One of the wildest NBA trade deadlines in recent memory has come and gone, and several highly-touted players are now on different teams.
Anthony Davis' move to Washington and James Harden's trade to Cleveland headlined the deadline week that also included Jaren Jackson Jr., Kristaps Porzingis, Ivica Zubac, and more all switching teams.
Below, we'll list three teams that "won" the trade deadline.
Be sure to check out our NBA Trade Deadline Tracker to see all the moves for yourself.
2026 NBA Trade Deadline Winners
Los Angeles Clippers
Assets out:
James Harden
Ivica Zubac
Chris Paul
Kobe Brown
Assets in:
Darius Garland
Bennedict Mathurin
Isaiah Jackson
Vanja Marinkovic
2026 1st round pick (protected 1-4 & 10-30)
2029 1st round pick (unprotected)
2026 2nd round pick
2028 2nd round pick
One of the oldest teams in the NBA got significantly younger, extending their contention window. There was a moment in time earlier this season when the Clippers were on complete disaster-watch after starting the season 6-21 and employing several grumpy veterans.
Their recent surge have made them a dangerous team this year, and the replacement of Harden for the young Garland, plus the addition of Mathurin can significantly extend the Clippers window as Kawhi Leonard gets older.
Being able to pick up two first round picks, plus Mathurin and Jackson for Zubac was huge. Zu was terrific last season, but his touch around the basket and his defense have fallen off in a big way.
His lateral movement defensively hasn't been as good, his post-game isn't as reliable as it was last season, and he's still yet to develop any sort of shot-making ability outside of the paint.
Mathurin has the potential to become an elite three-level scorer, and they'll have a chance to land a talented player in the draft if the Pacers 2026 first-round pick lands in between picks 5-9.
The Clippers like their young big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser, and he'll now have a lot of opportunities to prove himself with Zubac gone.
Indiana may be able to unlock last year's version of Zubac in 2026/27 when Tyrese Haliburton gets healthy, but now was the right time to move off of the center for L.A.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Assets out:
Rob Dillingham
Mike Conley Jr.
Leonard Miller
2026 2nd round pick
2027 2nd round pick
2031 2nd round pick
2032 2nd round pick
Assets in:
Ayo Dosunmu
Julian Phillips
The Minnesota Timberwolves seemed to have been in the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes after off-loading Mike Conley's contract, but Milwaukee decided to hold on to their superstar.
Thus, the Wolves pivoted and acquired a terrific player in their most obvious position of need - backup point guard. Minnesota traded the unproved Rob Dillingham for the proven Ayo Dosunmu.
Dosunmu is having the best year of his career, averaging 15 points on elite efficiency (51.4% from the field, 45.1% from three on 4.3 attempts) and will give the Wolves exactly what they need off the bench.
The Wolves only go about eight players deep and if one cog to the engine gets hurt they could be in some trouble, but those players might now be the best top-eight in the league.
Atlanta Hawks
Assets out:
Kristaps Porzingis
Luke Kennard
Assets in:
Jonathan Kuminga
Buddy Hield
Gabe Vincent
2032 2nd round pick
The Hawks have been disappointing this season after they had a great offseason and ended up trading their former face-of-the-franchise Trae Young last month.
They ended up buying low on the 23-year-old Jonathan Kuminga by trading the unreliable Kristaps Porzingis, a good move for a young team.
Atlanta has now put themselves in a position where they could potentially be competitive for the rest of the year, while also rebuilding their roster, built on length and a theoretically good defense.
With Porzingis hardly playing (17 games played this year, 42 last year), Kuminga is a low-risk, high-reward move.
Buddy Hield will replace the sharp-shooting Luke Kennard, and Gabe Vincent gives them another shooter at backup point guard.
