The current NBA trade window was quieter than usual.
In fact, until February 6, except for Roy Hachimura who left the Washington Wizards and moved to the Los Angeles Lakers, only one trade was made in the league and you probably didn't hear about it either (Noah Vanlei moved from Boston to San Antonio for a draft pick).
But luckily there are players in the league like Kyrie Irving, for whom silence is not exactly for them.
The center asked the Brooklyn Nets to leave, moved to the Dallas Mavericks in a huge trade, and opened the door for an unforgettable week in the best league in the world.
Following him, Kevin Durant moved to the Phoenix Suns, in an even bigger move, and the Los Angeles Lakers also managed to get a little stronger with DeAngelo Russell returning instead of Russell Westbrook, who found himself in Utah in a triple trade.
From a boring and quiet window, we got some huge deals that will change the face of the league later this season, and it's time to try and get some order.
Durant.
Will he also celebrate with Phoenix?, Photo: AFP
Phoenix Suns - the new "Super Tim".
Someone in Phoenix must go and give flowers to Kyrie Irving, because without him there is no way the Suns would have managed to get their hands on a player like Kevin Durant - and without giving up one of their three stars.
KD now becomes one of the only players in the history of the league to join the "Super Team" three times in his career.
With Golden State he succeeded as he got the only two championship rings of his career.
He leaves Brooklyn together with Kyrie, and after Harden ran away before them (for those who forgot) and leaves it as one of the failed franchises in the history of the league.
Now with Phoenix, already 34 years old, it seems the only mission left in his career is to have more rings than fingers on at least one hand.
With Devin Booker, Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton making it all the way to the Finals on their own two years ago, it might work out for him.
The difference between the Durant trade and the other big moves in this window, is that there is no gamble here, as Phoenix either way has a good enough roster to fight for the title.
His arrival only establishes her as the leading candidate to win.
Kevin Durant is on his way to the Valley of the Sun pic.twitter.com/IegCUWEQuF
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2023
Los Angeles Lakers - saved the season.
The addition of Russell Westbrook to the Lakers was one of the biggest mistakes in the team's history, and as soon as LA realized that, they tried to do everything to get rid of him.
It took them quite some time, but when it was successful - it seems they got a dream deal.
If the fans were excited about the addition of Roy Hachimura (an excellent trade in itself), then it was only the beginning of a perfect window for the Lakers who may have saved themselves the season.
DeAngelo Russell, who was drafted second overall by the Lakers in 2015, was dumped two years later to make room for Lonzo Ball.
He returns as a better player, but more importantly, exactly the slot that was missing on Darwin Hamm's roster, a three-point shooter and another point producer who can help LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
One of the team's problems this season was the lack of good three-point shooters.
So the new Russell is one of the best in the league (39%), and he replaces another Russell - whose percentages outside the arc don't need to be talked about, because everyone knows how bad they are.
Malik Beasley, who joined in the same trade, can also help the Yellow-Purple improve the percentages from the long range and Jared Vanderblit will contribute to the defensive effort.
The situation of the Lakers in the table is still not good, but LeBron and friends have enough time to fix it.
Westbrook.
They got rid of him properly, photo: AP
Dallas Mavericks - there was nothing to lose.
With the roster it had, a Western Conference semifinal was a success for the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic this season.
And now, with Kyrie Irving, Texas can daydream about a second NBA championship in history.
So first of all, for all the risks it took, Dallas made a good trade.
General manager Nico Harrison, who knows Kyrie from his time at Nike (which was the star's sponsor before dropping him because of his anti-Semitic remarks) believes he can make it work.
So when Doncic's patience may be starting to run out, Dallas made a good move, and is one of three teams that have made themselves real contenders.
After his debut in Dallas, Irving said: "I want to be in a place where I'm enjoyed, and not just tolerated or made to feel that I'm not respected."
In other words, he made it clear to Dallas exactly what she needed to do to make it work: make him feel good.
Irving.
Get used to the Dallas uniform, photo: USA TODAY Sport
Brooklyn Nets - lost everything they had.
The common question in Brooklyn is why now?
There is no doubt that the Suns offered such a trade for Durant last year as well, and they probably would have offered a similar one during the summer.
So why not wait and conduct a bidding war properly?
Durant has three years left on his contract.
He had no way of forcing his way into Phoenix.
True, Brooklyn got great players in exchange for Durant and Kyrie.
Mikal Bridges is one of the best small forwards in the league, and an asset every coach wants on his team.
Cam Johnson is also a good power addition.
Spencer Dinwiddie has already proven in the team uniform that he has something to contribute, and Dorian Finney-Smith is also one of the good defensive players in the league.
And yet, with all these nice names, in the playoffs, which Brooklyn will probably reach thanks to the wonderful balance it is currently in, it can go one round at best.
Simmons.
Left alone at home, photo: USA TODAY Sports
Tweets by Dimand Nadav
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us