The Most Shocking Trades Since 2000
As sports fans, trades are a difficult thing to accept.
We like to think the front office knows what they're doing. There are always question marks as to the direction of your favorite team and if the swaps will help deliver a championship.
While there are small trades that can leave an impact on teams, it's the big ones—when All-Star caliber players switch teams unexpectedly—that really make a difference.
Since the turn of the millennium, there have been a lot of shocking trades, which is why I wanted to give you the ones that set the sports world on fire.
Trent Richardson Traded to Indianapolis Colts (2013)
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Selected as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, running back Trent Richardson was supposed to stabilize the backfield for the Brownies and carry the load for the next decade.
However, after a decent rookie season, the front office gave up on him faster than anyone would have imagined.
Just two games into his second year in 2013, the team parted ways with the former Alabama star, sending him to the Indianapolis Colts for a first-round pick—ultimately used on quarterback Johnny Manziel in 2014—sending shock waves through the NFL.
While the past 15 years haven't treated Cleveland football fans well, this trade was actually one of the high points, as Richardson didn't work out for Indy and was recently released.
The Miami Marlins-Toronto Blue Jays Blockbuster Trade (2012)
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The long-term effect of this mega-trade between the Miami Marlins and the Toronto Blue Jays might not have been what many expected when it first went down, but it was still one of the largest overhauls of the past 15 years.
What made it so shocking wasn't just the big names involved but the fact that the Marlins had given up on the strategy they had embarked upon less than a year prior, when they committed nearly $200 million in a free-agent spending spree, trading two of the players they signed—Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle—along with a number of others to shake up both teams' rosters.
Blockbuster trades like this don't happen very often, so when they do, they get a crazy reaction from everyone in the sports world.
Pau Gasol Traded to Los Angeles Lakers (2008)
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Is five-time All-Star forward Pau Gasol a future Hall of Famer? Possibly.
What I do know is that when the Los Angeles Lakers acquired him from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008, they got one hell of a deal.
Sent to the Lakers for one of the biggest busts in NBA history, Kwame Brown, along with Gasol's younger brother Marc Gasol among others, the Lakers came out on top in this lopsided trade.
All Pau did was pair up with Kobe Bryant to lead the Lakers to three-straight trips to the NBA Finals, winning two rings in 2009 and 2010.
Players of Gasol's caliber just don't get on the market often during the season in the NBA.
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Washington Redskins Trade to Select Robert Griffin III (2012)
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When the Washington Redskins traded up to the No. 2 pick in order to draft quarterback Robert Griffin III in 2012, it was what they gave up that made it so shocking.
Coming off a Heisman Trophy while in college, the Skins thought so highly of RG3 that they swapped three first-rounders and a second-round pick for that second spot, making this one of the biggest deals—and gambles—the NFL has ever seen.
For a season, it looked as though Washington knew what they were doing, as Griffin won the Offensive Rookie of the Year and guided the team to the playoffs.
Since then, though, he hasn't gotten along with coaches and has battled serious injuries, stunting his development.
Ken Griffey Jr. Traded from Seattle Mariners (2000)
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The preeminent superstar of the '90s in Major League Baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. was a once-in-a-generation talent who accomplished a ton during his time with the Seattle Mariners.
So when Junior requested a trade to his hometown Cincinnati Reds before the 2000 season, it came as a shock to the M's fans who had adored the guy since the team selected him first overall in 1987.
At the time, Griffey was still a perennial All-Star and a serious contender to overtake Hank Aaron's then-record for most home runs in a career, so Seattle needed to get a lot back for him.
Shipping the outfielder to Cincy in exchange for outfielder Mike Cameron and three others, the M's didn't exactly get the overhaul they probably deserved for an All-Century Team selection such as Griffey, but they did seem to win the mega deal.
That's because Cameron enjoyed his best MLB seasons with the Mariners, making an All-Star team and helping the team get to the playoffs in two of his four years in Seattle.
Carmelo Anthony Traded to New York Knicks (2011)
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When Carmelo Anthony—a presumed top-10 player in the NBA—got traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks in 2011, it was a blockbuster deal that was supposed to change the landscape of the Eastern Conference.
Pairing Melo up with former All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire, the Knicks believed they had a duo who could help bridge the gap between themselves and the Big Three of the Miami Heat.
After rumors were swirling that Anthony would head to either the Los Angeles Lakers or Brooklyn Nets, the Knicks swooped in and grabbed him. He has been in New York ever since with little success.
