2013 NBA Draft: Winners and Losers from Biggest Trades of the Night

A multitude of trades were executed in the 2013 NBA draft, and clear winners and losers emerged in many.

That certainly was the case in the two biggest deals of the night. Here are those who did and did not benefit from the result of those transactions.

Boston Celtics-Brooklyn Nets Swap

The Celtics and Nets agreed to a trade that will send Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry to Brooklyn and Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Kris Joseph, Gerald Wallace and three future first-round picks to Boston, reported ESPN.

Winners: Nets (for now)

Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Brook Lopez and Jason Terry: Brooklyn now has the most impressive first six in basketball on paper. It will compete for a championship next season barring a major injury.

However, it just exchanged three first-round picks for a trio of players in Pierce, Garnett and Terry who are all at least 35 years old. This was a get-rich-or-set-the-franchise-back-a-half-dozen-years move.

Losers: Celtics, Rajon Rondo

Bill Simmons’ reaction says it all.

Boston sacrificed being relevant this season for several mediocre players and three—likely late—first-round picks. Its best chance to rebuild is to now to tank and land a future star in the 2014 NBA draft.

Rondo is 27 years old. He’s in his prime. He’s been on an Eastern Conference title contender surrounded by future Hall of Famers nearly his entire career. The floor general is likely fuming over his current supporting cast.

Philadelphia 76ers-New Orleans Pelicans Swap

According to ESPN, Philadelphia traded Jrue Holiday and the 42nd overall pick, which turned into Pierre Jackson, to New Orleans for Nerlens Noel and a top-five protected 2014 first-round pick.

Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the deal.

Winners: 76ers (in the future)

If the 76ers receive the Pelicans' first-round pick, their future will be blindingly bright. Losing Holiday will result in them being one of the worst teams in the NBA next season. That means they could enter the 2014-15 campaign with a core of Noel, Michael Carter-Williams, Arnett Moultrie and two top-10 prospects from an extremely strong 2014 draft class.

Losers: Pelicans, Austin Rivers

New Orleans buried one of its 2012 first-round selections in its depth chart to risk losing its first-round pick in 2014. Holiday will make the Pelicans a better team now. He, Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis could develop into one of the league’s best trios.

However, so could’ve Gordon, Davis and Noel. And it’s far easier to find a star point guard than a freak athlete seven-footer. Rivers looks like he’ll now be fighting not for the starting point job, but a sixth man role.

David Daniels is a breaking news writer at Bleacher Report and news editor at Wade-O Radio.