(Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
For NBA teams, trades are the easiest way to improve your franchise while also massaging the egos of the GM’s that execute them. These are the best ones.
There are three ways an NBA team can improve its roster: signing a free agent away from another team, drafting a player out of college, or trading other players and/or draft picks for another.
Of those three choices, a trade serves as the ultimate litmus test for determining an NBA executive’s value to their franchise. Since the advent of fantasy sports, which allows the participants to become de-facto GM’s of their own teams, the fascination in these moves has only increased.
There are some parallels in how fans react to trades and free agency signings, they both frequently get dissected by fans and professional talking heads years after the specifics have been finalized. One marked difference, though, is that trades usually are not accompanied by the rhetoric of being “disloyal” that sometimes follows players who merely chose to work where they wanted to work.
And like any free-agent signing or draft pick, a trade could determine whether a team hoists the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season or if they’re hoping for the ping-pong balls to bounce their way during the summer.
There’s a lot at stake for everyone, including the general managers who make these decisions. Whether the transaction is designed to kickstart a rebuild/tank job or add the final variable to the championship equation, they are the difference between a general manager winning Executive of the Year or losing his job.
But which trades stand out as the best for each NBA team? How did these trades impact both franchises that engaged in the negotiations? What were the long-term ramifications for the league? Well, those are all great questions that I hope to answer with this list.
Atlanta Hawks</a> have not experienced much luck with trades. Keep in mind that this was the same franchise that traded away the draft rights to Bill Russell in 1956 and essentially gave away Pau Gasol for nothing in 2001, so their track record in this arena isn’t the greatest.</p>
<p>Sandwiched between those disasters, however, was a rare triumph in 1982. Coming off of an unspectacular 42-40 season in 1981-82 that ended in a two-game sweep to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs, the Hawks held the 10th overall pick in that summer’s draft, giving them little chance to build a championship roster.</p>
<p>To move into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference, Atlanta needed a drastic makeover: running it back with Dan Roundfield, John Drew, and Eddie Johnson would’ve produced the same results as the season prior. Fortunately, one of the top picks in the 1982 draft desired a change, too.</p>
<p>The Utah Jazz took Georgia small forward Dominique Wilkins with the third overall pick, but due to a combination of financial constraints and Wilkins’ desire to play elsewhere, the team decided to trade their potential young star away.</p>
<p>Several months after the draft, the Hawks swooped in to solve both of Utah’s problems, sending Drew and Freeman Williams to the Jazz in exchange for Wilkins. This turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history and for once, it worked out in the Hawks’ favor.</p>
<p>While Drew and Williams only play a combined four seasons for the Jazz, Wilkins gave the Hawks something they hadn’t had since Bob Petit: a legitimate superstar who put them in title contention. Sometimes, even a broken clock is right twice a day.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Boston Celtics </a>
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<img class="wp-image-370674 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_730,w_1200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F146235830.jpeg" alt="NBA" width="1200" height="730" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/146235830.jpeg 1200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/146235830-768x467.jpeg 768w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/146235830-268x162.jpeg 268w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1200px;">(Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Boston Celtics</h3>
<h4>Kevin Garnett for players and picks to MIN; Ray Allen for players and a second-round pick to SEA (2007)</h4>
<p>Though they are recognized as one of the most decorated sports franchises, the 1990s-2000s-era <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/boston-celtics/">Boston Celtics</a> proved that even they weren’t immune to the valleys that often follow even the highest peaks.</p>
<p>After Larry Bird retired in 1992, the Celtics endured a 15-season stretch where they made the playoffs only six times, qualified for the Eastern Conference Finals once, lost in the first round four times, and never surpassed 49 wins.</p>
<p>Relative to other franchises, this period wasn’t that bad and there was some bad luck mixed in with the incompetence — it’s easy to point to the 1997 draft lottery, but Reggie Lewis and Len Bias’ untimely deaths were harsher blows — but this run was a far cry from what Celtics fans were used to.</p>
<p>That changed in the summer of 2007, as the team began shipping off their also-rans and draft picks to surround star wing Paul Pierce with some real talent. This started in June of that year when the team sent Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and Jeff Green to the Seattle SuperSonics for 3-point shooting god Ray Allen.</p>
<p>A month later, Kevin McHale — the Minnesota Timberwolves’ general manager at the time — did his former teammate and Celtics GM Danny Ainge a solid and traded superstar forward/center Kevin Garnett for a package that included Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, a washed Theo Ratliff and Sabastian Telfair. Oh, and the T’Wolves received two 2009 first-round picks that they used to draft Wayne Ellington and Johnny Flynn.</p>
<p>Both of those teams floundered for a while, but with Garnett anchoring a historically great Boston defense and Pierce and Allen maintaining their excellence in smaller doses, the Celtics improved to 66-16 in 2007-08 and beat the rival Los Angeles Lakers to win their 17th NBA championship.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Brooklyn Nets</h3>
<h4>Jason Kidd and Chris Dudley for Stephon Marbury, Johnny Newman, and Soumailia Samake to PHX (2001)</h4>
<p>For high-volume shooters like Stephon Marbury, the question wasn’t whether a team could win with them on the roster, it was whether one could win with them as the team’s best player. We see this debate pop up while discussing guys like Devin Booker, Zach LaVine, or, to a lesser degree, Kyrie Irving, but as Marbury’s 13-year NBA career has shown, such arguments aren’t new.</p>
<p>Take his run with the then-<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/brooklyn-nets/">New Jersey Nets</a>, for instance. When the team acquired him from the Minnesota Timberwolves as part of a three-team trade midway through the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to view Marbury as the star who could take them to the next level based on what he did as Kevin Garnett’s running mate. But could he do it?</p>
<p>It didn’t take long for fans to get their answer: Marbury quickly became the Nets’ best player by most traditional and advanced measures, but his contributions had little impact on the team. In those three seasons, New Jersey won no more than 31 games and never made the playoffs.</p>
<p>To be fair to Marbury, he didn’t have much talent to work with during that span, but his brand of iso-ball scoring combined with the defensive effectiveness of a tumbleweed couldn’t raise the Nets’ flood-stained floor.</p>
<p>This realization forced the team to trade him to the Phoenix Suns (along with Johnny Newman and Somalia Samake) for master conductor Jason Kidd. Like Marbury, Kidd kept a limited Nets offense afloat, but his defensive prowess turned the team into a perennial contender in the Eastern Conference (they led the NBA in defensive rating in 2001-02 and 2002-03 and allowed 5.0 and 5.5 fewer points per 100 possessions than the league average), as the Nets made the NBA Finals in Kidd’s first two seasons there.</p>
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<img class="wp-image-371989 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1600,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F88585009.jpeg" alt="NBA" width="1600" height="1600" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/88585009.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/88585009-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/88585009-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/88585009-400x400.jpeg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Charlotte Hornets</h3>
