Draft pick shortage made for uneventful NBA trade deadline

There weren’t many big names changing teams at the NBA trade deadline. That’s because there weren’t enough draft picks to trade.

Quality players like Dejounte Murray, Bruce Brown and D’Angelo Russell were all being shopped in the past weeks. But their teams understandably wanted to get first-round picks back in return, and many aspiring contenders simply didn’t have the picks to trade.

Milwaukee used many of its picks to deal for Jrue Holiday, and then dealt Holiday and more picks to get Damian Lillard. Minnesota is having a great season, but they sent a parcel of picks to get Rudy Gobert last summer. 

The Lakers, Warriors and Clippers are all down multiple first-rounders, the Sixers couldn’t trade a first-round pick until 2029 and the Suns were reduced to trading pick swaps for picks they’re already swapping.

It’s like how the economy slows down when the money supply is tight. Trading draft picks is like borrowing on credit. And after a few years where players like Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, Kevin Durant got massive returns of draft capital, many teams simply don’t have the picks to make superstar trades.

The one team that’s flush with draft picks is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who have between nine and 15 first-rounders coming in the next six drafts, plus 16 extra second-rounders. They have so many picks that they effectively acted as a bank this deadline.