10 Most Lopsided Trades of the Past Decade
The Minnesota Vikings filed a late submission for most lopsided trade of the decade.
On Saturday, they sent a 2017 first-round pick and a conditional 2018 fourth-rounder to the Philadelphia Eagles for quarterback Sam Bradford. Why is this deal so weird? The maligned passer has a worse career completion percentage (60.1) and quarterback rating (81.0) than Shaun Hill, who would have replaced the injured Teddy Bridgewater.
Unless Bradford can hang around for a full season—he has played all 16 games in two of six years—this panic move will backfire. Then again, there's a feasible scenario where he leads Minnesota back to the playoffs, easing the blow by winning and diminishing the relinquished pick's value.
Let's hold off on calling it one of the decade's all-time uneven deals just yet. The jury is still out, and there's plenty of other source material.
Some transactions only look bad in hindsight, but most of the highlighted trades had trouble written all over them from the start.
Honorable Mentions
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Shelby Miller for Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and Aaron Blair
Technically, the jury is still out on this trade. Shelby Miller has a 6.81 ERA this season for the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he's still a 25-year-old with a career 3.64 ERA.
But who besides Arizona general manager Dave Stewart liked this trade when it happened last winter? The Atlanta Braves fleeced them by landing a Gold Glove-caliber center fielder (Ender Inciarte), the previous year's No. 1 draft pick (Dansby Swanson) and an intriguing pitching prospect (Aaron Blair).
James Harden to Houston Rockets
The Oklahoma City Thunder can thank Steven Adams for saving the James Harden deal. Before the center's emergence, the deal lived in infamy as an embarrassing return for an NBA star.
Jose Bautista for Robinson Diaz
Since getting traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2008, Jose Bautista has hit 260 home runs. Robinson Diaz hit one for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Trent Richardson Trades
Why did the Cleveland Browns move up one spot to draft Trent Richardson? Did they really expect the Minnesota Vikings to replace Adrian Peterson with pick No. 2?
That was a head-scratching move, but Cleveland saved face by pawning him to the Indianapolis Colts for a 2014 first-round pick. At least the Browns were blinded by potential. The Colts saw his 3.5 yards-per-carry average and still overpaid.
It's best if Browns fans don't look up the player their team drafted with the pick.
Roberto Luongo to Vancouver Canucks
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To Florida Panthers: Todd Bertuzzi, Alex Auld, Bryan Allen
To Vancouver Canucks: Roberto Luongo, Lukas Krajicek, 2006 sixth-round pick
Ten years ago, the Vancouver Canucks cemented their standing as a perennial playoff contender by acquiring Roberto Luongo from the Florida Panthers.
They made the postseason six out of seven seasons with the NHL's active wins leader shielding the net. While he never led them to a Stanley Cup crown, he gave them a strong starting goalie for a minimal cost.
The main draw, winger Todd Bertuzzi, played seven games for the Panthers before undergoing back surgery and changing uniforms again. At the time seen as Luongo's replacement, goalie Alex Auld allowed 82 goals over 27 lackluster games before suiting up for eight other teams over the next four years.
Defenseman Bryan Allen at least stuck around, but he mostly contributed in the penalty minutes column.
Two years ago, the Canucks shipped Luongo back to the Panthers. He eased the wound by guiding them to a franchise-high 47 victories with a .922 save percentage.
Randy Moss to New England Patriots
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To New England Patriots: Randy Moss
To Oakland Raiders: 2007 fourth-round pick (John Bowie)
It cost the New England Patriots a fourth-round draft pick to complete one of the best offenses in NFL history.
Following the worst season of Randy Moss' career, the Oakland Raiders ignored the rest of his Hall of Fame portfolio and jettisoned him to the Patriots, who won three Super Bowls with the likes of Troy Brown, Deion Branch and David Givens at wide receiver.
Moss had never played with a quarterback like Tom Brady, who never had a wideout like Moss. The duo instantly connected for a record 23 touchdowns during New England's undefeated regular season. The club set a record for points scored (589) since broken by the 2013 Denver Broncos (606).
Oakland drafted defensive back John Bowie with the No. 110 pick. He played five games and registered two tackles.
Moss recorded two more seasons with over 1,000 yards and double-digit scores before playing for three teams in 2010. At least the Patriots got a third-rounder back.
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Adam Jones and Chris Tillman to Baltimore Orioles
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To Baltimore Orioles: Adam Jones, Chris Tillman, George Sherrill, Kam Mickolio and Tony Butler
To Seattle Mariners: Erik Bedard
Eager to acquire an ace before the 2008 season, the Seattle Mariners sent the Baltimore Orioles a five-player package led by young outfielder Adam Jones for Erik Bedard.
The southpaw bolstered his stock by notching a 3.16 ERA and career-high 221 strikeouts the previous season. Yet he only made 46 starts for the Mariners during four injury-riddled years.
