The 2026 NBA trade deadline arrived Thursday with an unexpected amount of player movement. While the Nuggets focused on small moves around the margins, a handful of stars changed teams around the league. Here are the biggest winners and losers of the deadline. Winner: Sellers being buyers Wait, the Hornets (23-28) ended up with coveted Bulls guard Coby White, not the Timberwolves or the Rockets or the surging Clippers? The Washington Wizards (13-36) are suddenly putting Trae Young and Anthony Davis in pick-and-rolls together? The Utah Jazz (16-35) traded for Jaren Jackson Jr.? The Pacers (13-38) for Ivica Zubac? Quite easily, the defining trend of this trade deadline was the unexpected aggressiveness– or in some cases, opportunism — of several teams understood to be non-contenders. Perhaps five of the six biggest names traded (the ones listed above) went to losing teams, including a few that are actively tanking this season. For the most part, it wasn’t a trade deadline in the traditional strategic sense that we think of, where fringe contenders load up on talent for the playoffs. Most of these deals make a lot of sense for the sellers-turned-buyers. Washington recognized distressed assets in Young and Davis and snatched them up for pennies on the dollar, only a couple of years removed from the Lakers having considered pairing them. After one more tank job this season, the Wizards will try to field a playoff team with a combination of experienced stars and young, drafted talent. (What they should want to avoid is committing long-term finances to Young and Davis, lest they become deadline losers after all.) Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) drives to the basket while guarded by Jazz forward Cody Williams (5) during the first half of a game, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate) Utah was sitting on a mountain of draft picks and decided that enough shameless tanking is enough — after this year, anyway. Jackson, Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler (if he’s retained) will be one of the biggest and strangest frontcourt alignments in the NBA. Will the fit work? No idea, but it’ll be fun to watch the experiment unfold. Charlotte has legitimate reason to believe it can contend in the East next season based on the team’s direction. The Pacers didn’t want anyone to forget they were one game and maybe one injury away from the championship eight months ago. They should be firmly back in the mix in 2026-27 after a gap year, with Zubac introducing different stylistic dynamics as Tyrese Haliburton’s post-Myles Turner running mate. With that trade, Indiana also turned the 2026 draft lottery into a high-stakes roulette showdown. The most important asset going back to Los Angeles is Indiana’s upcoming first-round pick, tagged with top-four protections (and 10 to 30 protections). It pretty pointedly incentivizes Rick Carlisle’s Pacers to lose as urgently as possible for the next two months. They have the third-worst record in the league on Feb. 5, meaning their pick as of the deadline would land between first and seventh, based on the luck of the draw. If they finish dead last, the farthest they can fall in the lottery is to No. 5 overall, maximizing their chance of keeping the coveted pick in an elite draft class. If the gamble works, they could enter next season with a loaded roster. Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) hangs from the rim after dunking against Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Brandon Dill) Loser: Stars who got stuck Everyone will talk about Giannis Antetokounmpo not being moved, but the most awkward situation in the league right now might actually be Ja Morant’s in Memphis. The Grizzlies seized their chance to get an impressive pick package back for Jackson on Tuesday in a trade that signaled their pivot to a rebuild. Morant was supposed to be next to go, but demand for him was so rock-bottom that Memphis couldn’t find a new home for him. That’ll leave an already tense relationship festering through the end of the season as both sides are left to reckon with a true fall from grace. It was a somewhat predictable outcome, based on the market value of both players. More stunning is that Sacramento somehow did nothing with any of its key players. Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine all stayed put, and the “selling” Kings actually had to spend a pick of their own to get off Dennis Schroder and Dario Saric. Also guilty of standing pat with no reason was New Orleans, another franchise infamous for questionable decision-making. 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) defends Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn (8) during the first half of a game Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Winner: Oklahoma City Thunder A few reasons. Jared McCain was another compelling young acquisition for a team that wanted more 3-point shooting. Antetokounmpo stayed put for now instead of getting shipped to the Western Conference, where he maybe could have threatened the established hierarchy if he were next to, say, Anthony Edwards. Houston and San Antonio in particular possessed the draft capital to make big moves (Giannis or otherwise), but they both had a quiet deadline. And the Clippers’ 2026 first-round pick just got extremely intriguing again. The perception of that pick has been on a journey. It belongs to Oklahoma City, unprotected, as part of the fateful 2019 Paul George trade return that was highlighted by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Early this season, it seemed delectable when the Clippers started 6-21. The rest of the league was horrified by the thought of OKC adding another top prospect to a juggernaut roster. Then its value declined as the Clippers staged a dramatic turnaround, winning 16 of 19 games. Order was restored, or so it seemed. Suddenly, in the last 48 hours before the trade deadline, the Clippers uprooted their core by trading James Harden to Cleveland and Zubac to Indiana. Harden and the Clips were mutually interested in getting ahead of what they knew would be a contractual impasse. Zubac was a last-minute ripple effect, as Lawrence Frank’s front office prioritized future assets. The rest of the season could get dicey at Intuit Dome if newly acquired Darius Garland is hurt, and the Thunder will be there at the end, waiting for that pick. James