Ranking the Most Lopsided Trades of the Offseason
Somebody call the NBA league office. Highway Hardwood robbery has been committed.
Lopsided trades are a part of every offseason. One team is always swindling another. Sometimes, the short-changed side is complicit in their own pillaging. They need to cut money, clear minutes or accomplish another side quest. This makes those inequitable moves more understandable, but not transactions that can be spared from our rankings wrath.
Framing for each deal will spotlight the teams who made off like bandits. And the order will be determined based on which trades would most likely be vetoed by the league office, if given the chance, for #BasketballReasons.
5. Cam Whitmore to the Washington Wizards
1 of 5
Washington Wizards Received: Cam Whitmore
Houston Rockets Received: Chicago's 2026 second-round pick, Sacramento's 2029 second-round pick
(*Note: This deal was folded into the Jordan Poole-to-New Orleans transaction.)
The Rockets had no clear path to offer Whitmore playing time following the additions of Kevin Durant and Dorian Finney-Smith. His value already dipped along with his minutes last season, so trading him was the prudent move.
Nabbing a pair of second-rounders from two of the NBA's most inept franchises considerably softens the blow. But punting on Whitmore's scoring upside when he has two years left on his rookie-scale contract without receiving first-round compensation cannot be declared a win.
The victory belongs to the Wizards. They remain in talent-acquisition mode and just picked up a 6'7" wing averaging over 20 points per 36 minutes through his first two seasons. That's a flier on which any rebuilding squad would pounce. And it won't ever cost Washington a top-30 pick.
4. Collin Sexton to the Charlotte Hornets
2 of 5
Charlotte Hornets Received: Collin Sexton, 2030 second-round pick (most favorable from Utah Jazz or Los Angeles Clippers)
Utah Jazz Received: Jusuf Nurkić
Conventional wisdom suggests that if you're getting the better player, on the better contract, you should be the one sending out draft equity.
Congratulations to the Hornets for middle-fingering conventional wisdom.
Charlotte's roster is now fairly guard-heavy and lacking proven centers. It doesn't matter. A career 38.6 percent shooter from distance, Sexton improves both the spacing and secondary ball-handling around LaMelo Ball. He's also $400,000 cheaper than Nurkić and more likely to net positive value if the Hornets move him in another deal.
Utah clearly wanted to open up perimeter minutes for its youngins. This trade doesn't make sense even by that logic. Including the pick, at the very least, was overkill.
3. Jonas Valančiūnas to the Denver Nuggets
3 of 5
Denver Nuggets Received: Jonas Valančiūnas
Sacramento Kings Received: Dario Šarić
After spending what feels like an eternity searching for a viable backup to Nikola Jokić, the Nuggets finally have one. It turns out they just needed to let the Kings do what they do best: get in their own way.
Valančiūnas briefly threw a curveball into the proceedings by flirting with Greek EuroLeague club Panathinaikos, but he's since committed to Denver. Even if he didn't, the worst-case scenario featured the Nuggets wiping out his entire salary.
Bringing Valančiūnas off the bench should help Denver buy Jokić more rest. He can still mash dudes on offense and is bound to improve a rebounding rate that has plummeted, without fail, every time the three-time MVP steps off the court.
Sacramento, meanwhile, OK'd this deal so it could save enough money to overpay the ill-fitting Dennis Schröder. That makes sense...in Kangz Land. And of course, in Denver. It's Looney Tunes rationale everywhere else.
2. Norman Powell to the Miami Heat
4 of 5
Miami Heat Received: Norman Powell
Los Angeles Clippers Received: John Collins
Utah Jazz: Kyle Anderson, Kevin Love, 2027 second-round pick (via Clippers)
The Heat owe the Phoenix Suns a gigantic "Thank you!" There is no way the Clippers swing this deal if they don't know they're landing a freshly bought out Bradley Beal.
Powell is one of just seven players averaging at least 15 points per game over the past six years while knocking down over 50 percent of their twos and 40 percent of their threes. His company: Desmond Bane, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Michael Porter Jr. and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Acquiring this kind of offensive punch typically costs draft picks and/or prospects. That's true even if the inbound player is over 30, and even if he's on an expiring contract.
All Miami gave up as part of this deal was two players who didn't factor into its immediate or long-term plans. This isn't just good, opportunistic business. It's a heist.
1. Asa Newell and an Unprotected 2026 First to the Atlanta Hawks
5 of 5
Atlanta Hawks Received: Asa Newell (No. 23), 2026 first-round pick (unprotected, most favorable from Milwaukee Bucks or New Orleans Pelicans)
New Orleans Pelicans Received: Derik Queen (No. 13)
Newell is a fine prospect who becomes much more valuable if he can scale up from the 4 to the 5. Make no mistake, though, the crown jewel from this trade is the unprotected pick.
You'd be hard-pressed to find two teams facing as much uncertainty next season as Milwaukee and New Orleans. The Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo, Myles Turner and a bunch of dudes, along with the specter of the two-time MVP's future hanging over their heads. The Pelicans are doing...God knows what.
It'll be a genuine shock if the Hawks didn't just snare a lottery pick in exchange for moving down 10 draft spots. That's ridiculous value. And they owe it all to a New Orleans front office that doesn't realize it's about to finish 11th or worse in the Western Conference—as well as any teams that might have passed on the Pelicans' trade-up package.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