<h4>Anthony Mason and Brad Lohaus for Larry Johnson to NY (1996)</h4>
<p>Thanks to the respective selections of Larry Johnson (first overall in 1991) and Alonzo Mourning (second overall in 1992), the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/charlotte-hornets/">Charlotte Hornets</a> believed they were on the fast track to becoming a perennial Eastern Conference contender.</p>
<p>Those hopes, however, were derailed only a few years later, as Mourning and Johnson’s inability to co-exist forced the team to trade both of them. Mourning was the first to go: he was traded to the Miami Heat alongside Pete Myers and LeRon Ellis for a package highlighted by bucket-getting wing Glen Rice.</p>
<p>The Johnson/Rice-led Hornets regressed substantially in 1995-96; with “Zo” no longer around to anchor the defense, the cavalcade of weak Charlotte defenders, including Rice, sunk the team to 27th in defensive rating and despite their top-five offense, they fell to 41-41 and missed the postseason.</p>
<p>For the Hornets to return to the postseason, they needed to remedy their matador defense. This revelation resulted in the organization doing what would’ve been unthinkable a few years prior: they traded Johnson away.</p>
<p>The team sent their declining star to the New York Knicks for journeyman Brad Lohaus and, most importantly, former Sixth Man of the Year Anthony Mason. While he didn’t possess the athleticism that Johnson did at the peak of his powers, Mason’s <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=anthony+mason+hornets%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">nimble feet and girth</a> made him a versatile, invaluable cog in the Hornets’ revitalized D and even though he didn’t have the most refined offensive game, his ball-handling and passing in transition and in the post made him a boon on that end, too.</p>
<p>With Mason’s team-leading 11.4 win shares (WS), the Hornets maintained their elite offensive status and improved enough on defense to win 54 games in 1996-97 and return to the playoffs, though their season ended at the hands of Johnson and the Knicks in the first round.</p>
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<img class="wp-image-372316 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1600,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F88584929.jpeg" alt="NBA" width="1600" height="1600" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/88584929.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/88584929-150x150.jpeg 150w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/88584929-768x768.jpeg 768w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/88584929-400x400.jpeg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Chicago Bulls</h3>
<h4>Dennis Rodman for Will Perdue to SA (1995)</h4>
<p>In a way, Dennis Rodman didn’t become <em>Dennis Rodman </em>until early 1993. It was around that time where the then-two-time rebounding champion was found asleep in his car with a loaded rifle. Rodman would admit in his autobiography that he actually considered committing suicide on that February night but instead concluded that he needed to live his life on his own terms going forward.</p>
<p>And boy, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/20/sports/pro-basketball-a-nonconformist-in-a-league-of-his-own.html?pagewanted=all%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">did he put that to the test</a> with the San Antonio Spurs, who traded for him prior to the 1993-94 season. It was in San Antonio where Rodman debuted his infamous dyed hair and began a highly publicized relationship with singer Madonna.</p>
<p>On the court, Rodman exhibited his newfound eccentricities in the form of headbutting opponents and removing his shoes and sitting on the court during a playoff game. Despite everything that came with the new Rodman, however, he still reigned as the NBA’s premier rebounder and post defender.</p>
<div class="embed embed-video"><iframe width="500" height="281" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/B0cBnhuLy-Y?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>But following a public undressing at the hands of Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1995 Western Conference Finals, the Spurs decided that his antics weren’t worth it and traded him to the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/chicago-bulls/">Chicago Bulls</a> for anodyne big man Will Perdue.</p>
<p>Adding Rodman to a roster that boasted Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Ron Harper produced the results that you would expect: in “The Worm’s” three seasons there, the Bulls ranked no worse than fourth in defensive rating and pulled off the franchises second three-peat. For his part, Rodman won three rebounding titles in Chicago and made the All-NBA Defensive first team in 1995-96.</p>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-364175" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2130,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1135576707.jpeg" alt="Cleveland Cavaliers" width="3200" height="2130" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1135576707.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1135576707-768x511.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Cleveland Cavaliers</h3>
<h4>Kevin Love as part of a three-team trade (2014)</h4>
<p>When LeBron James <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.si.com/nba/lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced his intentions</a> to return to his hometown <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/cleveland-cavaliers/">Cleveland Cavaliers</a> in 2014, he mentioned several members of that roster that he couldn’t wait to play with. He talked about helping Kyrie Irving become one of the best point guards in the league — which surely stuck in Irving’s craw.</p>
<p>He talked about “elevating” promising youngsters Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. He also “couldn’t wait” to reunite with longtime teammate Anderson Varejao. However, James’ lovefest/mission statement had one notable omission: Andrew Wiggins, the man the Cavs drafted first overall in that season’s draft.</p>
<p>From there, pundits speculated whether Wiggins not being mentioned signified that the former Kansas Jayhawk wasn’t a part of Cleveland’s future plans. Coincidentally, this was also around the time when Minnesota Timberwolves star and double-double specialist Kevin Love’s name began popping up in trade rumors.</p>
<p>As was/is their M.O., the T’Wolves couldn’t build a competitive roster around Love, so when it came to trading talented forward, it was a matter of when rather than if. It was this mutual need for a trade that ultimately led to a three-team trade that is too long to list here (<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/loveke01.html#all_transactions" target="_blank" rel="noopener" ref="nofollow">specifics are available here</a>).</p>
<div class="embed embed-video"><iframe width="500" height="281" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/iDCegwpnlbM?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>All you need to know is that the trade sent Wiggins to Minnesota — where he has been a major disappointment — and Love to the Cavs — where he filled the tertiary star role next to James and Irving and helped the Cavs win their first NBA championship. Even with Love now entrenched as the best player on a rebuilding, post-LeBron Cavs team, that title makes this trade worth it.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Dallas Mavericks </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372464" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F471463374.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/471463374.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/471463374-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Dallas Mavericks</h3>
<h4>Tyson Chandler and Alexis Anjinca for Matt Carroll, Eric Dampier, Eduardo Najera, and cash considerations to CHA (2010)</h4>
<p>Once Dirk Nowitzki metamorphosed into one of the NBA’s elite big men in the early 2000s, the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/dallas-mavericks/">Dallas Mavericks</a> effortlessly tossed aside the laughingstock label they carried around in the mid-90s and ascended to the top of the Western Conference.</p>
<p>However, their unprecedented (for them) run of success, unfortunately, came with a new moniker: perpetual bridesmaids. Between 2000-01 and 2009-10, the Mavs made 10 consecutive trips to the postseason, but they only made the Western Conference Finals twice and the NBA Finals once.</p>
<p>Obviously, those shortcomings reflected the Western Conference’s strength as much as it did the Mavs’ defects, but in this sports media landscape that distills a team’s and/or a player’s success down to a championship, Dallas was always judged by what they didn’t do rather than what they did.</p>
