The NBA trade deadline came and went just over a month ago, and to say it was one of the most chaotic in recent history would be an understatement. Whether you watched your favorite player get moved or a division rival get stronger, the deadline shook up the league in ways that some teams are still adjusting to.
While trades are always about who wins, it’s just as important to highlight when a team clearly didn’t think things through. Now that some time has passed, let’s take a look at three teams that completely fumbled the trade deadline.
3. Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are running away with the title of “most likely to make Trae Young unhappy” after shipping off De’Andre Hunter to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
At first glance, this move made little sense — Hunter was averaging a career-high 19.0 points on 46.1 percent shooting and had become one of Atlanta’s most reliable offensive weapons. Trading him to a contender only made things worse, as Hunter has flourished in Cleveland, immediately boosting a team that is now riding a 14-game win streak since acquiring him.
Atlanta’s long-term strategy is unclear — are they building around Young, or are they setting the stage for a complete teardown? While the Hawks have gone 9-6 in their last 15 games, their mediocre record has been a theme for years. If Trae Young sees no real improvement around him, he could be the next superstar out the door.
2. Miami Heat
The Miami Heat were backed into a corner with Jimmy Butler, but that doesn’t mean they handled it well.
After Butler’s relationship with Pat Riley completely broke down, the Heat had no real choice but to trade him. However, instead of getting elite assets, Miami settled for a package of Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, and Davion Mitchell from the Golden State Warriors.
The result? A complete collapse.
Since Feb. 6, Miami has gone 4-12, enduring multiple losing streaks. Wiggins has played just nine games and hasn’t been trusted in late-game situations, as Erik Spoelstra continues to rely on Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo instead.
And yet, despite the disaster, Miami still sits at 30-36, hanging onto the ninth seed in the East. A play-in run isn’t out of the question, but with zero momentum and an underwhelming return for Butler, it’s hard to see how this trade helped the franchise at all.
1. Dallas Mavericks
This one was too easy to put at the top.
It doesn’t get much worse than trading a generational talent like Luka Doncic simply because of concerns over his weight and alleged lack of drive to win — but that’s exactly what the Dallas Mavericks did when they sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers.
When the news broke, fans had to double-check their notifications to make sure Shams Charania’s account hadn’t been hacked. But it was real, and the fallout has only made things worse.
Not only did Dallas fail to shop Doncic around, reportedly calling only the Lakers, but their return package was a disaster. The Mavericks got back Anthony Davis, who has played just 31 minutes since the trade and might not return at all for the regular season due to injury. Meanwhile, they also traded Quentin Grimes to the Philadelphia 76ers, where he has since recorded four 30-point games — a brutal loss for a team already struggling with depth.
With Kyrie Irving’s free agency looming, the Mavericks could be facing an even bigger disaster this summer. A once-promising championship contender may have just sent itself into full-blown chaos.