The Worst Roster Moves in Sports History

Perhaps it is that trade your favorite team made, or all the money they wasted on one player. Whatever it is, there is likely a move that each team has made that was a complete disaster for their franchise.

Of course, there are so many out there that we can't touch on them all, but there are some that go down in history as the worst ever.

The following is a breakdown of the top 25 worst roster moves in sports history.

As mentioned, we can't address them all. If you feel something is missing, throw it in the comments and get the discussion going.

Honorable Mention: Golden State Warriors Passing on Jeremy Lin

Is the New York Knicks guard sensation Jeremy Lin one of the worst roster moves in history?

Not quite yet, but perhaps in due time he will earn a spot on this list.

Lin isn't ready to appear here yet, as he has only started nine games so far in his career, but he has been making a convincing case.

After graduating from Harvard, Lin went undrafted but was eventually picked up the Golden State Warriors. After being with the team for the 2010-11 season, the Warriors cut Lin before the start of the 2011-12 season.

He got a shot with the Houston Rockets, but was cut just before the start of the season.

He was picked up by the Knicks, and has thus far been proving everyone wrong who had denied him.

Through nine starts, Lin is averaging 24.5 points per game, adding 9.4 assists per game.

If this style of play keeps up, Lin could continue to move up this list for many years to come.

25. Southampton Signs Ali Dia

It is one thing to sign someone who doesn't come through, but it is another thing to sign someone who isn't even that person.

Which was the case with Southampton, as they signed Ali Dia to a contract back in 1966 when they thought he was a the cousin of FIFA great George Weah.

One of Dia's friends posed to be Weah, and the team signed him to a contract.

Dia was never much of a player, only having eight total appearances before he even falsely joined the club.

After getting into a match with Leeds, the team released him from his contract as he clearly had no talent whatsoever.

24. Baltimore Colts Trade John Elway

Many of you may be arguing that quarterback John Elway has to be higher on this list, but the reason he isn't is because the Baltimore Colts really had no choice when they moved the No. 1 pick to the Denver Broncos at the 1983 NFL Draft.

The Colts, who drafted Elway, had a difficult situation to deal with since Elway didn't want to play for the club.

The team eventually sent him to Denver for quarterback Mark Hermann, offensive lineman Chris Hinton and a future first-round pick in the next year's draft.

After completing a Hall of Fame career that included five Super Bowl appearances—two of which he won—it is clear who got the better end of this deal.

23. New York Knicks Trade for Stephon Marbury

Even though he was coming off of an All-Star appearance in the previous season, many were still confused when the New York Knicks dealt for aging veteran guard Stephon Marbury during the 2004 season.

The reason why?

The Suns signed him to a four year, $76 million deal before the season started.

The deal basically put the entire cost on the team, and it didn't exactly pan out in the long run.

Marbury actually had a great season his first season in New York, scoring 21.7 PPG with 8.1 assists. He played all 82 games, but that was the best things were going to get.

During the following three seasons, Marbury's games played drop to 60, then 74 and finally just 24 as he became a problem for the team. Once Mike D'Antoni took over the squad, Marbury proved to be even more a problem, as he didn't hit the floor once.

He still made a cool $21.9 million while chilling at home.

22. Chicago Bulls Trade LaMarcus Aldridge for Tyrus Thomas

Ever since losing Elton Brand and mistakenly drafting Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler, the Chicago Bulls have been searching for a reliable big man.

In 2006, they got their man in Texas Longhorns' power forward LaMarcus Aldridge—a pick they had for actually moving Curry to the Knicks.

Only problem, they traded him on draft night to the Portland Trailblazers for the rights of LSU Tigers' high flier Tyrus Thomas.

Aldridge has been averaging 17.3 PPG and 7.5 RPG, while also being considered one of the best big men in the league since hitting the scene.

As for Thomas, he is now on the Charlotte Bobcats after he failed to show up consistently. He is just averaging 7.3 PPG with 4.8 rebounds.

Luckily for the Bulls, they landed Derrick Rose a couple years later.