<p>The 2010-11 season felt like it would be more of the same. Personnel-wise, it almost exactly mirrored the outfit that went 55-27 the year prior and lost in the first round. But there was one noticeable change: the acquisition of defense-first center Tyson Chandler from the then-Charlotte Bobcats for three benchwarmers and cash.</p>
<p>With Chandler stonewalling the paint and plucking rebounds out of the air, the Mavs ranked in the top ten in defensive rating and defensive rebounding rate — they ranked 12th and 15 in those categories the year prior — won 57 games and tore through the West en route to a Finals meeting with LeBron James and the Miami Heat, where Nowitzki, Chandler, and Jason Terry led Dallas to the upset and the franchise’s first title.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Denver Nuggets </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372705" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2129,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F108993987.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2129" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/108993987.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/108993987-768x511.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Denver Nuggets</h3>
<h4>Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheikh Samb for Allen Iverson to DET (2008)</h4>
<p>Contrary to some people’s beliefs, Carmelo Anthony was <em><strong>not</strong></em> the best player on those mid-2000s <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/denver-nuggets/">Denver Nuggets</a> teams. Yes, the man excelled at putting the basketball through the net, but Melo’s brand of isolation basketball failed to elevate the lesser players around him, thus stifling any team success.</p>
<p>During Anthony’s eight seasons in Denver, he only led the team in win shares once. Take a guess how that season ended (spoiler: it was a first-round exit). This isn’t to slight Anthony or insinuate that he wasn’t an All-Star player — most of those Denver teams were better offensively when Anthony was on the floor — but it was clear that the Nuggets needed a little extra to get off of the quarterfinal assembly line.</p>
<p>Enter Chauncey Billups. The man who won Finals MVP with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 was traded by the very team that he won a title for a mere two games into the season. He, has-been Antonio McDyess and someone named Cheikh Samb were sent to Denver in exchange for Allen Iverson.</p>
<p>While the trade signaled the beginning of the end for Iverson as a star player, Billups — who was born and raised in Denver — gave his hometown team the shot in the arm it needed. His 9.9 WS led the team to their second Western Conference Finals appearance in franchise history.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Detroit Pistons </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-308405" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1070,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F50940223.jpeg" alt="Ben Wallace" width="1600" height="1070" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/50940223.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/50940223-768x514.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Detroit Pistons</h3>
<h4>Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins for Grant Hill to ORL (2000)</h4>
<p>If you traveled back in time and told a random <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/detroit-pistons/">Detroit Pistons</a> fan that their beloved team would trade away Grant Hill and win a championship shortly afterward, they would probably still be laughing to this day.</p>
<p>Conversely, telling an Orlando Magic fan that this trade will ultimately blow up in their face would probably elicit the same gut-busting response. It would be hard to blame them: at the time of the trade, Hill was seen as a legitimate superstar; some even dubbed him the next Michael Jordan.</p>
<p>There was a lot to love about Hill’s game. At 6-foot-8, the former Duke Blue Devil was a terror for guards that were too slender to handle him in the post and forwards that couldn’t match his athleticism and footwork. And if teams decided to double team him or send help, he possessed the vision to find open teammates.</p>
<p>In short, the Hill trade seemed like a massive get for the Magic, especially considering what they gave up to get him: young rotational point guard Chucky Atkins and limited center Ben Wallace. Doesn’t seem like a big win for the Pistons, does it?</p>
<p>But as we know now, the trade was an overwhelming win for Detroit. While Hill struggled with injuries throughout his Orlando run that rendered him a shadow of his peak self, Wallace, who flashed upper-tier defensive potential with the Magic and the Washington Wizards, became arguably the best defensive center in the game.</p>
<p>His stinginess down low (he led the league in defensive box plus/minus in five of his first six seasons in Detroit) turned a horrible defensive team into one of the league’s best, peaking with an upset of the Los Angeles Lakers’ superteam in 2004 to win the NBA Finals.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Golden State Warriors </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-344081" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1131929551.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1131929551.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1131929551-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Golden State Warriors</h3>
<h4>Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson for Kwame Brown, Monta Ellis, and Ekpe Udoh to MIL (2012)</h4>
<p>This trade marked two important benchmarks in recent <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/golden-state-warriors/">Golden State Warriors</a> history. First, it marked the genesis of the team’s affinity for sound defense. Second, it signified to everyone that Stephen Curry, who wasn’t a sure bet at the time, was the guy this team planned on building the future around.</p>
<p>As we all know, those decisions resulted in a paradigm-shifting dynasty. For now, let’s focus on this trade: once the front office decided that Curry was the cornerstone, they needed to send popular shot-chucker Monta Ellis somewhere.</p>
<p>They ultimately chose the Milwaukee Bucks, who took him, decent-in-small-doses center Ekpe Udoh and all-time bust Kwame Brown for former Warriors playoff hero Stephen Jackson and former number one overall pick Andrew Bogut.</p>
<p>Prior to the trade, Bogut looked like he would join in the “top pick disappointment bin”, but once he came to Oakland, his rim protection aided the historically defensively averse Warriors to become a formidable group on that end (though Draymond Green’s development really pushed that over the edge).</p>
<p>And again, the move gave Curry the keys to Mark Jackson’s hooptie offense (Steve Kerr would upgrade it to a Ferrari) and opened the door for Klay Thompson to blossom into one of the best two-way players in the NBA. All thanks to one trade (and getting Jackson out of there).</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Houston Rockets </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-342079" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1125808625.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1125808625.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1125808625-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Houston Rockets</h3>
<h4>James Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, and Lazar Hayward for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, and picks to OKC (2012)</h4>
<p>As a member of Oklahoma City Thunder, James Harden was the ultimate luxury. Yes, the car was driven by budding superstars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, but having Harden around as a sixth man to occasionally steer the offense not only helped the Thunder reach the NBA Finals in 2012, it set them up for at least a decade of championship contention.</p>
<p>Aside from the Miami Heat’s “Big 3”, there was nothing that could slow this team’s success… except Thunder owner Clay Bennett’s white-knuckle grip on his wallet. See, following the franchise’s first Finals appearance since moving to Oklahoma City, Harden’s contract was set to expire and Bennett, who has a net worth of $400 million as of 2018, didn’t want to finance Harden’s expected and deserved pay raise for fear of exceeding the luxury tax.</p>
<p>So instead of giving Harden his money and keeping OKC’s title window wide open, the team shipped him and several other rotational players to the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/houston-rockets/">Houston Rockets</a> for Kevin Martin (serviceable replacement), Jeremy Lamb (shrug), and picks that later became Steven Adams (good), Alex Abrines (eh) and Mitch McGary (scrub).</p>
