(Reuters) – The big names rumored to be on the move at the National Basketball Association’s trade deadline went nowhere on Thursday as teams opted for tweaks over blockbusters.
The Orlando Magic (15-39), with the second worst record in the Eastern Conference, pulled the trigger on the day’s biggest swap, shipping sharpshooting guard J.J. Redick to the Milwaukee Bucks in a multi-player deal, according to media reports.
Redick, who is among the league’s top three-point shooters, averaging a career-high 15.1 points this season, was sent to Milwaukee along with Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith in return for Tobias Harris, Beno Udrih and Doron Lamb.
But the Boston Celtics’ Kevin Garnett, Los Angeles Lakers’ Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, Toronto Raptors’ Andrea Bargnani and Atlanta Hawks’ Josh Smith remained in their current uniforms when the trade window slammed shut at 3 p.m. ET (2000 GMT).
All were among the high-end, high-priced talent being shopped around in the media, but making a trade under the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement can be expensive with a punishing luxury tax being partially blamed for the dull deadline day.
