In the absence of any blockbuster deals before the N.B.A.’s trade deadline on Thursday afternoon, several teams made moves that seemed unlikely to upend the league’s power structure.
The splashiest deal happened Sunday, when the Sacramento Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins, their All-Star center, to the New Orleans Pelicans. By Thursday, though, all was relatively quiet. The Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony, the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George and the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler — three of the biggest names involved in trade speculation in recent days — remained with their current teams.