2022 NBA Trade Deadline: 3 winners and 3 losers across the league

The frantic deals leading into the NBA trade deadline resulted in the usual winners and losers circle [Photo: Marca]

The 2022 NBA trade deadline just expired, and the league is still reeling from the ramifications of what was a crazy finish. Chaos ruled the last day of deals with superstars, future draft picks and championship hopefuls all hotly mixed in the equation. Every team involved thought they won, but that’s not always the case.

With the deadline all part of NBA history this season, it’s time to weigh in on who nailed it and who dropped the ball. One trade has consistently grabbed the headlines since the preseason started, while others just seemingly popped out of nowhere. The dust of the wild wheeling and dealing is just starting to settle down, and the inevitable winners and losers are already emerging.

Here are three winners and losers of one of the craziest trade deadlines in recent history.

Losers

#3 Dennis Schroder

The Boston Celtics just traded Dennis Schroder to the Houston Rockets [Photo: Lakers Daily]

Dennis Schroder reportedly refused the LA Lakers' offer of $84 million for four years in the 2021 offseason. With the market getting cold, he eventually signed for the Boston Celtics for $5.9 million.

Schroder had a prominent role for the Green Machine as their best player off the bench. With the way he has been playing for a potentially playoff-bound team, he was lining himself up for a big payday in the next NBA offseason.

The Germany international is now with the Houston Rockets, who have a surplus of perimeter players they are prioritizing to develop. The Rockets are even sacrificing wins this season just to make sure that they can fast-track the improvement of their young core.

It remains to be seen where and how Schroder can fit in.

Celtics are trading Dennis Schroder to the Rockets in package for Daniel Theis, per @ShamsCharania https://t.co/KPa5GsxW4b

If the Houston Rockets are steadfast with their strategy this season, Schroder’s role could be minimal and could even cost him in the offseason.

#2 Los Angeles Lakers

The 2021 offseason could haunt the LA Lakers for years to come [Bleacher Report]

The LA Lakers rolled the dice with Russell Westbrook and failed in epic proportions. Rob Pelinka tried to do his best to correct the mistake, but the Lakers didn’t have the assets or a willing trade partner.

How bad the LA Lakers have been this NBA season was embodied in their loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers just traded their best players and did not have Damian Lillard in the game.

As painful as the Lakers’ situation has been this season, it’s even more painful to think about what they could have been. The deal to get Westbrook put them in a bind from which they desperately wanted to escape but could not do so. Imagine for a second what they could have accomplished with a more balanced and younger lineup.

The NBA season is long, and the LA Lakers could still turn the season around. However, reports of the Lakers' desire to trade Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and Westbrook himself without any takers is an indictment of their failure.

# 1 Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook's disastrous NBA season continues with the struggling LA Lakers [Photo: Lakers Daily]

The triple-double king jumped at the opportunity to play in Los Angeles and ball with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Even before the campaign started, there were fears about how he would fit in with the Lakers lineup and style of play. With the way Russell Westbrook has played this season, that dread has become a reality.

The 33-year-old has already been benched twice in the closing minutes of a game, which goes to show how far he has fallen. The former NBA MVP and one of the league’s most versatile players has been reduced to a cheerleading role for the LA Lakers. The Hollywood squad couldn’t even let a $44 million superstar on the floor to help the team win.

Rockets offered John Wall for Russell Westbrook and a first-round pick but Lakers declined, per @ChrisBHaynes https://t.co/6wp807WBYi

Westbrook has now been consecutively traded in the last few offseasons. He could very well be out of Hollywood if the Lakers can find a good deal.