Whenever there is a trade between two NBA teams, each of them sends players to the other in an effort to make both teams better. This usually happens when an NBA team trades a star for draft picks or, in some cases, when two teams trade their stars to improve in an area they need help in. However, it is not often the case that one team gets a top star and the other gets nothing comparable in return. But there have been cases where one team suddenly becomes a championship contender and the other needs to rebuild because they were taken in a lopsided trade.
Scottie Pippen – 1987
Most people viewed Michael Jordan as the best player of all-time, and Scottie Pippen was treated like a sidekick. The Chicago Bulls never paid him what he deserved. When Pippen’s career began with the Bulls, he was also heavily discounted. The Seattle SuperSonics drafted Pippen and then traded him to the Bulls for Olden Polynice, who averaged only five points per season. On the other hand, Pippen was part of six NBA championships.
James Harden – 2012
There was a time when the Oklahoma City Thunder had Kevin Durant, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibaka all on the team at the same time. Harden was the best sixth man in the NBA, he wanted more. Since the Thunder traded him to the Houston Rockets. Harden has proven that he deserves a spot in the starting lineup. Houston sent Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb to the Thunder, and neither turned out to be better for them. However, the City Thunder got a draft pick, which they used to land Steven Adams.
Wilt Chamberlain – 1968
The legendary Wilt Chamberlain was the best NBA player with the Philadelphia 76ers. He won an NBA championship and multiple NBA MVP awards with the 76ers. Later, the team traded “Goliath” to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Hall of Famer finished his career with the Lakers, averaging a double-double and winning another NBA championship in 1962. In return, the 76ers got players such as Jerry Chambers, Darrell Imhoff and Archie Clark.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce – 2013
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were great players for the Boston Celtics and led the franchise to the NBA Finals. They were two of the best players in the NBA. Garnett was the NBA MVP in 2004 and Pierce was the NBA Finals MVP in 2008. However, this was 2013, and both players were past their prime. The Celtics got four picks in the first round, which included names like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Pierce was gone after one season and Garnett after two seasons.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 1975
The Milwaukee Bucks made a huge move in 1976 when they traded their top player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, to the LA Lakers. “Lew” played for the Bucks since they drafted him in 1969. He also helped them win the 1971 NBA Championship, winning the MVP that year. Kareem said he loved the Bucks, but he wanted to move to a bigger city to play. When the team traded Abdul-Jabbar to the Los Angeles Lakers, they got players like Junior Bridgeman and Elmore Smith in return. Kareem led the Lakers to five NBA championships.
Dominique Wilkins – 1982
The Utah Jazz drafted Dominique Wilkins in the 1982 NBA Draft with the third overall selection. However, there were two problems. For one thing, Wilkins didn’t want to play in Utah, he asked for too much, and the team couldn’t afford him, forcing them to trade him. They sent him to the Atlanta Hawks for Freeman Williams, John Drew and $1 million. Wilkins averaged 25 points over the next decade and the Jazz almost got nothing from Drew or Williams.
Charles Barkley – 1992
Charles Barkley was one of the greatest power forwards in the NBA. He was at the top of his game as a youngster, but the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t learn the lesson from the lopsided trade of Wilt Chamberlain two decades earlier. They traded Barkley to the Phoenix Suns for Jeff Hornacek. The 76ers went down while the Suns reached the NBA Finals and “Sir Charles” won the NBA MVP.
Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash – 1998
Nowitzki and Nash’s names are necessary to add whenever there is talk about lopsided trades. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted Nowitzki and Pat Garrity in the first round of the 1998 NBA draft. Bucks then traded both players to the Dallas Mavericks. They needed to find a third team to accomplish this and brought in the Phoenix Suns, so Dallas also got Steve Nash. They gave up only Robert Traylor, who averaged 4.8 points for the rest of his career, and traded Garrity to the Suns for Nash.
Kobe Bryant – 1996
This is one of the biggest trades the team would have regretted for a long time. In the 1996 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets drafted and quickly traded the young phenom Kobe Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlad Divac. While Divac tried to block the trade, he eventually gave in, and the Lakers got “Black Mamba”, who spent his whole career with the Lakers and won five NBA titles and the NBA MVP in 2008. On the other hand, Divac was traded out of the Hornets after two seasons.
Bill Russell – 1956
The St. Louis Hawks drafted Bill Russell in 1956. The Boston Celtics wanted to take Russell, but they knew they would not be able to get them at their spot in the draft. When the Hawks drafted Russell, the Celtics reached out to them and offered Ed McCauley. However, the Hawks demanded more and wanted Clidd Hagen as well. Macaulay and Hagen made a combined 13 All-Star appearances, while Russell won five MVP awards, made the All-Star team 12 times in 13 seasons, and was a part of 11 NBA Championships for the Celtics.
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