Context for 'The Worst Trade In League History' Title

[msgkings322]

Whats the worst trade in the past forty years (at the time of the trade)?

The Gobert one is worse. Paul George for SGA and 7 first round picks (!) is worse. The Lakers Westbrook acquisition. There are others.

AGAIN, I think LA “won” this overall. Not the worst trade ever for Dallas though.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Check the ages. In other words, no.



As mentioned, Malone was the first prep-to-pro, and an immediate All-star playing exclusively against grown men as a teen. Dantley had already been ROY, and posted 2 20 ppg seasons, starting at age 21.

More to the point, neither was traded for anything like Davis, Christie, and a first.



You have to pick one, it was either watered down or had less teams. Cannot be both. In fact, the League was anything but watered down for most of these players. In some of Chamberlain's seasons, he went head-to-head with a Hall of Famer every other game.



What, precisely, do you propose that it tells you?

I listed older trades because it is apparent that few, if any, posters here are familiar with league history. I expected that someone else might fill in with some more recent trades, but to-date, no one has.



And players had no leverage, at that time. Also, welcome to the Internet, it is not necessary to shout, as everyone can hear you just fine.


And the Dallas FO has disagreements with Doncic.




No, you will want to refresh your memory on this situation. Even if they had been, selling a legend for $6m is a terrible trade, even back then.

Not responding to each comment bc it is a waste of my time.

Dantley and Malone not on Luka’s level. Nobody was at his age. See below


“And the Dallas FO has disagreements with Doncic.“

No, you’re wrong again. They didn’t think he was worth supermax and his value to other teams’ was estimating to be so high not one team thought they could trade for him. Unlike anything we have witnessed in nba history. So his trade value did not plummet unlike those other trades you listed. Makes all the difference in the world

Again, selling a great player for money would never happen in today’s time. You can’t compare the two. You trying to means you can’t comprehend this entire discussion.

 

[tc1]

Dantley and Malone not on Luka’s level.

Now compare the returns in the respective trades. This is not difficult to do.

No, you’re wrong again.

Read almost anything on the topic. The Dallas FO has been annoyed at Doncic's lack of dedication for years.

They didn’t think he was worth supermax and his value to other teams’ was estimating to be so high not one team thought they could trade for him. Unlike anything we have witnessed in nba history. So his trade value did not plummet unlike those other trades you listed. Makes all the difference in the world

Whose value plummeted, and when?

Again, selling a great player for money would never happen in today’s time. You can’t compare the two.

Yes, one can, because they are both trades.

And speaking of being unable to comprehend, you cannot compare the statistics used in that tweet, for a variety of reasons.

 

[Clayton]

The Gobert one is worse. Paul George for SGA and 7 first round picks (!) is worse. The Lakers Westbrook acquisition. There are others.

AGAIN, I think LA “won” this overall. Not the worst trade ever for Dallas though.

You think all of the Lakers fans in damage control and Dallas fan flipping out is a product of social media?

I don't know. There is nothing sound about this trade from Dallas' standpoint unless they had some real stuff on their star.

 

[msgkings322]

You think all of the Lakers fans in damage control and Dallas fan flipping out is a product of social media?

I know I don't base my opinion on nutjob fans overreacting on Twitter

I don't know. There is nothing sound about this trade from Dallas' standpoint unless they had some real stuff on their star.

I've listed many things 'sound' for Dallas already, it's fine if we disagree. Saying Dallas got 'nothing' and this is the worst trade ever is simply false hyperbole.

 

[Clayton]

I know I don't base my opinion on nutjob fans overreacting on Twitter

I have no dog in this race whatsoever. I'm not even an NBA fan anymore. I'm just noticing that people value Luka very differently. Its hard for me to judge who is overreacting because if he is a superstar then its not an overreaction.

If this was an NFL trade, Rams fans would be laughing at the Cowboys right now. The optics on this are telling

 

[tc1]

If this was an NFL trade, Rams fans would be laughing at the Cowboys right now. The optics on this are telling

It would probably be a lot more defensible as a football trade. Due to the size of football rosters and the nature of the game, any one player is much less important to overall success. So having one player at a massive salary, who doesn't consistently contribute to lots of winning, is not a great recipe, and trading him for a few assets would potentially be smart.

