Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) looks on during the second quarter of the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Sleep Train Arena.
14.
NBA All-Star Weekend brought one of the biggest surprises of the season when news that DeMarcus Cousins was getting shipped to the Pelicans broke during the NBA All-Star Game—and that was days before Thursday's trade deadline. We have no idea whether any other transactions will come close to equaling how epically bad the Cousins trade looks right now for the Kings. We have some suggestions. But you know at least one general manager out there will make some absurd acquisition that every savvy NBA observer will mock until the end of time.
Kind of like these awful, lopsided trades we highlighted. From all the debacles Isiah Thomas orchestrated while running the Knicks to Sunday's head-scratcher of a deal that officially teamed Cousins with Anthony Davis, familiarize yourself with the worst trades at the NBA's trade deadline since 2002.
13.Steve Francis to the Knicks.
Date: February 22, 2006
Teams Involved: Knicks and Magic
Knicks Acquired: Steve Francis
Magic Acquired: Penny Hardaway and Trevor Ariza
The Winner: Maybe the Magic
Steve Francis was owed $49 million over three seasons, adding to a Knicks payroll that reached over $130 million. The dream backcourt of Stephon Marbury and Francis seemed to be a few seasons too late, as both players were already on their decline. Freed from Francis’ cap burden, the Magic signed Rashard Lewis and made it to the 2009 NBA Finals.
12.Joe Johnson to the Suns.
Date: February 20, 2002
Teams Involved: Celtics and Suns
Celtics Acquired: Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk
Suns Acquired: Joe Johnson
The Winner: Clearly the Suns
The Celtics saw an opportunity to make it to the NBA Finals in a very weak Eastern Conference and decided to take a chance trading then-rookie Joe Johnson to the Suns for Rodney Rodgers and Tony Delk. The gamble brought Boston to the Eastern Conference Finals, but no further. Delk and Rodgers would play a combined 116 regular season games for the Celtics and would both leave in free agency, as Joe Johnson would go on to make seven All-Star appearances, albeit with other teams after the Suns got rid of him.
11.Ron Artest to the Pacers.
Date: February 19, 2002
Teams Involved: Pacers and Bulls
Pacers Acquired: Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Ron Mercer, and Kevin Ollie
Bulls Acquired: Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norm Richardson, and a 2002 second-round pick (Lonny Baxter)
The Winner: Clearly the Pacers
The Bulls traded away Artest, who would later win a Defensive Player of the Year award in Indiana and become an All-Star. Artest would help the Pacers earn the best record in the NBA in and make the Eastern Conference finals in 2004. While the Pacers would make it to the playoffs each year with Artest on the roster, two years later things would turn ugly when he sparked the “Malice at the Palace.”
10.Baron Davis to the Cavs.
Date: February 24, 2011
Teams Involved: Cavaliers and Clippers
Cavs Acquired: Baron Davis and a 2011 first-round draft pick (Kyrie Irving)
Clippers Acquired: Jamario Moon and Mo Williams
The Winner: Clearly the Cavs
At the time, the trade was just a ploy for the Clippers to get rid of Davis’s contract, as they packaged an unprotected first-round pick to the Cavs for Mo Williams, who had just made an All-Star appearance. The Cavs struck gold as the draft pick would become the first pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, aka Kyrie Irving, and they would manage to grab Tristan Thompson with their No. 4 selection. Does LeBron come back to Cleveland if they don't make this trade?
9.Ray Allen to the Sonics.
Date: February 20, 2003
Teams Involved: Sonics and Bucks
Bucks Acquired: Desmond Mason and Gary Payton
Sonics Acquired: Ray Allen, Ronald Murray, Kevin Ollie, and a 2003 first-round draft pick (Luke Ridnour)
The Winner: Clearly the Sonics
After 13 years with the Sonics, Payton had all but secured his spot in the Hall of Fame. In the last year of his contract, he was traded away to Milwaukee, packaged with Mason. Both players would have short tenure on the Bucks, as Payton decided to join Karl Malone the following season with the Lakers while Mason spent just two seasons in Milwaukee before being traded to New Orleans. The Sonics, however, came up big time as a 27-year-old Allen reached his full potential in Seattle, averaging 24.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.9 threes a game during his four-and-a-half seasons with the franchise.
8.Shaquille O'Neal to the Suns.
Date: February 6, 2008
Teams Involved: Heat and Suns
Suns Acquired: Shaquille O’Neal
Heat Acquired: Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks
The Winner: Clearly the Heat
Steve Kerr knew that his job as GM was on the line, and he decided to bring “The Big Cactus” to play alongside Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire, which obviously didn't work out. Shaq was already past his prime by the time the Suns acquired him for Marion and Banks. Shaq’s style of play conflicted with the other Suns players, and they missed the playoffs with 46 wins in a loaded Western Conference.
7.Gerald Wallace to the Nets.
