A little over three hours before the trade deadline, the action began. It started with the 76ers trading for a draft pick — a shocker — and ended without the fireworks fans hoped for.
Perhaps frustrated by the lack of a market for Jahlil Okafor, the 76ers dealt another of their young big men, Nerlens Noel, to the Mavericks for center Andrew Bogut, guard Justin Anderson and a conditional first-round pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported.
A former Kentucky star in his third NBA season, the 6-foot-11 defensive-minded Noel was averaging 8.9 points and 5.0 rebounds for Philadelphia. According to Wojnarowski, the Mavericks plan to sign Noel, a restricted free agent, to a long-term contract.
A second-year pro from Virginia, Anderson has yet to make an impact, while the 7-foot Bogut has appeared in just 26 games for Dallas, averaging 3.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. The 76ers reportedly will try to shuffle off Bogut somewhere else before the deadline, or else consider buying him out.
The Thunder may have become more of a postseason factor on Thursday by adding Bulls forwards Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott in exchange for Cameron Payne, Joffrey Lauvergne and Anthony Morrow.
The physical Gibson is averaging 11.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and shooting 52 percent from the field, while McDermott, in his third year out of Creighton, has developed into a quality scorer off the bench in Chicago, averaging 10.2 points per game and shooting 37 percent from 3-point range.
The Raptors made a potentially significant move, too, landing P.J. Tucker from the Suns for their 2017 and 2018 second-round picks, according to The Vertical. A tough wing and solid rebounding small forward, Tucker gives the Raptors needed depth off the bench for their expected postseason battles with the Cavaliers and Celtics.
The busy Suns also received forward Mike Scott from Atlanta for cash.
The Bucks unloaded Roy Hibbert, whom they had acquired earlier this month. The big man went to the Nuggets in exchange for a protected second-round pick.
The Lakers acquired young, well-traveled point guard Tyler Ennis from the Rockets for guard Marcelo Huertas, whom Houston will waive.