Trade deadline winners and losers: Fultz is free; East contenders shine; Tough look for Lakers

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Anthony Davis is still a Pelican.

But just about everything else in the NBA changed this past week. 

Let’s dole out the winners and losers of a crazy trade deadline.

Winners

Philadelphia 76ers
This team is stacked. The Sixers had two needs going into the deadline: A backup center and, more importantly, adding shooting around their three stars. They filled both voids -- and may have picked up a fourth star in the process. Tobias Harris, as I wrote on Wednesday, is a lesser version of Kevin Durant -- a big wing with superb shooting touch. He’s an ideal No. 4, a rare player who can excel on and off the ball. 

They gave up a bunch of promising assets to get the deal done and owner Josh Harris will pay a stiff luxury tax bill soon, but it’s not like Tobias Harris is on the wrong side of 30. He’s just entering his prime. Finally, they needed to move on from the Markelle Fultz experiment. Netting two picks to replenish their draft assets was icing on the cake. This might be the team to beat out East.

Twitter
My thumb hurts. 

Milwaukee Bucks
Executives were all over the map on this one. Most agree that getting a player like Nikola Mirotic, a super-snug fit for the Mike Budenholzer spread offense, is a win. Getting him without giving up a first-round pick is even sweeter.

But the idea of Mirotic may be better than the reality. The impending free agent hasn’t played in two weeks because of a nagging calf strain, an injury likely related to a bad ankle in the same leg. Maybe the Pelicans put him on ice to preserve his trade value, but he has missed about half the season. 

He’ll have to be healthy to defend at a high level in the playoffs. The Celtics badly exploited him two postseasons ago, scoring 116.2 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor. The Pelicans thrived with him there against Portland last postseason. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Bottom line, Mirotic has to get his wheels right. Do that, and a Finals trip may be in the cards.

Los Angeles Clippers
I loved the Harris trade for both sides. The Clippers did a superb job exchanging a four-month rental in Harris into valuable picks and loads of cap space. In Indiana, cap space is overrated. That’s not so in Los Angeles, especially with Steve Ballmer as your owner. The worst place to be in the NBA is stuck in the middle. After shedding salary and loading up on picks, the Clippers have drawn up a compelling blueprint to dodge the hamster wheel of mediocrity.

Toronto Raptors
There are real concerns here that 34-year-old Marc Gasol won’t be able to keep up in the loaded East. But he is so, so good when healthy and able. Stick Kawhi Leonard on the opposing star with Gasol as your backline, and you’re in good shape. That is, if Gasol still has gas left in the tank.

Gasol is a heady defender who may have been coasting the last couple months (or at least Toronto fans hope so). If Gasol isn’t mobile enough to hang with the East’s powers, they can always fall back on Serge Ibaka. The upside -- an elite passing big man who can stretch the floor and annoy the heck out of opponents -- is too good to pass up. Kyle Lowry’s bad back worries me, but they can play through Gasol when Lowry can’t zip around like he used to.

New Orleans Pelicans
Dell Demps could have panicked and thrown a last-ditch Hail Mary to try to save his job (it’s not even clear if it’s on the line). But all along, it made sense to hold onto Davis and play the long game. The Pelicans can slide for their own 2019 pick. Soon, they’ll have clarity on the Zion Williamson sweepstakes. And the Boston Celtics, with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, can enter the fray July 1. Remember, the Lakers’ trade package won’t magically disappear at the deadline. Demps knew that and played his hand well. 

Boston Celtics
You know the saying, “one step forward, two steps back?” The Celtics took one step back and two steps forward at the trade deadline. The East royalty got better, but the larger outlook is far rosier than it looked a few days ago. Take a deep breath, Boston fans: Davis is still a Pelican. 

Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens still have to walk a fine line going forward. Kyrie Irving needs to be happy. Tatum and Brown need to fully commit to winning despite the looming threat of being Pelicans bait this summer. This won’t be a cake walk, but they have the inside track to landing Davis and positioning themselves as the next superpower if Durant leaves Golden State. Big picture, that’s all that matters.

Golden State Warriors
Maybe Houston got a smidge better with Iman Shumpert. Perhaps Rodney Hood moves Portland’s needle a tad. But Denver, OKC, Portland, San Antonio and Utah basically sat on their hands. The end.

Washington Wizards
Look, there’s a real chance that the Wizards hand Bobby Portis another Otto Porter contract and we’re right back where we started. But until then, I’m going to applaud Ernie Grunfeld and the front office for being pragmatic about the situation. They moved off their hard stance on Porter and actually got under the tax. This feels like a step in the right direction. Check back in four months. A Portis overpay to justify the Porter deal may be on the horizon.

Dallas Mavericks
I recognize that I’m higher on the Kristaps Porzingis trade than most. To me, it’s simple: You need superstars to win championships and they have two players with a real chance to be All-NBA anchors. Doncic is still 19 years old and Porzingis is five months younger than his new teammate Justin Jackson, who was drafted in 2017. 

We don’t have many data points on 7-foot-3 All-Stars recovering from a torn ACL, but sometimes we have to remind ourselves that he was, when healthy, a 7-foot-3 All-Star. And the Mavs will be in no rush to bring him back with Doncic still a teenager. The cap space they created in the Harrison Barnes deal, which could be about $30 million this summer, is the cherry on top. The Mavericks could have a front line of Doncic, Porzingis and DeMarcus Cousins next season. Good thing there’s no salary cap on medical staffs.

Markelle Fultz
He gets a fresh start in Orlando, which may be the most under-the-radar team in the NBA. (They should be under the radar, because they’re not very good). Fultz can just get back to basketball and not deal with the microscope that is the Philadelphia sports scene.

The top two East seeds
Charlotte, Miami, Detroit, Orlando and Washington made lateral moves or no moves at all. Those are five teams fighting for the last two playoffs spots. None of them are .500 or even a win away from that line. For the teams that get the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds at the top of the East, this is as close to a first-round bye as it gets.

Losers

Los Angeles Lakers
We’re about two months away from the Sacramento Kings taking LeBron James’ spot in the playoffs. That is a sentence I never dreamed I would type. Maybe if I was talking about his son, LeBron James Jr., in five years, but here we are. It’s a very real possibility.

I still wouldn’t bet against James going on a rampage and single-handedly earning the West’s final playoff spot. But James, after missing 17 games, is looking human. Kuzma is shooting 30.2 percent on 3s. Brandon Ingram won’t shoot 3s. Lonzo Ball is allergic to 1s. JaVale McGee is the only player on the Lakers’ roster not named LeBron James with an above-average player efficiency rating (which is 15.0). That is not a typo. Maybe Carmelo Anthony, who hasn’t played a pro basketball game in three months, is the answer. I’m not banking on it.

Fifthteenth guys on playoff teams
The buyout market appears to be more robust than ever. Contenders can choose from a lot that could include all of the following players: Marcin Gortat, Markieff Morris, Robin Lopez, Zach Randolph, Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter, Dewayne Dedmon, Jeremy Lin, Wayne Ellington, Milos Teodosic, Michael Beasley, Shelvin Mack and Greg Monroe. Of that group, Lopez figures to have the biggest impact for contending teams.

Mike Conley
After fighting back from Achilles surgery, it would have been cool to see Conley find his way to a playoff team in Indiana or Utah. Heck, it’d be cool to see him in Detroit with Blake Griffin fighting for a playoff spot. Conley could go down as the best player never to make an All-Star team. By not going to an Eastern Conference team this week, those chances dwindled even further. I’d be stunned if Conley isn’t moved this summer as a free-agency backup plan.

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