Harden (1) of the LA Clippers draws a foul from Spencer Jones (21) of the Denver Nuggets as Peyton Watson (8) defends during the first quarter at Ball arena in Denver, Colorado on Friday, January 30, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post) Loser: Cleveland Cavaliers Sure, Harden probably makes the Cavs better for the remainder of this regular season than an oft-injured Darius Garland would have. Sure, that might help convince Donovan Mitchell to sign on the dotted line when a contract extension gets placed in front of him. Sure, short-term success should matter to Cleveland right now. But the Cavs still sold low on Garland, a two-time All-Star himself, for a player 10 years older than him, seven years older than Mitchell and 12 years older than Evan Mobley. A player in Harden who shares a fatal flaw with recent Cleveland teams: playoff inadequacy. Denver fans saw it up close last year. For more than a decade, Harden has been a championship-caliber lead guard standing in his own way of winning a championship. Maybe his table-setting experience will be a perfect fit next to Mitchell’s athleticism and prime scoring talent. Maybe they have a feel-good run in them against a weak Eastern Conference. It would genuinely be fun to see Harden finally back in an NBA Finals for the first time since OKC. This just feels destined to unravel before it ever gets that far. Winner: The billionaires Only three teams remain over the first apron threshold after the 2026 trade deadline, which featured a series of transactions designed to evade luxury tax payments entirely. The Nuggets weren’t alone. In fact, they were able to save money with a pretty innocuous move that could also end up helping their depth, if they’re willing and able to fill both roster openings. Boston, Orlando, Philadelphia and Phoenix were also among the teams to shed salary and duck out of the tax on a big week for supporters of the 2023 collective bargaining agreement. It’s clear by now, if it wasn’t already, that provisions such as the aprons and the repeater tax can operate as a systematically built-in excuse for owners to spend less. Apron restrictions related to roster construction are real, but just as relevantly, they incentivize cost-cutting and apply immense pressure to expensive rosters. Veteran guards Tyus Jones, Lonzo Ball and Chris Paul all joined new teams last offseason, only for their contracts to be hastily offloaded at the deadline in white-flag trades. The Cavs, Knicks and Warriors are now the trio of apron teams, and there’s a good chance none of them make the Finals. Even Cleveland did some salary-dumping outside of the Garland-for-Harden blockbuster. A couple of interesting moves made by those teams, while we’re on them: Jose “Grand Theft” Alvarado is a solid addition to New York’s backcourt depth. Golden State finally ripped off the Jonathan Kuminga bandage, sending him to Atlanta for Kristaps Porzingis, a high-upside center whose biggest obstacle is his inability to stay on the court. And in an acquisition overshadowed by Harden, Cleveland won the Keon Ellis sweepstakes as numerous teams reportedly showed interest in the defensive-minded Sacramento wing. Loser: The bold Fortune was supposed to favor them, ex-Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison proclaimed after the 2025 draft lottery. Dumb luck certainly did favor the bold that night, as Dallas stumbled into Cooper Flagg despite having been a Play-In Tournament team. Harrison treated it as karmic vindication for trading Luka Doncic a few months earlier, for enduring the outrage from the Dallas community and the criticism from media, rival front offices and fans nationally. So much for that. Harrison is long since fired, and Davis was salary-dumped by the Mavs’ new front office Wednesday — a year and three days after Davis headlined Harrison’s return for Doncic. The Davis era in Dallas ended with 29 games played, 587 points scored (Doncic has 3.7 times as many points as a Laker) and some unforgettable memories — mostly involving fan protests. The two first-round picks netted by the Mavericks will not come close to sniffing lottery territory. One is Oklahoma City’s upcoming pick, likely to be 30th. The other is a future Golden State selection that’s top-20 protected. This trade was more about closure, as a wounded fan base settles into the rebuild around Flagg. The Mavericks were granted a lifeline. The bold were not. Bulls guard Coby White (0) drives to the basket as Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) defends during the second half of a game, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Winner: The Bulls, and their trade partners Here’s to picking a lane. Chicago might not have necessarily gotten dazzling returns on its trades — nine second-round picks were acquired in the last week alone — but for a team that’s been stuck in Play-In Purgatory for years, the sense of direction is refreshing, at least. Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Nikola Vucevic annd Kevin Huerter each found new homes with teams that should make good use of them. Dosunmu is quietly one of the most significant additions made by any contender at this deadline, between the ball-handling and defensive support he brings. Minnesota can toggle with its lineups using him off the bench or next to Anthony Edwards in the starting five. Related Articles Peyton Watson the latest Nuggets injury with hamstring strain; David Adelman calls for rule change around NBA challenges Nuggets blow past Nikola Jokic minutes restriction, but Jalen Brunson makes them pay in 2OT thriller Renck: Former Rockets, Nuggets hope ABA ‘Soul Power’ docuseries brings legitimacy to league Nuggets sit out Spencer Jones, play without a power forward in loss to Pistons Nuggets’ Jamal Murray plans to play hard at NBA All-Star Game, even if Nikola Jokic doesn’t Vucevic gets to play for a relevant team in Boston, and Joe Mazzulla gets a new five-out center. Huerter helps Detroit with floor-spacing depth. White (as mentioned earlier) represents an aggressive step forward for Charlotte. The Bulls are about to be bad. Should be, at least. And that’s not such a bad thing. Loser: Content makers who spent weeks on Giannis conjecture We get to do this all over again in June. Until then, let’s just enjoy some basketball. Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis. ...read more read less