Date: March 15, 2012
Teams Involved: Nets and Trail Blazers
Nets Acquired: Gerald Wallace
Trailblazers Acquired: Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a top-three protected 2012 first-round pick (Damian Lillard)
The Winner: Clearly the Trailblazers
Right before the trade deadline, after striking out on Dwight Howard and Paul Pierce, the Nets felt a sense of urgency to add talent around Deron Williams to try to convince him to re-sign with the club in the summer. GM Billy King ended up trading the team’s top-three protected first-round pick in the upcoming draft to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Gerald Wallace. Wallace would only play 16 games for the Nets that season and be traded to the Boston Celtics the following season. The Blazers struck gold in the trade as the pick, the No. 6 overall selection, became franchise point guard Damian Lillard.
6.Carmelo Anthony to the Knicks.
Date: February 22, 2011
Teams Involved: Knicks, Nuggets, Timberwolves
Knicks Acquired: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams, Corey Brewer, and a 2016 first-round draft pick (Jakob Poeltl)
Nuggets Acquired: Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos, a second-round pick 2012 (Quincy Miller), a second-round pick 2013 (Romero Osby), a first-round pick 2014 (Dario Saric), an option to swap first-round pick 2016 with Knicks (Jamal Murray), and cash
Timberwolves Acquired: Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph, a 2015 second-round pick (Richaun Holmes), and cash
The Winner: Nobody
One of the biggest trades in league history, with over a dozen players being shifted around, and we still don’t know who the clear winner of the trade is; that’s how bad it was. Since the trade went down only three players still remain on their same teams—Carmelo Anthony, Danilo Gallinari, and Wilson Chandler—and none of the teams have made it past the second round of the playoffs.
5.Isaiah Thomas to the Celtics.
Date: February 19, 2015
Teams Involved: Celtics, Pistons, and Suns
Celtics Acquired: Isaiah Thomas, Gigi Datome, and Jonas Jerebko
Pistons Acquired: Tayshaun Prince
Suns Acquired: Marcus Thornton and a 2016 first-round draft pick
The Winner: Clearly the Celtics
At the time of the trade, the Suns wanted to get rid of its guard-heavy roster, sending both Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas away right before the deadline. In this case, the Suns traded away Thomas, who has become an All-Star point guard, a franchise player, and a potential MVP candidate while Marcus Thornton would only play nine games for Phoenix.
4.Rasheed Wallace to the Pistons
Date: February 19, 2004
Teams Involved: Pistons, Hawks, and Celtics
Hawks Acquired: Chris Mills, Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura, 2004 first-round draft pick (Josh Smith)
Celtics Acquired: Chucky Atkins, Lindsey Hunter, and a 2004 first-round draft pick (Tony Allen)
Pistons Acquired: Rasheed Wallace and Mike James
The Winner: Clearly the Pistons
When contenders make deadline deals, it doesn't always work out. But for the Pistons, they came out with the upper hand in this three-team trade. Wallace joined forces with Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace, made five Eastern Conference Finals appearances in a row, and, of course, won a 2004 NBA Championship over the Lakers. So while the Pistons made out like bandits, the Celtics and Hawks got almost nothing out of this swap.
3.Pau Gasol to the Lakers.
Date: February 1, 2008
Teams Involved: Lakers and Grizzlies
Lakers Acquired: Pau and a 2010 second-round pick (Devin Ebanks)
Grizzlies Acquired: Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, draft rights to Marc Gasol, Aaron McKie, a 2008 first-round draft pick (Donte Greene), and a 2010 first-round draft pick (Greivis Vasquez)
The Winner: Clearly the Lakers
This is arguably the trade of the century. The Lakers gave up two low draft picks and a young Marc Gasol and only had to give up Kwame Brown. The Grizzlies couldn’t swindle Andrew Bynum or Lamar Odom from the Lakers, instead settling for Brown. The Lakers went on to three NBA Final appearances and won two championships with Gasol. Just imagine an NBA where the Lakers never acquired Pau, leaving Kobe with only three rings.
2.DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans.
Date: February 20, 2017
Team Involved: Kings and Pelicans
Kings Acquired: Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, a 2017 first-round pick, and a 2017 second-round pick
Pelicans Acquired: DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi
The Winner: Clearly the Pelicans
This trade was so bad, the artificial intelligence in NBA 2k17 refused to confirm it. Kings’ owner Vivek Ranadive believes that 23-year-old rookie Buddy Hield has Steph Curry potential. Kings GM Vlade Divac admitted that he had a better offer two days before the deal was made. At least Boogie finally gets what he’s always wanted (which was to leave Sacramento) and now fans finally get to see what could have been if DeMarcus and Anthony Davis played together at Kentucky.
1.Andrew Bogut to the Warriors.
Date: March 13, 2012
Teams Involved: Bucks and Warriors
Warriors Acquired: Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson
Bucks Acquired: Monta Ellis, EkpeUdoh, and Kwame Brown
The Winner: Clearly the Warriors
The Bucks had to get rid of Jackson, who was constantly clashing with Scott Skiles, and Bogut could never get healthy. So they traded Jackson and Bogut to Golden State, and in return, the Bucks got Ellis (who was later traded to Dallas), Kwame Brown (out of the league), and Ekpe Udoh (out of the league). The funny part of this trade was that the Bucks would have acquired Stephen Curry if they hadn’t been so conservative. The Bucks were interested in Curry but were concerned about his ankles. He underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in May 2011, and had season-ending surgery on the same ankle the following year. So the Bucks settled on Ellis, which freed Curry to become the two-time MVP we all know and either love or hate.