Though Thursday's NBA trade deadline came and went without an expected blockbuster deal for Anthony Davis, there was still plenty of excitement happening around the league – especially for fans of North Carolina basketball.
Former Tar Heel wings Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington, Harrison Barnes and Justin Jackson were all traded in the last three days, finding new homes with the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks, respectively.
First, Bullock, who played for UNC from 2010 to 2013, was traded from the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday for former Kansas forward Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a second-round pick. Bullock will join a Lakers team that struck out on an aforementioned deal for Davis, but will nonetheless appreciate Bullock's upside as a much-needed wing to knock down 3-pointers and play quality defense. In his sixth season as a pro, Bullock is averaging 12.1 points and shooting 38.8 percent on 6.7 3-point attempts per game.
On Wednesday, former Tar Heel and Miami Heat sharpshooter Ellington was traded to the Suns along with guard Tyler Johnson for veteran forward Ryan Anderson. Ellington, who played for North Carolina from 2006 to 2009 and won a national championship in his final collegiate season, is averaging 8.4 points on 36.8 percent from 3-point range.
The 31-year-old guard is also coming off of a career year in 2017-18 in which he averaged 11.2 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting from deep. The Suns will be Ellington's eighth team in 11 seasons as a pro. They are a franchise in full rebuild mode and could make use of Ellington as a steady veteran presence off the bench.
Finally, on Wednesday night, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported a Tar Heel-for-Tar Heel deal: the Kings traded Jackson, the 2017 ACC Player of the Year, and veteran forward Zach Randolph to the Mavericks for Barnes, who earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2011.
Jackson, who won a national championship with the Tar Heels in 2017, is a player who could use a fresh start. In a season and change with the Kings, Jackson is averaging 6.7 points on 34.6 percent from 3-point range. Perhaps the change of scenery will see the young wing, who averaged 18.3 points in his junior season at UNC before declaring for the draft, thrive in an expanded role amongst other developing players.
As for Barnes, the seventh-year pro had to be pulled from playing in a game against the Hornets when the trade was announced. He has averaged 17.7 points per game this season on 38.9 percent from 3-point range. Wojnarowski reported that the Kings will look to keep Barnes long-term, though he has the option to become a free agent this summer. The Kings will be Barnes' third team of his pro career; he won an NBA title with the Warriors in 2015 and signed with the Mavericks in the summer of 2016.
