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It has almost been 3 weeks since the NBA season has begun and the season has been very interesting so far. This season there have been many personnel changes over the summer. Some of these roster changes this off-season have worked, some didn't but they definitely have made the season so much more exciting.
In this list, we are not going to talk about the best and the worst of the trades that happened this season so far. (For the sake of this list the entirety of the trade will not be taken into consideration but a few parts of the trade that worked out for a team or did not will be considered)
BEST
#1 D'Angelo Russell to Brooklyn Nets:
It's surprising to see Nets finally get off the ground running and have been a thriller to watch, winning against some bigger teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Portland Trailblazers and Russell has a huge role to play in those wins. A player whose growth I was scared to come to a halt with the move has instead embraced the move very well.
#2 Victor Oladipo to Indiana Pacers
Victor Oladipo after spending a season at the Oklahoma City Thunder caught himself in a monster trade between the Pacers and OKC Thunder where Paul George came to OKC to play with Westbrook while Oladipo departed for Indiana. It was rather surprising how good he has been this season so far for the Pacers averaging 23.4 Points/game, 4.3 assists per game and leading the line for Pacers 6-8 record. It is fair to say he has been more influential to Pacers than Paul George has been to OKC Thunder.
#3 Kyrie Irving to Boston Celtics
This trade was one of the biggest trades this off-season and it is one that worked out the best for the Celtics franchise. Irving immediately even with the injury of Gordon Hayward was able to make a big impact as they are right now on a 12 game win streak and have the best record in the NBA with 12-2.
Irving's stats are not fancy and big as Giannis or Harden's numbers but the impact he's brought to Boston is more than enough to put him as a front-runner for the MVP title this season. With the lights of Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford all working very well with the team right now, the franchise is headed to a bright future.
Other trades like:
Trade between the Nets and Los Angeles Lakers that involved Russell had Brook Lopez go to Lakers along with draft rights to Kyle Kuzma. Both these players worked really well for the Lakers so far.
Jimmy Butler trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves to get back with his former coach Tom Thibodeau has also worked pretty well for the T-Wolves. Though they still haven't reached the peak of their potential yet as a unit, it's very likely that will happen and that they will grab a playoff spot this year.
Draft rights of Jordan Bell given to Golden State Warriors, this was the biggest steal. Warriors should be very happy as Jordan Bell seems to be a very exciting prospect for the NBA and has been able to grab some attention his way.
WORST
#1 Chris Paul to Houston Rockets
This is a trade I was skeptical off right from the beginning but the injury just made it worse. This conclusion comes off of the fact that Rockets are actually winning, they are currently on a six-game win streak and now when Chris Paul returns the momentum is lost as Harden has to again share the ball with CP3 but right now they have a perfect rotation and starting 5. So, this according to me has not worked out and might not work out even further.
Other than this there hasn't been any significant bad trades, but there were a few moves that just didn't work out for the teams supposed to win in those trades.
Carmelo Anthony and Paul George to OKC Thunder, it was evident these two players wanted to leave but the destination was rather surprising for the players. And it has definitely not worked out for the OKC as good as they hoped it would. With such brilliant players on the court, the excuse of taking time to get used to becomes null and void. But this team has now won their first match after 4 game losing streak, and have a record of 6-7.
Gordon Hayward with the Boston Celtics
His very unfortunate injury has pushed him away from wearing the Boston uniform for another year. Though the team is winning at the moment it definitely has not worked out for Boston as they hoped it would in terms of playing with a Big 3.
Washington Wizards, though they have a 7-5 record it's fair to say they should have tried to make some moves this offseason to really strengthen the team around Bradley Beal and John Wall. A little more firepower can push them to the top-3/2 spot in the east and can certainly take advantage of Cavaliers' little slump.
That was a small list of the best and the worst trade moves of the 2017-18 NBA season so far. There is still a little over 2 months till the trade deadline, let us wait and see if there will be more personnel changes and how they will impact the NBA season.
