Welcome to the post-deadline, pre-All-Star Game NBA Power Rankings here at NBC Sports. Just a heads-up: next week there will be no rankings. We're taking a one-week break, just like the players (plus, there aren't many games this week).
1. Detroit Pistons
(38-13, last week No. 2)
Detroit largely kept a low profile at the trade deadline — just swapping Jaden Ivey for Kevin Huerter — because it wants to see what its young core looks like in the playoffs. That's a smart strategy when you're already the No. 1 seed in the East (with a five-game cushion), especially when the impactful players they could have traded for were either unavailable (Lauri Markkanen) or just too expensive (Michael Porter Jr., Jaren Jackson Jr.). The Pistons move up to No. 1 because we're ignoring what happened Thursday against the Wizards.
2. San Antonio Spurs
(36-16, last week No. 3)
San Antonio kept its powder dry at the trade deadline, choosing not to jump in and chase a star (or anyone else) and instead go into the playoffs with this young core, get a sense of where things stand, and then adjust this offseason as needed (just like Oklahoma City did a couple of years ago). Part of that young core, Stephon Castle, showed why you should keep this group together, dropping a 40-point triple-double on Dallas this week.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
(40-13, last week No. 1)
Oklahoma City was very clever at the trade deadline, sending one of its many first-round picks to get Jared McCain out of Philadelphia. A league source texted me that it was "the most OKC move ever," landing a quality young player who they can develop and grow for a couple of seasons while he is still on his rookie deal. In the short term, the Thunder are without the injured Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams, and with that have gone 3-5 in their last eight. This team needs the All-Star break and a reset. That doesn't start until after a tough couple of games this week against the Lakers and Suns.
4. New York Knicks
(34-19, last week No. 5)
Picking up Jose Alvarado and bringing the New York native home (he played his High School ball at Christ the King in Queens) is one of the big wins of the trade deadline. (The other win for the Knicks was the Bucks not trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, pushing that into the summer when the Knicks have a chance.) New York's win over Boston over the weekend was impressive, but them getting thumped by the Pistons earlier in the week (even at a rest disadvantage) was concerning. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns will deservedly be in Los Angeles this weekend for the All-Star Game.
5. Boston Celtics
(34-19, last week No. 6)
Boston got its big man depth at the deadline in a deal for veteran Nikola Vucevic. Watching him in Celtics green (or the gold uniforms on Sunday), he looks like a player still finding his comfort zone, scoring 11 in each game but shooting just 1-of-7 from 3-point range so far. That will change and the veteran will find his groove. Jaylen Brown deserves to be in the All-Star Game this weekend, he deserves to be mentioned as an MVP candidate, he deserves everything coming his way. He has been special this season.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers
(32-21, last week No. 9)
We want teams to be aggressive at the trade deadline, and Cleveland was that. Darius Garland has not been healthy this season (and the Cavs clearly are not sure if and when he's going to be), so they went all-in with James Harden. It'll be interesting to see how the slow, deliberate style of Harden fits with the up-tempo style of Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland. It worked on Saturday. Playing his first game with the Cavaliers since being traded — and without a practice or shootaround — Harden took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points on 4-of-4 shooting (three of those 3-pointers) to spark a comeback win for the Cavaliers against the Kings on the road.
7. Houston Rockets
(32-19, last week No. 4)
Houston stood pat at the deadline, which was mildly surprising given that they are without Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams for the rest of the season and its offense has been struggling for a while now (26th in the NBA over the last 15 games). Houston is going to ride this core into the playoffs and see what they have. Sometimes it's about catching opponents at the right time, like Houston beating OKC last week (without SGA or J-Dub) or now getting the shorthanded Clippers for two games this week.
