Unlike in past years, this season’s NBA trade deadline wasn’t as explosive as before. Turns out, Jon Horst, general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, has a good reason why it turned out a little stale.
Looking back, the biggest trade to happen was the Indiana Pacers acquiring Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors to bolster their chance to compete. There’s also the New York Knicks getting OG Anunoby by sending RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley up north.
Over in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder added a veteran to their lineup by getting Gordon Hayward from the Charlotte Hornets. The Milwaukee Bucks, meanwhile, traded Robin Lopez to the Sacramento Kings and got Patrick Beverley from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Cameron Payne and a second-round pick.
Milwaukee Bucks GM Jon Horst Gives Good Reason Why 2024 Trade Deadline Was a Bit Stale
After the deadline passed, there was a sense of disappointment from the lack of any bigger trades than what was mentioned above. Horst gives his take on the matter in an article written by Eric Nehm for The Athletic:
“My sense of the market … kind of played out the way I think it played out. Obviously, there were a number of moves and anyone of you here probably have more readily available information than I do on where that ranks or rates relative to other deadlines.
I haven’t had a chance to really dig out and get a great sense of some of those things, but it feels like to me, it was a little bit stale, a little bit slow compared to years past. I think the number of big things that happened is down. Some of the big things started back in the offseason. You think of the things that we did and some of the things that happened a few weeks ago (such as) the Toronto deals.
So, big things happened from the offseason until now. But in terms of just a deadline in the last couple of days, it seemed like maybe less movement than usual, less impactful movement than usual, and I think there’s a lot of reasons for that. There’s a lot of good teams who are playing well right now.
The league has done a great job in creating an environment and a system where competitive balance is as good as it’s ever been. Teams realistically think they have a chance to do things that they want to do and compete at a high level in this league.
So, I think it’s all kind of pointed to maybe less action and less movement (at the trade deadline), but you guys would have to tell me. I don’t know if that’s true or not, that’s just my sense of how this one played out. That’s kind of what my sense of it was going into it as well. There’s just a lot less sellers than years past,” Horst said.
As it stands, more teams are interested in keeping their key players instead of getting stars to strengthen their rosters. For the Bucks, though, the front office is going all-in on the All-Star duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard by adding Beverley to improve the team’s defense. With that move now done, Doc Rivers and company can now focus on finishing the regular season strong.
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