Asking whether the NBA’s “elite” improved during the 2015 trade deadline is a relative statement in more ways than one.
What does elite actually mean, which team qualifies and what type of improvements merit that elevated standing?
Are the Toronto Raptors elite because they sit atop the Atlantic Division and rank fourth in the Eastern Conference? Does any Eastern squad qualify for that matter, even the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks?
What about the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder? Both of these Western Conference powers have been hovering between sixth and one spot out of the playoffs. But aren’t the defending champs and Russell Westbrook—and soon-to-be Kevin Durant—powered Thunder elite in spite of their lowly respective standings?
And as for the improvements, one must analyze each move in its own context. What might work for the Milwaukee Bucks might not do the same for the NBA-best Golden State Warriors.
So for the purposes of this article, let’s first eliminate the pretenders and identify the actual upper-echelon contenders. We will rank each one from least to most elite and then dissect them in terms of the acquisitions they did or did not make at the deadline.
Note: This article was published on the morning of Friday, March 13. All conference standings and statistical rankings are reflected as such.
Missed the Cut
Eastern Conference
We’ll make it really easy here—go ahead and cross off every team below the No. 2 seed.
The Miami Heat (No. 8) and Indiana Pacers (No. 7) are eliminated right off the bat for being below .500. While head coach Jason Kidd and the Milwaukee Bucks (No. 6) deserve credit for ranking above said break-even point, no person with even the faintest of basketball knowledge would confuse them for a contender.
The Washington Wizards (No. 5) and Toronto Raptors (No. 4), meanwhile, are two very talented yet equally flawed squads that won’t win more than one round in the playoffs. And despite their defensive prowess and generally scrappy nature, the Chicago Bulls (No. 3) aren’t moving past the conference finals without a fully healthy and dynamic Derrick Rose.
Western Conference
Even though the West is thoroughly superior to its Eastern counterpart, there are still only a couple true contenders.
The New Orleans Pelicans (No. 8) have a bright future with budding superstar Anthony Davis. But their seventh-ranked offensive rating can only compensate so much for inexperience and a defense that rates in the bottom five.
The Dallas Mavericks (No. 7), for their part, are an impressive bunch offensively that has faltered since the All-Star break. Trading for point guard Rajon Rondo has simply not worked out for this veteran squad under Rick Carlisle.
Additionally, the Los Angeles Clippers (No. 5) feature a stacked roster with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. But even with the NBA’s most efficient offense and championship pedigree of head coach Doc Rivers, there’s just something missing from this team. It seems intangible more than anything else.
To the contrary, both the Houston Rockets (No. 4) and Portland Trail Blazers (No. 3) are without a tangible asset. MVP candidate James Harden cannot ultimately carry the Rockets to the promised land without big man Dwight Howard, whose right knee injury will continue hampering him even when he returns.
The Blazers will also fall short without their two-way, three-point dynamo Wesley Matthews (torn Achilles). Acquiring the underrated Arron Afflalo won’t mask the shooting guard’s absence when it matters most.
Lastly, the Thunder (No. 9), a supremely loaded yet enigmatic contingent, will eventually leapfrog New Orleans but will materialize as a one-and-done in the postseason.
The eternal debate over whether this team can win a championship with both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant remains unresolved. So even when Durant returns to the court, the tremendous acquisitions of center Enes Kanter, point guard D.J. Augustin and forwards Steve Novak and Kyle Singler won’t overcome this fatal flaw.
An NBA title just isn’t in the cards for OKC in 2014-15.
Elite Contenders
4. Cleveland Cavaliers (42-25, No. 2 in East)
Much like the cut-and-dry breakdown of the conference in which they play, this analysis of Cleveland is simple and straightforward
The Cavaliers improved at the deadline. Check that, the Cavs really improved at the deadline.
General manager David Griffin astutely traded away the embattled and unhappy Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City. He then went beyond merely improving the locker-room atmosphere by acquiring center Timofey Mozgov and guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert.
