Biggest NBA Trade Fails This Season

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The March 15 trade deadline brought NBA fans a serious amount of last-minute deals, and as expected, some were seriously better than others.

The Bucks made one of the best trades in recent memory, grabbing Monta Ellis, and the Lakers stole Ramon Sessions from the Cavaliers for a first-round pick and two scrubs.  Unfortunately, not every team that made a trade this season was that lucky.

From the Wizards unloading young talent, Nick Young and JaVale McGee, for an overpriced veteran in Nene Hilario, to the Spurs deciding they needed the skills of Stephen Jackson for a deep playoff push, there were teams that made moves that left fans searching for answers.

Ahead is a list of the head-scratching trades, better known as the biggest trade fails of the 2011-12 NBA season. 

Nick Young to Lob City

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The Los Angeles Clippers will live and die by Nick Young as the season heads towards its conclusion.

While he's impressively productive at times, he's also not the most consistent player in the world.  Since being traded to the Clippers, Young's averaged 10.1 points per game on just 32.8 percent shooting.

At times, Young's production has helped the Clippers win close games, but more often than not, his inconsistency has held them back.  When Young takes low-percentage shots, it takes away offensive opportunities from players who are purer, more consistent scorers.

Another reason why this trade is turning into a failure is because of the emergence of Randy Foye at the shooting-guard position.  Foye and Young are almost equally productive, but Foye has the advantage when it comes to efficiency, as he's been shooting right around 43.5 percent since Young became a Clipper.

While the Clippers only had to give up a second-round pick and a scrub named Brian Cook for Young, there's no doubt that this trade, and Young's inconsistency, will hold them back in the homestretch of the season and into the playoffs.  

Wizards Trading Away JaVale McGee and Nick Young

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The Washington Wizards made one of the more interesting moves of the trade deadline this season, when they traded away two young talented players in JaVale McGee and Nick Young.

The problem with getting rid of those players is that the talent they received in return—Nene Hilario, Brian Cook and the Clippers' 2012 second-round pick—isn't all that impressive to build on.

Sure, McGee's immaturity and Young's inconsistency were at times an issue for the Wizards, but both players were solid building blocks for the Wizards' future. The Wizards are in a more challenging place, moving forward, without those players on their roster. 

Let's just take a minute and compare Nene, McGee and Young's offensive averages so far this season:

Nene Hilario: 13.7 PPG, 7.9 RPG, .9 BLKPG, 51.6 FG%

JaVale McGee: 11.3 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.4 BLKPG, 53.8 FG%

Nick Young: 14.2 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 39.8 FG%

The fact that Nene is nearly 30 years old also doesn't help the Wizards out down the road. Sure, Nene is a veteran player, but he's not the kind of leader that the Wizards need in their locker room and on the court.

By trading away Young and McGee, the Wizards added a few more years onto their "rebuilding campaign," and that's not good news for Wizards fans.

Magic Failing to Trade Dwight Howard

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For the Orlando Magic, failing to make a trade was absolutely the biggest mistake that they could've made, and they did just that.

There's no doubt that Dwight Howard is the most dominant center in the NBA, but the baggage that comes along with him isn't worth the hassle.

Since deciding not to opt out of his contract for the upcoming season, the Magic have won just six out of 14 games, and Howard's been a major reason for their lack of success.  When he's not on the court underperforming, he's in the locker room causing drama between himself and his head coach, Stan Van Gundy.

Whether or not reports are true surrounding the Howard and Van Gundy saga, there's no doubt that the Magic should've just bitten the bullet and traded Howard when they had the chance.

All they did by deciding against trading him was ensure that they have one more year of the D12 soap opera ahead of them, which is a very bad thing for the future of the franchise.

When Howard leaves Orlando at the end of next season, if he makes it that far, the Magic will wish that they had pulled the trigger on this year's failed trade opportunity. 

Nets Trading for Gerald Wallace

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Trading away Mehmet Okur and Shawne Williams for Gerald Wallace wouldn't have been a bad move. The problem is, that's not the trade the Nets made for Wallace.

The Nets had to include their "protected" first-round pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, and that's undeniably way too much to give up for an aging veteran who's well past his prime.

The Nets will give up that draft pick to the Trail Blazers if it's not one of the top-three picks in the draft.  And while the Nets are a relatively bad team, every game they win is a step away from holding onto that selection.

There's no doubt that the Nets need to do some serious rebuilding, especially with the legitimate possibility of losing Deron Williams at the end of the season, and adding Wallace isn't a step towards building a respectable franchise in the near future.

If the Nets lose their protected first-round pick to the Trail Blazers, this trade has the potential to not only be one of the worst this season, but also one of the worst trades of all time.

If Deron Williams leaves at the end of the season, the Nets will be left with Gerald Wallace as the foundation to build upon for the future, and that's certainly a very shaky foundation, as Wallace is nearly 30 years old. 

Spurs Trading Richard Jefferson for Stephen Jackson

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The only consistent thing about Stephen Jackson's game is the fact that he's extremely inefficient, with a career shooting percentage of just 41.6 percent.

I'll never quite understand exactly why the Spurs thought they needed to bring back S-Jax to make a legitimate run at the Western Conference title.

Since rejoining the Spurs, Jackson's averaged 8.7 points on a terribly-low 39.1 percent from the field.  Just compare that production to Richard Jefferson's line of 9.5 points and 46.7 percent shooting, and you'll quickly see just how little sense this trade made.

Not only is Jefferson a more productive and efficient player, but he's also a more athletic defender, which is something that the Spurs will miss as they head into the Western Conference playoffs.

While a lot of people are still hyped about Jackson returning to the Spurs, I think it was the biggest trade fail of the trade deadline, as it's a serious downgrade in more ways than one.