Which teams have made the most NBA trade deadline deals?

Over the last decade of NBA trade deadlines, every team has made at least four trades. With how busy trade season has been in recent years, the four teams with only four trade deadline trades are a little bit old-fashioned in their trade tendencies. The Hornets, in particular, didn’t start making trade deadline trades until recently. They made no moves at the deadline from 2014 to 2020, but they have made four deadline deals in the last three seasons. They were particularly active last year, when two separate deals saw the departures of contributors like Mason Plumlee and Jalen McDaniels, while Charlotte collected more draft capital in the second round.

Many of the Timberwolves’ trade deadline trades didn’t work out great. The team gave up a valuable piece in Thaddeus Young for a franchise legend but close-to-retirement Kevin Garnett, and they also didn’t get the production they would have hoped for out of D’Angelo Russell after he was acquired for Andrew Wiggins. That changed last season, though, as Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker have been great players for the Timberwolves since they were added in place of Russell. The Mavericks and Pacers have both been spotty with when they are willing to make trades.

5 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Utah Jazz, New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors

Because of their popularity, social media always predicts a number of trades for big market teams. That hasn’t been the case for the Knicks or the Warriors, though, which are two of the most popular and important teams in the NBA. Both teams, along with the Jazz, have only made five trade deadline deals over the last decade, which is the second-fewest in the league. In fact, over that time, the Warriors didn’t make a deadline deal until 2020. They have been much more active in the last few years, though.

Coincidently, D’Angelo Russell has been involved in two of these deals. The Warriors traded the guard to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2020 for Andrew Wiggins, and the Timberwolves traded him at last year’s deadline for Conley and Alexander-Walker.

6 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs

While finding out which NBA teams have made the most trades in the last 10 years at the trade deadline, we have discovered that a number of NBA powerhouses rarely make deadline deals in comparison to their peers. The Warriors and Knicks only made five deadline deals over the last 10 years, while the Bulls, Lakers, and Spurs all have six deadline trades since 2014.

All three of those teams have been rumored to be active at the 2024 trade deadline, though. Rumors of LeBron James being shopped have been shut down, but you can’t count out the Lakers from making a massive deal, considering James-led teams are always active in the trade market. The team even had been rumored as a potential Zach LaVine fit, but the Bulls’ star is now unlikely to be traded because of a foot injury that will keep him out for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, the Spurs aren’t desperate to make a move, but they are trying to craft the perfect roster to fit around Victor Wembanyama, and that might include adding another point guard to the roster.

The Bucks have only made six trade deadline trades, too, and they have been one of the best teams in the NBA for most of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s career. The two-time MVP was drafted in 2013. While the Brooklyn Nets rarely make deadline deals, they do have arguably the biggest one over the last decade. Last year, they traded Kevin Durant in a blockbuster move to the Phoenix Suns. The deal landed the Nets a massive package that includes Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, four first-round picks, and a first-round pick swap option.

7 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Oklahoma City Thunder

In recent years, the Oklahoma City Thunder have made a ton of trades, but a lot of them didn’t come at the trade deadline. Oklahoma City has been accumulating draft picks in a rebuild that has quickly panned out. With their surplus of picks, they seem destined to pull the trigger on a big deal sooner rather than later.

8 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies

Three teams have made exactly eight trade deadline deals since 2014. One of them is the Cavaliers, which comes as no surprise considering LeBron James was on the team from 2014 to 2018. Fans have often jokingly called James “LeGM” because of the regularity in which his teams make moves to build the perfect team around the star. His second stint in Cleveland was a good example of this, as five of the eight deals the team made at the deadline over the last decade came in seasons in which James was with the team.

9 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers

Danny Ainge – who is now with the Jazz – was a legendary executive during his time with the Boston Celtics, and his tenure included a number of trade deadline deals. Ainge made a lot of great trades with Boston, but he was often hesitant to give up an arm and a leg for a star, and that is illustrated by his trade deadline history. Ainge usually made smaller deals, but they often helped the Celtics in the long run.

The Heat and Trail Blazers have taken similar approaches since 2014, with their trade deadline trades usually being marginal but important moves. The Heat’s best move over this time frame was their acquisition of Goran Dragic in 2015. Portland made two four-team trades last season that saw the team add Matisse Thybulle and picks.

10 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons

While the Raptors haven’t made any deadline deals involving stars recently, they have made a number of moves involving good, rotation-level NBA players, many of whom were starting-caliber. The most notable was when they traded a package that included Jonas Valenciunas for Marc Gasol. The trade directly helped Toronto win their only NBA championship. Like the Raptors, the Pistons have also made 10 trade deadline deals over the last decade.

11 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Denver Nuggets, Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns

Tim Connelly is now with the Timberwolves, but he has long been an aggressive general manager, even dating back to his time with the Nuggets. Connelly helped construct the roster that eventually won the NBA Finals without him, as Denver is one of three teams with 11 trade deadline deals since 2014. The team has always looked for perfect players to fit around Nikola Jokic, and they found that in 2021 when they traded for Aaron Gordon.

Denver had even been involved in two trade deadline deals with the Wizards, who are another team with 11 deadline trades over that timeframe. The first of those trades back in 2014 sent Andre Miller to Washington and Jan Vesely to Denver, while the second trade was in 2020 and saw Shabazz Napier land in Washington with Jordan McRae going to the Nuggets. The Suns have made trades both big and small, with their trade for Kevin Durant at last year’s trade deadline being arguably the biggest trade deadline deal ever.

12 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings

Two of the teams in California have been active in the trade market at the deadline in recent years. Both the Clippers and Kings have made 12 deadline deals since 2014. The Clippers were quite at the deadline in the Lob City era, but they have been busy in recent years. Los Angeles made three deadline deals last year. Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook were signed during free agency, Paul George was traded for in an offseason, and James Harden was recently traded for at the start of the 2023-24 season, which means their core wasn’t created at the deadline. The deadline has been instrumental in adding pieces around the stars, though. Players like Bones Hyland and Mason Plumlee were added at last year’s trade deadline.

13 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are the only team that has made exactly 13 trade deadline trades since 2014. Last year, they won the James Wiseman trade, although none of the four teams involved in that trade were the clear-cut winners. Two of those 13 trades involved Shelvin Mack, while another trade included Sheldon Mac.

15 trade deadline trades since 2014

Teams: Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets

“The Process” was one of the most iconic team-building strategies in NBA history. Throughout a good chunk of the 2010s, the 76ers were undergoing a massive rebuild that prioritized tanking and the accumulation of draft picks rather than winning games, with winning in the future as the goal. There were some decisions that worked out and others that didn’t during “the process,” and a number of the trades that the team pulled the trigger on were during the trade deadline. Because of that, they are tied for the most trade deadline trades since 2014. A great example of their philosophy during “the process” era was when the team traded Michael Carter-Williams for a first-round pick back in 2015, only half of a season after Carter-Williams won the Rookie of the Year Award.

The team the 76ers are tied with is the Houston Rockets, and it was a little more surprising to see they have made 15 trade deadline trades over the last 10 years. This is even more surprising since their biggest move was moving on from James Harden, and that trade technically happened before the trade deadline. Most of the Rockets trade deadline deals have been smaller trades involving role players, as Houston is always trying to mold the perfect roster of complimentary players around its stars.