NBA Draft: 12 Most Memorable NBA Draft Day Trades in the Last 20 Years
With the 2011 NBA Draft just two days away, the rumors that were once whispers are being elevated to a much more conversational level.
Speculation surrounds the Minnesota Timberwolves and the potential No. 2 pick—Derrick Williams. And suddenly, guys like Pau Gasol, Josh Smith and Raymond Felton are topics of conversation behind numerous closed NBA doors.
With the rumor mill heating up by the minute, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some memorable NBA draft-day deals from the past 20 years.
I also wanted to make a note of two deals that changed the landscape of the NBA forever, but were NOT, I repeat NOT, made on draft day.
Who can forget the Charlotte Hornets trading the draft rights to Kobe Bryant (13th overall pick) to the Lakers for Vlade Divac less than two weeks after the 1996 NBA draft?
Or how about the Seattle Supersonics trading Scottie Pippen (fifth overall pick) to the Chicago Bulls for Olden Polynice just a few weeks after the 1987 NBA draft?
Those two blockbuster deals resulted in 11 NBA titles (and counting).
Now, let's take a look at the 12 most memorable draft-day trades in the NBA over the last 20 years.
12. Orlando Magic Trade Chris Webber to Golden State for Anfernee Hardaway
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In 1993, the Orlando Magic traded the rights to Chris Webber to Golden State for the rights to Anfernee Hardaway and three future first-round draft choices.
Both players went on to have enormously successful NBA careers. "Penny" Hardaway was a four-time NBA All-Star, two-time First Team All-NBA member and helped lead the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 1995 in just his second year, averaging 21 points, seven assists and four rebounds during the regular season.
Meanwhile, Chris Webber was a five-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA team member and the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1994. He played for five different teams during his 15-year career and finished with career averages of 20.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists—one of only six players ever to record these numbers over a career.
11. Milwaukee Bucks Trade Stephon Marbury to Minnesota for Ray Allen
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In 1996, the Milwaukee Bucks traded the rights to Stephon Marbury to Minnesota for the rights to Ray Allen and a future first-round pick.
Although their careers will forever be linked as a result of the draft-day trade, their two career paths diverged almost immediately.
Marbury is known for his tumultuous NBA career that saw him play for five teams over a 13-year career. He did manage to make two All-Star teams in 2001 and 2003, as well as All-NBA Third Teams in 2000 and 2003. Marbury has a career scoring average of 19.3 points per game to go along with 7.6 assists.
Meanwhile, Ray Allen has played 15 seasons for three teams in the NBA and will likely continue to be a member of the Boston Celtics in 2011-2012. He is the NBA's all-time leader in three-point field goals made and is also one of the most accurate shooters in NBA history from both the three-point line and the free-throw line.
Allen is a 10-time NBA All-Star and an NBA world champion in 2008 with the Boston Celtics. He has a career scoring average of 20.2 points per game and still managed to average 16.5 points per game last season at the age of 35.
10. Golden State Trades Vince Carter to Toronto for Antawn Jamison
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In 1998, the Golden State Warriors traded Vince Carter and cash to the Toronto Raptors for Antwan Jamison. Carter and Jamison were good friends after spending three years together as teammates at the University of North Carolina.
They led UNC to the Final Four in both 1997 and 1998 but lost both times in the semifinals.
Carter was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1999, an eight-time NBA-All Star and the Slam Dunk Champion in 2000. Carter boasts a career scoring average of 22.2 points, yet he's only played in 56 career playoff games, and his critics often point to the fact that he's never won anything.
He currently plays for the Phoenix Suns and is considered by many to be the best dunker in NBA history.
Antawn Jamison is a two-time NBA All-Star (2005, 2006), the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year in 2004 and similar to Carter, has only appeared in 37 career playoff games. Jamison owns a 19.7 career scoring average to go along with eight rebounds but has yet to find a true winning environment during his 13-year career.
9. Dallas Trades Robert Traylor to Milwaukee for Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity
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Well, well, well, look who it is...the NBA's latest poster boy, Dirk Nowitzki himself.
In 1998, the Dallas Mavericks made the best move in the history of their franchise by trading Robert "Tractor" Traylor to the Milwaukee Bucks for Dirk Nowitzki and Pat Garrity.
I believe if you look up "highway robbery" in the dictionary, this trade is used as an example.
We all know about Dirk—NBA champion and Finals MVP in 2011, NBA MVP in 2007, 10-time NBA All-Star, 11-time All-NBA Team and as of two weeks ago, one of the 20 best players in NBA history.
Robert "Tractor" Traylor passed away tragically on May 11, 2011, as a result of a heart attack. Neither Traylor nor Pat Garrity went on to NBA stardom, but they will forever be linked to the greatest European basketball player in NBA history.
And the Mavericks weren't quite done making moves on draft day in 1998, as they turned right around and...
8. Dallas Trades Pat Garrity (and Others) to Phoenix for Steve Nash
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Also in 1998, the Dallas Mavericks traded Pat Garrity, Martin Muursepp, Bubba Wells and a 1999 first-round draft selection to the Phoenix Suns for Steve Nash.
Nash teamed with Dirk in Dallas for six seasons from 1999-2004 before heading back to the Phoenix Suns via free agency, where his career really took off.
Nash is a two-time NBA MVP (2005, 2006), a seven-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All-NBA team member and will go down as one of the best point guards in NBA history.
I'd probably rank Nash as the sixth-best point guard in NBA history right now behind Magic, the Big O, Isiah, Stockton and barely behind Jason Kidd now that Kidd owns an NBA title.
Moving right along...are we having fun yet?!?! I know I am...
7. Bulls Trade Elton Brand to Clippers for Brian Skinner and Tyson Chandler
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In 2001, the Chicago Bulls traded Elton Brand to the Los Angeles Clippers for Brian Skinner and the rights to Tyson Chandler.
