Menu

We Have a Trade to Announce

We Have a Trade to Announce
Jun 21, 2004, 01:00 am
We have already established that the NBA Draft is the Greatest Day of the Year and one of the many reasons why: trades. Lots and lots of useless, silly trades. I'll trade you an Alaa Abdelnaby, two Ed Pinckneys, and box of broken Hot Wheels for your Blue Edwards and the rest of your cheeseburger. Sounds like fun, right? Outside of the trade deadline, there is no day when we see as many trades as we do on draft night. Many franchises have changed the course of their history through trades completed in and around the NBA Draft. Most of the time, draft night trades are forgettable swaps of second rounder stiffs and future picks, but every now and then we get to see one team absolutely pillage another team. I am here to share with you my thoughts on the 10 most lopsided draft day trades of the past 10 years. So without further adieu, We have a trade to announce.

10. Jamal Crawford for Chris Mihm (2000): The Bulls traded their #7 pick Chris Mihm to the Cavs for their #8 pick Jamal Crawford and cash. Not only did the Bulls get the better player in this deal but they also got the ever-coveted cash. This deal was just one of a handful of horrible moves the Cavs made around this time. They also drafted super bust Trajan Langdon the year before and drafted soon to be super bust Sagana Diop the year after and traded the one good pick they made during that stretch, Andre Miller, to the Clippers for Darius Miles. If it weren't for Lebron the Cavs would still be hurting from these awful moves.

9. Antonio McDyess for Rodney Rogers and Brent Barry (1995): The Clippers gave away promising #2 pick Antonio McDyess to the Nuggets for an unproven #15 pick Brent Barry and a very ordinary Rodney Rogers, who had averaged 12 points per game the previous year. I'm not sure that any team has ever received less for a #2 pick in the history of the league. This move set the Clippers back another 5 years, which was just added to the already 20 years they were currently serving for previous idiotic moves.

8. Courtney Alexander for Cash and a Future 1st (2000): Mark Cuban tried to buy his way into the lottery in 2000 by offering cash and a future 1st round pick to the Magic for the #13 pick Courtney Alexander. Guess who won this deal? The Magic. Take out the future 1st and the cash still beats Alexander. Take out the cash and replace it with 2 cans of V8 juice, a Mia Hamm bobble head doll, and a Lance Bass poster and the Magic still win. This just goes to show that money can't buy everything. (Note to Mark Cuban: Please don't have me killed.)

7. Vince Carter for Antawn Jamison (1998): The Raptors traded #4 pick Antawn Jamison to Toronto for #5 pick and North Carolina teammate Vince Carter. This has to be one of the weirdest trades in NBA history. After 3 years, this trade was looking like the runaway for the most lopsided trade since the Joe Barry Carroll for Robert Parrish and Kevin Mchale debacle in 1980. Carter was on his way to becoming the second coming of Jesus Shuttlesworth, while Jamison was showing that he was nothing more than a black hole on a terrible team. However, Carter's recent string of injuries *cough* wussy *cough* have made this trade a little more tolerable for the Warriors brass.

6. Chris Webber for Anfernee Hardaway (1993): In possibly the biggest draft day trade ever, the Magic traded their #1 pick Chris Webber to the Warriors for the #3 pick Anfernee Hardaway and three future 1st round picks. Wow! Not only did the Magic end up getting the better player in the deal but they also landed, I repeat, three future 1st round picks to boot. Hardaway, an instant marketing star, teamed with Shaquille O'Neal to lead the Magic to the finals while Webber battled injuries and coaches before getting shipped to the Bullets (that's right, I said Bullets) for Tom Gugliotta. If Hardaway would have stayed healthy this deal might have ranked in the top 3 of my most lopsided trades.

5. Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler (2001): Perhaps trying to make up for 20 years of bad moves, the Clippers finally pulled a fast one on somebody by trading #2 pick Tyson Chandler and Brian Skinner to the Bulls for Elton Brand, a former #1 pick. Jerry Krause tried to rebuild his team around, not one, but two high school kids while giving up on Brand, and the Bulls have been desperate for frontcourt help ever since. Of course the jury is still out on this trade, but until the Baby Bulls prove me wrong I have no choice but to include this horrible trade on my list.

4. Eddie Griffin for Richard Jefferson, etc (2001): In a very confusing trade at the time, the Nets gave up their #7 pick Eddie Griffin to the Rockets for three mid 1st round picks, who turned out to be Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. It looked like the Rockets had stolen future stud Griffin, possibly the most talented player in the draft, right out from under the Nets. However, the Nets had a plan. After teaming Jefferson up with Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, the Nets appeared in two straight finals while Griffin was making appearances of another kindin court. Griffin, now out of the league due to personal problems, has to be considered one of the biggest busts in the history of the league. (Note to GMs: Don't draft crazy people).

