5 Disastrous Trades Still Impacting NBA Franchises
There have been plenty of poor trade transactions in the NBA, most of which can be wiped away in a year or two without any long-term ramifications.
Then there are the true disasters—deals often involving future first-round picks given up by teams with win-now aspirations who fall apart shortly after. These can affect franchises for years, limiting future trades, while players taken with the sacrificed picks blossom into stars.
Ranging from as recently as last summer to nearly a decade ago, these are five of the worst trades still making an impact on the poor NBA teams that foolishly agreed to them.
Russell Westbrook to the Lakers (2021)
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Trade Details:
Los Angeles Lakers Received: Russell Westbrook, 2023, 2024 and 2028 second-round picks
Los Angeles Lakers Traded: Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Isaiah Jackson
The most recent trade on this list, the Westbrook-to-L.A. deal has been nothing short of a catastrophe as the Lakers still don't have a solution to their point guard problem.
As a quick rewind, the Lakers and Washington Wizards initially agreed on a Westbrook trade in July 2021, one that eventually expanded to include a whopping five teams and included nine players and nine draft picks.
When the dust settled, however, Westbrook and a few second-rounders came to Los Angeles in exchange for Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope, Harrell and Jackson, who was the No. 22 pick in the 2021 draft.
It seemed bad at the time given Westbrook's recent history and poor fit next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but that would be shortchanging Rob Pelinka's decision to bring in the 32-year-old guard.
Westbrook would go on to record the second-highest turnover rate (17.3 percent) since his rookie season, made just 29.8 percent of his 265 total three-point attempts and had a swing rating of minus-3.6, also the worst since his early Oklahoma City Thunder days.
To throw more gas on the fire, Kuzma had the best season of his career (17.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game), Caldwell-Pope had another solid three-and-D year (13.2 points, 39.0 percent from three), and Harrell put up 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists between the Wizards and Charlotte Hornets.
While hindsight is 20/20, players like Herb Jones, Ayo Dosunmu, Cam Thomas, Quentin Grimes and Bones Hyland were all available at No. 22 as well.
A Lakers team with James, Davis, Kuzma, Caldwell-Pope and a prospect from this list would have fit together far better and have a lot more financial flexibility. Instead, L.A. will likely have to include at least one, if not two, future first-round picks in order to get off Westbrook's $47.1 million remaining in his contract.
James Harden to Brooklyn (2021)
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Trade Details:
Brooklyn Nets Received: James Harden, 2024 second-round pick
Brooklyn Nets Traded: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Taurean Prince, Rodions Kurucs, rights to Aleksandar Vezenkov, 2021 first-round pick swap (went unused), 2022 first-round pick (Tari Eason was later selected), 2023 first-round pick swap, 2024 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick swap, 2026 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick swap (swap rights owned by Houston Rockets)
Getting Harden to Brooklyn eventually took four teams, with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers both jumping in to help facilitate the deal.
While this didn't seem bad at the time by creating one of the most lethal offensive trios in NBA history with Kevin Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving, we now know how this story played out.
Due to injuries and Irving's decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the Nets' Big Three played just 16 total games together over two seasons.
Harden still put up strong numbers in his 80 games in Brooklyn (23.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 10.5 assists) but shot just 34.8 percent from three and turned the ball over 4.4 times per game. The Nets were paying for his Houston Rockets MVP-level production but got a slightly past-his-prime version who arrived in Brooklyn out of shape.
The 32-year-old pouted his way out of town, forcing the Nets to trade him to the Philadelphia 76ers just 13 months later, a destination he would say was his "first choice" all along.
Of course, Harden getting traded for a second time was the equivalent of new car being driven off the lot, as his value decreased tremendously.
The Nets, after handing over their draft rights for the next seven years and giving up players like Allen (an All-Star in 2022) and LeVert (17.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists a game last season), only got Ben Simmons (who didn't play a game following the trade), Andre Drummond (who played 24 games and left in free agency), Seth Curry and two first-round picks.
With Durant's trade request still lingering and Irving on an expiring contract, the Harden trade has prevented Brooklyn from rebuilding given Houston's ability to swap first-round picks or outright owning the Nets' selections.
The Harden trade didn't look bad at the time (Brooklyn was 13-3 with him, Durant and Irving together), but it can now be considered disaster-worthy.
Russell Westbrook to Houston (2019)
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Trade Details:
Houston Rockets Receive: Russell Westbrook
Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: Chris Paul, 2021 first-round pick swap (top-four protected), 2024 first-round pick (top-four protected), 2025 first-round pick swap (top-20 protected), 2026 first-round pick (top-four protected)
The only player to make this list twice, Westbrook has been involved in some downright ugly deals.