<p>In Houston, Harden provided his new team with a different sort of luxury: having a franchise player that willingly embraced the team’s newfangled “Moreyball” principles. With an MVP award in his trophy case, Harden has made the Rockets an elite team in the rugged Western Conference.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Indiana Pacers </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-334449" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F04%2F1083882002.jpeg" alt="Indiana Pacers" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/04/1083882002.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/04/1083882002-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">(Photo by Brian Munoz/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Indiana Pacers</h3>
<h4>Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis for Paul George to OKC (2017)</h4>
<p>This one’s a bit more recent than the others, but it’s worth mentioning due to the expectations that many placed on this team after this trade went down.</p>
<p>Here’s how it started: after realizing that 1) he wouldn’t qualify for a supermax contract and 2) he wasn’t likely to win a title playing for the mid-market <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/indiana-pacers/">Indiana Pacers</a> for the rest of his career, Paul George requested a trade away from the team that took him with the 10th overall pick in 2010.</p>
<p>The California native’s primary choice was to go to his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, but with the Lakers opting to wait until George hit the open market once the final year of his contract ended, the Pacers instead traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team that was desperate for a co-star for the Russell Westbrook show.</p>
<p>In return, Indiana received then-budding Victor Oladipo and promising big man Domantas Sabonis. With those two joining an already <em>meh</em> roster, most thought that these Pacers would finish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference in 2017-18.</p>
<p>Well, that didn’t happen. Oladipo put in a ton of work that offseason and his career-best .155 WS/48 showed that it paid off. Sabonis also became a sturdy contributor off the bench and their efforts pushed the pacers to 48 wins — the same as the Thunder — and a surprise playoff spot. The team appeared to improve the following season and were on track to finish as a top seed before Oladipo suffered a season-ending quadriceps injury.</p>
<p>Still, the trade showed that tanking isn’t always the quickest path to competitiveness.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> LA Clippers </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-342535" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2065,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2019%2F03%2F675249720.jpeg" alt="LA Clippers" width="3200" height="2065" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2019/03/675249720.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2019/03/675249720-768x496.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>LA Clippers</h3>
<h4>Chris Paul, cash, and a 2015 second-round pick for Al-Farooq Aminu, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, and a 2012 first-round pick to NO (2011)</h4>
<p>For all intents and purposes, I should be discussing the 2011 Chris Paul trade in the next slide. The Los Angeles Lakers all but acquired him from the then-New Orleans Hornets prior to the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.</p>
<p>But there was one problem: the Hornets were controlled by the NBA at the time after purchasing the team from George Shinn in 2010. Also, this trade happened in the wake of LeBron James’ “Decision”, so the idea of the NBA ‘s most glamorous franchise pairing another superstar with Kobe Bryant at the expense of the small market Hornets didn’t sit well with the other salty owners.</p>
<p>So instead of bolstering the Lakers, commissioner David Stern nixed the deal to aid… their Staples Center co-tenants: the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/la-clippers/">LA Clippers</a>. That’s right, Stern decided that it would be better for the league to prop up Donald Sterling than ensure that the Lakers were good for another 10 years.</p>
<p>As expected, it didn’t take long for Paul to lift the Clippers from the doldrums to one of the NBA’s most exciting teams. With his Einstein-level basketball IQ and court vision, Paul and his .270 WS/48 led the Clippers to six straight playoff appearances and though his efforts didn’t result in a championship for the Clippers, the team got something just as valuable: relevance.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Los Angeles Lakers </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-364355" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1211,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F78693883.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1211" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/78693883.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/78693883-768x581.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">(Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Los Angeles Lakers</h3>
<h4>Kobe Bryant for Vlade Divac to CHA (1996)</h4>
<p>You know those people who fend off rabid Kobe Bryant stans by saying that the future Hall of Famer wouldn’t have won as many championships as he did without Shaquille O’Neal? Well, they’re right, and not just because Shaq won three Finals MVP’s to help Bryant win three of his five titles.</p>
<p>Let’s venture back to 1996. Around this time, the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/los-angeles-lakers/">Los Angeles Lakers</a> were coming off of their first 50-win season since Magic Johnson’s abrupt retirement — though Johnson made a brief comeback that season — but no matter how many games the team won, they knew a team headlined by *checks notes* Cedric Ceballos had little chance of winning a championship.</p>
<p>Hence why the team began clearing up cap space to sign O’Neal away from the Orlando Magic. One step in the team’s financial maneuvering plan involved trading away long-time center Vlade Divac. Shortly before the 1996 draft, the Lakers found a trade partner in the Charlotte Hornets, who help the 13th overall pick as capital.</p>
<p>As the Hornets had no interest in drafting Bryant, the Lakers essentially told them to select the high school standout for them, giving Charlotte the Divac to pair with Glen Rice and Anthony Mason and handing the Lakers a cheap young player and the flexibility to add Shaq to the roster.</p>
<p>From there, Bryant embarked on one of the all-time great careers, as his 20-year run in purple and gold netted him the all-time team record for win shares, one league MVP trophy (though his disciples will claim that Steve Nash took two away from him), two Finals MVPs, and five championships.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Memphis Grizzlies </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-338963" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F04%2F1090745136.jpeg" alt="NBA Power Rankings" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/04/1090745136.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/04/1090745136-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Memphis Grizzlies</h3>
<h4>Marc Gasol, Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie and two first-round picks for Pau Gasol and a second-round pick to LAL (2008)</h4>
<p>When the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol midway through the 2007-08 season, most fans and pundits viewed the move as a big win for Los Angeles. After all, L.A. was getting Kobe Bryant the complimentary star he desperately needed and all they needed to surrender were a few picks and also-rans like <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PP4RT-vv-o%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">KWA-ME Brown</a> and Aaron McKie.</p>
<p>Little did <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/memphis-grizzlies/">Memphis Grizzlies</a> fans know, however, that another Gasol included in the deal would help shape a culture of hard-nosed, un-aesthetically pleasing basketball in Memphis. As part of the mid-season trade, the Lakers sent the rights to Pau’s younger brother Marc to the Grizzlies to garner Pau’s services.</p>
<p>It took a couple of seasons, but the junior Gasol showed that he was as deft ass his brother in the post, as a passer, and as a spot-up shooter. He was even better on defense, as his girth kept him from getting bullied on the block and his length forced anyone who dared to challenge him at the rim into contortions.</p>