3. Antonio McDyess for Marcus Camby and Nene Hilario (2002): The Knicks finally pulled off one of their fantasy trades when they acquired former All-Star Antonio McDyess, Frank Williams and a future 2nd round pick from the Nuggets for Marcus Camby, Mark Jackson and the #7 pick Nene Hillario (Nene). The Knicks were trying to make a run at the finals and the Nuggets were ready to rebuild. Both teams were fed up with their oft-injured stars McDyess and Camby. Unfortunately for the Knicks, MyDyess re-injured his knee and missed the entire season, while Nene quickly became a very promising young power forward and Camby's injuries healed. This deal helped the Nuggets quickly turn around their sinking franchise while the Knicks just added on one more miserable contract. In the Knicks defense, they were able package McDyess a year later in a deal to land Stephon Marbury.

*Trades 2 and 1 are packaged together in what I like to call Don Nelson's Super-Awesome Amazing Re-building of the Forever Terrible, Destined to be Lottery Bound for all Eternity, Dallas Mavericks Plan (which he has since partially destroyed)

2. Steve Nash for a Bunch of Hacks (1998): In one of the many incredible moves made by Don Nelson in his first year as the Mavericks GM, such as trading the entire team in 1997, Nelson managed to steal Steve Nash from the Suns forare you readythe rights to Pat Garrity (see trade #1), Martin Murrsepp, Bubba (not to be confused with Bonzi) Wells and a future 1st round pick. OUCH! Give the Suns some Coppertone ‘cause they just got BURNED! Now on to #1

1. Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity for Robert Traylor (1998): As the prequel to the last trade, Don Nelson traded the Mavericks' #6 pick Robert Traylor for the Bucks #9 pick Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity. This was a pre-arranged deal that most everyone knew about before the draft. Nelson had been in love with Nowitzki for a long time but most critics laughed at Nelson when he proclaimed Nowitzki would be the best player in the 1998 draft. Who's laughing now? Certainly not the Bucks. In just one night Don Nelson turned Robert Traylor, Matin Murrsepp, Bubba Wells and a future 1st round pick into Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki. That is simply brilliant one might say a miracle, and certainly worthy of the top spot on the list of the 10 most lopsided draft day trades in the last 10 years.

Recent articles

4.8 Points
3.7 Rebounds
0.2 Assists
-0.2 PER
-->
2.4 Points
2.4 Rebounds
0.2 Assists
11.4 PER
-->
14.6 Points
4.0 Rebounds
1.8 Assists
15.0 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
2.0 Points
1.9 Rebounds
0.6 Assists
10.1 PER
-->
7.9 Points
1.7 Rebounds
0.8 Assists
14.9 PER
-->
3.4 Points
0.9 Rebounds
2.2 Assists
13.7 PER
-->
3.6 Points
2.7 Rebounds
0.6 Assists
5.0 PER
-->
6.0 Points
6.0 Rebounds
2.3 Assists
14.0 PER
-->
9.2 Points
4.7 Rebounds
2.0 Assists
7.1 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
7.9 Points
1.8 Rebounds
1.2 Assists
9.3 PER
-->
5.0 Points
2.1 Rebounds
0.8 Assists
7.5 PER
-->
3.8 Points
2.5 Rebounds
0.3 Assists
7.8 PER
-->
3.4 Points
2.2 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
8.5 PER
-->
10.7 Points
5.0 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
14.4 PER
-->
3.9 Points
3.6 Rebounds
2.0 Assists
10.7 PER
-->
3.8 Points
2.2 Rebounds
2.2 Assists
9.0 PER
-->
9.0 Points
4.8 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
22.2 PER
-->
7.9 Points
5.5 Rebounds
2.1 Assists
11.1 PER
-->
4.1 Points
3.7 Rebounds
1.1 Assists
11.4 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
-13.4 PER
-->
1.4 Points
1.9 Rebounds
0.3 Assists
5.2 PER
-->
6.3 Points
3.3 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
7.2 PER
-->
1.1 Points
0.9 Rebounds
0.2 Assists
4.1 PER
-->
11.2 Points
1.8 Rebounds
1.1 Assists
13.4 PER
-->
6.0 Points
4.3 Rebounds
3.3 Assists
13.5 PER
-->
1.8 Points
1.7 Rebounds
0.5 Assists
10.1 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
17.3 Points
3.0 Rebounds
3.6 Assists
13.8 PER
-->
2.5 Points
1.7 Rebounds
2.8 Assists
8.9 PER
-->
15.7 Points
3.6 Rebounds
4.7 Assists
15.4 PER
-->
6.4 Points
2.4 Rebounds
1.0 Assists
14.6 PER
-->
7.0 Points
1.5 Rebounds
3.0 Assists
11.7 PER
-->
2.1 Points
1.4 Rebounds
0.4 Assists
3.2 PER
-->
0.0 Points
0.0 Rebounds
0.0 Assists
0.0 PER
-->
14.3 Points
8.4 Rebounds
2.1 Assists
20.2 PER
-->
15.6 Points
4.2 Rebounds
1.3 Assists
17.9 PER
-->

Twitter @DraftExpress

DraftExpress Shop