Reverberations were felt across the NBA landscape last weekend as Luka Doncic, Anthony Davis, Zach LaVine and De’Aaron Fox were all traded within 24 hours. The hits kept on coming throughout the week and came to a head on Wednesday, as Jimmy Butler and Mark Williams found new homes.
The final hours before Thursday’s deadline were filled with a flurry of consequential moves, many of which will carry long-lasting fantasy implications.
Here are the winners and losers of the 2025 NBA trade deadline. For a full list of moves, check out Raphielle Johnson’s excellent breakdown here:
2025 NBA trade deadline: Fantasy impact and analysis on every important move – NBC Sports
Winners
Jusuf Nurkic
Nurkic was replaced in the starting lineup first by Mason Plumlee and most recently by Nick Richards before essentially getting phased out of Phoenix’s rotation. With Richards and Mark Williams gone and two-way player Moussa Diabate the only center on the roster, Nurk should see plenty of playing time for his new team. This is a huge win for Nurkic from a fantasy perspective.
Dalton Knecht
Knecht goes from a contending Lakers team to one of the worst teams in the Association. An already-struggling Charlotte team is dealing with a number of key injuries, and Knecht should see a bump in minutes and usage right away. The rookie has a promising skillset as a three-level scorer, and he could be a silly season hero for fantasy managers. Don’t be surprised if he’s in the Hornets’ starting lineup sooner rather than later.
Trey Murphy III
Murphy III has been tremendous this season, stepping up as a scorer and taking advantage of additional opportunities afforded him with Ingram on the sidelines so often. With Ingram now gone from New Orleans, Murphy III should be cemented as one of the team’s top offensive options this season and beyond.
De’Aaron Fox
Fox leaves a more talented team to join a rebuilding and on-the-rise Spurs team that should be ready to legitimately compete as soon as next season. This isn’t a huge vertical move for Fox, but it’s certainly not a downgrade. He finished with a 24/5/13/3 line across 37 minutes in his Spurs debut, wasting no time as San Antonio eked out a one-point victory.
Kevin Huerter
Huerter’s playing time and production have cratered this season, but he should see some additional opportunities as a floor-spacer for a team ranked in the top-5 in three-pointers attempted per game. He’s worth a dart throw in deep leagues.
Ayo Dosunmu, Matas Buzelis
Both players have showed a lot of promise when given extended playing time, and both should see additional minutes in the post-LaVine era in Chicago.
Tristan Vukcevic, Richaun Holmes
Alex Sarr is dealing with an ankle injury, leaving Vukcevic and Holmes as the last two big men standing in Washington after Marvin Bagley III and Jonas Valanciunas were dealt. Holmes started Washington’s last game, but Vukcevic’s minutes should be prioritized down the stretch. He’s nearly 10 years younger than Holmes and a player who fits better with the rebuilding Wizards’ timeline.
Maxi Kleber
Kleber goes from a team loaded in the frontcourt to one that is still pretty thin behind Mark Williams and PJ Washington. Kleber should see more run for LA than he did for Dallas, but this is a minimal boost to his fantasy stock.
Brandon Ingram
Ingram should see a higher usage rate playing on a less talented roster, so his outlook is up slightly if he’s able to play again this season. Ingram has been banged up for much of the 2024-25 campaign, and the Raptors could choose to keep him sidelined for the sake of tanking. This is a vertical move for Ingram in the long run, but it might not bear any fruit this season.
Mark Williams
Catching lobs from Luka and LeBron or catching lobs from Micic and Smith Jr.? Yeah, I know which one I’d prefer. Williams should continue to operate as a powerful force in the paint who racks up points, boards, blocks and efficient FG%. His stock is up, but this isn’t a monumental move upward.
Nikola Jovic
Jovic should continue to see meaningful minutes as the Heat adjust to life without Jimmy Butler. Expect the emerging young forward to continue to ascend as a fixture of the Heat’s starting five.
Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk
New Orleans has been bitten by the injury bug this season, and both of the newly acquired former Raptors could see an increase in playing time for their new team right out of the gate.
Losers
Austin Reaves
Reaves is the biggest loser of free agency from a fantasy perspective. He’s enjoyed a career-best season thus far, taking the pressure off LeBron while operating as the team’s primary playmaker at times. He’s scored and rebounded effectively on his way to top-70 per-game fantasy value. With Luka Doncic in town, Reaves’ days of high usage and strong production could be drawing to a close. Doncic needs the ball in his hands, and the team will now center around him.
Anthony Davis
Davis may actually be a fantasy loser on the Mavericks playing alongside a much more talented group of frontcourt teammates. From a real-life basketball perspective, AD will finally get to play the four, but he’ll have to share the court with the likes of Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington and Dereck Lively II. The new position and teammates could lead to fewer rebounds and blocked shots.
Rui Hachimura, Jaxson Hayes
Hayes was a speculative, low-usage option with AD on the sidelines and/or traded, but his value is tanked with Mark Williams on the squad. Hachimura still has some deep-league value as a scorer, but Williams will steal playing time and production in the frontcourt.
Kyle Kuzma
Kuz wasn’t great on a rebuilding team comprised mostly of youngsters, and he certainly won’t see a boost in fantasy value trying to fit in alongside Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Brandin Podziemski
Another fantasy loser in this deal, Podziemski will have to surrender some ball-handling responsibilities to Jimmy Buckets which will drive his value down.
Khris Middleton
Washington is in full-blown tank mode, and there’s no reason for the team to give Middleton any meaningful minutes. His fantasy value could dissolve quickly down the drain in the national’s capitol.
PJ Washington
With Anthony Davis on the roster, Washington looks like the odd man out in the frontcourt. Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford will hold it down at center, while Davis plays his preferred position at PF. Washington is having a career-best season, but his numbers will likely take a hit unless he shifts to SF. It’s unclear how the position shift will affect his value, but this looks like a downgrade for Washington from a fantasy perspective.
Jonas Valanciunas
JV will likely see fewer opportunities backing up Domantas Sabonis than he did backing up Alex Sarr. This is a great real-life move for Valanciunas, but it’s a loss from a fantasy standpoint.
Chris Paul
De’Aaron Fox immediately played big minutes and saw heavy usage in his Spurs debut. Paul’s production as a scorer and facilitator will likely decline while sharing the backcourt with Fox.
Dennis Schroder
Schroder was moved thrice over the final 24 hours before the deadline before finally landing in Detroit. The Pistons have plenty of healthy guards, and Schroder’s fantasy value will likely take a hit as he comes off the bench for his new squad.
Neutral
Zach LaVine
LaVine will move from Chicago to “Western Conference Chicago” as he joins a similar roster where he’ll play a similar role. To quote the Talking Heads, “Same as it ever was.”
Luka Doncic
Doncic is going to command the ball and heavy usage no matter where he plays, so the move from Dallas to Los Angeles is unlikely to have a major impact on his fantasy value.
Andrew Wiggins
Wiggins should fit in nicely with “Heat Culture.” He’s a tough player who can get a bucket, play defense and defer to teammates when needed. He’ll be asked to do the same things he did in Golden State, and his fantasy value should remain mostly static in South Beach.
RJ Barrett
Barrett will cede scoring, rebounding and playmaking opportunities to Brandon Ingram once Ingram is ready to take the court, but the two might not share the court too much this season. Barrett’s fantasy value will only take a slight hit when that happens, but he’s entrenched as a franchise cornerstone for years to come. Longterm, this is a hit to Barrett’s fantasy value, but this season, Ingram’s arrival shouldn’t cause too many waves.
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