In fairness to Houston, Westbrook was coming off 11 wildly successful seasons in Oklahoma City. He was an eight-time All-Star, led the NBA in scoring and assists twice each and was named the 2017 MVP. OKC reached the playoffs 10 times with Westbrook as the starting point guard, trips that included appearances in the 2012 Finals and 2011, 2014 and 2016 conference finals.
Thanks to a push from James Harden, Westbrook was brought in at the cost of two future firsts (both of which are still owed to the Thunder) and two first-round pick swaps. Had Houston not put the protection on the 2021 selection (one they almost certainly didn't envision needing at the time), OKC would have owned the No. 2 overall pick instead of No. 6 with the ability to select Jalen Green, Evan Mobley or Scottie Barnes.
The Harden-Westbrook combo lasted just one season, and Houston lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in the second round.
A second Westbrook trade in two years didn't net nearly the same return, as the Rockets found the one contract in the league that was just as bad (John Wall) while also netted a future lottery-protected first-rounder. It was an expensive trade for Houston, as they would end up paying $124 million to Wall for just 40 games of work across three seasons.
While the Rockets recouped some draft picks by trading Harden to the Brooklyn Nets, they'll still be without their own firsts in 2024 and 2026 unless the selections fall in the top four overall.
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Kristaps Porzingis to Dallas (2019)
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Trade Details:
Dallas Mavericks Received: Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke, Courtney Lee
New York Knicks Received: DeAndre Jordan, Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, 2021 first-round pick (Keon Johnson was later selected), 2023 first-round pick (top-10 protected in 2023, 2024 and 2025, turns into 2025 second-round pick if not conveyed)
In their quest to find Luka Dončić a co-star, the Mavs rolled the dice by trading for Porzingis, an impending free agent who was sidelined at the time while recovering from a torn ACL. Dallas not only gave up multiple future first-round picks, but also handed Porzingis a maximum five-year, $158.3 million contract before he even played a game for the franchise.
Pairing Porzingis with Dončić simply had to work, as it left the Mavs with little trade assets or financial flexibility.
Spoiler alert: It did not.
In two-and-a-half seasons in Dallas, Porzingis played just 134 total games, maxing out at 57 contests during the 2019-20 campaign. While his raw numbers were solid (20.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks), Porzingis could never stay on the court long enough to develop the proper chemistry with Dončić and the Mavericks were better when the former All-Star was off the floor (minus-0.8 swing rating).
Dallas finally dumped Porzingis on the Washington Wizards at the trade deadline last February but had to take on Dāvis Bertāns' hefty contract and the slumping Spencer Dinwiddie. While Dinwiddie played better with the Mavs, he still looks like a borderline starter in the NBA.
Thanks to this trade, the Mavericks can't deal a first-round pick until the year 2027 unless they remove the protections on the selection still owed to the Knicks in 2023. For a team in need of more talent after losing Jalen Brunson to said Knicks in free agency, there's not much to offer other franchises in a deal.
The Mavs had a widely successful end to the 2021-22 season by reaching the Western Conference Finals, but this is still a team short on the talent needed to seriously compete for a championship. Thanks to the Porzingis trade, Dallas doesn't have the draft picks to acquire much more.
Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce to Brooklyn (2013)
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Trade Details:
Brooklyn Nets Received: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, D.J. White
Boston Celtics Received: Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, 2014 first-round pick (James Young was later selected), 2016 first-round pick (Jaylen Brown was later selected), 2017 first-round pick swap (Markelle Fultz was later selected), 2018 first-round pick (Collin Sexton was later selected)
Ahh, yes, perhaps the most infamously bad trade of the past decade is still haunting the Nets now nine years later.
While all of the players involved in the deal are now out of the league, three of the four draft picks involved are still very much playing an active role in the association.
Brown is one of the NBA's best two-way wings already at age 25. He just put up 23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals for the Celtics this past season and is on a steal of a contract with just $55.2 million owed over the next two seasons. He could also become the centerpiece of a trade for Kevin Durant, who for some reason doesn't seem to trust the Nets front office anymore.
While Fultz was technically selected with a pick in this trade, the Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers swapped the Nos. 1 and 3 overall picks in a 2017 deal, meaning Boston actually acquired Jayson Tatum thanks to Brooklyn.
Tatum, 24, just led the Celtics to the NBA Finals with the help of Brown, proving that he can be the No. 1 option on a championship-caliber team.
The 2018 first-round pick was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade for Kyrie Irving, a move that ultimately didn't work out for Boston but still helped acquire a tremendously talented player who made two All-Star games and averaged 24.1 points and 6.1 assists in 127 games with the Celtics.
While the Nets were recently swept out of the first round of the playoffs by (who else?) the Celtics and remain cloaked in chaos with Durant's trade request, Boston has one of the brightest presents and futures in the NBA thanks to the 2013 trade.
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