10 NBA Trades That Made No Sense - TheSportster
In the modern NBA, teams aren't constructed by the draft. Sure, it takes place every year, and teams select great players, but most of the time, contenders aren't built that way. Instead, most teams build their championship squads through blockbuster trades.
Over the past few years, we've seen teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers win a title for trading for Anthony Davis. The Toronto Raptors claimed their first championship by trading for Kawhi Leonard. While those trades worked out, not every trade works out in NBA history. These ones didn't make sense at the moment and don't make sense now.
10 Russell Westbrook to the Los Angeles Lakers
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Just one year after the Los Angeles Lakers won a championship, they were bounced out of the playoffs in the first round by the eventual conference winner Phoenix Suns. Despite many fans and pundits excusing the first-round exit to a litany of injuries.
The Lakers didn't see it that way and thought the roster needed a new superstar. Their solution was to gut their roster, and trade for Russell Westbrook, who was on the wrong side of 30, and a terrible fit for the team. One year later, the Lakers were terrible with the former MVP, and they're looking to ship him out of town.
9 Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics
The Cleveland Cavaliers were in the midst of trying to win their second title in three years in 2017. Despite being on a contender and playing with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving demanded a trade because he wanted to be the face of a team.
The Cavaliers sent him to the Boston Celtics, who sent back a first-round pick, as well as Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder. This trade blew up for everyone involved. The Cavaliers' window closed, and the Celtics lost Irving within two seasons as he hurt the team more than he helped.
8 Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks
Andrea Bargnani was a solid big man during his time as a member of the Toronto Raptors. That being said, he showed signs of injury trouble near the end of his stint. But those injury issues didn't stop the Knicks from badly wanting him.
In 2013, one year after Bargnani played only 35 games and averaged 12.7 points a game, the Knicks traded for him. They traded multiple bench players, as well as three draft picks, for just 71 games from the power forward.
7 James Harden to the Houston Rockets
Just one year after the Oklahoma City Thunder made the NBA Finals with a core of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and James Harden, it got blown up. The team offered the latter a deal considered much below his market value because they didn't want to go over the salary cap and pay tax.
The cheapness of the team led Harden to be traded to the Houston Rockets in return for a crop of players headlined by Jeremy Lamb. They also got two first-round picks, one of which turned out to be Steven Adams. This trade never made any sense at the time and looks even worse today.
6 Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers
In 2012, the Los Angeles Lakers were trying to make the most of what was left of Kobe Bryant's prime. Their solution was to sign Dwight Howard straight off a terrible back injury, and trade for an older Steve Nash, who had begun to have injury issues.
Trading for Nash isn't that bad, but it's the details of the trade that are horrific. The Lakers sent four picks to the Phoenix Suns for the aging point guard. They mortgaged most of their future for two years of okay play from Nash.
5 Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks
In 2014, the Dallas Mavericks, much like the aforementioned Lakers, were trying to win one more ring for their superstar. Dirk Nowitzki was beginning to decline, and the team thought their solution to give them a shot at a championship was to trade most of their bench, and multiple picks, for Rajon Rondo.
Rondo didn't want to play for Dallas, so he phoned it in the entire time there, which was less than a season. This trade didn't even make sense at the time, as anyone could see the Mavericks barely had a playoff squad, and that's if the point guard actually cared.
4 Allen Iverson and Chauncey Billups Swap Teams
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The Denver Nuggets and the Detroit Pistons were trying to contend, and each felt they were one piece away. Their solution was to do a rare superstar swap. The Nuggets traded for Chauncey Billups, while the Pistons got the husk of Allen Iverson.
This one didn't make much sense for either squad. Both Billups and Iverson were past their prime when the trade happened, and neither spent longer than three years with either squad.
3 Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks
The Denver Nuggets knew that Carmelo Anthony wanted to leave, and they knew he had no shortage of suiters. With that, they held all the power, as the New York Knicks would give up anything to make that happen.
The Knicks got Anthony, and the aforementioned Chauncey Billups (who was far past his best at this point), in exchange for a bunch of players (the best being Danillo Gallinari) and a few drafts picks. This one doesn't make sense, because the Knicks didn't suddenly become contenders by getting Anthony, and the Nuggets did nothing with what they got in return.
2 Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic
The thought when the Orlando Magic traded for Serge Ibaka is that it would help them contend. In order to make that happen, they traded Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova, and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This trade makes no sense because it just didn't matter. The Thunder, nor the Magic really improved. Furthermore, every single player involved was gone from their new team within one season.
1 Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets
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The Brooklyn Nets thought they were one piece away, and it was hard to blame them in 2013. They had superstars Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and Brook Lopez. In order to win a ring, they traded for washed superstars Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
The trade makes sense in some way, as the Nets needed weapons. However, every person on the planet knew they were both rentals, and that they were past their best. Everyone knew, except for the Nets front office. They traded multiple bench pieces, and three first-round picks, for less than two years of mediocre play from the legends.
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