It wasn't the craziest NBA trade deadline we've seen, but Thursday still remained fairly eventful.
Some of the names thrown around in recent rumors, like Aaron Gordon and Victor Oladipo, indeed found new homes. Others, like Kyle Lowry and Marcus Smart, wound up staying put. There were a few surprises, too, like Nikola Vucevic and Daniel Theis' respective moves to the Chicago Bulls.
Naturally, some teams were more successful than others. And the increased competitiveness of both conferences this season made the stakes that much higher.
But which teams excelled while others flunked? Here is our list of winners and losers for this year's deadline:
WINNERS
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets perhaps are the biggest winner of the day. Denver wound up winning the Gordon sweepstakes, and both sides got a good deal. Gordon hopefully will give the fifth-place team a much-needed boost as they look to remain competitive in the uber-competitive Western Conference. (They just need to be wary of that ankle.)
Also joining the Nuggets is JaVale McGee, who was traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Isaiah Hartenstein. He should be a solid addition to the already-skilled squad.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls made some of the most surprising moves of the day, and they potentially could pay off if Chicago plays its cards right. The addition of Vucevic, Theis and Al-Farouq Aminu brings some serious size to the team and hopefully will result in major improvements on both ends of the court.
They might be in 10th now, but this team could become more dangerous as the regular season wanes.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder continued its rebuilding efforts by scooping up even more draft picks than they had before. Oklahoma City picked up two more second-round draft picks in a three-team deal with the New York Knicks on Thursday, though it meant sending George Hill to the Philadelphia 76ers. (OKC also got Austin Rivers and Tony Bradley as part of the deal.)
The Thunder now have a projected 34 picks in the next seven drafts split evenly between the first and second rounds, according to ESPN's Bobby Marks.
LOSERS
Orlando Magic
Unfortunately for Magic fans, this one was to be expected. Rumors were rampant about Gordon and Evan Fournier's potential departures, and they were right on the money. Of course, Orlando got something in return for both players, but nothing that would give them any support this season in particular.
This likely is by design, though, similar to the Oklahoma City Thunder's recent attempt to rebuild. Now that they've pretty much blown up the team, the next step will be piecing together an effective roster with the draft picks and potential trade bait they've accumulated. But first, they have to finish out this season, and there still are 28 games left on their regular-season schedule. (Yikes.)
Houston Rockets
Things haven't gone well for the Rockets this season, and it doesn't look like they will get any better. Houston didn't get a single player to help energize their current roster, nor did it get any tangible draft picks. Sending Oladipo to the Heat might have been some help, but the Rockets didn't receive a big name in return.
Like the Magic, the Rockets know it's unlikely they dig themselves out of their current hole before season's end. But getting 2022 first-round swap rights from the Heat (via the Oladipo trade) isn't exactly going to do the job this offseason, either.
Toronto Raptors
Raptors fans hoping to see the team drama come to an end soon might not want to hold their breath. Neither Kyle Lowry nor Pascal Siakam was traded as rumored (though the former was involved in far more rumors), though Norman Powell still saw the door.
Now, Toronto is faced with getting its act together -- and fast -- or risk missing the postseason altogether for the first time since the 2012-13 season. And it sounds like the team has quite the uphill battle ahead of it.
