Six players that benefited from moves their teams made on the NBA Trade Deadline Day

NBA Trade News Deadline: We saw big names like Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, and Lou Williams dealt before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. Here are six players that benefited from moves their teams made on the NBA Trade Deadline Day

As we see in the NBA trade deadline all the time, players who have been engaged on the bench or identified as role players can often improve their judgment given the chance, and increasing by loss seldom leads to upgraded performance.

Here are six players who should benefit from having their teammates traded at the deadline.

Wood was in the heart of an All-Star quality season when he was bound to miss over a month with an ankle injury. When he came back, the Rockets had lost 17 games in a row, daring for the league’s worst record.

The team has continued to fail after his return, and Wood’s disappointment came through when he lamented about his shortage of late-game touches in a close loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I would like to be more involved in the offense going down the stretch,” Wood said after taking just two fourth-quarter shots in the loss to OKC. “There’s often times where I’ve been left in the corner and taken out of the offense, and it kind of takes me out of rhythm.”

Victor Oladipo was the principal cause for Wood’s shortage of engagement late in games. Oladipo’s fourth-quarter usage percentage of 32.8 led the team, with Wood also dropping below John Wall and Eric Gordon with a usage rate of 22.8 in the final frame.

One of the most talented young big men in the league, Williams will possibly become the Celtics’ full-time starting center with Daniel Theis traded to the Bulls. Williams has the look of a rim-runner and shot-blocker due to his height and athleticism.

In his first start of the season in Friday’s 122-114 win over the Bucks, Williams dished out a career-high six assists and had 7 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks.

Boston is 24th in the NBA in assists, so getting Williams more profoundly associated with the starters should create more open looks for the league’s 13th-ranked offense.

With J.J. Redick traded to Dallas on NBA Trade Deadline day, Alexander-Walker should slot in that backup shooting guard position.

He has been substantial as a fill-in starter with Lonzo Ball out, and New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy lately revealed that Alexander-Walker regularly plays more meticulous when he knows he is going to get more minutes.

“You’re not really looking over your shoulder,” Alexander-Walker said, via Pelicans.com. “You’re able to play with, in a sense, no conscience, because you’re just thinking about the game. You’re not thinking about what can come if you make a decision that doesn’t pan out the way you intended it. I’m trying to trust myself so that even when I don’t start, I can still come off the bench and provide effective things.”

Since March 4, when Redick went down with an injury, Alexander-Walker is averaging 13.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 38 percent 3-point shooting.

Okeke has been a solid contributor off the bench for most of the season. In his initial start after the trade deadline, Okeke put up a career-high 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 4-for-6 3-pointers, in 37 minutes.

His next step will be improving his shooting technique to take support of hard closeouts by putting the ball on the floor and occupying the rim an area in which he has strived so far.

If he can proceed to improve in the last couple of months of the season, a heart of him, Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz, and Wendell Carter Jr. is a suitable starting point for Orlando’s rebuild.

As is the case for most second-round picks, Lee has battled for minutes during his rookie season, simply moving in when injuries hit the Pistons hard.

He has absolutely taken benefit of his opportunities, putting up 12.6 points and 3.9 assists per game on 59 percent shooting during a seven-game stretch from late February to early March with Delon Wright out of the lineup.

Killian Hayes, the No. 7 overall pick last November and the possible point guard of the future in Detroit, is still rehabbing from a torn labrum in his hip, and at this point, it might not make much sense to bring him back in a top-of-the-lottery-bound season.

Lee will be in the mix with Dennis Smith Jr., Frank Jackson, and recently obtained Cory Joseph for minutes, though it’s difficult to believe Joseph will see much playing time contemplating he is likely not in the Pistons’ future plans.

In a comparatively small specimen size, Lee is in the 96th percentile in overall offensive performance including assists, at 1.454 points per possession according to Synergy.

It’s safe to say that when the Clippers employed Kennard to a four-year, $64 million extension shortly after selling for him last offseason, they were not anticipating 7.9 points in fewer than 20 minutes per game.

At times over the past month, Kennard has befallen entirely out of the rotation. Part of the understanding for Kennard’s poor creation was his positional repetition with Lou Williams, who was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Rajon Rondo at the deadline.

Kennard’s shooting has not been a predicament. He is fifth in the NBA at 47.8 percent from the 3-point range and is in the 91st percentile with 1.36 points per possession in catch-and-shoot situations.

He showcased his talent in a recent 21-point comeback against the Hawks, matching the first Clipper in history to put up 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in fewer than 20 minutes.

“I am so happy for Luke Kennard just staying ready, the way he’s performed the last four games he’s played,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said after the win over Atlanta. “He’s definitely earned — he’s earned something.“