NBA Trade Deadline 2015: Twitter Reaction and Analysis

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone with a late flurry of deals that made Thursday busier than it initially seemed it would be.     

Of course, that usually ends up being the case with these things. Trade season leads to great speculation, but teams always wait until the 11th hour before pulling the trigger. It's all above leverage and negotiations, which some teams are better at than others.      

The big domino that finally fell was Goran Dragic being traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Miami Heat, according to ESPN's Marc Stein:

Dragic got his wish, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported on Tuesday that the Heat were one of three teams on his preferred list of destinations.     

This move also represents a change of philosophy for the Heat, as ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted the plan was to keep as much cap space for 2016 as possible:

In return, per John Gambadoro of 98.7 KTAR, the Suns will receive Danny Granger and two first-round draft picks:

As far as what the Heat are getting in Dragic, ESPN Stats & Info notes the star guard can shoot with the best of them:

There are still lingering questions about Dragic's future. He can become a free agent at the end of this season, but it won't be surprising if Miami re-signs him. 

Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling shared his thoughts on another point guard moved on the day, which may have been overshadowed by the Dragic sweepstakes:

The Suns were busy in the final minutes before the deadline, as Wojnarowski reported they moved Isaiah Thomas to Boston:

Here is where things really got interesting. Per Ken Berger of CBS Sports, Milwaukee, Phoenix and Philadelphia pulled off a three-team trade involving Brandon Knight, Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis and Miles Plumlee:

As part of that deal, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, Philadelphia acquired the Suns' protected first-round draft pick:

That protected pick belongs to the Lakers right now, but if their draft slot is outside the top five, it goes to Philadelphia through Phoenix, who owned the pick via the Steve Nash sign-and-trade in 2012. With some luck, the 76ers could be looking at two of the top picks in this year's draft. 

The 76ers pulled off another deal with K.J. McDaniels reportedly going to Houston, per Wojnarowski:

"

Philadelphia has traded K.J. McDaniels to Houston for Isaiah Canaan and a second round pick, league source tells Yahoo Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 19, 2015"

There are a lot of things to be said about the 76ers' plan, but at least they are creative. The front office understands that the best NBA rebuilds are often the result of a complete roster overhaul over a few years. That may make them hard to watch at times, but they could strike gold in the near future.

One of the late-breaking deals that seemed to come out of nowhere saw the Oklahoma City Thunder deal disgruntled guard Reggie Jackson to Detroit in a three-team deal that also included Kendrick Perkins going to Utah:

However, don't buy those Perkins jerseys yet, Jazz fans. According to ESPN's Royce Young, the veteran center is expected to get bought out of his deal:

This is a perfect microcosm of how pre-trade speculation confuses everything. For most of the afternoon, the Thunder were working on a deal involving Jackson that would send him to Brooklyn:

Per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, citing her colleague Brian Windhorst, one likely reason for the Nets and Thunder talks not resulting in a deal was Lopez's contract:

One thing to watch with Jackson in Detroit is how Stan Van Gundy uses him. The 24-year-old has had an inconsistent career with the Thunder, but ESPN Stats & Info pointed out how well he played as a starter:

As for Perkins, his buyout makes sense. He's the kind of player that playoff teams love to have, and he doesn't serve much of a purpose on a rebuilding roster like Utah's. The 30-year-old will get to pick his next spot.

In a deal that would have been huge a decade ago but now is all about nostalgia, TNT's David Aldridge reported Kevin Garnett is headed back to Minnesota:

Garnett was wasting his time in Brooklyn, which wasn't going anywhere this season and is in salary-cap purgatory, but waving his no-trade clause to go back to Minnesota seems like a lateral move. It will generate nice headlines in Minneapolis, but the Timberwolves are 11-42. 

Adding an expensive 38-year-old for the final two months of the regular season doesn't do anything to make the T'Wolves better for the future. However, NBA fans will enjoy the standing ovation Garnett will get from the fans in his first Minnesota home game on Friday. 

One team that was quiet on deadline day was the Lakers. Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times explained why he felt they weren't more active:

Thursday started with a lot of rumors and little action. It ended with a bevy of moves that will greatly impact the league over the last two months of the campaign. Dragic has the potential to make Miami a strong sleeper in the Eastern Conference. Jackson is the kind of talent Van Gundy knows how to maximize.   

Other teams, like Phoenix and Philadelphia, took steps to acquiring future assets. Draft picks don't exactly get fans all warm and fuzzy, but that's how those franchises have to build.

Free agents, at least the top guys, aren't coming to either spot, so those teams are working around that limitation.