With NBA All-Star festivities and the trade deadline now firmly in the rear view, it’s time to shift focus to the rest of the season, especially in regard to which players on new teams could make an impact.
Here are five players who were traded before the Feb. 5 deadline we should keep a keen eye on.
Do note that players who are no longer expecting to play for their new teams won’t be on the list. That means no Anthony Davis and Jaren Jackson Jr. Due to the uncertainty of their status, Trae Young and Jonathan Kuminga have also been excluded from this exercise.
G Anfernee Simons, Chicago Bulls
The 6-foot-3 combo guard was lauded for how he played in Boston, fitting into the system and playing off Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.
That wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I believe the Celtics gave him too little to do and shortened his offensive volume more than they should have.
Simons is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the NBA, and he’s a strong scorer who over the course of his last three seasons in Portland put up 20.7 points per game.
There is an in-between area for Simons here. He shouldn’t be a primary shot-taker, but he’s also better than most expect as an off-ball scorer off the bench.
In Chicago, he’ll get a chance to find that balance before he hits free agency in July, after which he can become an insanely valuable member of a potential contender. The path for Simons to become relevant on a national level starts now.
Nikola Vučević, Boston Celtics
The next guy on the list is the player for whom Simons was traded. Vučević provides the Celtics with something they’ve desperately needed this season: quality big-man depth.
Vučević will practically walk into 9-10 rebounds per night, he’ll move the ball effectively, he’ll take — and make — 3-pointers, and during dead offensive stretches, you can ask him to score off traditional post creation.
For a Celtics team that may get Jayson Tatum back this year — we’ll see how that situation develops — adding Vučević makes a lot of sense.
So far in Boston, he’s come off the bench. Neemias Queta has been playing ahead of him due to defensive reasons, but one has to wonder if that changes as the playoffs approach and the need for floor-spacing at all five positions become more necessary.
Whatever the direction, Vučević fills both a need and upgrades the center position in Boston, which could go a long way for the Celtics to make a real postseason push.
Ayo Dosunmu, Minnesota Timberwolves
If we look at impact rather than big names, this was unquestionably the most underrated acquisition of the deadline.
Having played in Chicago his whole career, Dosunmu has flown under the national radar, to the point where most fans simply aren’t aware of how good he is.
This season, with a teammate in Josh Giddey who averages 18.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.8 assists, Dosunmu was Chicago’s best guard.
He bends defenses when he moves off the ball, he’s a terrific point-of-attack defender, and at 6-4 with long arms and great defensive anticipation, you can ask him to play three positions.
Dosunmu, who averages 15 points and has hit almost 44.7% of his triples this year, should be Minnesota’s starting point guard when it enter the playoffs. On paper, he’s the perfect backcourt mate to Anthony Edwards, and he could be a major reason for a potential Wolves run.
Luke Kennard, Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers have far too many one-way players, and the Kennard acquisition doesn’t help that. However, he does provide such a unique skill in terms of his elite 3-point shooting that you live with it.
The Lakers have been a bad-to-dreadful team from behind the arc this season. Luka Dončić has time and time again collapsed defenses and sent the ball outside to shooters, only to hear the sound of a clank as the ball hits the rim and bounces off.
That should change with Kennard, who is hitting a league-leading 49.4% of his 3-point shots this season, 98.7% of which are assisted.
That should go a long way for Los Angeles to gain better floor-spacing, especially as it moves closer to the playoffs.
There’s an added benefit with Kennard in that he provides some pick-and-roll creation in the second unit, which the Lakers also sorely need.
Ivica Zubac, Indiana Pacers
While Indiana made a drastic overpay for the services of Zubac, it’s impossible to hate the theoretical fit between him and Tyrese Haliburton, when the latter returns.
For now, we’ll have to settle for just Zubac, and that’s probably a good thing for him, as a bigger role to wrap up this season could accelerate his comfort level with the Pacers and have him enter next season more acquainted with his surroundings and the system.
Zubac is the center Indiana has needed all year — and even during stretches in the Myles Turner era. He’s a formidable rebounder (11 per game in just over 30 minutes) and a strong post defender, and he plays well off lead guards.
While Zubac doesn’t stretch the floor, he will bully his opponents underneath the basket and eventually help clear space for Haliburton to attack, which should become an intriguing wrinkle in the Pacers’ future offense.
For now, he’ll have to get comfortable with Indiana’s roster and develop solid interplay with Pascal Siakam.