Mozgov gives the Cavs the dominant and defensively inclined big man they so desperately craved. Would-be opposing scorers now have little, if any, room with which to drive and operate inside. He’s totaled 48 blocks in 31 games and has averaged 10.6 points and 7.4 rebounds.
Smith, meanwhile, has thrived playing next to LeBron James, averaging 12.4 points and shooting 37.0 percent from downtown. And Shumpert provides the Cavs with a premier defender and solid depth in the backcourt.
Griffin did as much as he possibly could to reinforce Cleveland’s roster. Yet at the end of the day, Kevin Love still lacks a distinct role next to LeBron and Kyrie Irving, and this team will need another offseason with which to gel.
3. Atlanta Hawks (50-14, No. 1 in East)
Alright, double check that—breaking down Atlanta is even simpler.
The Hawks did not improve at the deadline. Trading power forward Adreian Payne to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a protected future first-round pick wasn’t exactly a big-time move. Payne had played in only three games and wasn’t part of head coach Mike Budenholzer’s active rotation.
OK, so what would have bolstered the Hawks at the deadline? It’s tough to say.
There just isn’t an identifiable missing piece for a Spurs-esque team that ranks sixth in both offensive and defensive efficiency, second in assists, seventh in steals, third in field-goal percentage and fifth in opposing field goal percentage. Atlanta wins as a collective whole in which everyone contributes (see: five different players with double-digit scoring averages).
We can really only know what the Hawks lack based off what happens in the playoffs. And when considering the inferior state of their conference, it will likely come down to which Western foe they lose to in the NBA Finals.
2. Memphis Grizzlies (45-20, No. 2 in West)
What has been continuously said about the Memphis Grizzlies over the past few seasons?
They can defend, they can rebound and they’re very well coached. Something about playoff experience usually comes into the discussion as well.
Similarly, what they’ve lacked over the last few years has been sufficient scoring.
But luckily for Grizzlies fans, it seems that the latter might no longer be true after this year’s designated trading period.
General manager Chris Wallace acquired forward Jeff Green from the Boston Celtics for Tayshaun Prince in a three-team trade that also involved New Orleans. The aging Prince had been averaging only 7.3 points off the bench.
Green, meanwhile, has started 24 of 28 games for head coach Dave Joerger. He’s provided a valuable 12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists. That gives the Grizzlies five double-digit scorers, one more than they had in their one-and-done playoff performance last season.
Now, is Green enough to push them beyond the first round? Will he supply enough offensive punch, complementing Memphis’ No. 5 defensive efficiency and big three of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph and Mike Conley?
Past the first round—yes. But beyond that? Let’s just say the next entry on this list will prevent them from reaching their ultimate destination.
1. Golden State Warriors (51-12, No. 1 in West)
Golden State sits atop the NBA standings due to the personnel that the front office assembled over the offseason—and not from any deadline transaction.
Because unless signing James Michael McAdoo for the remainder of the season provided some intangible force for winning basketball games, promoting a former D-leaguer to the last member of the bench didn’t foster this league-best success.
Much like their Atlanta-based foes in the East, the Warriors did not improve at the deadline due to a lack of a discernable need. They already feature the game’s most lethal backcourt (Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson), a defensive player of the year candidate (Draymond Green), the league’s deepest bench (Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, etc) and a first-year head coach in Steve Kerr that has pushed all the right buttons.
Big man Andrew Bogut is healthy and the elevated play of backup Festus Ezeli has quashed any need for another center as well.
Are the Warriors perfect? Far from it.
Yet as presently constituted with the third-most efficient offense and unrivaled defense per 100 possessions, there was little need for any additions at the deadline.
OK, but will it hold? That’s for fate to know and for us to find out.
Only time will tell if that existing two-way prowess and eventual securing of home court advantage throughout the playoffs proves sufficient for a championship run.
All team and player statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
Follow Joey on Twitter @jlevitt16 as he tries to wax eloquent on all things Warriors, NBA, NFL, MLB and the sports world at large.