Trade Deadline Moves Former Quakers Hart and Bey
This year’s NBA trade deadline has officially passed, with 28 out of the NBA’s 30 teams making at least one trade.
13-time NBA All-Star and career journeyman Kevin Durant is on the move again, leaving Brooklyn for the Phoenix Suns, where he hopes to win another championship with Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. Along with Durant, the Brooklyn Nets traded All-Star Kyrie Irving, marking a long-winded end to the franchise’s failed attempt at building a team around the players. The Nets agreed to trade Irving to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and future draft picks.
Returning from a rough performance with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook was traded to the Utah Jazz in return for Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt to revitalize their flatlining season.
The Jazz received Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a 2027 first-round draft pick from the Lakers in addition to Westbrook. However, rumors are circulating that the Jazz are considering making a buyout deal with Westbrook.
In the NBA, buyouts between a team and a player are mutual agreements to part ways in which the player sacrifices part of their salary for the ability to sign with another team. Bought-out athletes and other free agents have until March 1 to sign with a new team to maintain playoff eligibility.
Though Westbrook has not been officially bought out by the Jazz, according to CBS Sports, sources indicate that the deal will occur soon. ESPN reported that the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat have expressed the most interest in signing a potentially bought-out Westbrook.
Former Quakers Josh Hart ’13 and Saddiq Bey ’18 are also making headlines. On Feb. 8, the New York Knicks acquired Hart from the Portland Trail Blazers. This season, he has averaged 9.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Blazers and seeks to help New York in its run for the playoffs. In a three-team trade with the Golden State Warriors, the Detroit Pistons traded Bey to the Atlanta Hawks. Bey played 52 games with the Pistons this season and averaged 14.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Sidwell students shared their reactions to the trade deadline.
“As a Knicks fan, I think [Josh Hart] fills a lot of needs, particularly defensively,” junior William Friedman said. “I think he’s better than the assets we gave up,” he added.
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Will Koopersmith is currently a Sports Editor for Horizon. Prior to this, he worked as a Staff Writer for the newspaper.