8 NBA trade deadline winners (the Warriors!) and losers (also the Warriors)

The chaos of the 2025 NBA trade deadline has come and gone, and, hoo boy, is there a lot to unpack.

My pal Mike Sykes believes this NBA trade deadline was the most consequential in league history. With stars like Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, and De'Aaron Fox all residing in new cities now, it's hard to disagree. The crazy part? There's still an entire potentially jam-packed buyout market to sift through. We might not be done with notable, eye-popping moves around the association.

For now, let's try to make sense of what exactly happened at this trade deadline. Which teams rebooted their future for the better? Who's stuck in neutral? And who's probably way too desperate?

Here are the biggest winners and losers from an incredible NBA trade deadline.

1. Winner: the San Antonio Spurs, for quickly getting an All-Star to pair with Victor Wembanyama

Armed with an all-time generational talent like Wembanyama, the Spurs are in no rush to start competing for championships just yet. However, acquiring an electric No. 2 option like Fox to pair with Wembanayama for the foreseeable future is a masterstroke. What's even better for San Antonio is that it didn't have to part with any of its promising young assets like Stephon Castle or Devin Vassell to bring Fox into the fold.

2. Loser: the Dallas Mavericks, for selling extremely low on one of the faces of the league

This one almost goes without saying. The Mavericks (namely, general manager Nico Harrison) traded away 25-year-old Luka Doncic, an active top-three player in the NBA, for ... an older Anthony Davis. Because they want to "win now." Because they, as a professional sports organization with all the resources in the world, apparently had concerns about his conditioning. I mean, COME ON. And they only got a single first-round draft pick out of it because they only talked to one team about the deal.

Regardless of what happens next, this is easily one of the worst trade returns the NBA has ever seen.

3. Winner: the Los Angeles Lakers, for rebooting their franchise while basically surrendering nothing of tremendous value

In direct contrast to Dallas, the Lakers made out like bandits. Armed with an aging LeBron James and Davis, Los Angeles looked like it was truly in NBA No Man's Land. After pulling off the unbelievable Doncic trade, the Lakers now possess one of the league's brightest futures. From a salary cap perspective, they also have a remarkable amount of flexibility to shape their roster around a generational scorer and playmaker as they please.

Suffice it to say, we're likely going to remember Los Angeles acquiring Doncic for pennies on the dollar as a seminal moment in NBA lore.

4. Loser: the Denver Nuggets, for backing themselves into a corner (before the deadline)

To be clear, provided they get some breaks here and there if the Nuggets' youth movement fully grows up before the playoffs (Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther), then this Denver team has as good of a chance as anyone of winning this year's NBA title. That's what happens when you have three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who is currently enjoying his best regular season ever, on your roster. You always have a shot at ultimate glory.

The issue for the Nuggets is that they don't have much playoff optionality. They are more or less dependent on their top-eight or top-nine players staying together and healthy all the way through June. And because of a lack of tradable assets, Denver really couldn't do anything at the trade deadline to bolster its depth in a meaningful way ahead of a hopeful extended postseason run.

Time will tell whether this development costs the Nuggets another title in the middle of Jokic's prime. For now, it should at least be a little disappointing for everyone in the Denver organization.

5. Winner: the Golden State Warriors, for making one last earnest push with Steph Curry

Steph Curry is the best shooter in basketball history, any league. He changed the way the game is played. He's also 36 and running out of time to compete at a high level for championships in Golden State. I don't know if the blockbuster Jimmy Butler trade will elevate the Warriors the way some people seem to believe. Still, at least it resembles an effort from the franchise not to simply throw the towel in near the end of its greatest era.

6. Loser: the Warriors, for desperately hanging themselves out on a limb for Jimmy Butler

I respect the Warriors for trying not to waste Steph Curry's time by getting him another legitimately talented running mate in Butler. At the same time, Butler has worn out his welcome in every single NBA city he's ever played in. He's also 35 and is decidedly not the same player who took the Miami Heat to two Finals appearances this decade. Maybe this works out for the Warriors, and they become a Western Conference heavyweight again. It's certainly possible.

I have a hunch that this old team will likely fizzle out and accomplish nothing else of significance. Great team eras rarely have happy endings, and for good reason.

7. Losers: the Toronto Raptors, for aimlessly running around without a plan

Why did the Raptors acquire Brandon Ingram? No, seriously, I'm genuinely asking. What could this rebuilding team possibly garner value from in a player like Ingram? Is Toronto trying to win and get a play-in spot? Are they building around Scottie Barnes or not? What a perplexing organization that doesn't appear to have any coherent vision for the future right now.

8. Loser: the Milwaukee Bucks, who are clearly trying to do ANYTHING to save face with Giannis Antetokounmpo

As the Bucks flail around in above-average mediocrity, one thing remains clear: they are likely very terrified of frustrating Antetokounmpo to the point of his asking out. How else could you explain trading away a franchise legend like Middleton for Kyle Kuzma? Yes, Middleton has had his availability issues compared to Kuzma, and that, in itself, should help Milwaukee become a more consistent team on the court. But that's just about the only justifiable upgrade that trade presented.

The Middleton-Kuzma trade reeks of a franchise desperately trying to appease its MVP-caliber superstar. Unless the Bucks go on a deep playoff run this spring, I don't think this gambit will work.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: 8 NBA trade deadline winners (the Warriors!) and losers (also the Warriors)