<p>With Gasol anchoring the post, the Grizzlies ranked no worse than ninth in defensive rating between 2010 and 2015. Thanks to him and guys like Mike Conley and Zach Randolph, the team made the postseason seven straight times — a franchise record — plateauing with a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2013.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Miami Heat </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-342487" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2019%2F03%2F72778469.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2019/03/72778469.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2019/03/72778469-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Miami Heat</h3>
<h4>Alonzo Mourning, LeRon Ellis, and Pete Myers for Glen Rice, Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves and a first-round pick to CHA (1995)</h4>
<p>As was touched on in the Charlotte Hornets’ slide, the professional jealousy between Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson caused what eventually became an irreparable schism that curtailed any hopes the franchise had for long-term prosperity with those two as the cornerstones.</p>
<p>One of them had to go and between the two of them, the Hornets chose to jettison the player they didn’t hand a lofty contract extension to: Mourning. Once Mourning rejected Charlotte’s extension offer, they traded him to the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/miami-heat/">Miami Heat</a> in return for a haul that included fellow All-Star Glen Rice.</p>
<p>In many ways, Mourning was the precursor to Dwight Howard: he didn’t befuddle defenders with a chest full of dizzying post moves, but his athleticism and girth made him nearly impossible to move on the offensive and defensive block. It also helped that he had Tim Hardaway feeding him the rock whenever defenses keyed in on the veteran point guard.</p>
<p>With “Zo” in the team, Miami quickly morphed into one of the league’s best defensive teams, especially in 1998-99 and 1999-00 when Mourning took home Defensive Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons. Miami ranked in the top-10 in defensive rating in both of those seasons, though they fell to the rival New York Knicks to end both campaigns.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Milwaukee Bucks </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-335318" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F661685298.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/661685298.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/661685298-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Steve Nowland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Milwaukee Bucks</h3>
<h4>Oscar Robertson for Charlie Paulk and Flynn Robinson to CIN (1970)</h4>
<p>Oscar Robertson’s impact on player movement paved the way for the free-flowing free agency moves we see today and the trade that sent him to the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/milwaukee-bucks/">Milwaukee Bucks</a> in 1970 was likely the eye-opening experience that caused him to fight to change what was a very restrictive NBA marketplace at the time.</p>
<p>The Cincinnati Royals (the future Sacramento Kings) took Robertson in the 1960 draft with a territorial pick — Robertson attended the University of Cincinnati prior to declaring for the draft. In 10 seasons with the Royals, Robertson set the table for players like Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook.</p>
<p>He was tailor-made for the breakneck pace most teams in the league employed at the time, as the abundance of possessions in the 1960s gave him plenty of chances to gobble up rebounds and dice up defenses with his scoring and passing. Of course, this culminated in 1961-62 Robertson becoming the first player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season.</p>
<p>Despite these feats, Royals head coach Bob Cousy reportedly grew jealous of the attention Robertson received from the fans and the media. The discontent eventually metastasized to the front office, which led to them swapping him out for Charlie Paulk and Flynn Robinson, a move that shocked most NBA observers.</p>
<p>The move was ultimately a blessing in disguise for “The Big O”. While he wasn’t the player he was in Cincy, he still had enough in the tank to serve as a viable co-star alongside Kareem-Abdul Jabbar. In their first season together, the Bucks became the best team in the NBA, winning a franchise-record 66 games and bringing the NBA title to Milwaukee.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Minnesota Timberwolves </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372832" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1042,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F52056335.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1042" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/52056335.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/52056335-768x500.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">(Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Minnesota Timberwolves</h3>
<h4>Sam Cassell and Ervin Johnson for Anthony Peeler and Joe Smith to MIL (2003)</h4>
<p>Despite drafting and developing one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history, Kevin Garnett, the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/minnesota-timberwolves/">Minnesota Timberwolves</a> spent most of the 1990s and early 2000s bowing out of the first round of the playoffs.</p>
<p>Why? Simply put, the front office proved ineffective at shaping a competent roster around “The Big Ticket”. Sure, they had guys like Wally Szczerbiak, Terrell Brandon, and Stephon Marbury, but more often than not, management offered little help for their franchise player. I mean, this is the franchise that cost itself multiple draft picks during this era due to tampering violations for the purpose of signing Joe Smith. That should tell you all you need to know.</p>
<p>In 2003, however, the team exhibited glimpses of competence. Not only did the team bring in Latrell Sprewell to add some scoring punch, but they also traded for fringe All-Star point guard Sam Cassell to run the offense. And all the T’Wolves needed to do was unload Smith (guess that signing eventually paid off) and Anthony Peeler.</p>
<p>If you’re wondering whether the trade worked out, this should convince you: Cassell averaged a career-high 19.8 points along with 7.3 assists, a career-best 56.6 true shooting percentage, a 22.8 Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and .205 WS/48 in 2003-04. He also earned his only All-Star nod that season and with Garnett turning in an MVP season, Minnesota won 58 games and reached their first Western Conference Finals.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> New Orleans Pelicans </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372842" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1128978076.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1128978076.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1128978076-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>New Orleans Pelicans</h3>
<h4>Jrue Holiday and Pierre Jackson for Nerlens Noel and a first-round pick to PHI (2013)</h4>
<p>As of 2018, Jrue Holiday has made only one All-Star team; that selection came in 2013-14 with the Philadelphia 76ers. His numbers that year were respectable — he averaged 17.7 points and 8.0 assists, though his .055 WS/48 painted a bleaker picture of his productivity — but general manager Sam Hinkie, who was in “the process” of retooling the mediocre team he was put in charge of, decided to strike while Holiday’s value was at its highest and turned his star point guard into draft capital.</p>
<p>During the 2013 draft, he found a willing partner in the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/new-orleans-pelicans/">New Orleans Pelicans</a>. The Pelicans, who used the sixth overall pick to take University of Kentucky rim-roller Nerlens Noel, sent their new big man to Philly along with another first-round pick (the Sixers used that pick to select Elfrid Payton, who they immediately traded to the Orlando Magic) for Holiday and Pierre Jackson.</p>
<p>Jackson never played for the Pelicans, but Holiday became a fixture in the New Orleans lineup alongside generational big man Anthony Davis. Though he struggled to stay in the lineup early in his New Orleans tenure — which surely had nothing to do with the team’s then-sketchy medical staff — Holiday matured into one of the league’s unsung two-way wings.</p>
