Methodology & Sources

Trade Tracker follows an anchor transaction from one franchise’s perspective. The Archive finds transactions across the published record.

Time and lineage

The original cost stays fixed. Return follows verified descendants through the chosen checkpoint. Later Exits show where realized return moved on. A trade-day snapshot and a later snapshot answer different questions.

Changing downstream scope changes the displayed snapshot. It does not rewrite canonical history. Picks, protections, swaps, unresolved outcomes, and unavailable statistics keep their explicit status in the asset ledger.

Evidence and player context

Open an asset or transaction in Trade Tracker for its provenance and linked evidence. Those record-level references are the source for a particular claim; a general source list is not a substitute.

Player season statistics are full-season values, which may include games after a trade checkpoint. Season age is measured on February 1; arrival and departure ages use recorded movement dates. — means unavailable, not zero. NBA/BAA regular-season statistics run from 1946–47 through 2025–26.

Search the Archive → · Player statistics →

Trade Recall uses real trades from the same published, verified transaction records as the Trade Archive. The launch collection contains 66 trades and 131 eligible receiving sides, spanning 1970–2023.

What is hidden

Exactly one player in the entire trade is hidden. Every other player, including those received by the same team, remains visible. One correct answer completes the trade and unlocks the next one. First-round picks, second-round picks, and swaps are shown as separate counts. Their years, protections, and eventual selections are not quiz answers. Cash is omitted. Deals involving draft-rights assets, unclear identities, unsupported pick rounds, or a side that becomes empty after removing cash are excluded from this launch collection.

A challenge for different kinds of fans

Difficulty belongs to the missing player, with the visible trade as context. Opening rounds hide recognizable headline players. Later rounds can hide a supporting player or test an older deal, with familiar questions mixed in. Targets are selected explicitly for each receiving side; a trade is not rated difficult merely because it once required several names.

A run starts with two warm-ups, then mixes familiar trades with deeper cuts and occasional easier rounds. The sequence rotates teams and eras when possible. The same transaction cannot appear twice in one run, including from the other side, and a required answer cannot have appeared in an earlier trade in that run.

The first two weeks are scheduled from the reviewed collection. Later editions use the same rules and collection. Familiar trades can recur across different days. Ratings are starting estimates, not measured solve percentages; aggregate results will guide future changes.

Runs and scores

Three mistakes end the entire run. Completing a trade does not restore mistakes. You also get three optional hints for the entire run: select a blank to see the player’s initials and recorded playing years. Each blank has one clue, and a hint neither fills it nor costs a strike. Hint use is saved across trades and refreshes and included in shared results. Playing years come from the player statistics catalog and describe the recorded career span, not the player’s tenure with either team. A run continues until the third strike or until no further eligible trade remains in that day’s sequence. The score is completed trades. Each correct answer counts as one completed trade.

Everyone receives the same edition, with a new one at midnight in America/New_York, including daylight saving time. Past-edition links preserve their challenge. Progress is stored for an anonymous browser session; clearing site data or using another browser creates a separate run. There is no public leaderboard.

After resolving a trade, open its Tracker or Archive link for the canonical record and evidence. Play Trade Recall →

Missing Link asks for the one player connecting a team’s acquisition in one trade to that same player’s departure in a later trade. Both transaction movements must reference the same recorded asset custody in the Tracker. Matching a name across unrelated transactions is insufficient.

The launch collection has 35 reviewed chains from 59 transactions, spanning 1982–2023. Each puzzle shows two dated deals, with every team’s full receiving package. One player’s name is hidden wherever it appears. Cash is omitted, and deals involving draft rights, unsupported pick rounds, cash-only receiving sides, or overly large packages are excluded. Picks and swaps remain visible as separate counts; their years are never answers.

After resolving the puzzle, a short explanation names any assets packaged with the player. The later return belongs to that complete package. Transaction sources and an Explore this chain link provide the underlying evidence.

Every daily run starts with two warm-ups. Later rounds mix familiar players, deeper cuts and occasional easier questions. Ratings consider player recognition, era, surrounding clues and package size; they are editorial estimates rather than measured solve rates. Neither transaction may repeat within a run, and a new answer cannot already have appeared in an earlier puzzle. The sequence may therefore end before all 35 chains have been used.

Three strikes and three hints apply across the whole run. A hint reveals initials and the recorded career playing-year span, with one hint per chain. Correct answers count as completed chains. There is no timer or account requirement. A new shared edition arrives at midnight Eastern, and published editions stay fixed. Browser progress, strikes and hints are separate from Trade Recall. Results can be shared without revealing players or trades.

Play Missing Link →

Window Explorer compares one-to-ten-season franchise runs from 1950–51 through 2025–26. It compares enabled metrics with equal input weight, and weights seasons and year-to-year transitions equally.

Level and shape

Lₘ = 100 · (k/n) · clip(1 − |uₘ(Aₖ) − uₘ(Bₖ)| / Rₘ(n))
Tₘ = 100/(n−1) · Σ valid adjacent t clip(1 − |ΔAₘ,t − ΔBₘ,t| / Dₘ)
L = mean(Lₘ)     T = mean(Tₘ)
S = αL + (1−α)T
clip(z) = min(1, max(0, z))

u is the mean of aligned available season values, except series wins, which are summed. k counts aligned seasons with data on both sides. Missing transitions contribute nothing and retain their denominator share. No missing year is bridged.

Fixed level ranges use 1 for win fraction, the historical maximum group size minus 1 for conference-rank gap, 100 for offensive/defensive rating percentiles, and the highest observed series-win total for the selected run length. Filters never change those ranges.

Rating percentile = 100 × (N − canonical league rank) / (N − 1). Supplied tied ranks retain equal percentiles; rounded raw ratings are never reranked. Win percentage uses the arithmetic mean of exact season wins / games. Conference finish remains a raw rank.

Playoff shape compares changes in annual series wins; the chart displays cumulative series wins. A one-season run compares level only. A rounded 100% does not establish identical yearly values.

The tool’s How similarity works panel includes the active metrics and exact range values for the selected run. Open Window Explorer →

Historical artwork

Team identities follow the first season of a run; individual seasons use their own artwork. Credits: SportsLogos.Net, SportsLogoHistory.com, SportsTeamHistory.com, and the NBA.

Each connection represents a documented working relationship. The forest is not a map of friendship, general influence, or today’s staff.

Records and imagery

Career totals and season records come from the Basketball Reference Coach Register and linked coach profiles. Portraits come from Basketball Reference coach profiles and Wikimedia Commons. Individual records preserve source links and available creator and license information.

Statistics recalculate head-coaching seasons inside your selected span. Tree averages use coaches with qualifying head-coaching results in that span. The Statistics Center includes a glossary and exportable tables.

Explore the Forest → · Statistics →