Now that a full month has passed since the 2024 NBA trade deadline, it's officially time to ask the mother of all questions: How's it goink?

Only the most notable and (should-be) impactful deals will find their way under our microscope. Sincere apologies to the Boston Celtics' acquisition of Jaden Springer.

Since so many of the most consequential deals went down before the deadline, our trip through the Hindsight Vortex will also include progress reports on James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers, OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks, Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers and Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat. You're welcome. Or I'm sorry.

Unfortunately, the pre-Feb. 8 transactions do not have original grades from yours truly. In these instances, I will (briefly) speckle in my back-then thoughts to hold myself accountable for your comedic relief and/or source of enragement. My full analysis on the deadline-day deals can be found here, and I will include the initial letter marks alongside the updated impressions on each swap.

This should go without saying, and yet it needs to be said anyway, but these re-grades still aren't final. The repercussions for all of these deals will continue unfolding over the course of this season, the summer, next year and beyond. This is merely an overview of how each trade is panning out based on what we've seen so far.

Ready? Set? Go...forth with our red pens!

James Harden to the Los Angeles Clippers

The Trade

Los Angeles Clippers Received: James Harden, Filip Petrusev, P.J. Tucker

Oklahoma City Thunder Received: L.A. Clippers' 2027 first-round pick (swap rights; can send out their own or Denver's top-five-protected pick)

Philadelphia 76ers Received: Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, KJ Martin, Marcus Morris Sr., 2026 first-round pick (least favorable from Oklahoma City, Clippers and Houston, via Oklahoma City), L.A. Clippers' 2028 first-round pick (unprotected), 2024 second-round pick (via Clippers, from Indiana, Toronto, Cleveland or Utah), L.A. Clippers' 2029 first-round pick (swap rights), L.A. Clippers' 2029 second-round pick

Grades

Clippers: A-

Skepticism rained down upon the Clippers when they burned a chunk of their (barely) remaining first-round equity to pair the ball-dominant, age-34 Harden with the "Will they even be healthy?" Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. That concern is now entirely dissipated.

Hovering around the bottom 10 of offense and defense since just before the trade deadline isn't great. Ditto for having to swallow the money owed to Tucker, who is neither happy nor playing and who also holds an $11.5 million player option for next season. But the current iteration of the Clips has established itself as a bona fide contender.

L.A. has a top-five offense and top-10ish defense since the trade, a basically full-season sample that includes its recent trough and an 0-5 start to the Harden era. Certain lineup combinations involving (the now injured) Russell Westbrook still won't fly. Whatever. He has embraced his role off the bench, and the Clippers are hammering opponents by over 10 points per 100 possessions when The Beard, PG and Kawhi play together.

Harden, for his part, has never seemed more adaptable. He's posting the third-lowest usage rate of his career, and the share of his shots coming as spot-up threes is at its second-highest since NBA.com's database began tracking these looks in 2013-14.

Two questions must still be answered for L.A.'s grade to approach peak peachy-keenness: Will Harden's arrival pay dividends in the postseason given his, uh, shaky playoff track record? And what does his next contract look like? For now, though, this move is a certified home run.

Thunder: A

Forking over a real first-round pick to facilitate Harden's relocation back to the Western Conference and only bagging a swap in return doesn't appear so hot at first glance. But the Thunder have fortified their spot among contenders even with the Clippers righting their own title stock, and they quite literally have too many inbound first-rounders relative to roster spots.

Exchanging a lower-end selection for the prospect of a higher-echelon swap that conveys a year later is an excellent dice roll.

Sixers: B+

Joel Embiid's left meniscus injury is threatening to derail the Sixers' season, and of the players they acquired, only Nicolas Batum and KJ Martin (in smatterings) have gone on to emerge as rotation staples.

That's fine under the circumstances.

If you want to ding the Sixers for letting the Harden saga reach critical mass, that's your prerogative. But scooping up multiple firsts for a publicly disgruntled player and clearing next summer's cap sheet positions them to make a seismic splash or two. Philly was also able to use Morris' salary and one of the seconds it received in this deal to snare Buddy Hield at the deadline.

