NBA insiders on how a wild trade deadline reshaped the title race

The Phoenix Suns have entered the chat. The Los Angeles Lakers have not. And the Golden State Warriors have left it.

Those were the most definitive takeaways from a sampling of NBA scouts, GMs and front-office executives quizzed by FOX Sports about how the flurry of moves at Thursday's trade deadline reshaped the chase for this year's title. 

Not surprisingly, every participant named the Suns, with their acquisition of Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets, as having turned themselves into a contender to reach the Finals for the second time in three years.

Asked specifically which team previously on the outside looking in inserted itself into the race, one Western Conference GM said, "Phoenix by a mile," and an Eastern Conference GM agreed. 

"Phoenix crept up in there," he said. "They weren't going anywhere before. They are going to be a tough out."

And while everyone also agreed that the Lakers improved their roster with the additions of D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba to their star tandem of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the general feeling was that it may be too little too late for a team sitting in 13th place, 2.5 games out of the last play-in spot currently held by the Portland Trail Blazers.

"They are a threat, but there isn't a lot of time left and they are so far back," the Western Conference GM said. "Plus their schedule is always backloaded, so it's tougher for them than most. If LeBron and AD miss two weeks it could be hard to even get in the play-in tournament."

There were concerns about how quickly Chris Paul, Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton and Durant can develop the necessary chemistry to make an extended postseason run, especially with both Durant and Booker currently out with injuries. 

"I am not a believer in big trades jelling after the deadline," an Eastern Conference executive said. "How quickly will that Suns group mesh this season with so little practice time in today's NBA and Durant not expected back until after the All-Star break?"

The Suns' depth was also thinned by sending their two outstanding young wings, Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, to Brooklyn.

"That is a tough deal for the Suns to get rid of two dependable young players," an Eastern Conference scout said. 

Both he and the Eastern Conference executive also believe the Warriors did not do enough at the deadline to give themselves a chance to defend their title. 

They currently are in ninth place in the West and Steph Curry, last year's Finals MVP, is out for at least several more weeks with a knee injury. Their only deadline move was sending center James Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick in 2020, to the Detroit Pistons for five second-round picks and forward Kevin Knox, whom they then flipped to the Blazers to bring back defensive specialist Gary Payton II, a key contributor off the bench in their title run. Payton, who had left for Portland last summer in free agency, should boost their 18th-ranked defense but that may not be enough to resolve their road woes, where they are 7-21.

"Golden State is done," the Eastern Conference scout said. "They're just not good enough to win multiple potential playoff series. They have the same road record as the Pistons. Think about that."

The Eastern Conference executive agreed: "I don't think Golden State can put the genie back in the bottle."

The Dallas Mavericks received an honorable mention from one Eastern Conference GM after extracting enigmatic star Kyrie Irving from the Nets' demolition.

"Dallas with Irving moved way up in a vacuum," he said. "His track record of impact on the court is real. But so is his impact on the team psyche, so who knows."

Two incumbents contenders in the West, the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, were praised for solidifying their chances. 

The Clippers overhauled their backcourt by moving their two point guards, John Wall and Reggie Jackson, along with sharpshooter Luke Kennard, and bringing in point guard Bones Hyland from Denver and Rockets veteran guard Eric Gordon. They also added a much-needed back-up center, Mason Plumlee, from Charlotte.

"The Clippers got better, addition by subtraction getting Wall and Jackson out," the Eastern Conference scout said. "Plumlee will be a good piece for them and Gordon will be energized." 

The West-leading Nuggets also added a back-up center, Thomas Bryant from the Lakers, but a second Eastern Conference GM still had concerns about the Nuggets' 14th-ranked defense. 

"Thomas Bryant was a nice pick-up," he said, "but Michael Porter Jr. couldn't guard me. I'm not sure you can have him out there to finish games."

Despite the migration of star talent to the west, the general belief was that the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics fortified themselves as the favorites. The Bucks added power forward Jae Crowder from the Suns and the Celtics added a pick-and-pop center from the Oklahoma City Thunder, Mike Muscala, to back up starting center Al Horford. A lack of size was considered the Celtics' biggest weakness coming into the season. 

"Muscala was a sneaky good pick-up," the second Eastern Conference GM said. "He's a big body that can score and take minutes off Horford going into the playoffs."

The first Eastern Conference GM had a similar feeling about the Bucks adding Crowder: "That could be something that gets them back to the Finals."

Overall, the deadline moves added some intrigue to this year's race to be the last team standing in June, but not enough to dissuade anyone from moving off who they liked at the start of the season, including the second Eastern Conference GM.

"In the little GM survey at the beginning of the year I picked Milwaukee," he said. "I'm going to ride with that."

Ric Bucher is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He previously wrote for Bleacher Report, ESPN The Magazine and The Washington Post and has written two books, "Rebound," on NBA forward Brian Grant’s battle with young onset Parkinson’s, and "Yao: A Life In Two Worlds." He also has a daily podcast, "On The Ball with Ric Bucher." Follow him on Twitter @RicBucher.

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