 

[Clayton]

It would probably be a lot more defensible as a football trade. Due to the size of football rosters and the nature of the game, any one player is much less important to overall success. So having one player at a massive salary, who doesn't consistently contribute to lots of winning, is not a great recipe, and trading him for a few assets would potentially be smart.

It depends. I think QBs are roughly just as important as a single NBA player. If it was a different player then I'd agree.

Signing a QB to a long-term deal is also an incredibly important thing to get right. To me it seems like Dallas is saying that Luka is Daniel Jones.

 

[tc1]

It depends. I think QBs are roughly just as important as a single NBA player.

A common misconception, but no, they are not that special. Lineman are way more important, which is why we see quarterbacks' fortunes differ so drastically when they move from team to team. If you can protect your quarterback, it doesn't much matter which one you have. All of the guys in the general category of "NFL caliber QB" can pick apart a defense if you give them 5 seconds. And if you can't, it again doesn't much matter who is taking those sacks. Joe Gibbs wrote the book on this, years ago. He invested in lineman, and plugged in unremarkable "skill" players, and dominated.

It is a nice luxury to have one like Lamar Jackson, though, who is also a running back at the same time.

Signing a QB to a long-term deal is also an incredibly important thing to get right.

It's actually not that important, since you can pick up a Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield off the scrap heap, and, given time to throw, they will be just as-good or better than an expensive QB.

 

[dtgold88]

How do you not include any of the deals made by an owner who had a rule named after him because of all his terrible trades of draft picks (Stepien)?

In one he traded the pick that became Worthy for Don Ford.

 

[mgomrjsurf]

2 of the Trades nobody talking about that happen tonight Butler saga over or Ingram not a worst but not going to a contender.

 

[tc1]

2 of the Trades nobody talking about that happen tonight Butler saga over or Ingram not a worst but not going to a contender.

Second time that Butler and Richardson have been traded for each other ( or involved in the same trade might be more accurate ).

I'm not totally sure the Butler saga is over. Trading him to a team that he didn't, seemingly, want to play for might result in further saga. Not that Miami didn't try to send him to Phoenix.

 

[msgkings322]

Second time that Butler and Richardson have been traded for each other ( or involved in the same trade might be more accurate ).

I'm not totally sure the Butler saga is over. Trading him to a team that he didn't, seemingly, want to play for might result in further saga. Not that Miami didn't try to send him to Phoenix.

He did commit to the extension for the next 2 years there

 

[tc1]

He did commit to the extension for the next 2 years there

Yeah, and he's still Jimmy Butler.

I think the world of Butler as a player, but having him "commit" does not mean a whole lot, historically. There are exceedingly-few great players who have played for five different franchises by age 35, and even fewer who were almost-solely responsible for those transactions.

 

[msgkings322]

Yeah, and he's still Jimmy Butler.

I think the world of Butler as a player, but having him "commit" does not mean a whole lot, historically. There are exceedingly-few great players who have played for five different franchises by age 35, and even fewer who were almost-solely responsible for those transactions.

 

[dtgold88]

Yeah, and he's still Jimmy Butler.

I think the world of Butler as a player, but having him "commit" does not mean a whole lot, historically. There are exceedingly-few great players who have played for five different franchises by age 35, and even fewer who were almost-solely responsible for those transactions.

I mean, he will likely behave for a couple years at least.

 

[tc1]

Wow, the Warriors are going to pay Butler $60.5M each for his age 36 and 37 seasons. That's a bold move.

 

[dtgold88]

Due to recent news, the topic of 'The worst trade in NBA history' has been mentioned a lot lately, and by many people who lack the necessary context. Obviously, we don't know what will happen in the future -- not wishing anyone any harm, but Doncic could, for example, blow out his Achilles in his next game, and turn into Brendan Fraser during his rehab, and never be the same. As could Davis. That said, some of the competition for this "title" is impressive.