Anyone who has studied the 2024 free-agency class understands the option of chiseling out $60-plus million in spending power isn't so sexy. Emphasis on option. The Sixers have levels to their flexibility. They can look to retain Hield and De'Anthony Melton, carry Tyrese Maxey's restricted-free-agency hold and still potentially have a max slot to burn.

More importantly, as Keith Smith of Spotrac likes to wisely remind us all:

This is the persisting TBD element of the trade for Philly. We have to see what the Sixers do with their newfound flexibility and assets. In the meantime, they get a a thumbs up for the short- and long-term optionality coming out of a bad, if slightly self-designed, situation.

OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks

The Trade

New York Knicks Received: Precious Achiuwa, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn

Toronto Raptors Received: RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Detroit's 2024 second-round pick

Grades

Knicks: A-

Anunoby's right elbow injury has so far limited him to just 14 appearances in New York. Some will invariably ding the Knicks for the development. But this move wasn't just about this season. Mid-schedule integrations are hard, and Anunoby is a 26-year-old soon-to-be free agent. New York acquired him to solidify its longer-term trajectory in the Eastern Conference—and did so without surrendering a first-round pick.

Giving up Barrett and Quickley isn't nothing. But Barrett was never getting entirely unleashed in an offense with imperfect spacing and two ball-dominant stars ahead of him in the pecking order. And Quickley's price point in restricted free agency may have proved untenable. He can work—and has worked—in dual-small-guard lineups, but New York needs to consider the raise Jalen Brunson will invariably command. Having so much financial equity dedicated to a pair of sub-6'4" guards is a rickety proposition.

Plus, the Knicks desperately needed a caps-lock WING defender who has the size and experience shimmying between positional assignments. Anunoby is exactly that and so much more. (Achiuwa has played some important minutes for them, too.)

The "more" in this case encompasses a cleaner offensive fit. He doesn't bring the self-creation of Barrett or Quickley, but the Knicks get enough of that from Brunson, Julius Randle and their collection of secondary ball-handlers and -movers. Subbing in someone who spends more time moving away from the action and taking standstill jumpers opens both the floor and their pecking order, rendering this a borderline perfect deal—so long as Anunoby gets and stays healthy and, as expected, re-signs in free agency.

Raptors: A-

People dinged the Raptors for failing to procure tangible first-round equity as part of Anunoby's exit. And that's on top of the criticism for not moving him sooner, when he had more time left on his deal.

Yours truly was among them—to some extent. But then, as now, I recognized Toronto was making an active decision. It chose to keep Anunoby for so long. And it chose to prioritize actual players over picks in this return.

That doesn't inoculate the Raptors against criticism if their experiment goes belly up. But the early returns are promising.

Barrett has thrived within Toronto's extra motion. Head coach Darko Rajaković's system gets him the ball with more momentum. RJ has responded by shooting 72 percent at the rim, up from 57 percent in New York, and making quicker decisions when going downhill. He's also canning more than 40 percent of his triples. This honeymoon phase won't last in full. But the finishing and decision-making look real, and his three-point efficiency is coming on mostly zero-dribble work.

Quickley is having a tougher go. The limitations on his half-court playmaking have shone through and will likely keeping doing so with Scottie Barnes on the shelf. But he's moving the ball well on drives; his own efficiency on those possessions is progressing closer to his mean; Jakob Poeltl, when healthy, has helped even him out in the half-court; and the beyond-the-arc gravity he has on- and off-ball lifts up Toronto's spacing. The Raptors have outscored opponents by 11.5 points per 100 possessions when Quickley, Poeltl, Barnes and Barrett share the floor.

Much is left to be determined for the Raptors. Chief among what's undecided: How much will Quickley cost to retain in restricted free agency? And will the Barrett turn stick? So far, however, this deal looks like a win-win for everyone involved.

Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers Received: Pascal Siakam, 2024 second-round pick (less favorable Chicago and New Orleans)

New Orleans Pelicans Received: Cash considerations

Toronto Raptors Received: Bruce Brown, Kira Lewis Jr., Jordan Nwora, Indiana's 2024 first-round pick (top-three protection), 2024 first-round pick from Houston, L.A. Clippers or Oklahoma City (least favorable), Indiana's 2026 first-round pick (top-four protection through 2027; turns into Indy's 2027 second and Dallas' 2028 second if not conveyed)

Grades

Pacers: A-

Siakam's integration into the Pacers has not unfurled without issue. Haliburton is banged up, and Indiana is losing the minutes they log together, including inside the new (current) starting five.

Noise abounds. Haliburton looking less like a top-five MVP candidate matters beyond measure. Buddy Hield's exit has warped spacing in many core lineups. Aaron Nesmith's four-game absence with a lower-leg injury was ill-timed as well. And above all, this remains so freaking new.

The Pacers still made the right call by acquiring him—assuming they know Siakam's free-agency price point. They were never going to sign a player as good as him outright, and his play, on an individual level, has been pretty good. Hield's absence has impacted Siakam's runway in the lane, but Indy maintains the ability to cobble together lineups that accentuate his driving game. His chemistry with Haliburton isn't without fault and needs more reps, but the advantages created when Siakam screens for him are drool-inducing on certain possessions.

This is one of those deals that needs even more time to marinate. Not only do the Pacers need to get healthier, but they're not done building out their roster. They need another motion shooter as well as a wing other than Nesmith who can streamline Siakam's own defensive existence.

Fortunately for the Pacers, part of the incumbent appeal for this deal was its total cost. They will be down just one first-round pick after this season and still have both Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker to develop or peddle on the market. Though the results to this point aren't incredible, Indiana's overall outlook sure as hell is.

New Orleans Pelicans: B

Billionaire team governors skirting the luxury tax doesn't really move me. But delaying the start of the repeater clock is an objectively smart decision as the Pelicans prepare to grapple with the futures of Brandon Ingram (extension-eligible), Trey Murphy III (extension-eligible this summer) and Jonas Valanciunas (2024 free agent) alongside the investments already made into CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson.

Toronto Raptors: B

I didn't love this deal in the moment for the Raptors. They would have simply re-signed an All-NBA-caliber player in his prime if I had my druthers and continued to reorient around him, Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.

But the relationship between Siakam and the Raptors organization clearly deteriorated. And if they weren't prepared to bankroll a max(ish) contract for his services, scooping up three first-rounders and a human trade exception in Bruce Brown (team option) who's actually useful on the court is a reasonable alternative.

None of these first-rounders profile as high-level. The worst of the three was already parlayed into Kelly Olynyk and a flier on Ochai Agbaji. I dig that. Especially following the two-year, $26.3 million Olynyk extension.

Keeping Indy's 2024 selection on ice is nice "At least we're guaranteed to have one first!" insurance. Toronto's own pick is owed to San Antonio (top-six protection). The 2026 first-rounder is loosely protected enough to have some upside. Though Tyrese Haliburton isn't going anywhere, Siakam ain't no kid, and Indy could always fail to materially level up from here over the next couple of years. Entering the title-contention tier is hard.

Going this route also jibes with the Raptors' open-ended direction. They haven't skewed full-tilt rebuild or win-now with any of their moves. Team president Masai Ujiri can now etch out nearly $30 million cap space even with Quickley's cap hold and after the Olynyk extension, or Toronto can pick up Brown's team option, maintain a placeholder's path and be opportunistic on the trade market. Melding short- and long-term malleability would have been a lot harder, if not impossible, by re-signing Siakam.

