The first-ever NBA 2K League in-season trade window closed Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. EST, highlighted by a late deal between Heat Check Gaming and Jazz Gaming. Trade paperwork sent to the league on Sunday may still be processed by the league on Monday and Tuesday, but it’s unlikely that any more trades happen.
Here’s a summary of everything that happened during the window, which ran from April 28 to June 16.
Trades after the Turn
With teams not allowed to officially trade players during tournaments, the 24 hours after the Turn tournament in Las Vegas saw three major trades take place.
- Pistons GT sent MrStylez to Hawks Talon GC for DevGoss
- Heat Check Gaming acquired Hood from T-Wolves Gaming for JMoney
- Raptors Uprising GC traded All Hail Trey to Cavs Legion GC for Sick
The weeks after the tournament had one further trade completed.
A large factor in the trade window: teams were unable to trade future draft picks, a restriction which certainly limited the number of trades completed during the window. The uncertainty regarding the number of players each team will be able to protect and retain over the offseason, as well as the number of expansion teams for 2020 (only Charlotte is confirmed), also played a factor in the number of trades.
Deadline Deal, Goofy Stays
With the clock ticking down on the window, the Jazz and Heat announced the swap of Lotty (heading to Utah) and MOAM (heading to Miami). The trade had been in the works since early last week, with Lotty sitting out the Ticket Tournament in Orlando.
Further hot-button trade speculation arose at the Ticket, where Knicks Gaming benched 2018 first-round pick Goofy. When the team went on a remarkable run to the semifinals, Goofy seemed to have a foot out of the door, but DIMER reports that Knicks Gaming decided not to trade Goofy at the deadline and will instead play out the season with its current roster.
Numbers of Note
1 – One player—Hood, now of Heat Check Gaming—has been traded twice. T-Wolves Gaming acquired him from Cavs Legion GC at the expansion draft last year, while Heat Check Gaming picked him up this season. In addition, MrStylez has been traded once, to Hawks Talon GC, but the Pistons traded Ramo for the pick with which he was selected.
4 – Teams who have used up the maximum of two trades across both trade windows. Pistons GT, Heat Check Gaming, Cavs Legion GC, and T-Wolves Gaming all maxed themselves out, with Heat Check becoming the only team to make two deals in the in-season window alone.
5 – Teams who have never participated in a trade. 76ers GC, Celtics Crossover Gaming, Kings Guard Gaming, Knicks Gaming and NetsGC have not traded players or picks, though not necessarily for a lack of trying.
10 – Total trades executed, split evenly between the two trade windows.
15 – Players who have now been involved in trade, between last year’s trade window after the 2018 expansion draft and the in-season window this year. That number rises to 19 upon including players drafted using traded picks.
