The group of veterans moving from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference this summer outnumber those heading the opposite way, but it would be a stretch to say that the East made any noticeable progress toward correcting the imbalance between the two sides of the NBA. No superstars have changed conferences this summer, though both East and West benefited from several key contributors who made jumps. David West went from the Pacers to the Spurs, but Indiana replaced him with Monta Ellis. The Hornets sent Lance Stephenson to the Clippers, but they brought in Nicolas Batum from the Trail Blazers. The Blazers lost Arron Afflalo and Robin Lopez to the Knicks, but Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams and Roy Hibbert went from the Raptors and Pacers, respectively, to the Lakers.
Lists of each player shifting from conference to conference are below, categorized by conference:
PLAYERS MOVING EAST TO WEST
Signings
- Quincy Acy, Knicks to Kings
- Cole Aldrich, Knicks to Clippers
- Brandon Bass, Celtics to Lakers
- Caron Butler, Pistons1 to Kings
- John Jenkins, Hawks to Mavericks
- Kendrick Perkins, Cavaliers to Pelicans
- Paul Pierce, Wizards to Clippers
- Mirza Teletovic, Nets to Suns
- David West, Pacers to Spurs
- Deron Williams, Nets to Mavericks
- Lou Williams, Raptors to Lakers
Trades
- Gerald Henderson, Hornets to Trail Blazers
- Maurice Harkless, Magic to Trail Blazers
- Roy Hibbert, Pacers to Lakers
- Zaza Pachulia, Bucks to Mavericks
- Mason Plumlee, Nets to Trail Blazers
- Damjan Rudez, Pacers to Timberwolves
- Lance Stephenson, Hornets to Clippers
- Noah Vonleh, Hornets to Trail Blazers
- Gerald Wallace, Celtics to Warriors2
PLAYERS MOVING WEST TO EAST
Signings
- Arron Afflalo, Trail Blazers to Knicks
- Aron Baynes, Spurs to Pistons
- Wayne Ellington, Lakers to Nets
- Monta Ellis, Mavericks to Pacers
- Gerald Green, Suns to Heat
- Justin Holiday, Warriors to Hawks
- Richard Jefferson, Mavericks to Cavaliers
- Cory Joseph, Spurs to Raptors
- Jeremy Lin, Lakers to Hornets
- Robin Lopez, Trail Blazers to Knicks
- Gary Neal, Timberwolves to Wizards
- Amar’e Stoudemire, Mavericks to Heat
- Derrick Williams, Kings to Knicks
Trades
- Nicolas Batum, Trail Blazers to Hornets
- Steve Blake, Trail Blazers to Pistons (via Nets)
- Chase Budinger, Timberwolves to Pacers
- Reggie Bullock, Suns to Pistons
- Danny Granger, Suns to Pistons
- Spencer Hawes, Clippers to Hornets
- Perry Jones III, Thunder to Celtics
- Jeremy Lamb, Thunder to Hornets
- Carl Landry, Kings to Sixers
- David Lee, Warriors to Celtics2
- Marcus Morris, Suns to Pistons
- Tiago Splitter, Spurs to Hawks
- Nik Stauskas, Kings to Sixers
- Jason Thompson, Kings to Sixers
Notes:
1 — The Pistons traded Butler to the Bucks last month, and Milwaukee waived him not long thereafter.
2 — The David Lee/Gerald Wallace trade has still yet to become official, though it remains on track for completion.
Which conference do you think has received the better end of the movement so far? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.