Around the NBA: Week 4 (11/10 - 11/16)

[Split T]

Memphis trading Pau to LA for garbage was also inexplicable…not helping quell the conspiracy theorists who say the league helps LA. Of course Marc Gasol actually turning out to be good makes that one not seem as bad, but it made zero sense at the time and directly led to two LA titles.

[Mori Chu]

Some other horrible trades in NBA history:

- Nets trade Dr. J to 76ers for $3m cash (!) - An absolute fleecing because the Nets, just joining the NBA from the ABA, needed the cash.

- Warriors trade Wilt Chamberlain to 76ers for Connie Dierking, Paul Neumann, Lee Shaffer - I don't have context on this one but, I think maybe Wilt was better?

- Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Lakers for Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers, Junior Bridgeman - I think the Bucks had to trade Kareem or lose him the next season for nothing, but still, oooooof

- Warriors trade Robert Parish and #3 pick (Kevin McHale) to Celtics for #1 and #13 picks - wild trade that sets up the 80s Celtics juggernaut.

- KG (age 37) and Paul Pierce (age 36) for Gerald Wallace and four 1sts (!!) - Celtics cleared their entire salary cap of crusty old timers and got paid a decade's worth of picks for the privilege. Absolutely wild.

- Memphis trades Pau Gasol and a second-round draft pick in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, draft rights to Marc Gasol, and 2008 and 2010 1sts. Marc Gasol turned out to be a big star for them, but nobody knew that at the time, and this one basically set up Kobe's second run to two more titles.

- OKC trades James Harden for Kevin Martin - Never trade a player for an obviously much shittier version of that same player.

- LAC trades SGA, Danilo Gallinari, four 1st-rd picks, and two pick swaps for Paul George (!!!) - needs the benefit of hindsight to really evaluate it, but ouch the Clips really gave up the farm for a perennial 2nd round exit team full of injuries and big contracts.

And then we have Luka for Anthony Davis. When I look at the above trades, almost all of them were either 50 years ago (hard to compare to today) or only truly look awful with the benefit of hindsight. I think if you just go by how much we knew the trades were terrible at the time, you would have to go with the ones where poverty franchises gave away stars (Dr. J, Kareem) or maybe the OKC Harden trade. But the Luka trade stands alone in that the entire NBA, related media, and fans all essentially had a consensus opinion that Dallas got absolutely fleeced, and the events since that day have only solidified and confirmed that opinion.

Ehhhhh, the Luka trade is probably the worst trade in NBA history, yeah. Assuming that Luka goes on to keep playing well for several years in LA, it will be remembered that way. If he wins titles in LA, absolutely.

[Gladiator]

OKC up 110-74 early in the 4th against the Warriors

[ShelC]

Can't remember which player it was but he was a teammate of Kevin Martin and said Martin used to deliberately hold back from scoring too much because he didn't want to get selected for an All-Star Game. Would've rather had that weekend off, which is kind of crazy.

[ShelC]

OKC up 110-74 early in the 4th against the Warriors

I want that rematch with the Ws.

[Gladiator]

Yep, it looks like they are getting pretty close to the edge of the cliff.

[O_Gardino]

I think this is the worst ever. Most of the other trades that turned out to be really bad, it was because of the results of a draft pick, or something else that was not entirely foreseeable when the trade was made (like, say, SGA becoming an MVP-level player, to take a recent example). This was not that. Everybody with eyes and even a tiny amount of basketball sense could see that Luka was one of the five best players in the league, and he was still only 25 years old. He didn't have significant injury concerns. He had been the best player (by far) on a finals team just the postseason before the trade. It was completely inexplicable that a player on that level could be moved for the package that Dallas received.

I don't know if it's the *worst* trade in NBA history, but it's the one that makes the least sense. It was so completely out of left field that the conspiracy theories that have sprung up around it almost seem plausible. The guy that made that trade should have been fired immediately, and should never have work that involves evaluating basketball talent again.

The thing is, it's not one person in an organization that makes this kind of deal. A group of people signed off on this. They must have really hated Luka personally and I can understand that. But you can't let your emotions guide you.

Dallas is feeling the growing pains of a new majority owner.

[Mori Chu]

[Superbone]

I think this is the worst ever. Most of the other trades that turned out to be really bad, it was because of the results of a draft pick, or something else that was not entirely foreseeable when the trade was made (like, say, SGA becoming an MVP-level player, to take a recent example). This was not that. Everybody with eyes and even a tiny amount of basketball sense could see that Luka was one of the five best players in the league, and he was still only 25 years old. He didn't have significant injury concerns. He had been the best player (by far) on a finals team just the postseason before the trade. It was completely inexplicable that a player on that level could be moved for the package that Dallas received.

I don't know if it's the *worst* trade in NBA history, but it's the one that makes the least sense. It was so completely out of left field that the conspiracy theories that have sprung up around it almost seem plausible. The guy that made that trade should have been fired immediately, and should never have work that involves evaluating basketball talent again.

The thing is, it's not one person in an organization that makes this kind of deal. A group of people signed off on this. They must have really hated Luka personally and I can understand that. But you can't let your emotions guide you.

Dallas is feeling the growing pains of a new majority owner.

Yep. Who signed off on it.

[Superbone]

Why would anybody want a broken Anthony Davis?

[ShelC]

NIco is the guy. There's no apologizing for him or making it seem like he didn't drive the deal. He brought the deal to a new owner who didn't know anything about basketball and didn't understand the ramifications. The owner didn't go to Nico and say, "trade Luka". I'd bet Cuban would've fired Nico for even suggesting it had he still owned the Mavs at the time.

[Superbone]

NIco is the guy. There's no apologizing for him or making it seem like he didn't drive the deal. He brought the deal to a new owner who didn't know anything about basketball and didn't understand the ramifications. The owner didn't go to Nico and say, "trade Luka". I'd bet Cuban would've fired Nico for even suggesting it had he still owned the Mavs at the time.

You're going to let the new owner off scott free?! How much did he vet this with others? Sounds like he wouldn't even listen to Cuban. These guys in these positions are ultimately the ones responsible.

[Superbone]

Plus, I wish they wouldn't have taken the Nico distraction away just before we play them. What are they going to chant now?

[ShelC]

It's new owner syndrome and he listened to the guy who was heading up a team that just came off a Finals appearance. And if Nico told him to keep it top secret and not to let it leak because it can blow the deal, then he's listening to the basketball expert. Ultimately, the owner signs off on it but I think he was just blindly going along with it. This wasn't like some other new owner coming in thinking he was a basketball expert and dictating trades.

[Superbone]

It's new owner syndrome and he listened to the guy who was heading up a team that just came off a Finals appearance. And if Nico told him to keep it top secret and not to let it leak because it can blow the deal, then he's listening to the basketball expert. Ultimately, the owner signs off on it but I think he was just blindly going along with it. This wasn't like some other new owner coming in thinking he was a basketball expert and dictating trades.

That's fine but we'll have to agree to disagree on the new owner's culpability. Blindly going along with it is my issue with him.

[Superbone]

For you cynical bastards

[Superbone]

Is this for real?

[Split T]

For rehab purposes…teams do that from time to time to get them game experience

[Superbone]

For rehab purposes…teams do that from time to time to get them game experience

I bet he only practices with them. And yeah, I know, but not usually superstars.

[Superbone]

"That guy" out for the year. It was absolutely worth the five year hit.