The NBA season stands roughly at its midpoint, but for the breaking news reporters who cover the league, Thursday’s trade deadline was like a final exam.
With the annual deadline comes endless rumors and whispers, culminating in a handful of big scoops. And as most of the sports world was watching to see which big-name players would be dealt to new teams, we at Awful Announcing were paying close attention to which reporters were breaking the most news. The storylines were irresistible, with heavy favorite Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN facing steep competition from his former Yahoo protege Shams Charania, as well as Marc Stein of The New York Times, whom Woj essentially replaced at ESPN.
We also kept an eye on other ESPN reporters to see if the network would encourage its deep bench of occasional news-breakers (Brian Windhorst, Ramona Shelburne, Marc Spears, Zach Lowe, etc.) to report on trades or have them leave the dirty work to Woj.
With the dust having settled, we tallied up the scoops and graded them on a scale of one to five Woj Bombs to determine which reporter “won” the deadline. We start at the beginning:
11:07 a.m. ET — Jameer Nelson to the Bulls — Shams
Shams jumps out to an early lead with a small but meaningful scoop. Maybe the 23-year-old Yahoo prodigy can give Woj a run for him money, as he did in last summer’s free agency?
Sources: Detroit is sending center Willie Reed to the Bulls for Jameer Nelson, who shores up Pistons' PG rotation.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?
12:05 p.m. ET — Larry Nance and Jordan Clarkson to the Cavs — Woj
Uh oh, here comes Woj. The Cavs were the team everyone was watching Thursday, and this initial report suggests a significant trade is brewing.
Lakers sending Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance to the Cavaliers, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?? ?
12:09 p.m. ET — Luke Babbitt to the Heat — Marc Spears
Hey Marc Spears, good to see you.
The Hawks are sending forward Luke Babbitt to the Heat for forward Omari White sources said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 8, 2018
Sorry, Okaro White https://t.co/luUxyVSjQs
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?
12:10 p.m. ET — Isaiah Thomas to the Lakers — Woj
Now that’s some news! Shams had the same information literally one minute later, but our scoreboard is an all-or-nothing deal.
Cleveland is sending Isaiah Thomas and Channing Frye to the Lakers for Clarkson and Nance, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?? ? ?
12:11 p.m. ET — A first-round pick also to the Lakers — Shams
Shams and Woj both tweeted out the second part of this deal at 12:11 p.m., and since we don’t know for sure whose report hit the internet first, we’ll give Shams some credit for being right on it.
Sources: Cleveland also sending its 2018 first-round pick and Channing Frye to the Lakers. https://t.co/EvBNeELiOM
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ??
12:22 p.m. ET — James Ennis for Brice Johnson — Woj
Even while breaking blockbusters, Woj has time to report a swap of two guys the average NBA fan as never heard of.
Memphis has traded James Ennis to Detroit for Brice Johnson and a second-round pick, league sources tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?
12:58 p.m. ET — Three-way deal nets Cavs George Hill, Rodney Hood — Woj
This trade was a complicated, confusing mess, and Woj was all over it with little competition.
Utah has traded Rodney Hood to Cleveland, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Utah will also send Joe Johnson to Sacramento, and Cleveland will send Jae Crowder and Derek Rose to Utah, league sources tell ESPN. Sacramento sends George Hill to the Cavs.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Cleveland sends Iman Shumpert to Kings in deal, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ???
1:06 p.m. ET — Dwyane Wade returns to Miami — Woj
Uh oh, Woj is starting to run up the score.
Cleveland is trading Dwyane Wade to Miami, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ??
1:25 p.m. ET — Bruno Coboclo for Malachi Richardson — Shams
Shams back on the board.
Toronto is finalizing deal to send Bruno Caboclo to Sacramento for Malachi Richardson, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?
1:40 p.m. ET — Derrick Rose to be released — Shams
This isn’t a trade, but it’s useful trade-adjacent news.
Utah will likely release former NBA MVP Derrick Rose, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Sources: Utah will release Derrick Rose, allowing him to pursue signing with a playoff team. https://t.co/a9RsM4kgTW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ??
1:48 p.m. ET — Timberwolves interested in Derrick Rose — Marc Stein
Back in his ESPN days, Stein was all over the deadline. He seemed to take a step back this year but made a ripple here nonetheless.
The Timberwolves will try to sign Derrick Rose if he clears waivers after his looming release by Utah, according to league sources
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?
2 p.m. ET — Cavaliers to sign Kendrick Perkins — Marc Stein
Another one for Stein. We haven’t heard from Woj for a while…
Strong expectation in Cleveland that one of the Cavaliers’ soon-to-open roster spots — barring any more trades — will be filled by Kendrick Perkins
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?
2:03 p.m. ET — Emmanuel Mudiay to the Knicks in three-team deal — Woj
Oh there he is.
Denver is trading Emmanuel Mudiay to New York, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Denver, New York and Dallas agreed on a three-way deal, league sources tell ESPN. Mudiay to Knicks; Devin Harris to Denver and Doug McDermott to Dallas.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ??
2:19 p.m. ET — Noah Vonleh to the Bulls — Woj
It seems that Milocan Rakovic’s name is actually Milovan Rakovic, but we’ll give Woj a pass. Busy day.
Portland has traded Noah Vonleh and cash to Chicago for the rights to Milocan Rakovic, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?
2:54 p.m. ET — Elfrid Payton to the Suns — Woj
Once again, Woj beats Shams by a single minute.
Orlando has traded Elfrid Payton to Phoenix for a second-round pick, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ??
4:07 p.m. ET — Some other stuff — Shams
Shams deserves some credit for continuing to report after the deadline passed, even when the news was not exactly gripping.
Sources: Mavericks signing guard Kyle Collinsworth to a three-year deal, with rest of season guaranteed.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Sources: The Kings are waiving center Georgios Papagiannis, who was their No. 13 overall selection in the 2016 draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 8, 2018
Bomb rating: ?
And… that’s it.
Here’s a final tally of trade-deadline bombs:
Woj: ??????????????????
Shams: ???????
Stein: ??
Spears: ?
Well folks, sometimes the favorite comes out on top. Woj dominated the day, as he often does, while Shams put up a solid fight and Stein and Spears won some battles as well. The rest of ESPN’s reporters were quiet on the news-breaking front, although Lowe lent some informed insight on why Tyreke Evans wasn’t traded, Shelburne chipped in with some Isaiah Thomas perspective, and Windhorst offered a Wade-related nugget.
And with that our trade-deadline watch is through. Congrats to Woj on the well-earned victory, and we’ll see you July 1 for the start of free agency.