22. Golden State Warriors Draft Joe Barry Carroll

So what is the deal with Joe Barry Carroll?

Well, the deal is the trade that got him on the Golden State Warriors.

The Warriors selected Carroll out of Purdue with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, but the way they got him was worse than the selection itself.

The team sent center Robert Parrish and the third overall pick to the Boston Celtics for the first pick to acquire Carroll.

Who was the third pick of the draft? Celtics all-time great Kevin McHale.

The worst was after seeing many good years in the NBA, he opted to leave to play ball in Italy.

While Carroll did average 17.7 PPG over his career, he is not Parish.

21. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Goes to Barcelona

Whenever a team makes a transfer, there is always a reason to be worrisome of the deal.

When Barcelona brought Zlatan Ibrahimovic over from Inter Milan for $100 million, as well as striker Samuel Eto'o, the team had put lofty expectations on what was to come.

In 29 appearances from 2009-10 with Barcelona, he only scored 16 goals and was eventually loaned out to AC Milan in 2010 as he just didn't seem to mesh as well with the team as the team had originally thought.

The team did break the record for most points during a season in a 20 team league during 2009, but that wasn't enough as the team didn't win it all.

The team took a huge risk, and in the end it didn't pay out as expected.

20. Chicago Cubs Signing Alfonso Soriano

After having a 41 home run, 41 steal season in 2006 with the Washington Nationals, the high-spending Chicago Cubs saw Alfonso Soriano as their potential savior to their ongoing World Series curse.

They gave the 30-year-old Soriano an eight-year, $136 million deal—an amount that would eventually cripple the team and likely keep him around for many years to come.

Since joining the Cubs, Soriano has had a batting average of .266 with 132 home runs over five seasons. He also has struck out a total of 587 times, as well as being known for his outfield deficiencies.

By the time his contract is up, he will be 38 years old. In the meantime, he will be making $18 million a season for the next three years.

19. Colts Trade Marshall Faulk

The Indianapolis Colts took San Diego State stud running back Marshall Faulk with the second overall pick in the 1994 NFL draft.

After five seasons, four of which he ran for over 1,000 yards, the team dealt him to the St. Louis Rams for a second- and fifth-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft.

The Colts selected Edgerrin James, who was a fine a runner, but by no means was he anywhere close to what Faulk would become.

Over the next three seasons with the Rams, Faulk ran for over 1,300 yards each year. Not to mention, in his first season with the team he also had 1,048 receiving yards.

Sure, he was a product of the Mike Martz's system,  but he still would have been a much better option for a young quarterback in Peyton Manning.

18. Chelsea Bringing in Andriy Shevchenko

During his time with AC  Milan, striker Andriy Shevchenko was one of the best players in all of soccer.

In 208 appearances from 1999-2006, Shevchenko had a total of 127 goals. 

So there was a clear reason on why Chelsea wanted to bring him over during the transfer window.

For a $50 million fee, Chelsea acquired the great striker—but unfortunately they weren't getting what they paid for.

At the time, this was the highest fee the team had ever paid for a transfer player.

In 48 appearances since arriving, he only scored nine goals. In 2008, the team loaned him back to Milan, where his struggles only continued.

Injuries and a new system definitely had to do with it, but the addition of Shevchenko did not help Chelsea at all as they had hoped.

17. Chicago Bulls Signing Ben Wallace

As previously mentioned, the Chicago Bulls have always been in pursuit of a big man, so when the division rival Detroit Pistons NBA Champion power forward Ben Wallace hit the market, they jumped on the opportunity.

The Bulls gave Wallace a four-year, $60 million deal before the 2006-07 season. It was a huge splash for the team, but one they would regret rather quick.

Wallace was never known for his scoring, but after averaging just 6.4 points per game in his first season, and 5.1 through 50 games in his second, the team knew they made a big mistake.

They luckily were able to send him off to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the middle of the 2007-08 season.

16. Washington Redskins Sign Albert Haynesworth

Speaking of huge ridiculous contracts, nobody is more notorious for doing just that than Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder.

