With the NBA Draft 2017 just a couple of days ahead, it’s a great period for the fans to hope their teams can significantly improve. Each year, the NBA Draft is the most fan sports cap showcase in the nation as learning which college and international prospect will join which team.
Yet, what make this day truly special is the unexpected combinations the teams are proposing and getting – the draft day trades. There have been numerous occasions when such trades have been franchise changing, even though it took several years to understand it. Some of the executives have gained visionary status due to the moves they pulled and others have been ridiculed.
It’s a stressful, dynamic short period when the legends can be made, so it’s really exciting to watch for the rumors and trying to figuring out what will your or any team do on Thursday. Of course, most of the stories placed now are fabricated to create good smokescreen and hide the true intent of the front offices, so you better expect the unexpected. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at the historic trades that shaped the NBA record books.
There were many stars and future stars traded on the draft day, so it was tough picking just five for this countdown. Still, the Boston Celtics were selected to appear twice, and could have appeared even more times, as they have a good tradition of making blockbuster trades, gutsy moves or smart swaps all the time.
5. The Knicks swing and miss in 2002
The Knicks have had their own share of terrible trades in the last 20 years, and especially during the Isaiah Thomas tenure. The 2002 blockbuster deal done on the draft day was nothing about the rookies – the Knicks attempted to land a star in Antonio McDyess. They strongly believed that he is the missing piece for the franchise, giving up two players and the 9th pick in the draft for him. It was an offer Denver Nuggets would not pass. The Nuggets have gotten better of the Knicks again on the Carmelo Anthony trade, so they surely liked the Knicks’ trade calls.
In 2002, the Knicks selected Nene Hilario ninth overall and immediately sent him, Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson to the Denver Nuggets for McDyess and the 25th overall pick, which became Frank Williams.
McDyess was a disaster with the Knicks. He played only 18 games before getting hurt, but even before his career was changed by the injuries, he only averaged 8.4 points per game in the Knicks uniform, which was not what they hoped for.
Marcus Camby was still in his prime and continued to be a defensive force for the Nuggets. Mark Jackson was at the end of his career and was waived, but Nene had a solid career with the Nuggets.
4. Celtics trade down in the NBA draft to acquire Parish in 1980
Without any intent to imply anything about this year’s draft, one of the biggest draft-day trades in the NBA history happened when the Boston Celtics traded their first overall pick for the third pick (and more) a couple of days before the draft. This was 37 years ago, when the famous man with a cigar was still running the green franchise.
The 1980 NBA Draft was a big deal. It was a first televised draft, and an expansion draft as the Dallas Mavericks were joining the league that year. Back then, the drafts had 10 rounds, so getting drafted in the first round was big. Unsurprisingly, that year produced many NBA All Stars, head coaches and office executives of the next couple of decades, like Kiki Vandeweghe, Larry Drew, Mike Woodson, Bill Hanzlik, Kurt Rambis, Terry Stotts and others.
The Celtics had the first pick in the draft thanks to the prior trade with the worst record holding Pistons, so you probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they came up with the only player that has been elected to the Hall of Fame, but the fox in Red Auerbach has managed to come up with even more. Here’s what he had done:
The Boston Celtics traded picks #1 and #13 to the Golden State Warriors for pick #3 and Robert Parish.
The Golden State used the picks to select Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown, while the Celtics used their pick to take Kevin McHale.
With Larry Bird in Beantown for two years at the time, Auerbach pulled a draft-day move that has set the foundation to the new Celtics era that produced 3 NBA titles and plenty of exciting years for the Boston fans.
Despite dubbing Carroll as one of the first pick busts, the Warriors have actually gotten a very good player who had carved his space in the franchise’s record books despite playing in Europe in his prime days, but a one that didn’t have the passion and the impact McHale and Parish had. The Celtics came out of this trade as the big winners.
3. The Magic cash in on the lottery luck in 1993
The Warriors have had some bad trades during the 90s, spreading plethora of their stars around the league. However, this time, they actually traded for a superstar to be – Chris Webber. Coming off the famous Final Four blunder, Webber was the most coveted rook in the draft.