In the grand scheme of things, the career paths of both Brand and Chandler took a few different turns before arriving to where we are today in 2011.
Chandler is now an NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks, was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team this past season and seems to have finally found his niche as the anchor to a championship defensive team in Dallas.
Meanwhile, Elton Brand now plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, where he averaged 15 points and eight rebounds last year—his 12th NBA season. His career peaked with the Clippers in 2006 when he averaged a career high 24.7 points to go along with 10 rebounds per game.
Brand was the NBA co-Rookie of the Year in 2000, a two-time NBA All-Star and was a member of the All-NBA Second Team in 2006. He's had a good NBA career by most standards, however, he's only made it to the playoffs twice in 12 NBA seasons.
6. Houston Trades Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift to Memphis for Shane Battier
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In 2006, the Memphis Grizzlies acquired the draft rights to Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift for Shane Battier from Houston.
Fast forward to today—Battier is now back in Memphis on a Grizzlies team that is now a top-eight team in the league, Rudy Gay was having a career year in 2011 before a season-ending injury, and Stromile who?
Just kidding, Stromile Swift plays for the mighty Shandong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.
I picked this trade for a couple of reasons. Rudy Gay is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 19.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists—and he did this after signing a five-year, $82 million contract last July.
I also think the Memphis Grizzlies have the nucleus to compete for an NBA title over the next few years, and Gay and Battier will be two of the reasons why.
5. Minnesota Acquires Draft Rights for Randy Foye from Portland for Brandon Roy
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Also in 2006, Minnesota acquired the draft rights to Randy Foye from Portland (via Boston) for the draft rights to Brandon Roy.
This was the first of two trades on draft day in 2006 that majorly worked out in Portland's favor.
Roy was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2007, a three-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA team member. Roy has a career average of 19 points per game in five NBA seasons but has been plagued by injuries to both knees over the past three years and hasn't been the same player since.
He did show signs of life in the 2011 NBA playoffs by scoring 24 points in 24 minutes in a huge come-from-behind win over the Mavericks in the first round.
Meanwhile, Randy Foye has already played for three NBA teams in five seasons and posts career averages of 11.8 points per game to go along with 3.4 assists in just 27 minutes of play.
But the Blazers weren't finished wheeling and dealing in 2006...
4. Portland Acquires LaMarcus Aldridge from Chicago for Tyrus Thomas
9 of 12Our third trade of the 2006 draft saw Portland acquire the draft rights to LaMarcus Aldridge and a future second-round pick from Chicago for Viktor Khryapa and the draft rights to Tyrus Thomas.
LaMarcus Aldridge had his breakout season in 2011, where he was without a doubt the best player in the league not named to the NBA All-Star team.
In 2011, Aldridge averaged 21.8 points to go along with 8.8 rebounds while being named to the All-NBA Third Team. He received the 12th-most votes in the league, confirming his All-Star snub even further.
Tyrus Thomas was traded by the Bulls to the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010 and has yet to really establish himself as an above-average player in the NBA. His best year was in 2009, when he averaged 10.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 27.5 minutes per game.
3. Phoenix Trades Rajon Rondo (and More) to Boston for Future 1st Round Pick
10 of 12Our fourth and final trade of the 2006 NBA draft saw Phoenix acquire a future first-round pick (from Cleveland) and cash considerations for the draft rights to Rajon Rondo and Brian Grant.
Little did we know at the time that this trade would be instrumental in building yet another championship Celtics team.
Rondo helped lead the Celtics to the 2008 NBA Title, is a two-time NBA All-Star (2010, 2011) and a two-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team (2010, 2011).
Last season, Rondo finished second in the league in assists with 11.2 per game, trailing only Steve Nash (11.4).
To be honest, the rest of this trade just isn't worth talking about, we all know who came out on top of this one...
2. Jeff Green (Along With Others) Traded from Boston to Seattle for Ray Allen
11 of 12Danny Ainge and the Celtics weren't quite finished building their championship team until 2007, when he traded the No. 5 pick Jeff Green along with Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak from Boston to Seattle for Ray Allen and the 35th pick, Glen "Big Baby" Davis.
Allen would go on to become a member of the "Big Three," joining Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, while Davis filled a crucial role off the bench for the 2008 NBA champion Celtics team.
Surprisingly, both Jeff Green and Delonte West are current members of the Boston Celtics. Green was acquired from the Oklahoma City Thunder in a trade for Kendrick Perkins. West signed with the Celtics as a free agent in 2010.
1. Memphis Grizzlies Trade Kevin Love to Minnesota Timberwolves for OJ Mayo
12 of 12In 2008, the Memphis Grizzlies acquired OJ Mayo (third overall pick) from the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love (fifth overall pick) in a multi-player deal.
What a year it was for Kevin Love in 2011. Love led the NBA in rebounding with 15.2 boards per game and also set the record for most consecutive "double-doubles" in NBA history with 53 in a row.
Love was named the NBA's Most Improved Player while becoming the first player to average at least 20 points and 15 rebounds for an entire season since Moses Malone did it in 1982-83. He also made his first All-Star appearance in 2011 and remains one of the bright young stars in the NBA.
OJ Mayo has had a bit of an up and down career in Memphis where he peaked as a rookie in 2009, averaging 18.5 points per game and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.
Mayo did play well for the Grizzlies in their second-round matchup versus the Oklahoma City Thunder this past season. He averaged 13.3 points per game in the seven-game series and started in Games 6 and 7.
For more 2011 NBA draft coverage, stay tuned to Bleacher Report for updated NBA mock drafts, B/R's Big Board of Recruits, NBA draft rumors, NBA draft results and draft grades.
