5 of the Most Heartbreaking NBA Trades in Recent Memory
Optimism fuels just about every NBA trade you'll find.
The following five swaps are no exception.
Each was well-intentioned (if not also well thought-out), and had they panned out, they could have reshaped the hoops landscape as we know it.
Since they're now being labeled as heartbreaking deals in hindsight, they clearly didn't work out as intended. Let's look back at them and see why.
The Hawks Draft and Then Deal Luka Dončić
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The Trade: Dallas Mavericks acquire Luka Dončić from the Atlanta Hawks for Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick (protected 1-5)
The Hawks arrived at the 2018 draft in the early stages of a rebuild and desperately in need of a new franchise face. Luckily, they had a tool to find that player by virtue of landing the third overall pick.
Dončić, regarded by many draft experts as the top prospect in that class, was still sitting on the board when that selection came around. Atlanta quickly snatched him up—then just as quickly sent him to the Mavericks for Young and a lightly protected future first.
As then-Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk told reporters, Atlanta's aim was "to accumulate as many assets as we can and to get as much talent as we can."
Sounds simple enough, right? Well, the Hawks made a few massive misjudgments that hoops historians will never forget.
First, they seemingly decided there wasn't much of a talent gap between Dončić and Young. While Young has established himself as an All-Star, Dončić ascended into superstar status and appears well on track to join the short list of all-time greats. Second, they thought that additional first would net them another building block, but it only delivered Cam Reddish, who was out of Atlanta less than three seasons after his arrival.
Reverse this trade, and the Hawks would've had in Dončić a centerpiece to build around for as long as he was on the roster. Instead, they've already moved on from Reddish and could do the same with Young as soon as this summer.
The Sixers Let Mikal Bridges Slip out of Their Fingers
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The Trade: Phoenix Suns acquire Mikal Bridges from Philadelphia 76ers for Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first-round pick (via Miami)
A handful of picks after the Dončić-Young megadeal went down, the Sixers served up the feel-good story of the 2018 draft. But none of the #feelz would make it through the night.
The fun started when they spent the No. 10 pick on Bridges, a polished three-and-D wing who hailed from Philadelphia and starred at nearby Villanova. Even more incredibly, his mother actually worked for the 76ers franchise at the time.
Bridges told reporters the selection "means the world to me." His mother, Tyneeha Rivers, called it "amazing" and "an experience I'll never forget."
Bridges' Sixers tenure didn't make it through the night, as Philly swapped him out for Smith (the No. 16 pick) and a future first. The Sixers have basically been looking for a player like Bridges ever since.
The 6'6" swingman first found his footing as a dream role player who blanketed opposing scorers on defense and kept the floor spaced as a knockdown shooter at the other end. After a 2022-23 deadline deal to the Brooklyn Nets, he leveled up his offensive output to near-All-Star levels. He is one of 33 players to average at least 20 points with a 57-plus true shooting percentage this season and last.
Smith, meanwhile, made just 13 appearances over two seasons with the Sixers before being traded to the Detroit Pistons for backup big man Tony Bradley. The first-round pick was part of the package Philadelphia used to acquire Tobias Harris and was eventually spent by the Oklahoma City Thunder on scoring guard Tre Mann.
The Mavs Make a Major Move for Kristaps Porziņģis
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The Trade: Dallas Mavericks acquire Kristaps Porziņģis, Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee from the New York Knicks for DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews, Dennis Smith Jr., a 2021 first-round pick and a 2023 first-round pick (top-10-protected)
Near the midpoint of Dončić's rookie season, two things were already clear. First, he was obviously a transcendent talent. Second, he didn't have nearly enough help on a Dallas team that lost 58 games the season prior to his arrival.
So, the Mavs made a bold—albeit risky—move for Porziņģis, who felt like a perfect-on-paper fit given the endless amount of pick-and-choose possibilities offered by a dynamic creator like Dončić and a 7'2" three-level scorer like Porziņģis.
The puzzle pieces never properly aligned, though. That's partly because the Mavs seldom had all the puzzle pieces together. Porziņģis, who was working his way back from a torn ACL at the time of the January 2019 trade, played in just 134 of a possible 209 games in Dallas.
Even when the stars shared the floor, though, the whole never measured up to the sum of its parts. The Mavs posted a solid-but-not-at-all-spectacular plus-1.5 net rating over the 2,527 minutes they shared and were bounced out of the first round during both of Porziņģis' two full seasons with them. That great-in-theory two-man game never materialized between he and Dončić.