Baltimore cashed out at the right time. While Jones' defensive limits and 4.4 career walk percentage stifle his overall value, he has hit at least 25 home runs in each of the last six seasons. The reliable star spent years as the Orioles' franchise cornerstone before handing the baton to Manny Machado.
Chris Tillman is no ace, but he's the lone constant in their rotation. He has hurled 1,006.1 solid innings for Baltimore, 751 more than Bedard accrued in Seattle. George Sherrill also served a short stint as Baltimore's closer in 2008 and 2009.
That this trade keeps paying dividends nine seasons later bolsters its legacy. The team's longest-tenured hitter and pitcher both came from the same deal nearly a decade ago.
Unprotected First-Rounder (Kyrie Irving) to Cleveland Cavaliers
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To Cleveland Cavaliers: Baron Davis and 2011 first-round pick (Kyrie Irving)
To Los Angeles Clippers: Mo Williams and Jamario Moon
There's a reason anyone inspecting NBA trades needs a lawyer to decipher all the fine print. No responsible franchise deals a first-round pick without careful safeguards out of fear of suffering the same fate as the Los Angeles Clippers.
Eager to clear cap space, the Clippers attached an unprotected first-round pick to Baron Davis for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. Although they were clearly lottery-bound at the time of the trade, they entered the draft drawing with a 2.8 percent chance of winning pick No. 1 on behalf of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
That's exactly what happened. Cleveland used the pick on Kyrie Irving.
This trade drastically changed the course of the NBA. If the Clippers had tacked on a top-five protection—a perfectly reasonable request for an exchange of veteran point guards—they would have paired Irving with fellow No. 1 pick Blake Griffin. That probably stops them from acquiring Chris Paul later that year.
Without Irving, the Cavs don't reel LeBron James back to Cleveland. Maybe the 2016 Finals MVP forms a superteam with Irving and Griffin in Los Angeles.
Robert Griffin III to Washington
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To St. Louis Rams: 2012 No. 6 pick, 2012 No. 39 pick, 2013 first-rounder, 2014 first-rounder
To Washington: 2012 No. 2 pick (Robert Griffin III)
Washington gave up so much for Robert Griffin III that listing the entire haul proved a daunting endeavor. Luckily, Sports Illustrated's Alex Nieves examined all eight players the then St. Louis Rams received for the quarterback (they traded down again from the No. 6 pick).
It would look even worse for Washington had the Rams drafted a notable star. Yet they attained a few key contributors in defensive tackle Michael Brockers, offensive tackle Greg Robinson—taken with 2014's No. 2 pick—and cornerback Janoris Jenkins.
Griffin initially justified the enormous package with a sensational rookie year, but injuries and inconsistencies led him to fall out of favor, losing the starting job to Kirk Cousins last year. Ignoring sunk costs proved wise for Washington, which made the playoffs behind a quarterback selected 100 picks after Griffin in 2012.
Nevertheless, Washington forfeited a significant amount of draft capital for someone they quickly abandoned.
The 26-year-old now has a second chance to revitalize his career with the Cleveland Browns, who traded down from the No. 2 pick. The Rams, meanwhile, could be on the other side of history if Jared Goff doesn't justify their aggressive move up to No. 1.
R.A. Dickey (to Blue Jays) for Noah Syndergaard and Travis d'Arnaud (to Mets)
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To New York Mets: Travis d'Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard
To Toronto Blue Jays: R.A. Dickey
Yes, R.A. Dickey had just won the 2012 National League Cy Young Award (Clayton Kershaw probably should have, but that's an issue for another day). Still, the Toronto Blue Jays bartered two of their top prospects for a 38-year-old knuckleballer.
Selling high was a shrewd call for the New York Mets, who could not transfer their improbable ace's success into a winning season. They instead shipped him to Toronto in search of their next Cy Young winner.
Because Kershaw missed two months with a back injury, Noah Syndergaard emerges as a top candidate to win this year's award. The 24-year-old righty wields a 2.56 ERA, 10.44 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9) and the highest WAR total (5.6) of any MLB pitcher, per FanGraphs.
While Travis d'Arnaud has endured a disappointing year, the 27-year-old showed flashes of stardom when healthy last year.
Dickey has regressed, but not to the point of futility. Although his 4.08 ERA isn't impressive, he has offered value through durability. Having a steady hand is nice, but not at the expense of a much younger and cheaper hard-throwing stud who looks and pitches like a super hero.
Andrea Bargnani to New York Knicks
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To New York Knicks: Andrea Bargnani
To Toronto Raptors: Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, 2016 first-round pick, 2014 and 2017 second-round picks
Only the New York Knicks would want to acquire an injury-prone big man with a .399 field-goal percentage the previous year. And only the Knicks would give an unprotected first-rounder to get him.
Worried that they finally turned a corner with a 54-win campaign, owner James Dolan torpedoed the franchise again by assembling a hefty package for Andrea Bargnani. The Toronto Raptors' former No. 1 pick never lived up to the hype, but the Knicks love overpaying for highly drafted, defensively challenged big men who can only function as high-volume scorers. (The Eddy Curry trade happened 11 years ago.)