Coming off of two consecutive Pro Bowl seasons with the Tennessee Titans, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was one of the most coveted players on the free agent market.

The Redskins signed him to a ridiculous seven-year, $100 million contract that had $41 million guaranteed. Even if he were to pan out, it was still a ridiculous amount of money.

Of course, he didn't, as Haynesworth constantly showed up to practice out of shape or late. 

After two seasons, the team eventually traded him to the New England Patriots for just a fifth-round pick that will come to them in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Considering he pretty much played just one season, Haynesworth was quite an expensive $41 million bench piece.

15. New York Islanders Sign Alexei Yashin

When the New York Islanders signed Alexei Yashin, they knew they were bringing a player who had some controversy.

During the 1999-2000 season, Yashin didn't play for the Ottawa Senators because of a contract dispute, all because he didn't believe his contract was fair.

He returned the following season, recording 88 points—which was six less than what he recorded before his holdout year.

Clearly looking to move on, Yashin signed with the Islanders for $87.5 million over 10 years after he was sent over in exchange for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and the second overall pick in the draft.

Yashin's play with the Islanders was not worth a penny, as he went from 75 to 63 to 34 points from 2001-04.

After going to Russia for one season, Yashin came back to the Islanders during the 2005-06 season. Over the next two years, he would record 66 and 50 points, respectively.

The Islanders bought him out following the 2006-07 season, ending an experiment that wasted a lot for the franchise.

14. Chelsea Bringing in Fernando Torres

Now standing as Chelsea's highest transfer payment, the club brought over Spaniard star Fernando Torres from Liverpool in an $80 million transfer fee in 2011.

There was much excitement to the addition of Torres, but he has yet to pan out. There is still time for him to grow, but things are not looking good since he came over.

In 34 appearances, he has just three goals.

He finished the 2010-11 season with just one, but has scored four times in 29 appearances during the 2011-12 season.

That is quite a difference in comparison to his 81 goals in 142 appearances at Liverpool.

Clearly, the Torres experiment hasn't been off to a hot start, and it will remain to be seen how much longer the club will stick with him before deciding to loan him out.

13. San Francisco Giants Signing Barry Zito

A product of the Oakland Athletics, pitching sensation Barry Zito was due to get a huge contract once he hit the free agent market before the 2007 season.

As expected, Zito got paid big, as the San Francisco Giants inked him a seven-year deal at $126 million. 

After posting great numbers in Oakland, there were high expectations for Zito that he just never fulfilled.

In five seasons, he has gone 43-61 with an ERA of 4.55. He has only made 47 appearances since the start of the 2010 season, as he has battled with injuries and, well, the inability to fit into the rotation.

With two years left on his deal, the Giants are either going to have to hope that he turns around, or find a way to get something in return. As for now, this has been a huge waste of money.

12. Portland Trail Blazers Select Greg Oden

Coming out of Ohio State, I don't think anybody doubted the Portland Trail Blazers when they selected Greg Oden with the first overall pick.

Did they make a mistake? Yes. But nobody could foresee what was going to happen.

First of all, nobody pictured the No. 2 pick in Kevin Durant turning into that big of a superstar that fast. Durant was talented, but not many likely saw a MVP caliber player right from the start.

In Oden, you were getting an extremely talented 7'0" man-child who had great touch and great rebounding ability.

With LaMarcus Aldridge already in town, it seemed like a perfect fit.

Unfortunately, Oden's body wasn't all there, as he opted for micro-fracture surgery before his first season—a procedure that held him out the entire 2007-08 season.

Since then, Oden has seen spotty time, playing in 61 games in 2008-09 and just 21 in 2009-10. His injuries have continued to resurface, and it will remain to be seen if Oden will ever hit the floor again.

If the team had Durant, who knows how dangerous this Trail Blazers would have been?

11. Oakland Raiders Select Jamarcus Russell

When the Oakland Raiders took JaMarcus Russell out of LSU with the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, it looked as if the team was landing themselves their first franchise quarterback in a very longtime.

