Thursday was an emotional day after Duke's overtime win against North Carolina, and news in the afternoon before the NBA's deadline added to the excitement.
Detroit Pistons forward Kyle Singler and Phoenix Suns center Miles Plumlee were traded just before the 3 p.m. deadline, with Singler being moved to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a three-team deal and Plumlee making the move to Milwaukee to join forces with Jabari Parker in another three-team deal.
Singler is in the middle of his third NBA season and is averaging 7.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game. The 6-foot-8 swingman is also shooting better from beyond the arc at 40.6 percent than he is from two-point range, one of the main reasons the Thunder likely went after Singler as a potential backup for star forward Kevin Durant.
Oklahoma City also received backup point guard D.J. Augustin while trading guard Reggie Jackson to Detroit. The Utah Jazz were the third team in the deal, sending center Enes Kanter to the Thunder in return for Kendrick Perkins, Grant Jerrett and the rights to center Tibor Pleiss.
Plumlee's deal included many more big names than Singler's, with the 7-footer joining Michael Carter-Williams and another former Syracuse standout, Tyler Ennis, in heading to the Bucks. The other major part of the trade was Brandon Knight and Kendall Marshall moving to Phoenix to help the Suns deal with their lack of depth after they sent starter Goran Dragic to Miami earlier in the day. The Philadelphia 76ers received several draft picks as part of the deal.
Plumlee is averaging 4.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 18.6 minutes per game this year and will look for a new start in Milwaukee after taking a step back for Phoenix and being on the trading block for much of the season.
Both Plumlee and Singler will see their first action with their new teams this weekend, the first since last week's All Star break, and look to contribute on two teams who could easily be playoff bound.
Keep up with the Blue Zone for all your Duke basketball and recruiting news and for weekly Duke in the NBA updates as the season wears on.
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