Top 10 Most Interesting NBA Trade Rumors of the Past 15 Years

NBA trade rumors can be fascinating.

Two summers ago, Kevin Garnett, then a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, was rumored to be traded all over the map. It seemed as though every day he was headed to a different destination.

One day, it looked like he was going to end up in Phoenix. Then the next day, he was supposedly on his way to team up with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles.

After weeks of rumblings, Garnett finally wound up in Boston, where he led the Celtics to the 2008 title.

There have been all sorts of trade rumors throughout the history of the NBA. While some make a great deal of sense, others sound totally unbelievable.

Well, here is a list of my personal favorite top 10 trade rumors of the past 15 years. Enjoy.

10. Vince Carter to San Antonio

Last February, the San Antonio Spurs called the New Jersey Nets in an attempt to pry away Vince Carter. But apparently, the Nets weren't interested in what the Spurs had to offer.

The thought of Carter going to San Antonio sounds rather funny since the Spurs have always been considered boring, and Vince is one of the most exciting players the game has ever seen.

9. Clyde Drexler for Harold Miner

When Clyde Drexler requested to be traded from the Portland Trail Blazers in the middle of the 1994-95 season, reports out of Miami had him going to the Heat for slam dunk champ Harold Miner.

Luckily for Drexler, he ended up going to the Houston Rockets, where he reunited with his college buddy Hakeem Olajuwon to win the title that season.

8. Mike Bibby to Washington

After the Washington Wizards landed the top pick in the 2001 draft, rumors began to swirl that the team would possibly send the pick to the Vancouver Grizzlies for up and coming point guard Mike Bibby.

Maybe if Michael Jordan, the Wizards GM at the time, had pulled the trigger on that trade, he would be more respected today as an executive.

7. Pau Gasol to Chicago

John Paxson's refusal to trade Luol Deng cost the Chicago Bulls the chance to acquire Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2007.

As of now, the Bulls are still in search of a low-post threat to dump the ball to.

6. Scottie Pippen and Luc Longley to Boston

On the day of the 1997 draft, Boston Celtics GM/head coach Rick Pitino thought about trading his two lottery picks, No. 3 and No. 6, to the Chicago Bulls for Scottie Pippen and Luc Longley.

Chicago wanted the picks to draft Keith Van Horn and Tracy McGrady and rebuild for the future.

Rumor has it the trade never came to pass because Michael Jordan didn't approve of losing his veteran teammates for a pair of rookies.

5. Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland

This past February, the Cleveland Cavaliers attempted to get their hands on Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O'Neal in exchange for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic.

Suns general manager Steve Kerr nixed the deal because he thought to himself, "Who would I rather have, Shaq or Ben Wallace?"

But all joking aside, with Shaq in a Cavs uni, LeBron James would probably have won his first title this year.

4. Jason Kidd to the Lakers

Around the 2007 trade deadline, the New Jersey Nets offered the Lakers All-Star point guard Jason Kidd for a package that included young center Andrew Bynum.

But the deal was off the table after the Lakers refused to part ways with Bynum for the aging Kidd.

Too bad—a backcourt of Kidd and Kobe Bryant would have been awesome.

3. Kobe Bryant to Chicago

Before the 2007-08 season, Kobe Bryant wanted to get traded to the team his idol Michael Jordan played 13 years for—the Chicago Bulls.

But the L.A. Lakers star later changed his mind after learning that the Bulls would have to give up too much in the deal, which meant there would not be enough talent left in Chicago to compete for a championship.

2. Kevin Garnett to the Lakers

Before the 2007 draft, four teams—the Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, and Boston Celtics—were rumored to be involved in trade talks that centered on All-Star forward Kevin Garnett.

In the four-way trade, the Lakers were to receive Garnett, the Celtics would acquire Jermaine O'Neal, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum would have been shipped to Indy, and Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, and the No. 5 pick in the draft would have packed their bags for Minny.

Supposedly, everything fell apart because the Celtics were unhappy about their end of the deal.

1. Scottie Pippen for Shawn Kemp

In 1994, Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause reportedly wanted to deal Scottie Pippen out west to the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Shawn Kemp.

If that trade had gone down, would Chicago still have won titles from 1996-1998 with Kemp in the lineup instead of Pippen? We'll never know.