NBA Trade Deadline 2015: Storylines to Watch in Aftermath of Market's Closure

The landscape of the NBA will never be the same.

Call it hyperbolic, but the usually quiet trade deadline did not just pass harmlessly Thursday—it slammed into the league with the impact of a meteor and a blast radius that covers each and every team.

Ask ESPN's Marc Stein the details in the aftermath:

The final hour up until the deadline was similar to being pinned in a corner against a prime Mike Tyson as hit after hit piled on until the bell.

As the dust falls on the wildest frenzy in recent history, a few prominent storylines are worth keeping an eye on as the league begins that second-half push to the postseason.

Post-Trade Deadline Storylines to Watch

Miami Goes All-In 

Look, a Goran Dragic-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh "Big Three" is not as sexy as a LeBron James-Dwyane Wade-Chris Bosh iteration, but it figures to get the job done in the Eastern Conference all the same.

After an ugly few days of public breakup chatter with the Phoenix Suns, Dragic's representatives told the globe the star point guard would only sign a contract extension with one of three teams.

One of those was the Miami Heat, hence the front office's willingness to throw the house at the Suns in order to work something out, as Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski details:

Don't laugh—the Heat are contenders.

Wade still chugs along with 22.5 points per game and Bosh sits at 21.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game. Dragic himself is not all that eye-popping at 16.2 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game, but keep in mind those numbers are the product of what was formerly the league's deepest backcourt.

As ESPN Stats & Info notes, from an advanced statistical standpoint, no team is better than the Heat:

Still, the Heat are a hard sell as contenders, which is understandable. Don't discredit the long-term outlook either, though. Losing a pair of first-round picks hurts in a bad way, but Dragic's presence may only further the quality time Wade has left in his career since he has never played with a point who can do it all.

The key this season is health. Miami can easily secure a playoff spot if the new trio, as well as shocking star Hassan Whiteside, is healthy.

With the plan in motion, the Heat are one of the league's more interesting teams.

So Does Philadelphia…Wait, What? 

By contrast, the Philadelphia 76ers are at the complete other end of the spectrum.

Apparently, the front office in Philadelphia fancied itself a tad too good at 12-41, so it decided to ship away arguably its best player, Michael Carter-Williams.

USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt provides the details: "The Milwaukee Bucks traded guard Brandon Knight to the Phoenix Suns and received guard Michael-Carter Williams from the Philadelphia 76ers and center-forward Miles Plumlee and guard Tyler Ennis from the Suns, a person familiar with the deal told USA Today Sports."

Zillgitt also notes that the 76ers receive a first-round pick from the Suns.

What?

In order to improve and grab a first-round pick, the 76ers trade away the reigning Rookie of the Year? Sure, MCW is in a bit of a slump this season at 15.0 points, 7.4 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game, but it seems a silly reason to give up a 23-year-old guard with huge upside.

MCW doesn't understand the move all that well, either:

At this point, the only thing that makes sense is that the 76ers want the No. 1 overall pick in a bad way.

Like, bad enough to potentially ruin a great developing core, bad way.

Look, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid are still around. Sprinkle in another top selection, and away they go. The issue is that at some point the 76ers need to actually build, not just continue to start over and start over and then start over again.

Apparently, the 76ers are not ready to build.

Results of the Western Conference Arms Race

The Golden State Warriors thought it wise to sit and watch the trade deadline from the sidelines.

They've earned it, but the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder were in no lackadaisical mood.

Portland was able to swing a deal with the Denver Nuggets for veteran guard Arron Afflalo, he of 14.5 points, 1.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game this season. Wojnarowski broke down the transaction:

Afflalo is a ridiculous sixth man for a lineup that already includes point guard Damian Lillard, big man LaMarcus Aldridge and three-ball specialist Nicolas Batum.

Consistent scoring off the bench is something that continues to plague the Trail Blazers, but that changes—especially now that Afflalo enters the fray and does not live or die by attempts from deep. 

The Thunder may have one-upped Portland, though. 

By now, the deteriorating relationship between the Thunder and Reggie Jackson is no secret, hence his requesting a trade, per Wojnarowski.

Amazingly, the Thunder took something that would handicap other franchises so close to the deadline and turned it into gold. NBA.com's David Aldridge provides smaller details:

Wojnarowski breaks down the rest of the megadeal:

"

The Oklahoma City Thunder traded guard Reggie Jackson to the Detroit Pistons in a multi-team trade that sent Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter to the Thunder.

As part of the trade, the Thunder will send rookie forward Grant Jerrett, center Kendrick Perkins and the rights to center Tibor Pleiss to the Jazz. Pleiss, whose draft rights were acquired by OKC in 2010, wants to come to the NBA next season and the Thunder won't have room to sign him with Steven Adams, Nick Collison and Kanter expected to be on the roster. The Jazz also received a future first-round pick from Oklahoma City and a 2017 second-round pick from the Pistons, and sent forward Steve Novak to Oklahoma City.

The Thunder also received guards DJ Augustin and Kyle Singler from the Pistons.

"

Where to start? D.J. Augustin, Kyle Singler and Steve Novak are quality depth that can come in and knock down shots with consistency. Enes Kanter is a young piece at 22 years old who averages 13.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.3 blocks per game. His best days are in front of him after being lost in the shuffle in Utah.

The Thunder have a new core in place who actually buy into what the plan is moving forward. Even better, the long-term outlook is better than before thanks to more cap space and youth underneath the basket.

As if the Western Conference could not be any more intriguing, a pair of contenders just upped the ante more than anyone could have thought possible.

Enjoy the show.

All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.