Buddy Hield to the Philadelphia 76ers

The Trade

Indiana Pacers Received: Furkan Korkmaz, Doug McDermott, Toronto's 2024 second-round pick (from Philadelphia), Portland's 2029 second-round pick (from Philadelphia)

Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Buddy Hield

San Antonio Spurs Received: Marcus Morris Sr. (bought out), L.A. Clippers' 2029 second-round pick (from Philadelphia)

Grades

Pacers: D+

Original Grade: C-

Interpreting this trade for the Pacers is difficult, even one month later. Hield requested a trade over the offseason, ostensibly desiring a role and contract Indiana deemed excessive when it has top-six-pick equity invested in Bennedict Mathurin.

Generally speaking, if you're going to lose a player for nothing, you might as well get what you can for him on the trade market. I'm not sold that this was the case.

Two seconds and McDermott isn't inspiring enough given how much heavy lifting Hield's gravity did for the offense. Indiana has gone from fifth in accuracy on triples (38.6 percent) and 13th in three-point-attempt rate (36 percent) before the deadline to 18th (36.1 percent) and 19th (34.9 percent), respectively, in the month since.

To what end this comes back to Hield's absence is debatable. Tyrese Haliburton missed time with a left hamstring injury and still doesn't quite look like himself, and the Pacers are attempting to integrate a new star (Pascal Siakam) into the fold on the fly. But Hield's magnetic pull would have made everyone's life easier.

There would have been more room for Siakam to work with and without Haliburton in the half-court. Equally paramount: Haliburton wouldn't be facing so many bodies when he's in the lane. Defenses don't care about sagging off anyone else on this roster—not Myles Turner, not Aaron Nesmith, not Andrew Nembhard.

The calculus changes if the Pacers aren't vying for a top-six seed and automatic entry into the playoffs. They are. Relative to where they're at, what they're doing and the compensation they received, it would have made more sense to keep Hield, even if only for the rest of this season.

Sixers: A+

Original Grade: A+

Acquiring Hield has not transformed the Sixers offense into a space-drunk dream. They are 17th in points scored per possession since the deadline, with a three-point percentage that craters when their new sniper takes the floor.

I'm not sure who needs to hear this, but Philly's struggles aren't on Hield. He's doing his job by downing 42-plus percent of his treys on almost nine attempts per 36 minutes. Rampant injuries up and down the roster and specifically to Joel Embiid are to blame for their precarious situation more than anything else.

Getting Hield still goes down as the perfect trade. He did not warp the Sixers' cap-space plan in any way, shape or form. (This trade actually shaved a couple of million bucks off their 2023-24 payroll.) And they're now getting an inside look at the value of deadeye marksmanship ahead of a critical summer.

If Embiid returns this season, as planned, the Sixers will glean important insight into Hield's impact on their regular offense. Shipping out three seconds isn't nothing, but it's also galaxies from prohibitive when you bag a player who beefs up your immediate ceiling (should you get healthy) and who could plausibly stick around past this year.

Spurs: A

Original Grade: A-

Kudos to the Spurs for finally getting Morris to become an official member of the organization (even though he never reported and was inevitably bought out).

Improving San Antonio's grade will seem weird to some. The Spurs didn't land any players they're actually using in this deal, and we have no idea where the 2029 second will land.

However!

Getting value for McDermott, a modestly used player who San Antonio probably wouldn't have re-signed, looks ultra-smart with Victor Wembanyama mutating into a greatest-of-all-time candidate. Every extra pick for the blockbuster trade they definitely need to make in response to his meteoric rise and accelerated timeline is a plus.

Getting off McDermott and then, by extension, Morris also paved the way for the Spurs to give a standard NBA contract to Dominick Barlow, a hyper-active 6'9" body who can defend around the basket and slide his feet on the perimeter and has enough feel and floor-game chops to get reps beside Wembanyama.

Terry Rozier to the Miami Heat

The Trade

Charlotte Hornets Received: Kyle Lowry (bought out), 2027 first-round pick (lottery-protected in 2027, pending Miami's obligation to Oklahoma City; unprotected in 2028)

Miami Heat Received: Terry Rozier

Grades

Hornets: A

Nabbing a somewhat-distant lottery-protected first-rounder that could theoretically turn into a more-distant unprotected first-rounder for a player who didn't shift franchise fortunes one way or another is a monstrous win for the Hornets.

