleus. It’s true that San Antonio had to give up several first-round picks, but the Spurs still have plenty of first-round picks in their cupboard, including the haul from their 2022 trade of Dejounte Murray to Atlanta. San Antonio still kept all of its own first-rounders except for its 2027 pick, which is going to Sacramento. And now the Spurs have Fox, who can be an All-NBA player.

Which team that needed to improve didn’t do enough?

Edwards: It’s Orlando for me. The Magic, because of how good they are defensively, have a chance to make some noise this season if they add some offensive juice. I get that they’re still ahead of their timeline, but any offensive help would have been useful. I would have loved Zach LaVine here. Instead, the Magic did nothing.

Mayberry: Phoenix. What was the point of the Suns adding Durant and Bradley Beal to pair with Devin Booker if they were going to be this dysfunctional? The window of contention slammed shut on the Suns faster than anyone could have imagined. Now it appears the situation in Phoenix is beyond repair. The Suns dumped their disgruntled starting center, Nurkić, and had to attach a first-round pick to do it. They couldn’t move Beal — who has a no-trade clause — and might have insulted Durant when his name surfaced in trade chatter. It all feels like the Suns missed an opportunity to clean up their culture.

Robbins: After last year’s injury-riddled season, Memphis has put together a bounce-back season of epic proportions. Just because the Grizzlies’ turnaround was predictable because of their better health doesn’t make their turnaround any less impactful for the rest of the Western Conference. Memphis sits in second place in the West and is in good position to at least win a first-round series, but nothing Memphis did at the deadline makes the team better in the short term.

Excluding the Lakers’ getting Dončić, what’s the one trade-deadline move you like the most?

Edwards: Cleveland getting De’Andre Hunter. He’s had a tremendous season in Atlanta. He should get the Most Improved Player award. (I don’t like giving it to players who were projected to be stars.) Cleveland was already really good and added a legitimate rotation player on the wing who can make open shots, defend and close games if needed.

The East-leading Cavaliers bolstered their rotation by trading for De’Andre Hunter. (Brett Davis / Imagn Images)

Mayberry: Golden State snagging Jimmy Butler was a shrewd move. He gives the Warriors a legitimate star and one of the league’s most competitive players to pair with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. It could implode, or Butler could ignite the Warriors and help carry them back to the Western Conference finals. My hunch is the Warriors are getting a highly motivated Butler — and if he’s the key to keeping Curry’s magic alive in the postseason, I’m here for it.

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NBA trade deadline: Grading all the big deals of 2024-25 trade season

Robbins: I’m going rogue and reframing the question to this: What’s a move you like that’s gone relatively unnoticed? I like the LA Clippers’ addition of Bogdan Bogdanović. The Clippers’ defense, which entered Friday second in the league after it finished 16th last season, has been one of the most underappreciated improvements in the league this season. It’s nice to see the Clips attempting to boost their relatively anemic offense by adding Bogdanović. He has endured an awful season by his standards, with career lows in points per game (10.0), field-goal percentage (.371) and 3-point percentage (.301). I have no guarantees he’ll turn it around, but I like LA’s thinking here that a change of scenery might jump-start his game.

Excluding the Mavericks’ trading Dončić, what’s the one move you like the least?

Edwards: I didn’t like the Lakers using their remaining assets to get Williams. Again, I like the idea of Williams, but he’s barely played a full NBA season in the three seasons he’s been a pro, and I’m not sure the defense will ever get to where it needs to be to justify the assets the Lakers gave up. He’s just lacking the instincts, even when in good positions, to defend the rim. Maybe I’ll be wrong, but that was a lot to give up for Williams, in my opinion.

Mayberry: If I’m a Kings fan, I’m questioning my life and loyalties. Are they trying to recreate the 2021-22 and 2022-23 Chicago Bulls? That’s essentially the Kings’ direction after acquiring LaVine as part of the three-team deal that sent Fox to the Spurs. LaVine is now reunited with DeMar DeRozan to recreate the tandem that led the Bulls to only one playoff appearance in three seasons. Granted, the Kings have a superior big man in Domantas Sabonis, but who on the Kings is going to defend after they also traded for center Jonas Valančiūnas? The draft capital Sacramento collected is wonderful, but I don’t love the Kings’ on-court fit any more than I did when I saw the LaVine-DeRozan pairing fall short for the past three years.

Robbins: I think the Mavericks could’ve found a better return for Quentin Grimes than Caleb Martin and a 2030 second-round pick from the Philadelphia 76ers. I understand that Grimes will be up for a new contract in restricted free agency this summer, while Martin has more cost certainty since he’s signed at least through the 2026-27 season and, if Martin picks up his player option, through 2027-28. But Grimes is younger, and I think his game still has room to grow; he can be an ideal 3-and-D player, and I wonder if the Mavericks could have re-signed him and then engineered a better return in a trade before the 2026 deadline.

This was a monumental trade deadline. Is it the greatest NBA trade deadline in history?

Edwards: I’d say so, simply because it had everything that you would want as a fan: shock factor, good players being moved around, a lot of teams active, drama as it pertains to Durant and Butler. There was a lot to keep us entertained for the week as both reporters and fans of the game.

Mayberry: The flurry of deals in the final 30 minutes of the 2015 deadline is the only other year that comes close in my mind. But that’s probably the wildest, not the greatest. The 2015 deadline didn’t see as many stars swap places, but Kevin Garnett was traded from the Brooklyn Nets back to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Still, 11 trades were made in the final minutes, with 17 teams involved. I’d never seen anything like it and haven’t since.

Robbins: Oh, I remember that 2015 deadline and its wild finish!

That said, this one takes the cake. I think the guys on “Pardon the Interruption” made the point, and The Ringer’s Michael Pina made the point well, too, that this year’s deadline managed to steal a good portion of Super Bowl week’s thunder. The NFL is a monster, and any time that one of the so-called “other” leagues takes attention away from the NFL’s biggest yearly event (even if it’s just for a little while) is a big feat. It was like the NBA got a bit of retribution for the NFL playing games this past Christmas, which most recently was the NBA’s turf.

(Top photo of Rob Pelinka, Luka Dončić and JJ Redick: Patrick T. Fallon / Getty Images)