Ranking the NBA's Most Disappointing Teams Since the Trade Deadline
Every year, the NBA trade deadline makes teams draw a line in the sand. Are we actually trying to make a playoff run, or is getting a top pick in the draft a bigger priority?
Now is the time of year when we see teams either take off after a big trade or sink to the depths of the standings as full-tank mode ensues.
Then there are the franchises stuck in the middle, the teams that failed to make a move when they should have (and are now paying the price), and the ones that sold off vets, hoping to tank, but are now surprisingly competitive.
Based on our expectations and their moves (or lack thereof), these have been the most disappointing NBA teams since the deadline.
5. Golden State Warriors
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With a 6-12 record since the trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors are sinking fast.
Not all of this is their fault, of course. Stephen Curry hasn't played in a game since Jan. 30 with a runner's knee, and Jimmy Butler tore his ACL 11 days before.
All of this happened before the trade deadline, however, meaning the Warriors knew they needed reinforcements.
Their "solution" of trading for Kristaps Porziņģis essentially killed any chance of this team making a playoff run. The oft-injured big man has played in just six of the Warriors' 18 games since the trade, bringing his total to 23 healthy contests all season.
Ever since their latest championship in 2022, Golden State has failed to commit to either of their timelines. They held on to Jonathan Kuminga for far too long, only to get pennies on the dollar for him with Porziņģis. The Warriors have mostly refused to part with future first-round picks, preparing for a future without Curry while also failing to give the greatest player in franchise history much of a present.
Golden State will still make the West play-in tournament by default, as five teams below them are committed to tanking. A minus-4.1 net rating since the deadline ranks below the 24-46 New Orleans Pelicans, not an ideal spot for a team that should be in championship-or-bust mode.
The injuries weren't the fault of the Warriors' front office, but the "all-in" move of trading a 23-year-old potential star and Buddy Hield for a part-time player was a joke.
4. Sacramento Kings
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The Sacramento Kings are suddenly playing good basketball for the first sustained stretch all season, going 6-6 overall in their last 12 games.
Obviously, no one told them that the goal for the season has changed.
The Kings had the worst record in the NBA at the trade deadline. Now, three teams have leapfrogged Sacramento towards the top of the draft odds. If the Kings keep winning at a reasonable rate, there's a real chance the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks could pass them at all.
This isn't the fault of veterans like DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook, who don't have it in their DNA to try to lose games. Both have no place on this roster right now and should have been traded at the deadline or negotiated a buyout to get them to a contender, giving Sacramento a better chance at the No. 1 overall pick.
Losing while trying to win happens all the time. Winning while trying to lose is a whole new form of incompetence, and helps explain why this franchise has reached the playoffs just once in the last 20 years.
Perhaps Sacramento will get lucky in the draft lottery and be rewarded for playing decent basketball, as we saw from the Dallas Mavericks a season ago, before landing Cooper Flagg.
No team needs a young superstar more.
3. Houston Rockets
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The Houston Rockets chose to sit on their hands at the trade deadline, a decision that's ultimately going to cost them a chance at an NBA title.
Guard play has been an issue all season long, as Houston tried to offset the loss of Fred VanVleet to a torn ACL by rolling out mega-lineups and suffocating teams on defense and on the glass.
Unfortunately, this just hasn't been enough.
Houston is just 10-9 with a plus-0.0 net rating since the trade deadline. An 18th-ranked offense is still far too reliant on a 37-year-old Kevin Durant, who's playing 36 minutes a night. This doesn't bode well for a long playoff run.
The point guard-less Rockets rank dead last in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.41) since the deadline, with Durant, Alperen Şengün, and Amen Thompson coughing the ball up nearly 10 times a game alone.
Every team Durant plays on for the rest of his career should have a championship-or-bust mentality. The team has young talent and some tradeable draft picks. The ammo was there to get a starting point guard, or at least a veteran who could still play in a playoff rotation.
The game plan is out on how to stop the Rockets, as the Los Angeles Lakers showed in a March 16 win. They held Houston to just 12 fourth-quarter points, routinely double-teaming Durant and forcing someone else to beat them.
Unless we see a huge leap from Reed Sheppard over the final few weeks, this offense will continue to struggle because of Houston's lack of trade deadline moves.
2. Philadelphia 76ers
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Sitting in 6th place with a 29-22 record at the trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers looked like they could be a real threat in the East playoffs.
Joel Embiid was on a hot streak, averaging 33.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and shooting 51.9 percent from three over his last nine games. Tyrese Maxey was about to play in his second-straight All-Star game and the young talent on this team was improving daily.
Life in Philly since early February has been nothing short of a disaster, however.
The Sixers are 8-11 with a minus-7.2 net rating, sliding down to ninth place in the East. Embiid has played in just two games since the deadline with an oblique injury, and Maxey is currently sidelined with a tendon injury in his right pinkie finger. Philly made the surprising decision to become sellers at the deadline, trading Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for draft picks.
This isn't just turning into a lost season, but a big-picture earthquake for a franchise that's been handcuffed by injuries and Paul George's suspensions.
Embiid and George still have nearly $300 million remaining on their respective contracts. No one is going to touch those deals in a potential trade, meaning they're stuck taking up roughly 69 percent of the team's salary cap.
Maxey and VJ Edgecombe are the only remaining hope that Philly has both this season and into the future, unless Daryl Morey can pull up some sort of blockbuster trade this summer.
1. Denver Nuggets
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The Denver Nuggets appeared to be separating themselves along with the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs as the elite teams in the Western Conference. Their play since the trade deadline now has us thinking otherwise.
Denver's 9-9 record since Feb. 5 has meant a fall from the No. 3 seed in the West now to No. 6, just 2.5 games away from dropping into the play-in tournament.
Unlike other teams that can point to injuries as an excuse, the Nuggets have been mostly healthy.
Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jonas Valančiūnas, and Bruce Brown have played in all 18 games since the deadline. Cameron Johnson, Julian Strawther, and Spencer Jones have suited up in 12 or more, and Aaron Gordon made his return from a hamstring injury. Only Peyton Watson has failed to play during this stretch
An elite offense to begin the year has taken a step back as even Jokić has struggled with turnovers (4.8 per game) and three-point shooting (32.1 percent). The Nuggets' defense ranks just 14th overall since the deadline, an area even Watson won't be able to fix when he returns.
Jokić is still the best player in the world and at the height of his powers, which puts extra pressure on this organization to win another title. Everything that's transpired since the trade deadline suggests there's still plenty of work to be done.
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