Never mind that they're finally creating a draft-pick surplus. Or that they increased their short- and longer-term cap flexibility by lopping off Rozier's commitment.

More than anything, and most pivotally, this move speaks volumes about their direction—about their willingness to take a more gradual approach and angle for a finished product that's glitzier-looking than a spitting image of the Chicago Bulls.

Heat: C+

Rozier's shooting splits since joining Miami aren't pretty. He has looked more comfortable since returning from a sprained right knee, but he's still under 27 percent from long distance overall, including a sub-24-percent clip on pull-up triples.

Miami has not leaned on Rozier the way I initially expected. He's more of a complement or accessory than featured attraction. His driving game is intact; his agency on the perimeter is more conditional.

This may end up being the best use of his services. The Heat are on a tear at this writing, and better players—namely Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo—take priority in the pecking order.

My main qualm: I can't figure out whether Rozier was The Guy on which to burn a distant first. His contract is fine (basically two years, $51.5 million), but Miami has now severely hindered its draft equity for future trade proposals. Just as I expected their next move way back when to be splashier than Kyle Lowry, I expected this next move to reel in more of a top-shelf shot-creator and -maker.

There's a chance this concern lands closer to delusional than reasonable. Butler is 34. The Heat can't just sit around forever waiting to acquire a top-line player. And there's no guarantee they would have the scratch even without Rozier to get one. They didn't so much choose to bow out or avoid the Donovan Mitchell and Damian Lillard sweepstakes as much as they were trounced by teams with superior assets. That logistical issue would have endured into the summer unless leaguewide perception of Tyler Herro completely shifted or Miami treated Jaime Jaquez Jr. as expendable.

All of which make this an unspectacular-looking deal that may also represent the middle of the Heat's completed-trade ceiling. We'll have a better idea of its immediate impact by postseason's end.

Bojan Bogdanović, Alec Burks to the New York Knicks

The Trade

Detroit Pistons Received: Ryan Arcidiacono, Malachi Flynn, Evan Fournier, Quentin Grimes, 2028 second-round pick, 2029 second-round pick

New York Knicks Received: Bojan Bogdanović, Alec Burks

Grades

Pistons B+

Original Grade: B+

Could the Pistons have gotten more for Bogdanović if they moved him sooner, either last season or over the summer? Potentially. But Grimes is a legitimate first-round prospect, a three-and-D talent with better shot-making chops than he's shown in Detroit thus far (sub-22 percent from deep).

Landing him with another year left on his rookie scale has real value, particularly as the need for floor-spacing heightens with the Pistons giving more simultaneous reps to their core prospects. And while Detroit probably could have snagged an actual first-rounder and drafted a player who's cost-controlled for longer, the information on who Grimes is and what he already does adds another dimension of utility.

It's not like the Pistons didn't get any picks, either. Those distant seconds could be sweeteners in another deal. Or they could be in the 30s if the Knicks' current window fades to close.

Including Burks might increase the calls for a better return, but neither he nor Bogdanović factored into Detroit's long-term plans. Their departures freed up run for—and forced head coach Monty Williams to lean further into—player development, all without compromising the club's summertime flexibility.

Knicks: B

Original Grade: A-

Dismal shooting and very little playmaking from Burks detracts from the original grade. His role has already started shrinking even as the Knicks remain short-handed. That's never a good sign.

On the bright side, Bogdanović is beginning to look more comfortable. His shooting stroke has waxed and waned, but he's bending defenses by virtue of his threat level. New York has him getting into the corners more, where he's knocking down 48 percent of his looks and affording Jalen Brunson extra breathing room on the opposite side of the floor.

Bogdanović's above-the-break clip has cratered. It will come around. His importance without Julius Randle (shoulder injury) cannot be overstated. Ticketing him for heavy minutes will be tougher if the Knicks ever reach full strength, but a healthy OG Anunoby should allow them to explore minutes with Randle, Bogdanovic and a big on the court.