<p>Through six seasons, Holiday produced .100 WS/48, with 10.4 of his 24.6 WS coming on the defensive end.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> New York Knicks </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372846" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2022,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F165888783.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2022" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/165888783.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/165888783-768x485.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>New York Knicks</h3>
<h4>Earl Monroe for Mike Riordan, Dave Stallworth, and cash to BAL (1972)</h4>
<p>For context, Mike Riordan and Dave Stallworth averaged a combined 9.6 points per game for their careers. Along with cash, this is what the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/new-york-knicks/">New York Knicks</a> gave up to attain the services of a man nicknamed “Black Jesus.”</p>
<p>Now, before you loosen your jowls to scream “Blasphemy!” in your best Stephen A. Smith voice, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxRKr08y7J4%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">these highlights</a> should illustrate how he earned the nickname. Or just call hin “The Pearl” or Earl, your choice.</p>
<p>Anyway, Monroe started his Hall of Fame career with the Baltimore Bullets, playing there for his first five seasons. In Baltimore, Monroe was basically a one-man show to the point where he was slotted in as the starting point guard.</p>
<p>The man who never thought up a wacky shot he wouldn’t take averaged 23.2 points per game with .133 WS/48 with the Bullets. But he eventually wanted out of Baltimore; he went as far as threatening to join the ABA’s Indiana Pacers.</p>
<p>Three games into the 1971-72 season, the team finally capitulated and sent Monroe to the Knicks. The move paired him beside two-way superstar point guard Walt “Clyde” Frazier, which predictably drew concerns as to whether the ball-dominant wing could mesh well with Frazier.</p>
<p>In short, they did; It took a season to find his footing, but Monroe and Frazier soon became one of the best backcourts in the NBA, even garnering the “Rolls Royce Backcourt” moniker. With .120 WS/48 in a Knicks jersey, Monroe helped the Knicks win the franchise its second NBA championship in 1973.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Oklahoma City Thunder </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372853" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F818946444.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/818946444.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/818946444-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Oklahoma City Thunder</h3>
<h4>Detlef Schrempf for Derrick McKey and Gerald Paddio to IND (1993)</h4>
<p>It feels weird talking about the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/oklahoma-city-thunder/">Seattle SuperSonics</a> in this space considering, well, you know. But most of the Thunder’s trades over the last decade have primarily benefitted the teams on the other end — except the hopeless Orlando Magic — so none of those seemed like a natural fit here.</p>
<p>So, let’s head back to the thick of the Michael Jordan Bulls dynasty. By this point, Schrempf, who was drafted eighth overall by the Dallas Mavericks in 1985 and traded to the Indiana Pacers three-and-a-half seasons later, used the uptick in minutes he received from his second team to establish himself as a second-tier star wing who could operate as the fulcrum of an offense in a pinch and provide some floor spacing during a time when that sort of thing wasn’t a priority. <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHJjRiS9toI%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">Think of him</a> as a 90s Peja Stojacovich or a better version of Joe Ingles.</p>
<p>That’s who the Sonics acquired in 1993 for two players that you would only know if you were a diehard Sonics fan or really enjoyed browsing through the Basketball Reference website. So they bring Schrempf in to play with Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp — among other good players — and he proceeded to have his best season as a pro in 1993-94, posting a .260 WS/48 (we won’t discuss what happened to the Sonics in the first round of that postseason).</p>
<p>The success continued over the next five seasons to the tune of 16.6 points and .178 WS/48, helping the Sonics win 64 games in 1995-96 and giving the 72-win Bulls a six-game fight in the NBA Finals.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Orlando Magic </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372855" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1135896862.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1135896862.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1135896862-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Orlando Magic</h3>
<h4>Anfernee Hardaway and two first-round picks for Chris Webber (to GS) (1993)</h4>
<p>Have you seen the movie <em>Blue Chips</em>, starring Nick Nolte? In many ways, the movie was ahead of its time, as the film touched on many of the topics that are at the forefront of big-time college athletics today. Sure, the acting from many of the coaches and athletes are wooden-at-best and the plot does lean into a myopic perspective on amateurism that lacks any self-awareness, but it went to a place where other films of the genre wouldn’t have dreamed of touching then. For that, it deserves some appreciation.</p>
<div class="embed embed-video"><iframe width="500" height="281" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/TiSzOhGkL_k?feature=oembed%22 frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>Aside from its rudimentary socio-economic commentary, the film also had unintended consequences on the 1993 NBA Draft. As mentioned, the movie starred several recognizable basketball names, like the Orlando Magic’s Shaquille O’Neal and the University of Memphis star Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway.</p>
<p>It was around this time where the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/orlando-magic/">Orlando Magic</a>, who won the NBA Draft Lottery in 1992 that allowed them to pick O’Neal, struck lottery gold again and were in prime position to take the projected top pick that year, Michigan standout Chris Webber.</p>
<p>One problem: O’Neal bonded with Hardaway while filming for <em>Blue Chips</em>, which led to the big man expressing his desire to play with the lanky point guard. In future interviews, Webber would intimate that the movie played a significant role in getting him traded to Golden State.</p>
<p>So with Shaq and Penny desiring a team-up, the Magic obliged them (I’m sure it helped that Hardaway wasn’t a scrub), sending Webber and three first-round picks to the Warriors for Hardaway.</p>
<p>For the most part, the partnership worked out: Orlando turned into an Eastern Conference powerhouse overnight and advanced the NBA Finals in 1995. Shaq eventually grew jealous of the Magic favoring Hardaway over him and left for the west coast, but their initial chemistry forged on the set of that movie propelled an expansion team to the precipice of an NBA title. That’s pretty amazing.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Philadelphia 76ers </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372858" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1038,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F51725800.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1038" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/51725800.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/51725800-768x498.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">(Photo credit should read TOM MIHALEK/AFP/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Philadelphia 76ers</h3>
<h4>Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod for Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, Theo Ratliff, and Pepe Sanchez (to ATL) (2001)</h4>
<p>When fans discuss the 2000-01 <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/philadelphia-76ers/">Philadelphia 76ers</a>, the conversation usually doesn’t go much farther than this: Allen Iverson carried them to the NBA Finals.</p>
<p>While that’s certainly true as far as the offense was concerned — a generous description of then-head coach Larry Brown’s scheme would be Iverson-centered — that Sixers team also sported a fearsome defense, as their defensive rating sat 4.1 points per 100 possessions below the league average.</p>
<p>With Iverson shouldering most of the scoring load, the team relied on physical perimeter defenders like Eric Snow, Raja Bell, and that season’s Sixth Man of the Year Aaron McKie to shut down opposing guards and wings and center Theo Ratliff to patrol the paint and each entity excelled at their job.</p>
<p>But when Ratliff suffered an injury midway through the season, the front office — led by executive Billy King — scoured the league for a suitable replacement and decided on All-Star center Dikembe Mutombo, who was wasting away on a bad Atlanta Hawks team.</p>