8. Denver Nuggets
(34-19, last week No. 10)
Denver dodged the luxury tax at the deadline with a small move, but mostly they like this core — if they can just get everyone healthy at once. Forwards Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson remain out with hamstring issues. While Jamal Murray (hip) and Nikola Jokic (ankle) will head to Los Angeles for the All-Star Game, both could use some downtime to get their bodies right. Good test against James Harden's Cavaliers Monday night.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves
(32-22, last week No. 7)
Very smart pickup at the deadline, adding guard Ayo Dosunmu (and throwing in the towel on Rob Dillingham), he can give this team some of what it's missing without Nickeil Alexander-Walker this season. Dosunmu is a quality defender who averaging 15 points per game and is shooting 45.1% from 3 this season. The Timberwolves remain a streaky team, and their losses last week to the Grizzlies, Clippers, and Pelicans are a concerning sign. Atlanta and Portland are up this week, and Minnesota could use a couple of wins heading into the deadline.
10. Los Angeles Lakers
(32-19, last week No. 11)
The Lakers picked up some shooting at the deadline by adding Luke Kennard (costing them Gabe Vincent), but there was no bold move to turn the Lakers into a contender this season. That's because there was no single move that could turn this team into a threat in the West (outside of landing the Greek Freak, who the Lakers couldn't get at the deadline with what they had to offer). Look for the Lakers to shake up their roster this summer — and to shake up their front office with a lot of additions (scouts, sports science people, more). This offseason is when new owner Mark Walter will put his stamp on the team (and reportedly wants to follow the blueprint he used with the Dodgers).
11. Charlotte Hornets
(25-28, last week No. 16)
Charlotte is the hottest team in the NBA: Winners of nine in a row, they have moved into the play-in if the season ended today. The Hornets have the best offense in the NBA over those nine games. Charlotte also made a great move by trading for Coby White at the deadline. Once healthy (calf issue), White should keep Charlotte's offense from falling off a cliff when LaMelo Ball is off the court. Just how well is Charlotte playing? We will get a good test on Monday night when they face East-leading Detroit.
12. Philadelphia 76ers
(30-22, last week No. 13)
Philadelphia moved on from Jared McCain at the deadline — rookie VJ Edgecombe's play made that possible — and the 76ers get a first-round pick in June out of it (which is good because their pick this year goes to Oklahoma City). Eric Gordon is out, which means Dominick Barlow gets his deserved standard contract (upgraded from a two-way). The 76ers have won 6 of 7 and get a good measuring-stick game on Wednesday against the Knicks.
13. Phoenix Suns
(31-22, last week No. 8)
Phoenix added to its guard depth at the trade deadline, doing so without taking on any long-term salary in a swap that brings Amir Coffey and Cole Anthony to Phoenix in exchange for Nick Richards and Nigel Hayes-Davis. More importantly for their guard depth, the Suns got Devin Booker back Saturday after he missed seven games (the team went 4-3 without him, but lost his return to the 76ers). Collin Gillespie remains one of the great stories of the NBA season, and he got loose against the Trail Blazers for the best night of his NBA career.
14. Toronto Raptors
(32-22, last week No. 14)
Toronto added Trayce Jackson-Davis for a second-round pick. While that is not earth-shattering on its face, the reality is that Toronto has been starting 6'7" rookie Collin Murray-Boyles at the five, and Jackson-Davis is at least a 6'9" player who has played 91% of his career minutes at center. He can help — Jackson-Davis grabbed eight offensive rebounds in 15 minutes against Indiana, helping the Raptors pick up a win. Just one game this week, but not an easy one against Detroit.
15. Golden State Warriors
(28-25, last week No. 12)
The Jonathan Kuminga soap opera is over in the Bay Area. Golden State added Kristaps Porzingis at the trade deadline, which is a great fit on paper, but in reality, he has played just 17 games this season due to illness and injury, and anything the Warriors get on the court is gravy. It's a cold business, and Porzingis is mostly an expiring $30.7 million contract that comes off the books this offseason, allowing the Warriors to look for help to chase one more ring with Stephen Curry, especially with Jimmy Butler out for much of next season.