Probably the current worst was when on October 18, 1976, the Portland Trail Blazers traded 21 year-old Moses Malone to Buffalo for a single first-round pick, which they turned into journeyman Rick Robey. Malone had already been an ABA All-star at 19 -- posting 19/15 -- so it isn't like Portland didn't know what they had. Malone would win the first of his 3 MVPs two years later, and almost everything else that exists to be won. This trade is compounded by the facts that Portland chose to keep Bill Walton instead of Malone, and then spent the next couple decades trying to acquire a center with functional legs.

Astoundingly, the second-worst trade might have been 6 days and 2 games and only 3 minutes of play later (!!) when Buffalo turned around and flipped Malone to Houston for just two first-round picks -- although they did turn one of those into Michael Ray Richardson, who was quite good.

Other candidates include:

In 1979, the Los Angeles Lakers traded 23 year-old Adrian Dantley to Utah for 30 year-old Spencer Haywood and 20 pounds of cocaine. Actually, Haywood just brought the coke with him -- and later consumed much of it before trying to kill his coach __during the NBA Finals__. Dantley went on to become the most-efficient high-volume scorer that basketball has yet seen. The Lakers were so ridiculously loaded with talent that they won a bunch of titles anyway, but this trade was horrific -- almost literally, since it nearly got someone killed.

In 1965, San Francisco traded 28 year-old Wilt Chamberlain -- in the midst of a 35/12/3 season -- to Philadelphia for Connie Dierking ( a journeyman center ), Paul Newman ( a decent point guard ), the rights to a guy who hadn't played in years and never did again, and cash. Chamberlain took the Sixers to their first title two seasons later ( they also won 1 as the Nationals ).

In 1972, Houston traded 26 year-old Elvin Hayes -- 12th leading scorer of all-time -- to Baltimore straight-up for Jack Marin. Marin was a real good player, and 2-time All-star, but his best days were already behind him, and Hayes would be top-10 in MVP voting for the next 5 years running.

In 1976, the New York Nets outright sold Julius Erving to Philadelphia for $6M -- after the Knicks turned down buying Erving for $3M (!!).


There are some other candidates, too. Anyway, the most-likely scenarios for Doncic-Davis probably don't wind up making the Top 5 of Worst NBA Trades. The first Malone trade will be the worst for a long time. The only case to date of a 21 year-old future-multiple-MVP-winner being swapped straight-up for a journeyman. Also one of unimaginably few cases where we know that a team accepted half of the value, because 6 days later the same player was flipped for twice as much, despite playing only 3 minutes in the interim.

Have to at least include a trade made by the guy who had a rule named after him because of all the dumb trades he made for draft picks (Stepien Rule). Not sure of year, but had to be early 80s......Cavs traded the pick that turned out to be James Worthy for Don Ford.

 

[dtgold88]

A common misconception, but no, they are not that special. Lineman are way more important, which is why we see quarterbacks' fortunes differ so drastically when they move from team to team. If you can protect your quarterback, it doesn't much matter which one you have. All of the guys in the general category of "NFL caliber QB" can pick apart a defense if you give them 5 seconds. And if you can't, it again doesn't much matter who is taking those sacks. Joe Gibbs wrote the book on this, years ago. He invested in lineman, and plugged in unremarkable "skill" players, and dominated.

It is a nice luxury to have one like Lamar Jackson, though, who is also a running back at the same time.


It's actually not that important, since you can pick up a Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield off the scrap heap, and, given time to throw, they will be just as-good or better than an expensive QB.

I never thought you could come close to your cries for Oregon's fake title but you may have done it...promise I'll never doubt you can dig deeper again.

QBs not so special and lineman way more important? a pretty decent OL - LeCharles Bentley - disagrees with you. Has always said want a good OL? Find a QB who is accurate, smart and makes quick decisions. Can make a strong case the Browns when they had Joe Thomas, Mack and Schwartz had one of the top OLs in the sport (and not just for one season) but didn't really have much success. any guesses why?

I'm still not putting this on the fake Oregon title level....but wow. Excellent try.