Post-NBA trade deadline: 5 players to watch in new situations

With NBA All-Star festivities and the trade deadline now firmly in the rear view, it’s time to shift focus to the rest of the season, especially in regard to which players on new teams could make an impact.

Here are five players who were traded before the Feb. 5 deadline we should keep a keen eye on.

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Do note that players who are no longer expecting to play for their new teams won’t be on the list. That means no Anthony Davis and Jaren Jackson Jr. Due to the uncertainty of their status, Trae Young and Jonathan Kuminga have also been excluded from this exercise.

G Anfernee Simons, Chicago Bulls

The 6-foot-3 combo guard was lauded for how he played in Boston, fitting into the system and playing off Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.

That wasn’t necessarily wrong, but I believe the Celtics gave him too little to do and shortened his offensive volume more than they should have.

Simons is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the NBA, and he’s a strong scorer who over the course of his last three seasons in Portland put up 20.7 points per game.

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There is an in-between area for Simons here. He shouldn’t be a primary shot-taker, but he’s also better than most expect as an off-ball scorer off the bench.

In Chicago, he’ll get a chance to find that balance before he hits free agency in July, after which he can become an insanely valuable member of a potential contender. The path for Simons to become relevant on a national level starts now.

Nikola Vučević, Boston Celtics

The next player on the list is the player for whom Simons was traded. Vučević provides the Celtics with something they’ve desperately needed this season: quality big-man depth.

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Vučević will practically walk into 9-10 rebounds per night, he’ll move the ball effectively, he’ll take — and make — 3-pointers, and during dead offensive stretches, you can ask him to score off traditional post creation.

For a Celtics team that may get Jayson Tatum back this year — we’ll see how that situation develops — adding Vučević makes a lot of sense.

So far in Boston, he’s come off the bench. Neemias Queta has been playing ahead…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/post-nba-trade-deadline-5-players-to-watch-in-new-situations-181504982.html

Author : Morten Stig Jensen

Publish date : 2026-02-17 18:15:00

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