Trae Young Fallout: Hawks Celebrate, Pelicans Panic

About a quarter into 2025-26, Bleacher Report grades the offseason’s biggest trades and finds clear winners and losers. Miami and Atlanta stand out: Norman Powell has become a near-perfect fit in Miami’s attack, and the Hawks turned a 10-spot draft jump into valuable unprotected future upside. By contrast, New Orleans drew an F for surrendering an unprotected 2026 first for Derik Queen, and the Clippers’ John Collins swap has looked poor amid injuries and dysfunction. Other moves — Bane to Orlando, Durant’s seven-team fallout, Denver/Brooklyn’s MPJ/Johnson swap — land mixed reviews that hinge on health and longer-term draft value. Merlin sees the chessboard shifting. Short-term fits can flip to regrets (Powell is a looming free agent), while hoarded picks and swaps are insurance against sudden rebuilds. The real verdict will come when injuries and playoffs force decisions; a single bad season can turn “clever” into “catastrophe.”