16. Miami Heat
(28-26, last week No. 15)
Miami stayed in the Giannis Antetokounmpo chase longer than others (Minnesota and Golden State, for example), but that's in part because the Heat didn't have some other big move to make. The Heat made no trades at the deadline, they will wait to take a big swing this offseason. In fact, the only news of note this week is that Terry Rozier gets to collect his checks while being away from the team after a federal gambling indictment (his money had been going into an escrow account, and an arbitrator ruled the Heat and league had to pay him). Winnable games against the Jazz and Pelicans this week.
17. Orlando Magic
(27-24, last week No. 18)
Orlando traded away Tyus Jones and got under the luxury tax, but that was its only trade last week. It was underwhelming, but this entire Orlando season has been underwhelming, as they sit seventh in the East. Injuries keeping Jalen Suggs, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner out for extended periods have hampered this team — their preferred starting five of those three plus Desmond Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. has played just 117 minutes together this season across 11 games, but has a +18 net rating. The question being asked in league circles is whether Orlando would consider trading Paolo Banchero this offseason. What could they get for him?
18. Atlanta Hawks
(26-28, last week No. 20)
Atlanta started reshaping its roster with the Trae Young trade, then at the deadline doubled down on that by trading away the oft-injured Kristaps Porziņģis for the athletic Jonathan Kuminga plus Buddy Hield. It's worth taking a chance on Kuminga (who will come off the bench for Atlanta once he gets healthy, sometime after the All-Star break), and if he doesn't work out, the Hawks can choose not to pick up his contract for next season (or do so and trade him again). Tough games this week at Minnesota and Charlotte.
19. Portland Trail Blazers
(25-28, last week No. 21)
Portland was one of the under-the-radar winners at the trade deadline, and not because they picked up guard Vít Krejčí from Atlanta (although he should be a good fit, adding some shooting and ball handling). It's that the Trail Blazers currently sit 10th in the West but with the No. 9 Clippers starting to tear things down at the deadline and the Warriors standing pat, a path to a top-eight spot in the West is opening up (Portland is three games back of Golden State for the No. 8 seed). The best news of the week in Portland was the return of Scoot Henderson, who looked understandably rusty after missing 51 games but also flashed his potential at moments.
20. Los Angeles Clippers
(25-27, last week No. 17)
The Clippers' front office understood their roster and where they stood in the West. Despite a strong recent run of play, they knew this team was not a contender in the West right now, and they were getting older. The Clippers went with the "break it up a year too early rather than a year too late" theory and traded James Harden and Ivica Zubac. If the Clippers can get Darius Garland healthy, and he can return to his All-Star form next season, this was a great move for the Clippers — they get 10 years younger at point guard. Bennedict Mathurin is worth taking a longer look at as well. The real question becomes, is Kawhi Leonard available in a trade next summer?
21. Milwaukee Bucks
(21-29, last week No. 24)
Milwaukee was never really interested in trading Giannis Antetokounmpo, all of that drama was more of a fact-finding mission to see where the market stood, something we reported here at NBC Sports regularly in the run-up to the deadline. Things could be different this offseason when the sides talk. The more interesting question now is how much Antetokounmpo we see the rest of this season — he talked about wanting to get healthy and make a postseason push, but the best long-term move for the franchise would be to tank, then use that higher draft pick to either trade for (or draft) another star to go next to the two-time MVP, or to use it as part of the rebuild that would come after trading him. There will be some tension.
22. Memphis Grizzlies
(20-31, last week No. 23)
In retrospect, it was clear Memphis was ready to tear this iteration of the team down and rebuild when they traded Desmond Bane for four first-round picks over the summer. Now they have done the same with Jaren Jackson Jr., and you can be sure that over the summer they will again try to trade Ja Morant (the problem is there is no good market for the two-time All-Star, other teams wanted the Grizzlies to attach a pick for them to take Morant). It's going to be a rough end of the season for Grizzlies fans, but we get to see what Taylor Hendricks can do.
