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2024 NBA trade deadline deals and grades: Knicks land Bogdanovic, Burks

The 2024 NBA trade deadline arrives on Feb. 8 (3 p.m. ET), but already we’ve seen some big names switching teams this season. Before the New Year, James Harden was dealt to the LA Clippers and OG Anunoby to the Knicks. Since the calendar flipped, we’ve watched Pascal Siakam and Terry Rozier find new homes.

Here are the biggest trades that have happened so far with grades and analysis from FOX Sports’ NBA writers. 

Note: This story will update through the deadline.

Feb. 8: Knicks land Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks

The deal: Knicks receive Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks; Pistons receive Quentin Grimes, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, Ryan Arcidiacono, and two future second-round picks.

Knicks: A+
Pistons: A-

The Knicks are going for it, and, with this deal, they might be “there” without needing another star. Bogdanovic is a 6-foot-7, 20-point scorer who can create off the bounce and light it up from deep (41.5 3P% this season on 7.4 attempts per game). Burks is a Tom Thibodeau favorite who can run the offense when Jalen Brunson is off the floor. When healthy, the Knicks now have as deep a team as any in the league: They can run out a starting lineup of Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein while bringing Bogdanovic, Josh Hart, Burks and Precious Achiuwa off the bench. That’s a group with all sorts of versatility and that can pummel opponents. And the Knicks didn’t need to give up any first-round picks to make this deal happen. Grimes is a nice player, but with the emergence of DiVincenzo there was no future for him in New York. This move also gives the Knicks some insurance in case either Randle or Anunoby don’t return to the floor when expected.

For the Pistons, this was an opportunity to clear some cap space and turn some vets into future assets and a nice, cost-controlled young player in Grimes. Grimes, a 3-and-D wing with upside, will slide in nicely alongside Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson and Jaden Ivey, especially with his ability to space the floor. And the Pistons will now enter the offseason with around $45 million in cap space.

Feb. 8: Thunder trade for Gordon Hayward

The deal: Thunder receive Gordon Hayward; Hornets receive Tre Mann and Davis Bertans.

Thunder: A-
Hornets: B

The Thunder made a win-now trade! This feels like the end of one era and the beginning of a new, exciting one, where this new Thunder squad is a championship contender. And Hayward is a great fit for this team. They won’t be relying on him, but he gives them another weapon on offense, someone who can shoot, drive, finish and pass. His style should thrive in OKC’s spread, drive-and-kick offense. And they upgraded the roster without surrendering any key assets or rotation players. They still have all the picks in the world (almost literally). And this offers some insurance if things don’t go well for Josh Giddey in the playoffs. 

For the Hornets, there’s nothing wrong with this deal — Hayward is on an expiring contract and does not fit the Hornets’ timeline. Mann was clearly the Hornets’ target. A former first-round pick, he’s shown flashes in OKC, and now will get a real shot to play. The Hornets can also try to flip Bertans’ large expiring contract again next off-season or use it in a deal for another player. So this is a nice piece of business, but nothing to get too excited about. 

Feb. 8: 76ers acquire Buddy Hield from Pacers

The deal: 76ers receive Buddy Hield; Pacers receive Marcus Morris, Furkan Korkmaz and three second-round picks.

76ers: B+
Pacers: B+

The Sixers get to add an elite sniper (Hield is a career 40.6% 3-point shooter on 7.7 attempts per game) and do so without surrendering a first-round pick or a key rotation piece. Anytime a team can do that, it’s a nice piece of business. And Hield’s contract expires after this season, so the Sixers aren’t eating into their future cap space, either. The most interesting part of this deal is that clearly there’s some optimism from the Sixers that Joel Embiid can return for the playoffs. If he does, Hield’s presence alongside him and Tyrese Maxey will make the team’s offense impossible to guard. The other end of the court is where things could get dicey — a backcourt tandem of Maxey and Hield could be a problem in the playoffs. But the Sixers could also stagger that tandem a bit. And again, they didn’t give up anything of major value in this deal. 

