The Orlando Magic were relatively quiet at the NBA Trade Deadline, merely sending out Mo Bamba, but they didn’t need to be anything more. They have a positive record and point differential over their past 15 games, and their future couldn’t be brighter. Markelle Fultz is having the best season of his career, Jonathan Isaac is back as a defensive tornado, and they are in line to add another two lottery picks this June.
You can write the next four teams on slips of paper, place them in a hat, and pull them out in any order. Barring an unexpectedly hot run from the Pacers or Magic, three of these teams will make the Play-In Tournament and one will be left in the cold. The Bulls are currently in 11th and have been wildly inconsistent all season, so they land at the bottom of “Meh East Roulette.”
The Atlanta Hawks are undergoing an overhaul this season, getting a new front office earlier in the season and a new head coach this weekend. Quin Snyder has a long and impressive track record as a coach, and the Hawks will need him to figure out how to maximize Trae Young. The Hawks are 2-0 since firing former head coach Nate McMillan.
The Washington Wizards have been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference since the start of 2023, although their 20-point drubbing at the hands of the Bulls last night didn’t help matters. They seem headed for a summer of overpaying players to keep their mediocre core together, which is basically the most “Wizards” thing they could do.
Of all of these teams fighting for the East Play-In Tournament, the Toronto Raptors made the biggest move at the NBA Trade Deadline. Long without a reliable center, they traded for Jakob Poeltl, returning the big man to the team that drafted him. He has played really well for the Raptors since arriving, and they are 3-2 with Poeltl thus far. They are the most likely team to sneak into the playoffs with the eighth seed.