Thursday afternoon’s NBA trade deadline passed with Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins traded away to New Orleans four days earlier and All Stars Jimmy Butler in Chicago and Paul George in Indiana stayed where they were.
From the good to bad and in between, here’s how teams fared:
Cleveland: The Cavaliers didn’t even do anything before the deadline, but they’re big winners after it because pursuers Boston and Washington did either nothing or not enough and the Cavs are in line to sign free agents Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut after waivers and buyouts are complete.
Toronto: Looking to leapfrog over the Celtics and Wizards to go back to being Cleveland’s biggest challenger in the East, the Raptors addressed their biggest needs by acquiring defensive-minded Serge Ibaka and PJ Tucker.