The Boston Celtics added two-time All-Star center Nikola Vucevic. The Detroit Pistons brought in more shooting in a move for Kevin Huerter. The Cleveland Cavaliers pulled off a blockbuster deal trading one All-Star guard for another in the Darius Garland-James Harden swap.
And the Knicks? The Knicks got Jose Alvarado. They also lost Miles McBride to a core muscle injury.
The Feb 5 NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone. So have the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors — at least for now — with The Greek Freak, after all that, staying put in Milwaukee at least through the remainder of the regular season.
Which means the Knicks, save for a last-ditch buyout market acquisition, are exactly who they are. This is the group ownership and the front office believes can compete for a championship in an Eastern Conference whose top seeds around the Knicks each made significant roster upgrades entering the NBA All-Star Break.
The Knicks entered the trade deadline tied with the Celtics for the East’s No. 2 seed behind the Pistons. Their movements, or lack thereof, will determine whether or not the Knicks can stay in the conference’s top-four coming out of All-Star 2026 in Los Angeles.
PHILADELPHIA (29-22)
- Paul George suspended 25 games for violating NBA’s anti-drug policy
DEPTH CHART
Guards: Maxey, Grimes, Lowry
Wings/Forwards: Edgecombe, Oubre, Barlow, Watford
Bigs: Embiid, Drummond, Bona
Suspended: George
No need to look too hard, here. The Sixers didn’t do anything at the trade deadline. Addition by subtraction will be their best bet. Paul George was already mired in yet another regression before he got busted by the league’s drug-use policy. What will be worth watching is whether or not the Sixers improve their level of play with the senescent, past-his-prime star out of the rotation.
TORONTO (31-22)
- Traded G Ochai Agbaji, 2032 second-round pick to Brooklyn in three-team deal for G Chris Paul
- Traded 2026 second-round pick (via LA Lakers) to Golden State for C Trayce Jackson-Davis
DEPTH CHART
Guards: Quickley, Shead, Walter, Paul, Battle
Wings/Forwards: Ingram, Barnes, Barrett, Dick, Murray-Boyles
Bigs: Poeltl, Jackson-Davis, Mamukelashvili
A feel-good story in the NBA, the young and fun Toronto Raptors are all grown-up, and they’ve added another adult to the equation dealing for the embattled Chris Paul. Time will tell what kind of role, if any, Paul will carve in the North, but the Raptors, long known to be a versatile defensive team, are beginning to find an offensive identity. Acquiring Jackson-Davis adds much-needed depth to the center spot behind Jakob Poeltl.
DETROIT (37-13 at the deadline)
- Traded G Jaden Ivey to Chicago Bulls in three-team deal for Kevin Huerter
DEPTH CHART
Guards: Cunningham, LeVert, Jenkins, Green
Wings/Forwards: Thompson, Harris, Holland, Huerter, Robinson,
Bigs: Duren, Stewart, Reed, Saric
The Pistons didn’t need much. They could have pulled off a big-time trade for a player like Antetokounmpo or taken a swing at Anthony Davis or Kristaps Porzingis to boost their front court. In the end, they did what every team does in this hoops generation: add an aggressive sharpshooter while removing some clutter in the back court by shipping Jaden Ivey to Chicago. The Pistons are the best team in the East until the Knicks, Celtics or Cavaliers can prove otherwise. The Dario Saric acquisition, too, could be a sneaky-good add as a play-making big who can stretch the floor.
NEW YORK (33-18)
- Traded F Guerschon Yabusele to Chicago for G Dalen Terry\
- Traded G Dalen Terry, 2 second-round picks to New Orleans for G Jose Alvarado
- G Miles McBride (core muscle) potentially out remainder of regular season
DEPTH CHART
Guards: Brunson, Alvarado, Kolek, Clarkson
Wings/Forwards: Anunoby, Bridges, Hart, Shamet, Diawara
Bigs: Towns, Robinson, Hukporti
Injured: McBride
The Knicks needed to make a move. They didn’t know it would be a compensatory decision. Losing Miles McBride to what could be a season-ending core muscle injury robbed the Knicks of their best point-of-attack defender, and instead of trading Guerschon Yabusele to fill another need–like play-making in the back court or depth in the front court–the Knicks moved Yabusele to acquire Jose Alvarado, a player who brings many of the same traits as the team’s injured pesky defender McBride. It’s a good fit. Alvarado is from Brooklyn and his play style will quickly make him a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden. This move, however, is marginal — as expected — and pales in comparison to the moves made by two teams who find themselves jostling with the Knicks for championship positioning.
BOSTON (33-18)
- Traded G Anfernee Simons to Chicago for C Nikola Vucevic
DEPTH CHART
Guards: Pritchard, White
Wings/Forwards: Brown, Hauser, Scheierman, Gonzalez, Walsh
Bigs: Vucevic, Garza, Queta
Injured: Tatum
When the Celtics traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks and let Al Horford leave for the Golden State Warriors in free agency without replacing either over the summer, they entered the regular season with a gaping hole at center to be plugged by committee. Trading for Vucevic fortifies Boston’s front court–and provides a valuable play-making skill set to complement Jaylen Brown in a season worthy of MVP consideration. It’s remarkable the Celtics are hanging at the top of the East given this was what many considered a lost season after Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury in the second round of last year’s playoffs. If Tatum returns — and he’s already dunking and doing 400-pound deadlifts — the Celtics could be right in the thick of the Finals run come May, though they are delusionally confident enough under head coach Joe Mazzulla to believe they can win with Brown as the main act.
CLEVELAND (31-21)
- Traded Darius Garland and a second-round pick to the LA Clippers for James Harden
- Traded De’Andre Hunter to Sacramento for Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis
- Dumped Lonzo Ball’s salary
DEPTH CHART
Guards: Harden, Mitchell, Schroder, Ellis, Porter Jr., Proctor
Wings/Forwards: Tyson, Strus, Merrill, Wade
Bigs: Allen, Mobley, Bryant
The only team that can stop the Cavaliers are the Cavaliers themselves. Pairing Harden and Donovan Mitchell possibly gives Cleveland the best back court duo in all of basketball (yes, better than Brunson and Bridges, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, rivaling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams in Oklahoma City). It also puts a firm second-round ceiling on a Cavs team now built upon the shoulders of two elite regular-season performers who haven’t quite lived up to the billing in the playoffs.
Mitchell has never made it to the conference finals, and Harden hasn’t made it to the conference finals since 2018 despite pairing up with Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Kawhi Leonard.
Now, Cleveland’s new duo will have to defy its own self-imposed odds, though they’ve raised their ceiling more than any other team in the East with the trade deadline stunner capable of complicating New York’s championship pursuit. Adding Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder gives the Cavs the deepest back court in the East, and if Harden’s play-making can elevate Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen as pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop bigs, the Cavs could be the team best positioned to spoil New York’s championship run.
