sports // no. 8 theotherpress.ca Highlights from the NBA trade deadline » Some big moves were made => wit Illustration by Janis McMath Mo Hussain Sports Reporter L* week was the NBA trade deadline and there was much action to take note of. Whether it’s teams making adjustments to compete in the playoffs, or teams trading assets to rebuild for the future, a lot of teams made some team changes leading up to last Thursday’s deadline. Here are three highlights: TORONTO RAPTORS Despite much speculation that Raptor’s star Kyle Lowry would be traded, the Raptors were not able to get a deal done by Thursday afternoon. Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the Raptors were close to trading the 35-year old to the Philadelphia 76ers. However, agreeing on adequate draft compensation was a roadblock for both teams, leading the 76ers to trade for guard George Hill instead. However, the Raptors did not walk away from the trade deadline without making some moves. The team did agree to deals that involved trading away Norman Powell, Terence Davis, and Matt Thomas. ORLANDO MAGIC The Orlando Magic used Thursday’s deadline as an opportunity to blow their team up. The team dealt Nikola Vuéevi¢, who many would consider as their best player, to the Chicago Bulls for two first What it felt like to lose sports to the pandemic a year ago » It wasn’t easy to cope without what was previously a constant Mo Hussain Sports Reporter I has been almost a year since every single sport in the world shut down, and I mean every... single... one. Professional sports shut down, college sports shut down, and even local gyms, arenas, and organized sports also essentially shut down. The thing is, having one professional sport being taken away was something sports fans were kind of used to from time to time due some leagues having lockouts. When that would happen, some sports fans would either stop watching until their favourite league came back or would hop on to watch another sport. For example, when the NHL was going through a lockout in late 2012, some might've become more attentive to leagues like the NBA which was up and running. With the shutdown that happened last March, there was absolutely nothing to turn to as dealing with the pandemic was an issue across all sports. Adjusting to that was quite difficult considering how entrenched sports can be for fans throughout the year. In this case, when COVID-19 was classified asa pandemic in March, that time of the year is usually when teams in the NBA and NHL are getting ready for the playoffs. It was odd not to have that in March and the year that followed. Losing the opportunity to play sports or get a workout outside particularly hurt. It’s one thing to lose entertainment that you just watch on your phone or television. It’s another to lose an outlet that gives you both a physical and mental release from all the stresses in your day-to-day life. Losing something like being able to go to the basketball court and join in on a pick-up game, or even losing going to a nearby indoor gym to lift weights was hard for many people. Even if some gyms or parks were open, having the threat of a (at the time) unknown virus looming in the back of your mind made it quite difficult to play a sport or get a workout with peace of mind. Fast forward to today, and although arenas aren't being packed to watch professional sports, and one can’t really round picks: former top five draft pick Wendell Carter Jr and Otto Porter Jr. The Magic also dealt slam dunk superstar Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets for Gary Harris, RJ Hampton, and future first-round picks. Finally, the team then dealt nine-year veteran Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics for Jeff Teague and two second round picks. Prior to the trade, both Vucevié and Fournier were the team’s top scorers, and Gordon led the team in rebounds. MIAMI HEAT Despite the talk surrounding the 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Milwaukee Bucks, the Miami Heat used the deadline as an opportunity to potentially insert themselves as a competitor in the Eastern Conference. The reigning Eastern Conference champions traded Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk, and a future pick swap to the Houston Rockets for two-time all-star Victor Oladipo. The 28-year-old has averaged close to 21 points this season and will look to help stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo to become a credible threat in this year’s playoffs. As for what the future will hold for these three teams the rest of the season is yet to be determined. However, as many teams continue to build chemistry with one another, it will be interesting to see how they will fare moving forward. Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo play a game of pick-up basketball due to social distancing, it’s still good to have at least something that resembles life pre- pandemic. Looking back, it has made me a lot more grateful to have professional sports to watch and have allocated places to get active.