So, at the 2021-22 deadline, Dallas effectively cut its losses and sent Porziņģis and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Dāvis Bertāns and Spencer Dinwiddie.
The Mavs are fortunate that their outgoing package hasn't amounted to more—Smith has become a defensive specialist and the initial first-round pick was used on Keon Johnson, who's spending this season on a two-way contract—though they've yet to give up that second first-round pick, which has limited their ability to make trades.
They've since traded for Kyrie Irving, but that hasn't led to tremendous team success. Dallas would be in the play-in tournament if the season ended today, and it is perhaps in need of one more star player to win a title—a player the Mavs might have been able to acquire had they not dealt for Porziņģis.
The Nets Mortgage Their Future for James Harden
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The Trade
Brooklyn Nets acquire: James Harden, 2024 second-round pick (via Cleveland)
Houston Rockets acquire: Victor Oladipo; Rodions Kurucs; Dante Exum; Brooklyn's 2022, 2024 and 2026 first-round picks; first-round pick swaps with Brooklyn in 2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027; Milwaukee's 2022 first-round pick
Indiana Pacers acquire: Caris LeVert; 2023 second-round pick (via Houston)
Cleveland Cavaliers acquire: Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince
This mid-January 2021 blockbuster was meant to give Brooklyn the basketball world's next superteam. On paper, that's exactly what it accomplished, as the Nets added Harden to the dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, forming a Big Three that should have been impossible to stop.
And it was, when it actually played together. Brooklyn poured in a whopping 129.1 points per 100 possessions with all three stars on the floor. The issue is the trio logged just 365 minutes over 16 games together, as injuries and other absences perpetually plagued it.
The Nets looked like contenders, but their first playoff run was extinguished in the second round as Irving and Harden both dealt with injuries. They wouldn't make a second playoff appearance together.
Harden requested and received a trade at the 2022 deadline, getting flipped to the 76ers for Ben Simmons, Andre Drummond, Seth Curry and a pair of first-round picks. Harden later vaguely referenced "dysfunction" and "a lot of internal things" as part of his reasons for wanting out. Durant and Irving were both moved out of Brooklyn at the next deadline.
So, one of the greatest star collections ever assembled spent barely a calendar year together. The Nets are now stuck in no-man's land with a roster that's nowhere near good enough to contend and an inability to tank and start over, since they forked over control of so many draft picks in this exchange.
The Lakers Pay a Premium for Russell Westbrook
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The Trade: Los Angeles Lakers acquire Russell Westbrook, 2024 second-round pick and 2028 second-round pick from the Washington Wizards for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and the No. 22 pick in the 2021 draft
Can a trade that seemed questionable at best as soon as it went down actually qualify as heartbreaking? When it cost an all-time great (if not the all-time great) like LeBron James a chance to add to his championship collection, it absolutely can.
Back in July 2021, the Lakers were looking for a spark after their 2019-20 title run was followed up by a choppy 42-30 regular season and subsequent first-round exit. For reasons known only to them, they deemed Westbrook capable of providing that spark.
He arrived with plenty of name recognition and accolades, sure, but there were obvious logistical issues. Between his ball-dominance and erratic shooting, he appeared as about as poor fitting as anyone could be for the third wheel alongside James and Anthony Davis. L.A. still sought Westbrook for his playmaking ability and potential to lighten James' load.
Predictably, the experiment went up in flames. Westbrook wasn't good enough to justify taking the ball out of James' hands, so the Lakers were left navigating through tight-squeeze spaces on offense before eventually shifting Westbrook into a reserve role.
Before being sent out at the 2023 deadline, he wound up logging 693 minutes with James and Davis. The Lakers lost those minutes by 1.3 points per 100 possessions. When they finally found a taker for Westbrook, they had to cough up their 2027 first-round pick with only top-four protection in the exchange.
L.A., in other words, gave up one first-round pick—plus rock-solid role players in Kuzma and Caldwell-Pope—to get Westbrook and another to get rid of him. All the while, sand kept trickling down the hourglass of James' career. It was, frankly, rough to watch, even if we all braced ourselves for things to play out precisely as they did.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference, PBP Stats and NBA.com and current through games played on Monday.
Zach Buckley covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on X, @ZachBuckleyNBA.
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