The trail leading to Thursday’s NBA trading deadline was decorated with intrigue and big names, lots of big names. Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Jeff Teague, Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson, Al Horford. All were rumored to be parts of talks.
And when the clock inexorably moved past 3 p.m., the big names stayed put. Now there was a long name, Chukwudiebere Maduabum, that moved. Long, not big.
There was quality in some trades. Detroit went after a playoff spot with two separate deals that landed upside forward Tobias Harris from Orlando on Wednesday and then the injury-scarred Donatas Montiejunas plus perimeter threat Marcus Thornton from Houston on Thursday.