The Five Biggest NBA Trade Deadline Deals of the Decade

With the NBA trade deadline day upon us, it will be fascinating and shocking to see what teams will do.

It may be all for naught, however, such as the 2007 deadline where the marquee trade was the Blazers trading Juan Dixon to the Raptors for Fred Jones.

Throughout the years, there have been real eye-popping trades before the deadline. Here are the top five in no particular order.

1999—Three-way deal involving Stephon Marbury, Terrell Brandon, and Sam Cassell

There are other players involved (Chris Carr, Bill Curley, Elliot Perry, etc.), but they are not the center pieces of this deal swapped in this deal.

Breakdown:

Bucks trade Terrell Brandon, receive Sam Cassell.

Nets trade Sam Cassell, receive Stephon Marbury.

Wolves trade Stephon Marbury, receive Terrell Brandon.

Terrell Brandon was a very good point guard as well as one of the most underrated players of our time. Milwaukee, however, experienced greater success once they acquired Sam Cassell. He, Glenn Robinson, and Ray Allen helped make the Bucks contenders.

New Jersey made a mistake trading away a quality point guard in Cassell, as Marbury never helped the Nets (or any other team for that matter) do much in the playoffs.

Minnesota experienced the "Stephon Marbury Phenomena." They became far better after trading Marbury. Brandon proved to be the floor general that Kevin Garnett needed, but the T-Wolves didn't make it past the first round of the playoffs, until Sam Cassell signed with them in 2003.

Trade winner: Bucks

2001—Hawks trade Dikembe Mutumbo and Roshown McLeod to 76ers for Theo Ratliff, Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed and Pepe Sanchez

This was the trade that many thought put Philadelphia over the top.

At the time of the trade, Philadelphia was a very good team and with the addition of Mutumbo, they reached the NBA Finals. They lost to the Lakers, but Mutumbo won Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 11.6 points and 11.6 rebounds in two seasons with Philly.

The Hawks gained one of the great "what if" players of our generation. Ratliff was a great player, but injuries limited him in his career. He only played three games with the Hawks that season, but played every game the following year.

Trade winner: 76ers

2003—Sonics trade Gary Payton and Desmond Mason to Bucks for Ray Allen, Kevin Ollie, and Ronald Murray

This was an end of an era for both teams. Payton, possibly the best player in Sonics history, was sent to Milwaukee, reuniting him with head coach George Karl; who coached him with the Sonics during their 1996 Finals run.

Allen had been with the Bucks since 1996 and formed a great trifecta with Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell (as stated in a previous slide), but after continuous playoff exits Milwaukee needed a change.

It turns out that Desmond Mason ended up being a bigger part of the deal than the Glove, as Payton signed with the Lakers in the following offseason.

Trade winner: Sonics

2005—Hornets trade Baron Davis to Warriors for Dale Davis and Speedy Claxton

In what was a cost—cutting measure for the Hornets, they traded their biggest star in the middle of a tumultuous season.

The Hornets made the playoffs in the 2003-04 season, losing in the first round to the Miami Heat. They struggled mightily in the 2004-05 season, and after the Baron Davis trade, ended the year with an 18-64 record.

The Warriors finally got a player to rally around. Davis helped Golden State reach the playoffs for the first time in over a decade during the 2006-07 campaign in a magical series win over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Hornets ended the season badly, but with a high draft pick, they chose the successor to Davis in a young man named Chris Paul. Paul may eventually go down one day as the best player in Hornets history.

Trade winner: Draw

2005—Kings trade Chris Webber to 76ers for Brian Skinner, Kenny Thomas, and Corliss Williamson

It was a glorious day for 76ers fans. Despite missing the playoffs the previous season, they just acquired one of the best power forwards in the game.

They had one of the best guards in the league in Allen Iverson, an exciting rookie swingman in Andre Iguodala, and a solid center in Samuel Dalembert. The future was bright.

It wasn't all it was cracked up to be as Philadelphia lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Webber-Iverson experiment lasted one more season. Iverson was traded in December of 2006 and that was that.

As for the Kings, they have been irrelevant since the trade. Recently the Kings showed their appreciation for Webber by retiring his number.

Trade winner: neither team really won, although Philadelphia did a little less worse than Sacto.