Activity at the NBA trade deadline reshaped the league for years to come with maneuvers that will take weeks, if not months, to fully process.

There is also a fundamental sea change underway as to who calls the shots.

These were the trade deadline winners:

Owners

LeBron James was not traded at the deadline, nor did I ever expect him to be. Since James signed with the Lakers in 2018, I have held firm that he will end his career there. But the big trade for this season — you know the one I’m talking about — was a signal that the Lakers, and the NBA, are preparing to move on from him, just not in the way you might think.

One of James’ biggest effects on the league was his embodiment player empowerment. Superstars selected the same team to sign with as free agents. Players signed shorter contracts with options, meant to wield over front offices like an anvil. James never forced his way off a team while under contract — Jimmy Butler and Kyrie Irving are the patriarchs for that move — but the power to do it comes from the pendulum swing toward the players over the last 15 years, a swing that began with James.

The Mavericks’ shocking trade of 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic to the Lakers for 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis is one example of the power starting to sway back in the other direction. So was the trade of Butler from the Heat to the Warriors.

Let’s start with the Mavericks. Doncic never asked to be traded, and he never threatened refusal of a five-year, $345 million supermax contract extension he could have signed this summer. He was the face of the franchise, a perennial MVP candidate, and in the last six seasons made five All-Star teams and led underdog Mavs teams to playoff success, including an NBA Finals appearance last season.

No player like him at this juncture of his career had ever been traded.

In the LeBron era, every team before the Mavericks steered their boats into that same abyss, hoping the superstar would sign the big contract and then managing the fallout in the event he didn’t. Whatever the Mavs’ true reason for moving on from Doncic, they certainly put their future in their own hands by trading him before he could, in theory, create chaos with the contract extension.

As for Davis and the Lakers, he didn’t ask to be traded, either. Nor is he a slouch. His 26 points and 12 boards per game support James’ own words that Davis was the Lakers’ “best player” this season.

Since Davis forced his way off the Pelicans in 2019 and finagled a trade to the Lakers, James and Davis have been an inseparable pair. And if Davis isn’t quite that player on his own, his relationship with James should have afforded him the opportunity to hear he could be traded, and maybe even stop it.

Instead, neither Davis nor James was given the chance. This was a deal hatched by two front-office executives who kept the negotiations as quiet as possible.

Butler, meanwhile, has now forced his way off three teams. Before he pushed the Heat into trading him, they had bent the rules of their famous “Heat Culture” to accommodate him during his first five seasons there. If Butler didn’t want to be available to the media or fly on the team plane, he didn’t have to.

Heat president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra put an end to all of that this season. Butler sulked about his new role in the Heat’s offense, but Spoelstra didn’t budge. Butler complained that he was not happy on the court with the Heat, and then formally demanded a trade; Riley said it wasn’t happening. From there, the Heat suspended Butler three times, costing him nearly $6 million, during a standoff that, if it were a different star on a different team, in perhaps any prior season over the past 10 years, would have unfolded differently.

And when Butler finally got his wish Wednesday, he was not moved to his desired team, the Suns. The Heat waited until they found the best deal they could get, on their terms, while avoiding paying Butler (because of his suspension).

Cavaliers

Before the deadline madness commenced, the four teams I felt had the best chance to win a title, in any order, were the Thunder, Cavaliers, Celtics and Nuggets.

Over the last 10 years, a No. 1 seed has reached the NBA Finals seven times. Only once during that span, way back in 2016, did the top teams from the Eastern and Western Conferences both make it.

So if history is a guide, either the Cavs (No. 1 in the East) or Thunder (No. 1 in the West) are probably going to make it to June. I also loved the experience, depth and star power of the two most recent champions, the Celtics (2024) and Nuggets (2023).

Of these four teams, one of them, by far, made the most aggressive move to fortify itself for a championship run: the champs from way back in 2016, the Cavaliers.

About an hour before Thursday’s deadline, the Cavs acquired 6-foot-8 forward De’Andre Hunter from the Hawks for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second-round picks and two pick swaps.

Hunter, 27, the No. 4 pick by the Hawks in 2019, is enjoying his best season as a pro, with averages of 19.0 points and 3.9 rebounds on nearly 40% shooting from 3-point range. From a prototype perspective — a big, athletic wing who can shoot and defend — he is the player the Cavs have been missing since they got good again.

I don’t know if Hunter is enough for the Cavs to get past the Celtics in a seven-game series, but I bet we will find out in May.

Pistons

The Pistons were the NBA’s worst team last season but have thrived under new coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Cade Cunningham is an All-Star for the first time, and the Pistons have the inside track to hosting a play-in tournament game.

I like the team’s move to acquire Dennis Schröder on Thursday. Schröder is a better fit for Bickerstaff’s pick-and-roll offense than the pass-and-cut system of the Warriors, and he helps fill a role with Jaden Ivy out at least one more month with injury.

The Pistons set themselves up to continue to be competitive now, while maintaining flexibility to take bigger swings as their core improves under Bickerstaff in the near future.

Others

All of the other big-time trades made this week included at least one team on the outside of legitimate contention trying to get inside the ropes.

We’ve covered the big swings taken by the Lakers, Mavericks and Warriors. The Bucks added Kyle Kuzma from the Wizards and Kevin Porter Jr. from the Clippers; the Spurs took De’Aaron Fox from the Kings to pair with Victor Wembanyama; the Clippers traded for Bogdan Bogdanovic; the Knicks landed Delon Wright; the Heat added Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and Davion Mitchell.