With the Tigers, Russell was extremely talented, and he was clearly the top pick going into the draft.

The Raiders gave him a six-year deal worth $68 million, $31.5 million of which was guaranteed.

After seeing the field just four times during his rookie season, Russell finally got his shot in 2008. In 15 games, he threw for 2,423 yards with 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions. 

Definitely not No. 1 overall numbers, but they were at least looking like the right direction.

It wasn't until 2009, where Russell just looked bad. In 12 games, he three 11 interceptions and just three touchdowns—extremely discouraging and hard to watch.

Following that season, Russell showed up to camp in 2010 weighing 300 lbs. He didn't even make it to the regular season, as the team severed ways with their former No. 1 pick.

10. Milwaukee Bucks Trade Dirk Nowitzki

If you are a Milwaukee Bucks fan, I advise you to just look away.

In quite possibly one of the worst draft trades of all time, the Bucks sent some foreign player named Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity to the Dallas Mavericks in return for Robert "Tractor" Traylor.

Nowitzki has a career average of 23.0 points per game, as well as 8.4 boards through 13 seasons (not including 2011-12 as it is still going on).

Traylor, on the other hand, never amounted to much in the NBA. The Bucks certainly made a bad move on this one, but teams have learned there lesson since then to take international players a little more seriously.

9. Los Angeles Dodgers Sign Darren Dreifort

So you are wondering why the Los Angeles Dodgers are facing financial problems, huh?

Well lets take a look back to the year 2001, when the team offered Darren Dreifort—a right-handed pitcher with a career record of 39-45—a five-year, $55 million contract.

Going into the contract situation, Dreifort went 12-9 with a 4.16 ERA and just 164 strikeouts. Nothing close to amazing.

The following season, he went 4-7 with a 5.13 ERA and just 91 strikeouts.

The deal was ludicrous, as Dreifort only won another nine games during his career, as well as losing another 15.

8. New Jersey Nets Sell Dr. J to the 76ers

When the New York Nets entered the NBA, they weren't exactly welcomed with open arms.

The New York Knicks demanded that the Nets pay them money due to their emergence in the same market.

Due to an issue with star Julius Erving and his contract situation, the team offered to exchange them Erving instead of money—a deal they refused.

In turn, the Philadelphia 76ers swooped in and offered to the buy the contract. The team had no other choice than to say yes if that is how they wanted to pay their fee.

With the Nets looking to make an immediate impact in the NBA, dumping their start player just didn't seem to be the smartest move—even with the financial situation standing in front of them.

Erving, on the other hand, went on to have a great career with the 76ers, which included a NBA title in 1983.

7. New York Knicks Sign Eddy Curry

As we saw with Stephon Marbury, the New York Knicks just had no idea how to handle their money, especially on washed up players not worth the cash.

With Eddy Curry, the team was just flat out foolish.

The Chicago Bulls were looking to dish the big man, as he wasn't able to play and his future wasn't clear considering a heart beat issue he encountered in 2005.

Still, the Knicks made a deal for him, which ended up with Curry receiving a six-year, $60 million deal.

During those six years, Curry appeared in just 222 games. From 2008-11, Curry only played in 10, including zip during the final year of his contract.

The team, while getting just one good season out of him from 2006-07, essentially tossed their future on this bust that was another team's garbage.

6. Liverpool Bringing in Andy Carroll

With Liverpool looking to fill the void by the recently departed Fernando Torres, the team went out and got Andy Carroll from Newcastle at a transfer price of $56 million—a bargain of price for what they got for Torres.

Unfortunately for them, they would have been better off keeping the money rather than acquiring the worthless striker.

At Newcastle, Carroll had 31 goals in 80 appearances. Not a number that is really worth such a transfer price, but he made that even more clear once he came over.

Now in 30 appearances, Carroll has just five goals.

Liverpool perhaps made a bad choice on this one, and for around $24 million, they might as well have kept Torres around for a little longer.

5. Detroit Pistons Drafting Darko Milicic

The fact that the Detroit Pistons took Darko Milicic with the second overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft will likely haunt the team and it's fans for a very longtime.

