Top trades that basketball media has been hiding from you
We examine the biggest trades the basketball media machine doesn't want to talk about (because they weren't interesting and didn't merit deeper consideration)
About
NBA teams do stuff. Sometimes the trades are interesting and have immediate implications for other teams’ offseasons and for the upcoming NBA season. Sometimes the moves feel like the equivalent of doodling on a notepad in a meeting so that you look busy. We’ve rated select offseason trades based on a metric we’re calling “sure, I guess”-ness.
How to think about “sure, I guess”-ness
This is a rating of how little we cared about this trade. It is a rating of how much the trade made us shrug our shoulders in indifference. Therefore, a higher score means that we cared about it less, and a lower score indicates that the trade might have some importance to the league. All transaction details are per the Basketball Reference transactions page (2025/2026) and the NBA Transactions page.
Desmond Bane trade
Jun 15, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 2/10 shrugs
Rationale: This trade addresses a key need for Orlando (competent three-point shooting) and gives Memphis a way out of their current roster setup. Desmond Bane is a very good basketball player who will almost certainly make Orlando a better team in a depleted eastern conference. Therefore, this trade will probably matter, and rates very few shrugs.
Oklahoma City/Washington trade
Jun 28, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 10/10 shrugs
Rationale: I only have the faintest idea of who these players are. The Wizards waived Dillon Jones before the start of the regular season.
Grant’s rationale: JONES SWAP
Nurkic/Sexton trade
Jun 29, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 7/10 shrugs
Rationale: You probably know who these players are, but when was the last time they were on a team with a winning record? I am quite fond of Collin Sexton but this is not an exciting trade.
Mark Williams trade
Jun 30, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 8/10 shrugs
Rationale: Poor Mark Williams.
Kevin Durant trade
Jul 6, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 1/10 shrugs, but it sucked to make this table.
Rationale: This is really just 4–5 normal trades stapled together to make one larger trade. I understand that’s how trade aggregation works, but does it really make sense to say that Pat Connaughton was moved as part of the Kevin Durant Trade™ if the Bucks and the Hornets were on the fringes of this deal?
Kristaps Porzingis trade
Jul 7, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 1/10 shrugs
Rationale: I begrudgingly gave this a 1/10 rating because in aggregate it moves about as many rotation players as the Kevin Durant trade.
Grant’s rationale: I did not realize this was also a MEGA trade.
Cam Johnson/Michael Porter Jr trade
Jul 8, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 3/10 shrugs
Rationale: Behold! A trade executed between just two teams!
Grant’s rationale: This is a great trade because it’s a trade we care about a lot but there are probably many moderately in-the-know basketball fans who have no idea who either of these people are. The casual fan’s Dillon Jones / Colby Jones trade.
Washington/San Antonio trade
Jul 9, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 9/10 shrugs
Rationale: You could call this the Kelly Olynyk trade if you were feeling really charitable. Personally, I kept forgetting that Kelly Olynyk was moved a second time, and spent the offseason thinking he was still on the Wizards.
Jonas Valanciunas trade
Jul 13, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 5/10 shrugs
Rationale: shrugs
Grant’s rationale: If Valanciunas dips on the Nuggets to play in Greece, does this lose points?
Marisa’s rationale: I think that would have made the trade way funnier, and would have lost points in the sense of “made the trade more interesting and relevant.”
Georges Niang trade
Aug 6, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 8/10 shrugs
Rationale: Georges Niang seems like a nice enough guy and I enjoyed his guest appearance on the Spinsters podcast many years ago. However, I don’t think this trade makes much of a difference for either team.
Heywood Highsmith trade
Aug 15, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 8/10 shrugs
Rationale: I think Heywood Highsmith is a better NBA player than Georges Niang is, but neither Brooklyn nor Miami is a particularly good team, so I don’t think this will have much impact on the upcoming NBA season.
Kobe Bufkin trade
Sep 16, 2025
Sure, I guess rating: 10/10 shrugs
Rationale: This trade somehow did not merit the inclusion of any other assets on the NBA’s transactions page; I sourced the rest of the details from Basketball Reference. I do know who Kobe Bufkin is but I don’t expect most readers (or my co-editors) to know who he is. Plus, the Nets just brought on five new rookies; will they have room in the rotation for a player who’s played 27 games in two seasons? It feels like the main purpose of this trade was to generate a trade exception for the Hawks. (Update, October 19th 2025: The Nets have waived Kobe Bufkin, so I guess the cash and the trade exception outlasted the player...)
Bonus: Other player movement
Methodology: M read through the “transactions” page of Basketball Reference and noted anything that caught her eye.
Old guy signings
The Toronto Raptors signed Garrett Temple.
The Philadelphia 76ers signed Kyle Lowry.
The Houston Rockets signed Jeff Green.
The Sacramento Kings signed Russell Westbrook*.
This isn’t officially listed on the NBA site as of the morning of Monday October 20th, but it’s been reported so we’ll include it with an asterisk.
Notable subtractions
The Milwaukee Bucks waived Damian Lillard.
The Washington Wizards waived Richaun Holmes.
The Phoenix Suns waived Bradley Beal.
Two days later, The Los Angeles Clippers signed Bradley Beal to a multi-year contract.
The Washington Wizards waived Marcus Smart.
Subsequently, the Los Angeles Lakers signed Marcus Smart to a multi-year contract.
John Wall announced retirement.
Malcolm Brogdon announced retirement.
Two-way and training camp signings that caught my eye
Most of these players were eventually waived, so this is more so we can remember a guy.
The Chicago Bulls signed Wooga Poplar to an Exhibit 10 contract.
This isn’t important at all, but Wooga Poplar is such a great name. He was waived in September though.
The Minnesota Timberwolves signed Rocco Zikarsky to a two-way contract.
Another great name.
The Chicago Bulls signed Yuki Kawamura to a two-way contract.
M: I’ll never forgive the Bulls for waiving him.
The Orlando Magic signed Orlando Robinson to a two-way contract.
He’s been in the league for a few years but has never actually played for the Magic until now.
Minnesota Timberwolves converted the contract of guard Johnny Juzang to a Two-Way Contract.
Asian-American legend!
The Milwaukee Bucks signed Alex Antetokounmpo to a two-way contract.
Not a reunion!
Indiana Pacers waived guard Kyle Guy.
Reunions
The Los Angeles Clippers signed Brook Lopez to a multi-year contract.
Also counts as an old guy signing.
The Indiana Pacers signed James Wiseman to a multi-year contract.
The Denver Nuggets signed Bruce Brown.
The Portland Trail Blazers signed Damian Lillard to a multi-year contract.
The Miami Heat signed Precious Achiuwa.
The Los Angeles Clippers signed Chris Paul.
The Milwaukee Bucks signed Thanasis Antetokounmpo.
That’s it for our very belated offseason recap (of sorts). See you soon!