One Week Later: Three NBA Traded Players and Their Fit With a New Team

Traded Players and Their Fit With a New Team: Aaron Gordon, Denver Nuggets

Aaron Gordon and Gary Clark were traded to the Denver Nuggets from Orlando for Gary Harris, RJ Hampton, and future first-round picks. This was probably one of the biggest anticipated moves surrounding Gordon.

The biggest takeaway you can take from his Nuggets debut is ease. Having a player on the floor who’s not afraid to pass, like Nikola Jokić, makes Gordon’s job a lot easier. Aaron Gordon’s speed and ability to break off of defenders gave him a nice highlight reel for his first game with the Nuggets.

It seems like even a week in, the Gordon-Denver fit seems to be working, and it might give the Nuggets that space they’ve been missing.

Norman Powell, Portland Trail Blazers

Norman Powell‘s tenure as a Toronto Raptor eventually came to an end when he was traded to Portland in return for Gary Trent Jr and Rodney Hood. The Raptors got some size and a young shooter in GTJ, while the Blazers got another offensive booster.

Powell had the highest scoring midseason debut as a Blazer in Portland history, recording 22 points in a 112-105 win over the Orlando Magic. Portland is on a three-game winning streak, two of them occurring with the acquisition of Powell. Starter Powell is probably the best version Portland could get, so it will be interesting to see if that continues.

This was a move that the Raptors organization felt that they needed to make (mostly in terms of salaries), and the Blazers got someone who could contribute to their core.

Nikola Vucevic, Chicago Bulls

In what was probably the blockbuster trade of the deadline, Nikola Vučević and Al-Farouq Aminu were traded to Chicago for Wendell Carter Jr, Otto Porter Jr, and two future first-round picks. Vucevic’s departure, along with Aaron Gordon’s, insinuated that the Magic were finally making big moves to “blow up” the team and make some changes.

The only way this move makes sense for the Bulls is if they want to improve just enough to make the playoffs. Even so, they’re on a four-game losing streak, even with Vucevic putting up over 20 PPG. The Bulls stand at 10th in the Eastern Conference and are about three games behind the eighth seed.

There is still some time for Vucevic to get used to his new team and for the Bulls to attempt a playoff push, and it will interesting to see if they pull it off.

Traded Players and Their Fit With a New Team: Conclusion

These are three of the trades that went down on trade deadline day, all being of similar interest level. Gordon to the Nuggets as a crucial piece of the puzzle, Powell to the Blazers as a primary shooter, and Vucevic to the Bulls as a blockbuster trade. Let us know your favourite trades from last week over at Overtime Heroics – Basketball.

In a season where nothing is the same, the adrenaline of trade deadline week did not disappoint.

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