By: Aiden Rutman

The NBA Trade deadline came and went on March 25th, and as usual, it did not fail to disappoint. This deadline was one of the busiest in NBA history. 16 deals were made, sending 46 players to new teams. Some organizations went all out in efforts to fulfill their championship hopes. Others opted to trade their stars away, marking the beginning a rebuild.

The Magic blow it up 

The Orlando Magic were stuck in no-man’s land this season. They had some talented players, but a ton of injuries, and their roster wasn’t built for success. On March 25th, they traded Nikola Vicevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier for C Wendell Carter Jr, Otto Porter Jr, RJ Hampton, Gary Harris, three first-round draft picks and two second-round draft picks. This trade, while necessary, was definitely a hard pill for a lot of Magic fans to swallow, as it got rid of their three best players, ensuring that they are one of the worst teams in the league.

A true “WTF” stat

Among the players traded at the deadline was Gary Trent Jr. He was traded from the Portland Trail Blazers to the Toronto Raptors. Coincidentally, Trent Jr’s father also played for the Trail Blazers. Here’s where it gets really weird: In 1998, Trent Sr. was traded from the Trail Blazers to the raptors, after the 41st game in his third NBA season. 23 years later, Trent Jr. was traded from the Trail Blazers to the Raptors after the 41st game in his third NBA season. What are the odds?

The Knicks are rolling

The New York Knicks were subjected to much criticism after not making any moves at the trade deadline. They started to lose games, and began slipping in the Eastern Conference Standings. After losing 3 of 4, the Knicks beat the Memphis Grizzlies in an overtime thriller. That was the first game of their 9 game win streak, their longest since 2013. The Knicks are currently sitting pretty in fourth place in the Eastern Conference Standings.

2021 – the year of the injury 

A lot of fans could’ve predicted that this year would be riddled with injuries. The same thing happened with football. There was a shortened offseason and a shortened preseason. Players had less time to re-introduce their bodies to the 48-minute sprint that is an NBA season. Not to mention that the league’s health and safety protocols has many key players sidelined due to exposure to Covid. Among the long list of players who are currently hurt are Ben Simmons, James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, James Wisman, Lamelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, Zach Lavine, De’Aaron Fox, Jamal Murray, Kevin Porter Jr, Myles Turner, Mitchell Robinson, Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Victor Oladipo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. All NBA fans are keeping their fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for all of these players.