23. Chicago Bulls
(24-29, last week No. 19)
Does anyone have an idea what the plan is in Chicago? They traded away good guards in Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu, then started collecting other guards teams didn't want like they were Labubus — Anfernee Simons, Jaden Ivey, Collin Sexton, Rob Dillingham, and they already had a primary ball handler in Josh Giddey, plus there is Tre Jones. On top of that, they have another guard, always-entertaining Yuki Kawamura, on a two-way contract, and then they went out and added Mac McClung on another two-way. Make it make sense. The Bulls have lost 7 of 8 and fallen out of the play-in in the East.
24. New Orleans Pelicans
(14-40, last week No. 25)
New Orleans did well in the Jose Alvarado trade with the Knicks, taking a shot on Dalen Terry (23-year-old guard shooting 41.3% on 3s) plus a couple of second-round picks. This team has no incentive to tank (their pick goes to Atlanta, or possibly Milwaukee), they are just bad. None of the team's most coveted players — Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones — were available at the trade deadline. Will that be different this summer?
25. Dallas Mavericks
(19-33, last week No. 22)
Dallas salary dumped Anthony Davis at the deadline, a trade that looks better on paper — "we got All-Star and Olympian Khris Middleton and two first-round picks" — than the reality (Middleton is not near that player anymore, and the first-round picks are a the Thunder's this year, so 29 or 30, and a future Golden State pick that likely converts to a second-rounder). What Dallas did was save money this year and clear the decks to build around Cooper Flagg — and this is why you want to build around Flagg.
26. Indiana Pacers
(13-40, last week No. 26)
Indiana had one of the best trade deadlines, landing center Ivica Zubac from the Clippers — he will be a fantastic fit next to a healthy Tyrese Haliburton next season. Zubac sets a big screen, and while he doesn't space the floor he is strong on the roll, a good passer, and the kind of defense presence in the paint this team needs. We will not see much of Zubac this season as the Pacers tank, but adding the big man and a lottery pick to a team that went to the Finals last season is going to make this team a force in the East next season.
27. Washington Wizards
(14-38, last week No. 27)
I like what the Wizards did picking up Trae Young and Anthony Davis at the deadline for one key reason: They gave up almost nothing to get the stars. It was discount shopping. That said, I have a caveat to my support of adding AD and Young: No contract extensions. (A one-year extension for Young beyond his expiring deal, maybe, but nothing long-term.) Adding Young and Davis to a young core with some interesting players such as Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and Tre Johnson could help swing the culture in the nation's capital. However, that's all next season. For the rest of this season, the tank is on, and don't expect to see much of Young or Davis.
28. Utah Jazz
(16-37, last week No. 28)
Utah was one of the big winners at the trade deadline — this is how you hit the accelerator on a rebuild. Utah has a promising group of young players led by Keyonte George, Walker Kessler and Ace Bailey, now they added a former Defensive Player of the Year in Jaren Jackson Jr. to go next to Lauri Markkanen. Utah looks like a postseason team next season, but don't expect to see much of Jackson this season, as the tank is on to keep their top-eight-protected pick in Utah and add another good young player. Tanktastic game on Wednesday when the Jazz face the Kings.
29. Brooklyn Nets
(14-37, last week No. 29)
Brooklyn did nothing big at the deadline, Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton are still on the team. Cam Thomas is not, but he was waived (and picked up by the Bucks). The Nets did add some young players worth taking a look at in Ochai Agbaji, Hunter Tyson and Josh Minott.
30. Sacramento Kings
(12-42, last week No. 30)
Nobody knows what's going on in Sacramento, where Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook are all still on the roster after the trade deadline (although it's not like they needed to trade those veterans to tank, the Kings are plenty bad with them). Keon Ellis is gone, a taller De'Andre Hunter takes his place but has to prove he's as good. The Kings have lost 12 in a row and will now play 7 of 8 on the road.