Considering that this was perhaps the most talented draft class ever, the Pistons walking away with maybe the least talented player at No. 2 will always look bad on their part.

Players they passed up on include Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, just to name a few.

Heck, even guys like Kirk Hinrich could have been a better choice.

In defense to Darko, he was young, as well as entering a team with a lot of big men already in place.

Considering the team went on to win the NBA title that season, (yes that is right, Darko has a ring and LeBron doesn't), this team could have become a dynasty if they would have selected anyone else.

4. Edmonton Oilers Trade Wayne Gretzky

When the Edmonton Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, I'm pretty sure everybody thought they were crazy—including Kings' fans.

Since the Oilers joined the NHL for the 1979 season, Gretzky went on a tear. 

Gretzky had over 100 points in all nine of his seasons with the Oilers in the NHL. He even had over 200 points four times during that tenure, a ridiculous feat that only a person with the nickname "The Great One" could pull off.

The Oilers, facing financial troubles in other entities, traded Gretzky on August 9, 1988 for two players and $15 million in cash.

Even though he needed the money, Oilers owner Peter Pocklington robbed Edmonton of the greatest player to ever hit the ice.

3. Charlotte Hornets Trading Kobe Bryant

If I told you that you could get the next best thing since Michael Jordan for an aging veteran forward, would you pull the trigger?

Looks like that is what the Los Angeles Lakers did, as they acquired a rookie by the name of Kobe Bryant at the 1996 draft in exchange for center Vlade Divac.

This may go down as one of the most foolish mistakes in NBA history, even more so than what is coming up.

Bryant was a high school star, and even though he was taken at No. 13, it was clear this kid was going to be something special.

Since coming into the league, Bryant has won a MVP award, been named to 14 All-Star games and has won five NBA titles.

Not to mention, he is ranked fifth all-time in terms of scoring, so far having 28,601 career points.

Hey, I am sure the Hornets wouldn't do the same thing ever again.

Oh—never mind.

2. Boston Red Sox Sell Babe Ruth to the Yankees

Alright, as you can see, we are starting to get into some elite names.

When you think about baseball, the first thing that comes to most people's mind is Babe Ruth.

Whether it is because of the candy bar, The Sandlot or you just know your history, Ruth's name sticks out like no other.

Before the 1920 season, Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee infamously sold the rights to Ruth to the New York Yankees to finance a play and because Ruth was getting expensive.

Instead of keeping around the "Great Bambino," Frazee sent him to the Yankees in exchange for $125,000 dollars (which is equal to $1.37 with inflation).

According to Frazee per The Boston Globe:

Was the deal foolish? Yes.

Ruth went on to have 11 seasons of 40 or more home runs, including the 1927 season where he had 60. The Red Sox had no idea what they were giving up, but luckily for Frazee, he made a nice pay day at his fans' expense.

1. Portland Trail Blazers Pass on Michael Jordan

You may be wondering, "Why the Portland Trail Blazers and not the Houston Rockets?"

Well, it is because Hakeem Oloajuwon was a great player, and that was going to happen either way.

While the Rockets would have been better off, nobody messed up more than the Trail Blazers who infamously selected Kentucky Wildcats center Sam Bowie over perhaps the G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan.

Bowie was a nice college player, but I am sure Blazer fans still dread this very move to this very day.

The team did have Clyde Drexler, another great NBA player, but this is MJ.

Over his 12 season career, Bowie averaged 10.9 PPG with 7.5 rebounds. Not bad numbers, but certainly nothing close to Jordan.

Over his storied career, MJ averaged 30.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG and 5.3 APG. He also won six NBA titles, while taking home the league's MVP award five times.

He ranks third all-time in career points with 32,292. It will remain to be seen if anyone will ever overtake Jordan's spot atop the throne, but until then, the Blazers will always go down as the team to pass up on No. 23.

Jeff Chase is a Featured Columnist for the Chicago Cubs and Arizona State football.

Follow @Real_Jeff_Chase