Ever wonder how NBA players feel emotionally and mentally when they find out they are traded?
Yes, these people make millions playing a kid’s game, but keep in mind the human element. As trades go down, some players are shocked because they thought they were in their current team’s plans for the future.
Here are some things to consider when players are traded.
How the news is broken
During the announcement of a trade, some players expected to be traded because they’ve discussed with the team that it was best to part ways.
Some players, like Robert Covington and Kelly Oubre Jr., however, find out they were traded via insiders Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter.
Davion Mitchell seemingly had no idea he was dealt to Toronto just last week.
At last season’s trade deadline, now-former Brooklyn Net Mikal Bridges found out via FaceTime with Damion Lee that he was being sent from Phoenix to Brooklyn.
Understandably, this is a business, but the news still needs to be broken in a professional manner.
The reality is that they should be informed of the news through their agents first. Or the front office can inform a player that they have been traded before Charania and Wojnarowski.
There needs to a time designated for players to be informed of a trade through their agent before Charania and Wojnarowski release it on Twitter.
Family
A majority of NBA players have families.
When a player is traded during the season, they have a short period of time — typically 48-72 hours in between games — to move their belongings into a new house or apartment.
If it’s the offseason, players’ children may have to change schools. Damian Lillard revealed to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes what was going through his mind after he was traded from Portland to Milwaukee last September.
Lauren Holiday, former professional soccer player and wife of now two-time NBA Champion Jrue Holiday, had strong words for the Bucks after her husband was sent to Portland — and ultimately re-routed to Boston — in the Lillard trade.
Holiday’s former teammate Grayson Allen, who was also a part of that trade, was asked about Lauren Holiday’s post and the impact of having family across the country after being traded.
One thing to note is for players traded to Toronto, they must have a work visa as they move outside of the United States.
Verbiage change
Changing teams means learning new plays, teammates and coaches.
The verbiage can change from team to team. For example, different teams can have a different word to front the post.
Different teams can run the same play but have a different name for it. It’s a muscle memory that traded players have to adjust to.
Most importantly, chemistry is a work in progress upon arriving to a new team.
Situations
Things can change in a quick instance. Some players are on the worst team and next thing they know, they are on the team with the best record in the league.
And vice versa.
Some players get a change of scenery. Players who were at the end of the bench start to get playing time. Other players get lost in the shuffle of a deep team and see a ton of DNPs (did not play).
Just things to consider if one put themselves in the shoes of a NBA player that was just traded.
One thing is for sure— life comes at you fast.
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