The Pacers weren’t going to re-sign Hield this summer, and clearly couldn’t get a first-round pick for him. So the choice came down to turning Hield into a package of second-round picks or letting him play out the season and then walk in the summer. The only reason to choose the latter would have been if they felt that Hield was essential to their on-court success. They correctly determined that he was not. The Pacers will be fine, and now they have more future assets to play with. 

Jan. 23: Heat, Hornets reportedly swap Terry Rozier, Kyle Lowry

The deal: Heat receives Terry Rozier; Hornets receive Kyle Lowry and a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick

Heat: A-
Hornets: B

The 24-19 Heat were already a bit of a sleeping giant in the East, and this deal just makes them stronger. Rozier was having an excellent season in Charlotte, averaging 23.2 points per game and shooting a solid 35.8% from long range on high volume (7.7 attempts per game). He’s younger (29) than the 37-year-old Lowry, and healthier, and gives the Heat more juice and depth in the backcourt, which should help lift Miami’s 20th-ranked offense. When healthy, Miami can now choose three players from among the Duncan Robinson, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Rozier quartet to close games alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. That’s a strong rotation, one that no opponent is going to want to face. And to get this upgrade by just parting with a single pick that will likely fall in the mid-to-late first round is a nice piece of business. 

We could make this an incomplete grade for Charlotte, pending what happens with Lowry, but in the meantime, we’ll go with a B. ESPN is reporting that the Hornets don’t plan on buying Lowry out but instead would like to flip him to a playoff team in another deal. There will be suitors. The Sixers could use some backcourt depth, and Lowry is a Philly native and played for Nick Nurse in Toronto. The Knicks also need a backup point guard and Lowry being a member of the Villanova family means he’s got plenty of connections there. And of course, we can assume the Lakers, still on the hunt for more offensive juice, will be in the mix.

All of which is to say that if the Hornets can turn Lowry into some more assets, then this grade will bump up. But until then it’s fair to wonder if they moved too early. There are a bunch of contending teams who could use someone with Rozier’s skill set — by turning him into a single mid-to-late first-round pick, they seemed to have settled. Again, the assumption here is that they made this move this far before the deadline so that they could give themselves time to make a Lowry trade. But if they fail there and are forced to buy out Lowry, then it will be fair to question this. 

Jan. 17: Pacers land Pascal Siakam

The deal: Pacers receive Pascal Siakam and a future second-round pick; Raptors receive Bruce Brown, Jordan Nwora, Kira Lewis, two 2024 first-round picks (via Indiana), conditional 2026 first-round pick (via Indiana); Pelicans receive cash considerations

Pacers: B+
Raptors: B+

If you’re the sort of fan/analyst who views everything through a “championship-or-bust” mindset, then you’d consider this a bad deal for Indy. Siakam is a good player but not a star, and this trade will force the Pacers to give him a max — or at least near-max deal — this offseason when the now 29-year-old Siakam becomes a free agent. It will be a deal that, likely, will not age well. That said, NBA teams aren’t built in “championship-or-bust” vacuums. The Pacers have one superstar in Tyrese Haliburton — this deal gives him an All-Star-level teammate, something they did not have. And I don’t mind the picks they gave up, either. It will likely amount to two mid-to-late first round picks from this upcoming draft, plus another first in 2026. With Siakam, the Pacers should now be a shoo-in for the playoffs. Given the market they’re in — Indy is not exactly a major free agent destination — I like the move. 

The Raptors, meanwhile, did well considering that Siakam is just six months away from free agency. I’m deducting points, however, because the Raptors should have traded Siakam LAST season. Everyone knew back then that it was unlikely they re-sign him in the summer of 2024, and yet the Raptors still decided to sit on their hands. At that point, Siakam had a year-and-half left on his deal, meaning more teams would have been interested, which could have led to a bidding war. Patience, sometimes, is not the answer. This was one of those cases.

Other completed deals

Yaron Weitzman is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He is the author of “Tanking to the Top: The Philadelphia 76ers and the Most Audacious Process in the History of Professional Sports.” Follow him on Twitter @YaronWeitzman.

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