10 Worst Trades In The NBA Since 2000

At all times of the year, NBA teams and their front offices are constantly working on the next deal that could make their team better. There are always scouts checking out games. There are always general managers, coaches, owners, and players working on deals or situations that could enhance their chances at an NBA championship. This rings true for nearly all 30 NBA teams 365 days a year, as the grind never stops when in pursuit of an NBA championship. 

Of course, with the immense amount of pressure of winning a championship comes the pressure to pull the trigger on deals that may seem great for the short term but could set a franchise back in the long term. It causes deals to be made that are incredibly beneficial for one side while the other is left in shambles. These are the types of deals that we will discuss today. Since 2000, there have been some incredibly lopsided and ultimately bad trades that reshaped the futures of multiple franchises.

These are the 10 worst trades in the NBA since 2000.

10. The Phoenix Suns Traded Isaiah Thomas To The Boston Celtics

Celtics Receive: Isaiah Thomas, Jonas Jerebko, Gigi Datome

Suns Receive: Marcus Thornton, 2016 First-Round Pick

Pistons Receive: Tayshaun Prince

Kicking things off on our list of the worst NBA trades since 2000 is a three-team deal back in 2015 that only one team involved actually benefited from. Isaiah Thomas had been with the Suns for 46 games off the bench before he was dealt to the Celtics as a part of a deal with the Pistons and Suns. Thomas would go on to become a two-time All-Star in Boston as well as an MVP candidate in 2016-17 with 28.9 PPG and 5.9 APG. As for what the Suns and Pistons received in the deal, it wasn’t even close to equal in value. 

The Suns received Marcus Thornton in the deal, who they would have for a total of nine games played, averaging 3.6 PPG and 1.4 RPG. They also received a first-round draft pick in 2016 which they ended up using on Skal Labissiere. As for the Pistons, the trade returned one of their franchise legends to their team for 23 games to finish the 2014-15 season. Tayshaun Prince would average 7.3 PPG and 4.2 RPG for Detroit before retiring following the 2015-16 season. The deal turned out to be completely in favor of Boston, while Phoenix and Detroit had to cut their losses.

9. The Boston Celtics Traded Joe Johnson To The Phoenix Suns

Suns Receive: Joe Johnson, Randy Brown, Milt Palacio, 2002 First-Round Pick

Celtics Receive: Tony Delk, Rodney Rogers

In 2001-02, Joe Johnson was an unproven rookie with no room to crack the Boston Celtics rotation or any signs he would develop into the star he is remembered as today. That has to be the only reason why the Celtics would give up on him after just 48 games and 33 starts of 6.3 PPG and 2.9 RPG. Johnson would find his game by the time he was leaving Phoenix just a few seasons later and go on to become a 21.0 to 25.0 PPG scorer, seven-time All-Star, and 2010 All-NBA Team selection with the Hawks and Nets during the late 200s and early 2010s. Can you imagine if Boston had been patient with his development? 

Instead, they wound up with 10-year NBA veteran and journeyman Tony Delk. The Celtics would get 89 games out of Delk in two seasons with the team, as he averaged 9.2 PPG and 3.5 RPG, along with 1.1 SPG on defense. However, Delk’s production did not match the star level that Johnson would have reached if he had just been given a bit more freedom. The Celtics also received Rodney Rogers in the deal for Johnson. Rogers would play 27 games with Boston and average 10.7 PPG as well as 4.0 RPG in those games.

8. The Denver Nuggets Traded Carmelo Anthony To The New York Knicks

Knicks Receive: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman, Shelden Williams, 2016 First-Round Pick, Corey Brewer

Nuggets Receive: Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, Kosta Koufos, 2012 Second-Round Pick, 2013 Second-Round Pick, 2014 First-Round Pick, 2016 First-Round Pick, Cash

Timberwolves Receive: Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph, 2015 Second-Round Draft Pick, Cash

In one of the biggest trades of the last 20 years, Carmelo Anthony was dealt to the Knicks in February 2011 in one of the most highly-anticipated deals in NBA history. The suspense had been building for weeks leading up to a deal, whether it was going to be the Knicks or Brooklyn Nets that won his services. As exciting of a time it was for Knicks and Nuggets fans to begin new chapters in their franchise’s history, in the end, this deal got nothing done for any team involved.

The Knicks would end up with an All-Star, scoring champion, and MVP candidate in Carmelo but would only make it out of the first round of the playoffs once in seven seasons while only going to the playoffs three times. The trade gave up far too much that the Knicks could have used to build around Anthony, and instead, it backfired. The Nuggets would only earn two first-round exits without Carmelo until they completely rebuilt the team in recent seasons. The trade is dubbed by Knicks fans as one of the worst in franchise history.

