So far, 2022 has been an exciting year for basketball fans. Thanks to the dissolution and disfunction of many star-oriented “super teams”, NBA competition has been much more balanced than in previous years. The eastern conference has been especially competitive. Ten out of the fourteen teams in the conference are less than ten games back from first place, with almost twenty-five games left in the regular season. Since the competition in the regular season has been so fierce, key trades made before the deadline are going to have a massive impact on playoff contention and playoff seeding in the east. Trade deadline moves are going to be especially impactful in the Atlantic division, where four out of five teams are currently trying to defend their playoff spots. With how competitive the Atlantic division is this year, there is a strong possibility that at least one championship contender will emerge from the lot. Now, here comes the fun part. We get to see which team has improved their chances of contending for a championship the most. Do so do, this article will assign grades to each team in the Atlantic division solely based on their trade deadline decisions.
Toronto Raptors: B-
I’m giving Toronto a B- not because of the trades they made, but because of the trades they didn’t make. Toronto already has a solid, all-around roster with an arsenal of versatile athletic defenders. Adding Thaddeus Young to the mix gives them some more bench depth and fits their roster archetype very well. Additionally, getting Goran Dragic’s contract off the books will free up plenty of cap space to make a big signing in the future.
However, Toronto made a mistake by solely building for long-term success when all they need is a couple pieces to win now. I would have liked to see them acquire a true rim-protecting big man before the deadline.
Their defense is solid this season, but they lack a defensive specialist in the paint that would take them to the upper echelon of NBA teams. Currently, their best shot blocker is Chris Boucher with only 1.1 blocks, and he lacks the body weight to defend around the rim consistently. They need to find a sizeable rim protector (Steven Adams or Myles Turner would have been ideal) or draft and develop a true center to turn their team into a championship contender.
Nets: B+
This is a hot take, but the James Harden and Ben Simmons trade was unquestionably a win for both sides. With Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant all on one roster, there were too many ball-dominant superstars and not enough touches to go around for all three of them. Additionally, all three play average to below average defense, and their bench players are not talented enough defensively to make up for the lack of defense in the starting rotation.
Trading Harden to the 76ers solves both of those problems for the Nets. Simmons is a versatile lockdown defender who can distribute to Irving and Durant without demanding the ball too much. Seth Curry and Andre Drummond are both solid role-playing defenders who can round out the Nets’ previously sparse bench depth.
It’s tough to see them give up Harden after only sixteen games with the “big three” fully healthy, but the Nets gained so much value in return that the trade just makes sense.
76ers: A
The 76ers were already good, but with James Harden and Joel Embiid they are a dangerous team. Joel Embiid is having an MVP calibre season, and the 76ers were third overall in the east before adding Harden. Now with another superstar to compliment Embiid, the 76ers look like a true championship contender.
The trade made sense for both teams, but I was shocked by how little value they managed to give up for Harden. Ben Simmons was going to be a complete waste of a contract this season, so sending him to a team where they get any value for him is huge. Giving up Seth Curry hurts their depth, but they already have young guards who can fill curry’s role like Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle. The only downside of this trade for the 76ers is that they now lack a true backup center, but Embiid’s dominance combined with Tobias Harris’ help should be enough to make up for the rebounding discrepancy.
Celtics: C+
Celtics didn’t make any huge mistakes at the trade deadline, but they made it very clear to the rest of the NBA that their plan is to build around their current stars, not go shopping for new ones. This would be an effective strategy if their two stars weren’t so similar. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both top tier players, but they do not provide enough diversity in their play styles for them to co-exist on a championship team.
Both players are ball-dominant, alpha scorers that are going to limit each other’s production. Picture having two knockoff Kobe Bryants on the same roster; that’s essentially what the Celtics have. If they want to contend for a championship, they’re going to have to trade one of their two stars for a star that compliments a Kobe-esque play style.
Ideally, a dominant big man would help fill this role while taking some of the minutes burden off an aging Al Horford. If that doesn’t work, a veteran point guard who can pass and play defense would be helpful. Derrick white is a solid addition that helps fill their guard role, but they gave up a player of extremely similar value in Jason Richardson. In conclusion, the Celtics didn’t ruin their rebuild with this trade but could have accelerated it if they shipped off Tatum or Brown for a player of similar value.
Knicks: D
In classic Knicks fashion, their front office talked the talk but did not walk the walk. Despite stating publicly on multiple occasions that they need to overhaul their roster to create a championship contender, the Knicks front office did absolutely nothing to follow through on that claim at the trade deadline. Julius Randle is a shell of his former self following his all-star campaign last season. RJ Barrett hasn’t panned out the way the Knicks expected but is still highly valued by a lot of NBA teams. This year is a pivotal year for them to retool and turn themselves back into a playoff calibre team, and yet the Knicks general managers rested on their laurels despite an abysmal 25-34 record so far this season.
Only time will tell if their current star players will continue to develop, but right now the Knicks are looking at another long playoff drought if something doesn’t change drastically.
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