The 3 worst NBA trades of the last 20 years
It's too early to write off the Indiana Pacers' return of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis for Paul George. Anything can happen in the future, including George bailing on the Oklahoma City Thunder next summer.
But still, it's difficult to think of many deals worse than this in recent NBA history. Here are three that might be the most lopsided of the last 20 years:
Dirk Nowitzki for Robert Traylor, 1998
Draft night trades and pick swaps come with a high degree of risk.
Nobody has a crystal ball to predict how prospects will turn out, and sometimes there are other agendas at play. When the Charlotte Hornets selected Kobe Bryant in 1996, it was clear his agent at the time, Arn Tellem, wanted him traded to the Lakers, which he soon was. On draft night in 1987, the Seattle SuperSonics drafted NAIA player Scottie Pippen, then immediately sent him to the Chicago Bulls for ACC star center Olden Polynice.
While Dirk Nowitzki came with some question marks as an international player, he was about as highly touted as a young European big man could have been. Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino promised to draft him 10th in 1998, but then-Mavericks GM Don Nelson swung a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks to send them No. 6 pick Robert Traylor for Nowitzki, whom Milwaukee selected ninth.
Traylor fought weight issues throughout his career, and tragically died of a heart attack at just 34 in 2011.
Carter for Mourning and 2 guys named Williams, 2004
Things went sideways for Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors in 2004. With the team mired in sub-mediocrity, the superstar demanded a trade, and rookie GM Rob Babcock answered the bell with one of worst deals in professional sports history.
Babcock sent Carter to the New Jersey Nets for Alonzo Mourning, forwards Aaron and Eric Williams (no relation), and two first-round picks. One pick became Joey Graham, and the other was eventually sent to the Knicks to become Renaldo Balkman. Mourning didn't report to Toronto and took a buyout, while the Williamses averaged 1.6 and four points, respectively.
The NBA world was shocked by the trade, but it somehow didn't completely cripple the franchise. Babcock was fired 13 months later and replaced by Bryan Colangelo, who oversaw the Raptors to their first division title in 2006-07.
Carter enjoyed a renaissance with the Nets, although his tenure there marked the end of his run as a superstar.
The Nets-Celtics boondoggle, 2013
Almost nine years after fleecing the Raptors, the Nets moved from the industrial-park ambiance of the Jersey swamp to the hipster hotbed of Brooklyn.
They wanted to make a splash, and splash then-GM Billy King did, mortgaging off mostly unprotected first-round picks in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018 to the Celtics in exchange for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry - all of whom were over the age of 35.
This version of the Nets' ceiling was a second-round playoff loss to LeBron James' Miami Heat, before they came apart in 2014-15. Whether or not the Celtics (or the Philadelphia 76ers, who turned one of those picks into Markelle Fultz) ever draft a superstar with one of the picks is immaterial. Such a price paid for such a low reward is historic.
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)