2024 Playoffs- 3rd Round: Minnesota Timberwolves - Dallas Mavericks- MAVS WIN 4-1!

[mvossman]

Here’s something I find fascinating: two of the three teams who made significant changes at or just before the trade deadline are still playing.

I have long observed that deadline additions almost never amount to a significantly moved team-ceiling for the rest of that season. The really good ones seem to help much more the FOLLOWING season, after a training camp and much more comfort and continuity for the newly formed team.  You can think about all the Mavs’ deadline additions to verify this: Van Exel, Butler/Hayward, Kyrie Irving…etc. And, it’s the same with other teams usually, too.

But THIS YEAR, the Washington addition for the Mavs worked basically from the jump, raising the team’s ceiling IMMEDIATELY, and the Siakim addition for Indiana might have been an even easier/better fit. Both of those teams are in the final four because they made those deals.

Is this just coincidence that both players fit like gloves so easily? Should we glean something about how similarly all teams play these days, as in there’s just less of a learning curve when going to a new team? Is the top level of the league just easier to break into these days than it used to be because of the increased roster turnover?

I think its a fairly small sample and mostly circumstances.  The KP trade was another one that fit immediately.  That was a case where the incoming player (Din) fit better on the new team than old, and same can be said for PJ.  The Kyrie trade left the Mavs without a starting power forward and also coincided with a lot of Luka injury.  

The Siakam trade was another great fit trade, but to be honest the biggest reason Indy is still in the playoffs is NY completely disintegrated before their eyes.