<p>To bring the former Defensive Player of the Year aboard — along with Roshown McLeod for salary matching — the Sixers sent Ratliff, Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, and Pepe Sanchez. Mutombo’s 2.5 blocks per game and, .201 WS/48, and 2.7 DBPM more than maintained Philly’s defensive profile, and it along with Iverson’s heroics carried the Sixers to the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers brushed them aside in five games, but at least we got Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Phoenix Suns </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372862" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2144,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F497554664.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2144" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/497554664.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/497554664-768x515.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Phoenix Suns- Charles Barkley for Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry (to PHI) (1992)</h3>
<p>Do you think the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/phoenix-suns/">Phoenix Suns</a> would’ve traded for Charles Barkley in 1992 if team officials knew he would get a television analyst job after he retired and use that platform to <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp-f7ece-UU%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">roast the team</a> for, among other things, stale popcorn, dirty seats, flat soda, cold nachos with pickles and plenty of available parking? Considering his productivity in Phoenix, they probably would, but this is the same team that made a gorilla their mascot, so who knows.</p>
<p>Before joining Phoenix in 1992, Barkley spent his first seven seasons in Philadelphia terrorizing opponents with his unique blend of athleticism rarely seen in most power forwards at the time. He had great footwork in the post, was a decent passer and spot-up mid-range shooter and was a wrecking ball once he grabbed the rebound and pushed the pace in transition.</p>
<p>But much like plenty of stars before and after him, Barkley grew frustrated with his team’s inability to surround him with adequate talent, so he demanded a trade elsewhere. That elsewhere ended up being the Suns, who parted with Jeff Hornacek, Andrew Lang, and Tim Perry to team Barkley up with Dan Majerle and Kevin Johnson.</p>
<p>Barkley’s first year in Phoenix went well enough: all he did was average 25.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists with a 25.9 PER and .242 WS/48. His performance in 1992-93 won him the MVP award and propelled the Suns to the NBA Finals. I don’t think I need to tell you how that went (here’s a clue: it was the 90s and they were a non-Houston Rockets Western Conference team).</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Portland Trail Blazers </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372863" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1016773210.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1016773210.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1016773210-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Chris Elise/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Portland Trail Blazers</h3>
<h4>LaMarcus Aldridge and a second-round pick for Viktor Khryapa and Tyrus Thomas (to CHI) (2006)</h4>
<p>With few exceptions, the NBA draft is a crapshoot. It’s a system where NBA executives are putting the futures of their respective franchises in the hands of 18 and 19-year-olds fresh out of college. Even with the most polished prospects, there will always be a heightened level of risk.</p>
<p>This makes the practice of going back in time and chiding teams for questioning teams’ past draft mistakes an exercise in satiating ones purported intellectual superiority over general managers, especially when those general managers consistently flail at picking players year after year.</p>
<p>The LaMarcus Aldridge trade in 2006 is the crystallization of this phenomenon. The Bulls took him with the second overall pick in that year’s draft — a pick they got from the Knicks the previous season for Eddy Curry — and quickly flipped him to the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/portland-trail-blazers/">Portland Trail Blazers</a> with a 2007 second-round pick for Victor Khryapa and Tyrus Thomas.</p>
<p>Khryapa played two seasons in the Windy City and averaged a robust 2.5 points per game in the black and red. Thomas collected a grand total of 13 WS in eight seasons with the Bulls, Bobcats, and Grizzlies. Even before getting into what Aldridge did with the Blazers, the Bulls clearly got the short end of this deal in hindsight.</p>
<p>On the other side, Aldridge became one of the greatest players in Blazers history. His 69.6 WS places him fourth on the team’s all-time list and Basketball Reference’s Hall of Fame probability algorithm gives him a 50/50 chance of making it to Springfield. That makes him a shoo-in compared to the guys he was traded for.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Sacramento Kings </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-369028" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2155,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2016%2F04%2F657165.jpeg" alt="NBA" width="3200" height="2155" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/04/657165.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2016/04/657165-768x517.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Tom Hauck /Allsport)</p>
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<h3>Sacramento Kings</h3>
<h4>Chris Webber for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe (to WAS) (1998)</h4>
<p>Oh goody, another chance to gush about how great those early-2000s <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/sacramento-kings/">Sacramento Kings</a> teams were. If you are a fan of clubs like the Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs, go back and watch those Rick Adelman-coached Kings teams, as they perfected the art of passing and unselfishness.</p>
<p>Of course, no matter how deft a team’s passing is, the offense would bog down without a star player who commands the defense’s attention. That’s where Chis Webber comes in. In his first five seasons with the Warriors and the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Webber proved to be worthy of his number one overall pick status, but his teams found little postseason success despite his efforts.</p>
<p>That changed after the Kings traded for him in exchange for aging star Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe. Webber was initially hesitant about playing for the Kings due to their moribund track record, but once they added the likes of Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, and Jason Williams — who was later traded for Mike Bibby — Sacramento became one of the most exciting teams in the NBA with the playoff appearances to match.</p>
<p>We all know what happened to this team <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeQx1TtC3Ww%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the 2002 Western Conference Finals</a>, but the team could take solace in knowing that without Webber’s .149 WS/48, they never would’ve gotten to that point.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> San Antonio Spurs </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-318393" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1016725594-1.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1016725594-1.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1016725594-1-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Chris Elise/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>San Antonio Spurs</h3>
<h4>Kawhi Leonard, Davis Bertans, and Erazem Lorbek for George Hill (to IND) (2011)</h4>
<p>There are probably still some salty <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/san-antonio-spurs/">San Antonio Spurs</a> fans who can’t believe Kawhi Leonard demanded to leave their beloved organization (more on that in a bit), but those folks forget that this man basically extended the teams’ dominant run for at least a few more seasons. It also wouldn’t have happened if the team had stuck with George Hill as Tony Parker’s backup.</p>
<p>Instead of doing that, the Spurs sent him to the Indiana Pacers for Erazem Lorbek (never played in the league), Davis Bertans (useful rotational big man), and the draft rights to Leonard. It was a win-win for both sides: Indiana, who drafted Paul George the season prior and still had Danny Granger on the roster, needed a steady point guard to run the offense while San Antonio picked up some useful pieces and a player in Leonard that they could hopefully mold into a star.</p>
