Just about every analyst and outlet is guilty of it. We always want immediate reactions to draft picks, free-agency moves and trades. But in the NBA, it often (maybe even always) takes a little time to get a real grasp on how everyone involved made out.
And that's what we have between us and some of the biggest deals of the last half decade now. With the benefit of hindsight, Bleacher Report's NBA staff combed through some of the biggest trades of the last five years and reevaluated them through the tried-and-true A-through-F grading rubric. The Trade Brooklyn Nets Receive: Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, Cameron Johnson, 2023 first-round pick (Noah Cowney), 2025 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick, 2028 first-round swap, 2029 first-round pick Phoenix Suns Receive: Kevin Durant, T.
J. Warren Nets Re-Grade: A++++ Brooklyn's superteam setup had entirely unraveled by the time it negotiated the Durant trade. Getting so much for an unhappy 34-year-old who preferred a relocation to one team was always a big deal.
The Nets have since turned it into a larger victory. Jettisoning Durant paved the way for them to enter a much-needed reset. It took over a season to get there, but they're here now, and they have even more picks to show for it.
Bridges was just flipped to the New York Knicks for five additional first-round picks and another first-round swap. Brooklyn was also able to leverage Phoenix's 2027 and 2029 selections into regaining control of its own first-rounders for 2025 and 2.