Is chemistry the reason no NBA title winner has added a centerpiece player via midseason trade since the defending champion Houston Rockets dealt for Clyde Drexler in 1995?
Sure, teams have made trades for role players en route to other championships, including the Detroit Pistons adding Rasheed Wallace at the 2004 trade deadline, and more recently, the Toronto Raptors picking up Marc Gasol in 2019 and the Milwaukee Bucks dealing for P.J. Tucker in 2021.
None of those trades, however, were similar to the kind of blockbuster deals we saw this week sending Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns and Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks. With Phoenix now having the second-best odds to win the title at Caesars Sportsbook, the question of whether a midseason trade for a star is disruptive to playoff success has never been more relevant. So let's dig in.
Throughout the NBA season, I answer your questions about the latest, most interesting topics in basketball. You can tweet me directly at @kpelton, tweet your questions using the hashtag #peltonmailbag or email them to peltonmailbag@gmail.com.
In addition to the main question, this week's mailbag also tackles questions on the historic number of teams in the NBA's middle class and the winningest players in recent years.
"What does history say about big midseason trades? Not like adding P.J. Tucker, but trading for Kyrie. Or any trade where you get a starter that's top three on your team in usage. Seems difficult to win four playoff series with all that change? Maybe I'm wrong."
-- @stratigious