<p>In Leonard’s case, mission accomplished. By for former San Diego State Aztec’s fifth season, he was one of the NBA’s premier two-way wings, averaging 21.2 points with .277 WS/48 while earning his first All-Star Game appearance and the second of two consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards. And this was with a Finals MVP already in his back pocket.</p>
<p>By year six (25.5 PPG, .264 WS/48), Leonard was arguably one of the three best players in the league. He even led the Spurs to a big lead in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference Finals against the vaunted Golden State Warriors before Zaza Pachulia stuck his foot in Leonard’s landing spot following a jumper, which ended the series and ultimately Leonard’s time with the Spurs. But Spurs fans should remember the good times instead of harping on Leonard <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIwh0njInPk%22>cackling his way to Toronto</a>.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Toronto Raptors </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-360361" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1150605910.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1150605910.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1150605910-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">(Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Toronto Raptors</h3>
<h4>Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poltl and a first-round pick (to SA) (2018)</h4>
<p>This <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/toronto-raptors/">Toronto Raptors</a> deal equated to going to a GameStop or a more reputable video game store and trading your PlayStation 3 for a Playstation 4. Sure, your PS3 works fine and the game’s graphics still hold up well, but the PS4 does everything your old game system does, but better.</p>
<p>In this case, however, DeMar DeRozan is probably a PS2 that masqueraded as a PS3 before getting shipped out. The former USC Trojan was a reliable All-Star and was easily one of the best players in Raptors history, but everyone knew his relatively limited skills inhibited the team’s championship aspirations.</p>
<p>So team president Masai Ujiri took a big gamble prior to the 2018-19 season and traded DeRozan, Jakob Poltl and a 2019 first-round pick to the Spurs for disgruntled star Kawhi Leonard. Again, this was a huge risk on Toronto’s part — DeRozan’s teammate and friend Kyle Lowry wasn’t pleased with the trade and everyone knew that Leonard wanted to play in his hometown Los Angeles, making him a one-year rental — so this move represented the team’s singular “championship-or-bust” mentality.</p>
<p>Thankfully, the team made the most of this one chance. With Leonard (.224 WS/48 in the regular season, .249 in the playoffs) leading the way, the Raptors won 58 games, blew past the overmatched Magic in the first round, sank the 76ers with the shot of the year in the conference semis, locked down the Bucks in the conference finals, and unseated the banged-up Warriors to win their first NBA Title. Guess the Raptors and the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.si.com/nba/2019/06/04/kawhi-leonard-san-diego-state-kawhiisms-phrases-mantras-raptors" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Board Man”</a> got the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alT_zVFMuPw%22 target="_blank" rel="noopener">last laugh</a>.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Utah Jazz </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-372881" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1046,w_1408/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F51541591.jpeg" alt="" width="1408" height="1046" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/51541591.jpeg 1408w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/51541591-768x571.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1408px) 100vw, 1408px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1408px;">(Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Utah Jazz</h3>
<h4>Jeff Hornacek, Sean Green and a second-round pick for Jeff Malone and a first-round pick (to PHI) (1994)</h4>
<p>After being sent to the Sixers as part of the Charles Barkley trade, Jeff Hornacek spent one-and-a-half seasons as one of the primary offensive engines for a couple of putrid Philadelphia teams. If the brief run showed fans anything, it’s that a team with Hornacek as its best player wasn’t one destined for a bunch of playoff appearances.</p>
<p>Hornacek in a starring role wasn’t the ideal use for him, but as a floor spacer that opened things up for other star players while occasionally taking the reins? That role was a better fit for the former second-round pick.</p>
<p>And that’s exactly how the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/western-conference/utah-jazz/">Utah Jazz</a> used him once they brought him in — along with Sean Green — for Jeff Malone and a first-round pick that later became B.J. Tyler, whose NBA career lasted all of 55 games.</p>
<p>After getting acclimated in 1994, Hornacek became the full-time starter the next season and with him keeping the lanes open for John Stockton and Karl Malone, the Jazz finished no worse than sixth in offensive rating, made the playoffs six times and reached the NBA Finals twice.</p>
<p>Hornacek, Malone, and Stockton were far from the most exciting star trio in NBA history, but their diverse skill sets made them a perfect fit together and it led to a great deal of success. At the end of the day, that’s really all you can ask for.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Washington Wizards </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-263058" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2425,w_3638/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F95650631-oklahoma-city-thunder-v-washington-wizards.jpg.jpg" alt="Washington Wizards" width="3638" height="2425" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/95650631-oklahoma-city-thunder-v-washington-wizards.jpg.jpg 3638w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/95650631-oklahoma-city-thunder-v-washington-wizards.jpg-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3638px) 100vw, 3638px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3638px;">(Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Washington Wizards</h3>
<h4>Antawn Jamison for Devin Harris, Christian Laettner and Jerry Stackhouse (to DAL) (2004)</h4>
<p>Once Michael Jordan retired for good in 2003, the <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/eastern-conference/washington-wizards/">Washington Wizards</a> needed to clean house and start fresh. Signing former Warriors point guard Gilbert Arenas and giving him the keys to the castle was a good first step, but it wasn’t until they traded for Arenas’ former Golden State teammate Antawn Jamison in 2004 that the team righted the ship and made the playoffs for the first time since they were known as the Bullets.</p>
<p>Bringing Jamison on came at the “hefty” price of an unproven Devin Harris, the NBA’s top heel Christian Laettner, and Jerry Stackhouse, who was only with the Wizards because he attended the same university as Jordan, and Jamison’s 19.6 points per game in his first season in D.C. made it easy to forget about those guys.</p>
<p>Once Caron Butler was brought in to for a nice little “Big 3” with Arenas and Jamison, the Wizards became a constant presence in the Eastern Conference playoffs, though their seasons often ended at LeBron James’ hands in the first round.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Each NBA team's greatest free agent signing" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2019/06/19/nba-teams-greatest-free-agent-signing-franchise-history/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#bb2c32" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2019/10/16/nba-teams-best-trade-franchise-history/"https://hoopshabit.com/2019/06/19/nba-teams-greatest-free-agent-signing-franchise-history/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Each NBA team's greatest free agent signing </a> </div>
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<p>Frankly, any team that had Jamison on their roster had a lowered ceiling, but considering how awful this franchise has been for most of its existence, the Arenas/Butler/Jamison era provided a level of consistency that the team hadn’t experienced since the Wes Unseld days and wouldn’t experience until the drafted John Wall in 2010. Yes, most of that success was thanks to Arenas’ brilliance but Jamison’s value as a stand-still shooter and post scorer made “Agent Zero’s” life a little easier on the offensive end.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">