Wizards, Bucks, James Harden are the main biggest winners

As is the case every year, NBA trade deadline it brought a lot of expected news about big names on the move, as well as a degree of shock and surprise with some teams that weren’t expected to be very active in making some of the biggest moves.

No, this season there was no exchange of Luka Doncic, but A total of 26 trades were made before the deadline this season, including 11 former All-Stars on the move.

Anthony DavisJaren Jackson Jr., James HardenDarius Garland and Trae Young are among the biggest names now in new homes, but several other notable players such as Ivica Zubac, Jared McCain, Bennedict Mathurin, Coby White and Jose Alvarado have also been traded.

Overall, this was a very active trade deadline, but it was selective for all 30 NBA franchises.

Unlike years past, where teams look to make additions to immediately help their playoff chances, this trade deadline has felt like NBA free agency months before the actual free agency period begins. Teams are now looking ahead to the future, and many front offices are extremely aware of all the tax rules and regulations that are thrown at them.

As some teams cut cap numbers and try to get below certain tax tags, others are using the trade deadline as an opportunity to bounce back and escalate their success. Just take a look Utah Jazz land Jackson Jr., the Washington Wizards adding two All-Stars in Davis and Young, and the Indiana Pacers make a stunning move for Zubac.

Before we get into the clear winners of the trade deadline, there are four teams we want to shine a light on as honorable mentions.

The Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers are basically tied together, like these two teams came together to make the Zubac trade hours before the deadline, and each of them emerged as a big winner. Although Tyrese Halliburton won’t return to the floor until the 2026-27 season, the Pacers now have a center of the future, one on a very friendly contract, who can help get this team back into NBA Finals contention.

In Los Angeles, well technically Inglewood, the Clippers finally have a clear path forward in the post-whatever-you-want-to-call-it Kawhi Leonard-James Harden era. Steve Ballmer’s team now has a decent amount of draft capital, added two young, dynamic players in Garland and Mathurin, and this team can attack free agency hard over the next few years.

Shouts are also in order for the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics for what they accomplished at the trade deadline. Both teams took a very analytical approach, achieving their goals, starting with the Knicks finally being able to trade Gershon Yabusele for Jose Alvarado, a player they’ve been targeting since December.

While the Knicks struggled to find a trade partner for Jabusele and even rebuffed an attempt to trade him outright for Alvarado to the New Orleans Pelicans, Leon Rose and New York’s front office got creative with restructuring his contract to void Jabusele’s second-year player option. That led to the Knicks trading him to the Chicago Bulls for salary-expired player Dalen Terry, who was then traded to the Pelicans with two second-round picks for Alvarado.

A chef’s kiss for this craft and working in front of the Knicks office.

As for the Celtics, they’ve been cutting taxes since the offseason, and after starting the summer as the second team, Boston will end this season under the luxury tax. Most importantly, though The Celtics traded Anfernee Simmonsthey got a key center in Nikola Vučević and they didn’t have to move any of their essential talents.

All four teams have done a fantastic job of improving their prospects, both for the immediate and long-term future, but here are the biggest winners of the 2026 NBA trade deadline.

Wizards, Anthony Davis

The job that Will Dawkins and Michael Winger have done completely rebuilding the Washington Wizards roster and the long-term outlook is outstanding. Just a few seasons ago, this team lived at the bottom of the league table and were the laughing stock of the league.

Now, the Wizards have plenty of young, athletic players, Tree Young will be their point guard next season, and Anthony Davis will be the perfect mentor for Alec Sarr. Oh, and if you’re not aware, the Wizards might be the top pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

It won’t be long until the Wizards are back in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and the organization’s ability to pinpoint opportunities to acquire superstar talent is why they are one of the NBA’s biggest trade deadline winners this season.

A total of 14 All-Star appearances are coming to this organization through Young and Davis, which will help set the standard for Wizards basketball moving forward. Even better, the Wizards basically got Young and Davis for free.

While the Wizards appreciated Corey Kispert’s production, he was the only real asset they turned over to Young. Then, for Davis, the Wizards only sacrificed expiring contracts, non-rotation players, and two first-round picks that aren’t worth them at all.

Washington surrendered Oklahoma City ThunderA 2026 first-round pick, likely to be the 30th overall pick, and then traded the Golden State Warriors’ 2030 first-round pick, who is protected 1-20. Basically, they gave up two low value picks for one of the top 75 NBA players of all time.

That’s a pretty good deal if you ask me.

This NBA trade deadline presented no risk to the Wizards, and they can move forward with two stars happy to have a new franchise and can clear the air in their careers.