Joe Thornton Traded to San Jose Sharks (2005)
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After he began the 2005-06 season with the Boston Bruins—with whom he had just signed a three-year, $20 million deal the previous offseason—the team shipped perennial All-Star Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for three young players.
While the players Boston acquired in return were decent, they failed to develop as the team had hoped. Making things more difficult is that Thornton went on to win the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP the same season he was dealt, eventually establishing himself as an elite player over the proceeding years.
Both lopsided and unexpected, this trade was one that changed the outlook of both teams.
Alex Rodriguez Traded to New York Yankees (2004)
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He might be a bit of a laughing stock now following his suspension for the entire 2014 season for the use of steroids, but Alex Rodriguez was the best player in the sport when the New York Yankees acquired him back in 2004.
Much like the aforementioned Ken Griffey Jr., A-Rod had established himself as the player of the new millennium and was on pace to break a number of offensive records and become an all-time great.
Carrying what was at the time the largest contract in sports history, Rodriguez found himself going from the Texas Rangers to the Bronx after winning the AL MVP in a swap for fellow All-Star Alfonso Soriano.
Teaming up with other big bats in the Yankees lineup, the third baseman helped lead the Yanks to the ALCS in his first season—where they were shocked in a stunning comeback—and delivered two MVP seasons in his first four years.
When a player as polarizing as Alex Rodriguez changes teams, it gets the attention of everyone in sports—especially seeing how badly it has seemed to be for the Yankees lately.
Allen Iverson Traded to Denver Nuggets (2006)
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I mentioned the Denver Nuggets trading away Carmelo Anthony earlier, but it was the team acquiring another superstar in 2006 that had the NBA shocked.
After demanding a trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, former All-Star and league MVP Allen Iverson found himself alongside Anthony on a team that, suddenly, had two, go-to studs.
Sending Andre Miller, Joe Smith and a couple of first-rounders to Philly in exchange for A.I., the Nuggets hoped that he would be the answer—pun intended—to getting over the hump in the postseason.
Unfortunately, the experiment didn't pan out, as the team failed to advance out of the first round with Iverson on the roster. They eventually traded him to the Detroit Pistons in 2008 for a number of players who helped lead them to the Western Conference Finals later that season.
Shaquille O'Neal Traded to Miami Heat (2004)
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I don't care if he was 32 years old, coming off of an NBA Finals loss and clashing with then-teammate Kobe Bryant, when the most dominating player in a quarter of a century gets traded, it's as shocking as all hell.
Winning three NBA titles during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal found himself on the wrong side of the Lakers line, with the team opting to stick with the younger Bryant to build around for the future.
Trading Shaq to the Miami Heat for Caron Butler, Brian Grant, Lamar Odom and a first- and second-round pick during the summer of 2004, South Beach was abuzz with high expectations and fans imagining what O'Neal and emerging star Dwyane Wade could do together.
As the Lakers struggled during those transitional years with Bryant, Miami flourished with the Big Aristotle, and the Heat won an NBA title in Shaq's second season alongside Wade, earning the big fella his fourth and final NBA championship.
Brett Favre Traded to New York Jets (2008)
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Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Willie Mays and the New York/San Francisco Giants. Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. There are a select few athletes who are remembered for building a legacy with one team.
Another one on that list of all-time greats? Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.
Accomplishing so much while playing in Lambeau Field for 16 seasons, Favre's waffling on playing or not finally cost him, as the Packers had had enough and traded the gunslinger to the New York Jets before the 2008 season, handing the keys to the franchise to his backup, Aaron Rodgers.
It wasn't completely unexpected because of Favre's reluctance to commit to retirement, but it was shocking to see nonetheless.
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen Traded to Boston Celtics (2007)
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Realizing that they weren't going to win an NBA title with just one All-Star—Paul Pierce—the Boston Celtics wanted to up the ante and become a major contender without having to organically build their roster.
And that's when they went all-in.
Missing out on the postseason in consecutive years in 2005 and 2006, the Celts shocked the NBA by bringing together three future Hall of Famers the summer before the 2007-08 season. First, they acquired shooting legend Ray Allen from the Seattle Supersonics for a few players. Then, they agreed to a swap for Kevin Garnett from the Minnesota Timberwolves a few weeks later.
With the new Big Three together, Boston relived its glory days of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish, as the new trio won a championship in their first year together, beating the hated Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.
Playing together for five seasons, the three All-Stars advanced to the second round each time, making it to another NBA Finals during the 2009-10 campaign, losing to those same, Kobe Bryant-led Lakers.
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