After an unforgettable draft lottery shocker in 1993, in which the Magic secured the No.1 pick with a 1.5 percent chance, the Orlando Magic picked Webber, mostly as they found him as the best bargaining chip. The Warriors looked for the low post scorer and gave up their #3 pick, Anfernee Hardaway and three future first round picks (1996, 1998, 2000) to land Chris Webber.
Webber played well averaging 17.5 points and 9 boards in his rookie season, but never managed to get on the same page with Don Nelson (the Warriors’ coach at the time), so he got traded away.
The Magic capitalized on the trade. Hardaway was the missing piece that pushed them to the NBA Finals and went on to become a 4-time All-Star during his early years in Orlando. The Magic would ultimately trade the 1996 pick they received from the Warriors to the Bullets as part of the Scott Skiles deal in 1994. And ironically, the pick at No. 11 overall, Todd Fuller, would land in Golden State as a result of a deal the Warriors and Bullets agreed to. Orlando also ended up trading the 1998 pick, Keon Clark, they received from the Warriors along with Johnny Taylor on draft night to Denver for a 2000 first round draft pick.
2. The Bucks draft Nowitzki but trade him away in 1998
While some people view the Hornets trading away Kobe Bryant as one of the worst post draft decisions, they seem to forget that Bryant forced their hand by openly stating that he won’t sign with them.
It was not that the Hornets didn’t know what they had – Bryant was only 18, but was a high profile first round pick with the immaturity caveat they were willing to risk. Also, they landed a very solid European big man in Vlade Divac, who went on the have a good NBA career himself, albeit not in Charlotte.
There are no excuses for the Bucks though. Milwaukee selected probably the best international player of all time with their ninth pick in 1998. Of course, Dirk Nowitzki was a big unknown at that time, as NBA teams employed only a few scouts to survey Europe. It was hard to foresee what kind of career Nowitzki is going to have, so the Bucks were actually commended for trading the lanky seven-footer and Pat Garrity to land Robert ‘Tractor’ Traylor, the No. 6 in the same draft who was more of a household name after his NCAA stint with Michigan.
Traylor struggled with conditioning and averaged 4.8 points per game in a six-year career. He tragically lost his life in 2011 after a heart attack.
Nowitzki still plays for the Dallas Mavericks. He has not only become the face of the franchise and led them to a NBA title, but his basketball style, ability and position understanding reshaped the NBA to the modern days. Perhaps even more fascinating is that Dallas turned Garrity into the acquisition of Steve Nash.
1. Auerbach wants Russell in 1956
In perhaps the greatest draft-day trade of all time, Red Auerbach showed why he was one of the all-time greats. In the 1956 NBA draft, Auerbach had set his sights on Bill Russell, 6’ 10’’ center with a 7’4’’ wingspan, thinking how his defensive toughness and rebounding prowess were the missing pieces the Celtics needed.
It was an unorthodox reasoning at the time – centers and forwards were defined by their offensive output, and their ability to play defense was secondary. Boston had the number three selection, but the St. Louis Hawks drafted Russell ahead of them. Auerbach saw an opportunity as the Hawks were already vying for the Celtics All-Star center Macauley, who asked to be traded to St. Louis, but the Hawks owner had second thoughts, so Auerbach agreed to sweeten up the deal by giving up Cliff Hagan as well.
The Russell draft-day trade was later called one of the most important trades in the history of North American sports.
It’s hard to blame the Hawks of course, who had gotten a true star in Macauley, who would finish his playing career and become a coach of the franchise after it. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame and awarded a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Cliff Hagan played his entire 10-year career with the Hawks and was named to 5 All Star games himself. During their tenure, helped by another Hawks great Pettit, the St. Louis won the NBA championship defeating the Boston Celtics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.
However, what Bill Russell accomplished with the Boston Celtics is unprecedented. Five time MVP, 11 rings, numerous awards and inductions for one of the greatest player to have ever played the game. Russell was the first African American player to achieve superstar status in the NBA and to coach a team (and win the title as a coach). He remains the iconic symbol of excellence and his legacy will carry for many more years.
That kind of things can happen on draft days. Excited? I surely am. Stay tuned with Get More Sports for more interesting news on the 2017 NBA Draft!!!