Priced on dimes and pennies, the Wizards came away with great value at the trade deadline.

John Horst and Bucky

Anyone who thought Giannis Antetokounmpo was going to be traded was left confused. Milwaukee Bucks he never seemed to have any intention of trading Giannis at this deadline, and as they listened to the offers coming their way, teams were left knowing that Antetokounmpo really wasn’t available.

While Jon Horst and the Bucks still face an uphill battle trying to reinvent this roster and build a championship around Giannis, the key takeaway for them from the NBA trade deadline is that Giannis is still with the team and never asked for a trade.

The biggest takeaway from the deadline for the Bucks is that they gathered a lot of information from rival teams.

Giannis has been attracting significant interest from teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat before the deadline, and now the Bucks can convey all this information about what they’re being offered and what those teams feel about their own assets this offseason.

Whether or not the Bucks ever really want to trade Giannis will depend on their ability to build this roster into something special and whether he actually demands a trade. This summer, the Bucks will be aggressive in their pursuit of talent, and could keep their first-round pick and add a young, dynamic player at the top of the draft.

As long as Giannis is in a Bucks uniform, this organization will have a chance to build something special.

James Harden

James Harden is now on his fifth team in the last six seasons after being traded from the Clippers to the Cavs. Will this be Harden’s last stop before retirement?

No one really knows, but the main reason he’s happy to go to Cleveland is because he can opt out of his contract in the offseason and get a new two-year deal at the price he wants. Not to mention, he went from a Clippers team that was going nowhere in the West to joining Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley on a Cavs team with serious title aspirations.

Cleveland was very busy at the trade deadlinecutting some costs and adding talent around their stars, which sets this team up to pursue LeBron James and other superstars in the offseason, if they choose to. They might even be in the mix for Giannis if the Bucks “entertain” trade offers for him again.

Although Harden is not known for his defense, his offensive skills will lift the Cavs more than Garland could. It will also take a lot of pressure off Mitchell to do everything for this offense, which should help this team stay injury free in the postseason.

Harden is in a position to fight for a championship at the end of his career, which is his ultimate goal.

Anyone who traded with the Bulls

What are the Chicago Bulls doing? The Bulls seem to continue to trade their players way after their value has expired, and as a result, this team is left scrambling for really good players.

Nikola Vucevic, Kobe White, Ayo Dosunmu, Kevin Huerter, Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips were all moved by the Bulls at the deadline. All Chicago got was nine second-round picks, extra cash and too many guards who can’t all play together.

Anfernee Simmons, Jaden Ivey, Collin Sexton and Rob Dillingham are all good players, but how can the Bulls even think they can match Josh Giddy and Tre Jones? Half the players on this roster are running backs, and the Bulls won ZERO first round picks for any of their players.

On the other hand, every team that traded with the Bulls got better.

The Celtics are a real title threat after adding a former All-Star in Vucevic at center. The Detroit Pistons have advanced their championship aspirations with a big scorer in Huerter. The Timberwolves, in dire need of backcourt help, are getting a dynamic, athletic two-way guard in Dosunmu. And then the Charlotte Hornets added arguably Chicago’s best scorer, White, for future second-round picks to be used on kids who are currently high school freshmen or eighth graders.

Every team that made a trade with the Bulls got exactly what they wanted, and they did so by sacrificing some value.

The Bulls may have plenty of room to qualify in the summer, but there’s no denying they don’t have a clear path ahead of them to be competitive anytime soon.

Sam Presti… Again

Again, the rich are richer after the NBA trade deadline. No one ever knows what the Oklahoma City Thunder have been up to since Sam Presti has been moving in silence and shadow, yet they always come away from everything they do as major winners.

That was true during their championship run last year, it was true during the 2025 NBA Draft, and it’s true now after the trade deadline.

The Thunder traded Usman Dieng, four second-round picks and a 2026 first-round pick. for Jared McCain of the Philadelphia 76ersa player who was in contention for Rookie of the Year last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Second-round picks are irrelevant to Presti, especially since the Thunder are tied for the most first-round picks in the league over the next few years, and the 2026 pick that was sent to Philadelphia was the Houston Rockets’ pick. If the draft were today, that pick would be the 23rd overall pick, so the Thunder essentially gave up little to no value for a guy who can immediately contribute to their championship goals.

Now that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out indefinitely with an abdominal injury, McCain will get clear playing time for the defending champions.

Somehow, some way, every team in the league keeps getting exposed by Presti and his magic.