The NBA trade deadline did not disappoint this season. Heck, even without the Luka news, it could have gone down as a top-5 all-chaos deadline in league history.
Players’ roles are forever changing in the NBA, but last week’s big transaction period has forced some new faces in different places upon us.
NBA Trade Deadline Winners & Losers (2025)
Let’s examine and try to predict some winners and losers for the remainder of the season.
Trade Deadline Winners
Max Christie & Mavericks’ Role Players
Max Christie headlines this group. It’s been a perfect storm for the stock of Dallas players to rise in the fantasy world over the last couple of weeks.
Luka Doncic was traded for Anthony Davis, who was abruptly injured in his first appearance with the Mavericks. Additionally, up-and-comer Dereck Lively will miss an abundance of time. Dwight Powell and P.J. Washington were both banged-up before the All-Star Break, which left the door open for youngsters Kessler Edwards, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, and Naji Marshall to get more time.
It looks like Dallas’ injury woes won’t go away by the time action resumes, so these forwards should continue to see more playing time than anyone anticipated at this point of the season. But Max Christie’s DFS/betting value may be the big winner due to the state of the current roster despite being viewed as nothing more than a throw-in by the masses.
Anyway, getting back to Christie, the youngster out of Michigan State, who was enjoying his best season as a Laker before the Luka for AD swap that sent him packing to Texas. Christie has continued to impress in seven February games (six as a Maverick), averaging three more shots per game than his season average, while shooting an efficient 50% from the floor and 43% from deep.
Despite the borderline hell that the Mavericks roster is in health-wise right now, they’re still clinging to the 8th seed in the West, and Christie’s should continue into the summer regardless if the Mavs are in the hunt. He’s developing while helping Dallas compete in most games.
Christie recorded a 25% usage rate in his last game before the break, which marked a season-high for him in any game that he’s played more than five minutes. He’s turning into a good role player, which might be his floor in what appears to be a promising NBA career.
Trey Murphy
Trey Murphy could be the best young player in basketball that nobody talks about. That might be partially due to this Pelicans experience becoming a multi-year dumpster fire.
Brandon Ingram is gone (via the trade deadline), and Dejounte Murray is done for the year due to an unfortunate leg injury. That leaves just a few amigos left standing for New Orleans to soak up all of the usage. Zion, when healthy, CJ McCollum, and Murphy.
Murphy is no longer just a 3-and-D guy. He’s averaging 22.4 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds this year – those are all-star numbers. Without McCollum and Murray on the floor this season, Murphy averaged a 3.3% usage increase and 24.9 points per 36 minutes.
Murphy is averaging a tick better than 35 minutes per game this year, and should play ~40 in competitive games. Like Christie, Murphy is young (24) and continues to develop in front of our eyes.
New Orleans may have their next superstar on deck (give it a year or two) – and it’s not Zion or McCollum. I expect Murphy to dominate the second half of this season, a lone bright spot for this Pels’ squad.
Trade Deadline Losers
Devin Vassell
Star guard De’Aaron Fox was shipped off to San Antonio, which puts a ball-dominant guard with a 25% usage rate smack in the middle of a team that had fairly solidified roles and expectations.
It’s been a tiny five-game sample size for the Spurs since Fox joined the club, but Vassell appears to have taken the biggest hit in usage so far. While he did enjoy one uber-efficient game, he logged just an 18% usage rate across those five games, down 5% from his season average. His minutes are definitely still secure, but he’ll take a tiny bump down on the Spurs’ hierarchy of usage and playmaking now that Fox is in town.
If Vassell’s player props open up later this week around his season averages, perhaps some of his unders are worth a look. His ceiling might be limited in the DFS streets until his price drops.
Mark Williams, Dalton Knecht, and both teams they almost played for
Ah, the trade that was vetoed. Things are just awkward now. There is no doubt that Los Angeles is in dire need of a big man, and he would have certainly helped the Lakers when healthy. Williams has dealt with too many chronic back problems for his age, and there could have been a big availability issue.
On the flip side, you have Knecht, who I’m surprised LA was willing to part with. Knecht has legitimate upside, even though you might not see it fully blossom for another year or so. He can get red-hot from 3-point range, and he has a Tyler Herro jerkiness to his game – and I believe he’ll get more comfortable putting the ball on the floor as he grows. He showed some of that ability during the Rising Stars tournament last weekend.
You could have bet on Knecht around +1200 to win Rookie of the Year before the trade was rescinded – which seemed like awesome value for a guy who could have regularly played north of 30 minutes for a woeful Hornets team down the stretch. Unfortunately for bettors, those tickets are most likely worthless now. Brutal.
Knecht said he “needs some time” before playing again for Los Angeles, and from a human perspective, I’m sure it’s a weird vibe (as the kids say). I hope he finds a role again soon for LA, because he would have had a chance to grow and play a ton of minutes for a rebuilding Charlotte team, who is willing to take some lumps while developing any ounce of talent from anyone not named LaMelo or Miles.
The entire situation is a big fat L for both sides, and I’m curious how relationships get mended – and when Williams will play a basketball game after failing the physical that put a kabosh on this deal that would have been a win for both organizations.
The Lakers may have won long-term, but they have a legitimate gaping hole in the middle of their lineup, and some of these elite Western Conference teams will take advantage of that.
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