This came across my social media feed recently and I must admit, I got caught up in the scroll. Clickbait aside, there are some interesting trades that made quite a difference for a player or a team.
Some
highlights:
#47- Hawks trade Rasheed Wallace to the Pistons (2004). This was an immediate impact as the Pistons won the Championship that year against a stacked Los Angeles Lakers. And the trade was lopsided as thr Hawks made no real gains from the exchange.
#44- Pelicans trade for Dejounte Murray (2024). Murray has struggled to find a home, and injuries haven’t helped. Dyson Daniels has shined for the ATL, making the trade even worse for New Orleans.
#42- Suns trade for Kevin Durant (2023). Just the thought that trading for KD could be a bad thing makes me shudder. While KD is still one of the purest scores, his time to lead a team toward championship seems to have passed.
#40- Spurs trade Dennis Rodman to thre Bulls (1995). This is the first trade listed involving the Silver & Black. While Rodman is the greatest rebounder of all-time, San Antonio seems to be where he decided to let his freak flag fly. But The Alamo City, with its heritage and military background, was not the spot for him to plant it. The Spurs took a hit on the trade in hopes of retaining the Spurs culture through its leader David Robinson.
#35 and #34 both involve Damian Lillard, but Portland is not the loser on either.
#27 Timberwolves trade Kevin Garnett to Celtics (2007). Celtics get a Defensive Player of the Year and a title in KG’s first year. Minnesota got some pieces who never panned out and still seek a title.
#25 Cavs trade the pick that becomes James Worthy (1980). Can you imagine the different trajedctory for the Los Angeles Lakers had they not acquired James Worthy?
#19 Pacers trade Kawhi Leonard to Spurs on draft night (2011). Love him or despise him, he brought a lot to San Antonio in his time with the Spurs. The 2014 Finals MVP impeded LeBron’s three-peat and grabbed a pair of Defensive Player of the Year trophies during his time in San Antonio.
#17 Luka Doncic on draft night. You think that was a bad idea not knowing hoe Trae Young and Doncic would develop, check out #1…
#10 Hornets trade Kobe Bryant to the Lakers (1996). And the legacy begins.
#7 SGA to OKC while Paul George heads to Clippers. It sounded good at the time. No one knew just how Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would blow up. Hindsight.
Here’s the link to the entire article.
Did any of these trades stand out to you?
There were multiple bad trades involving the same teams, or the same players. What does that say about front offices and the longevity of a player? How about those few that traded for franchise legends- Kobe, Dirk, Dr. J, Bill Russell all could have (should have?) ended up on other teams.
Lots to unpack here.
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