To nobody's surprise outside New York's front office, the move flopped. Bargnani, who played 66 games over the prior two seasons, made it up to 71 during his two years with the Knicks. Per Basketball-Reference.com, he finished with a negative value over replacement player (VORP) each season.
While the traded players were mostly salary dumps, their offense lost their 2012-13 mojo without sharp-shooting Steve Novak spacing the court. Yet the deal would have went down as an afterthought if not for bequeathing Toronto with an unprotected first-round draft pick.
The Raptors cashed in by drafting center Jakob Poeltl with June's No. 9 selection. If only the Knicks had a young talent like him instead of giving 31-year-old Joakim Noah a four-year contract.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn Nets
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To Boston Celtics: Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Kris Joseph, Keith Bogans, three unprotected first-round draft picks (2014, 2016 and 2018), and the right to swap first-round picks in 2017
To Brooklyn Nets: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and D.J. White
In a move reeking of misguided desperation to supplant the Knicks as New York's top NBA destination, the Brooklyn Nets made a move even dumber than their Big Apple sibling could engineer.
Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were both well into their mid-30s by the time they gifted the Boston Celtics a reboot. Pierce, the more effective of the two in 2013, had one year remaining on his contract. Also, and this is something that nobody should have to tell a professional sports franchise, first-round draft picks are very valuable.
The Nets forfeited their future to lose in the second round instead of the first.
While 2014 pick James Young hasn't done much, the deal's absurdity will now truly shine. The Celtics chose Jaylen Brown with the No. 3 pick in June's draft, and the damage is far from over.
New Nets management has ended the facade, cleaning house around center Brook Lopez. As a result, the Celtics might swap into another top-10 pick next year. It will probably end up being a top-five pick and maybe even No. 1 with some lottery luck. Brooklyn will likely hand over another lottery choice in 2018.
By the way, the Nets gave the Portland Trail Blazers a first-round pick for Gerald Wallace shortly before dumping him on Boston. The Blazers used the bonus selection to land Damian Lillard. That move easily could have made the cut, but it would have been too easy to limit this list exclusively to bad New York basketball trades.
Ian Kinsler (to Detroit Tigers) for Prince Fielder (to Texas Rangers)
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To Detroit Tigers: Ian Kinsler
To Texas Rangers: Prince Fielder
The Ian Kinsler-for-Prince Fielder swap keeps looking better for the Detroit Tigers.
In all fairness to the Texas Rangers, the exchange made sense at first. They had an elite prospect in Jurickson Profar—who is currently a utility man after injuries cost him two years—ready to take over at second base alongside shortstop Elvis Andrus.
And at the time, Fielder was baseball's most durable player. Prior to getting traded before the 2014 season, he played all 162 games in three straight seasons and sat 13 times over eight years. Kinsler, meanwhile, averaged 135 games played per season.
Naturally, Fielder missed most of 2014 due to season-ending neck surgery while Kinsler scored 100 runs over 161 games. According to FanGraphs, Kinsler ranks second behind Jose Altuve in WAR (14.0) among all second baseman since the trade.
Fielder, on the other hand, accrued a minus-1.8 WAR this season, per FanGraphs, before retiring due to neck injuries.
Unlike most of the other deals, this one is solely here on the benefit of hindsight. Even those worried about a heavy-set slugger eroding couldn't have envisioned Fielder's career going so sour while Kinsler blossomed into a durable and dependable star.
Josh Donaldson to Toronto Blue Jays
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To Toronto Blue Jays: Josh Donaldson
To Oakland Athletics: Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin and Franklin Barreto
Let's leave this one out of Moneyball 2.
After two breakout seasons from Josh Donaldson, the Oakland Athletics hedged their bets against a potential regression by selling him to the Toronto Blue Jays. Instead of declining, he got better.
In 2015, the third baseman earned American League MVP honors by batting .297/.371/.568 with 41 home runs and 123 RBI. The 30-year-old is improbably topping his MVP campaign with a .980 OPS and 34 homers. Since Mike Trout's teammates stink, Donaldson may very well take home the hardware again.
Oakland counted on Brett Lawrie tapping into his immense upside, but he instead hit .260/.299/.407 before getting shipped to the Chicago White Sox for two low-level prospects. Through two seasons, starter Kendall Graveman has garnered a 3.91 ERA with a mediocre 5.6 K/9.
The Milwaukee Brewers claimed Sean Nolin off waivers last winter, putting all the pressure on Franklin Barreto to salvage Oakland's return. The 20-year-old shortstop has tallied 10 homers and 30 steals in Double-A before a recent bump to Triple-A, but it will take massive big league success to turn the tides on this trade.
Small-market teams like the A's don't get blessed with superstars very often. When one comes around, they need to hold on tight or sell high for a massive haul. They outmaneuvered themselves by giving away Donaldson for a discount.
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