The somewhat precipitous drop from the initial mark has more to do with the longer-haul outlook. Bogdanović's partially guaranteed salary slot next season has far more value than Fournier's team option. But New York just unloaded its last blue-chippish prospect to get a 34-year-old. That could have consequences down the line. Because while the Knicks have gobs of first-round equity, sellers sometimes prioritize actual prospects rather than or in tandem with mystery-box picks. New York is now barren of the former.

Whether that was a concession (or active decision) worth making is a matter of course—a verdict that'll vary depending on what the Knicks do in the 2024 NBA playoffs, and what their next big move, assuming they make one, looks like this summer.

P.J. Washington to the Dallas Mavericks

The Trade

Charlotte Hornets Received: Seth Curry, Grant Williams, 2027 first-round pick (top-two protection; turns into Miami's 2028 second if not conveyed)

Dallas Mavericks Received: P.J. Washington, Boston's 2024 second-round pick, 2028 second-round pick from Charlotte or L.A. Clippers (less favorable)

Grades

Hornets: A

Original Grade: A

This deal looked like a massive W for the Hornets in real-time, and since then, nothing's changed.

If anything, Williams is playing better than anticipated—at both ends. But much like the Terry Rozier mini-buster, this deal was and remains about the first-round equity and the commitment to an actual direction.

The latter cannot be over-celebrated. Charlotte has floated somewhere between mediocrity and complete irrelevance for too long. Stripping itself of impact players in favor of draft picks is pleasantly out-of-character.

It helps that Dallas' inbound first-rounder could be a primo pick. Sure, we tend to over-romanticize future draft selections. But top-two protection is extremely loose, and the Mavericks could be worse off by then. They're struggling to avoid the play-in tournament with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, and this 2027 obligation extends past both of their current contracts.

Dallas could figure things out. Further disaster could also ensure. The Mavs have dealt most of their best trade chips, and Kyrie, 31, isn't exactly young. "Will Luka still be in Big D by the 2026-27 season?" isn't a clickbait question. It's a genuinely existential concern. Charlotte secured itself one helluva bite at the future-draft apple without giving up a top-50 player. That's a huge deal.

Mavericks: D

Original Grade: D+

I hated this deal for the Mavs when they made it, a distaste split between Washington's fit on the roster and big-picture implications. That angst over the former has subsided.

Washington has, for the most part, looked good in Dallas. Playing beside Luka and Kyrie hasn't morphed him into a lights-out marksman (31 percent from three), but the two-man game between he and Dončić is dangerous, and he's held his own in some switch scenarios.

Worries over the bigger picture haven't gone anywhere, though. If anything, they've amplified in number and scale. On the heels of a mini defensive renaissance following the trade, Dallas has imploded amid lineup shortcomings and general incoherence. Many fans are inclined to blame head coach Jason Kidd. And much if it certainly falls on him. Almost none of it, technically, is on Washington.

At the same time, the Mavs have seemingly decided he's best deployed next to Maxi Kleber. And to their credit, the data supports as much. Dallas is plus-19.2 points per 100 possessions with Kleber and Washington on the front line. But this model inherently caps the roles and importance of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II. Minimizing their usage is counterintuitive to the equity Dallas invested in them. Lively is a lottery prospect, and the Mavs jettisoned a first-rounder to pick up Gafford.

Again: This is not necessarily on Washington himself—though his need to be more directly involved in offensive actions does factor into Dallas' deployment of Gafford and Lively. You can't play one of them and hope to use Washington as a primary screener.

Pretty much like always, this is mostly about the Mavericks' process. Setting fire to a loosely protected first-round pick without elevating their immediate ceiling, let alone their long-haul peak, is unsettling. There's still time for a reversal. Maybe Kidd really is the problem. To this point, though, Dallas is a labyrinth of issues without clear-cut resolutions. And in the absence of obvious answers, the timing and scope of this gamble can't be viewed in much rosier goggles.