7. The Milwaukee Bucks Traded Ray Allen To The Seattle SuperSonics

SuperSonics Receive: Ray Allen, Ronald Murray, Kevin Ollie, 2003 First-Round Pick

Bucks Receive: Gary Payton, Desmond Mason

At first glance, this trade doesn’t seem all that bad, considering that Gary Payton and Ray Allen were both All-Stars at the time of the deal. However, it is the player that Ray Allen would continue to be for the rest of his career that makes this deal so one-sided, as was Payton’s decision following that same season. Payton would play 28 games with Milwaukee in the 2002-03 season and average 19.6 PPG, 7.4 APG, and 1.4 SPG. However, following the conclusion of the season, Payton chose to sign with the Lakers instead of returning. Desmond Mason would spend four seasons in Milwaukee and averaged 14.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG but never became the player they hoped they were getting when they traded away Allen. 

As for Allen, he would become one of the best shooting guards in basketball with Seattle, not that he already wasn’t considered to be. Allen would earn four straight All-Star selections from 2004 thru 2007, with the SuperSonics averaging 24.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 4.0 APG on 44.0% shooting overall and 39.0% from three. He would take them to the second round of the playoffs one time in 2004-05 but wouldn’t taste championship glory until later in his career with the Celtics and Heat.

6. The Memphis Grizzlies Traded Pau Gasol To The Lakers

Lakers Receive: Pau Gasol, 2010 Second-Round Pick

Grizzlies Receive: Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol, Aaron McKie, 2008 First-Round Pick, 2010 First-Round Pick

Coming in at number six on our countdown is a slightly one-sided trade that deserves some criticism but not enough to make the top five. On one hand, you have the Grizzlies, who decided to relinquish their former Rookie of the Year and All-Star big man Pau Gasol for a pair of first-round draft picks, Kwame Brown and Pau’s brother. Marc Gasol turned out to be the best part of the deal and the only thing it’s holding on to in order to not be considered one of the worst trades ever. Marc Gasol would become a Defensive Player of the Year in Memphis and a franchise icon during the Grit and Grind era.

The Lakers, on the other hand, benefited straight away. Kobe Bryant got the secondary star he desperately needed to take the Lakers to the next level. The Lakers immediately advanced to three straight NBA Finals from 2008 thru 2010 and won back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. Gasol was the missing piece for the Lakers as he and Bryant built an empire for a few seasons together. Gasol would earn three All-Star selections with Los Angeles as well three selections to an All-NBA Team.

5. The Atlanta Hawks Traded Rasheed Wallace To The Detroit Pistons

Pistons Receive: Rasheed Wallace, Mike James

Hawks Receive: Chris Mills, Bob Sura, Zeljko Rebraca, 2004 First-Round Pick

Celtics Receive: Chucky Atkins, Lindsey Hunter, 2004 First-Round Pick

Up next is another deal that happened in the 2000s that directly resulted in one team winning an NBA championship. Rasheed Wallace had a reputation as an NBA bad boy from his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, and that didn’t carry over well to the Atlanta Hawks. The Pistons, on the other hand, realized they had missed badly on their second overall pick Darko Milicic and needed to save their championship chances in a big way. Thus, the deal happened to acquire Rasheed Wallace.

The deal sent Wallace to Detroit, where he fit right in with their physical style predicate on defense. Not only did he add fuel to the fire on that side of the ball, but he gave them an offensive presence from the power-forward spot they desperately needed. The Pistons would go on to win the NBA championship in 2004 and make five straight appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals. As for the Hawks, none of their trade pieces worked out even remotely close to the way Wallace worked out for Detroit, and the Hawks were once again left wanting.

4. The Milwaukee Bucks Traded Andrew Bogut To The Golden State Warriors

Warriors Receive: Andrew Bogut, Stephen Jackson

Bucks Receive: Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown, Ekpe Udoh

On the surface, this deal doesn’t seem like all that much of a game-changer for the Warriors. Having only acquired the former number-one overall pick, Andrew Bogut can only have so much upside. However, it isn’t just about what the Warriors received in the deal rather than what happened as a result of the deal that makes this so one-sided. Monta Ellis had expressed publicly before that he and newly-drafted Stephen Curry could not coexist in the Warriors’ backcourt. Turns out he was right, but not in the way he thought.

Once Ellis was out of the picture, Curry was given the keys to the kingdom and went on to become one of the greatest point guards ever, as well as the greatest three-point shooter ever, with two MVPs and four championships. Bogut was a great piece as well. He was the Warriors’ starting center for their 2015 championship as well as their 73-9 2016 season. As for Ellis, he would spend a year and a half in Milwaukee, where he averaged 18.9 PPG and made one playoff appearance.

3. The Toronto Raptors Traded Andrea Bargnani To The New York Knicks

Knicks Receive: Andrea Bargnani

Raptors Receive: Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, 2014 Second-Round Pick, 2016 First-Round Pick, 2017 Second-Round Pick

The trade that comes in at number three on our list consists of one of the worst deals, maybe ever. The Knicks decided in the summer of 2013 they would go out and acquire Andrea Bargnani from the Raptors. They would lose Marcus Camby, who was waived anyway, Quentin Richardson, and Steve Novak on the player side of things as well as three draft picks in total. The deal was much to the chagrin of Knicks fans and media everywhere, saying it was far too much given up for Barnani.

They were right, as the draft picks were later used to draft valuable assets, and Bargnani turned out to be an average player for just two seasons. Bargnani averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG with the Knicks in 2014 and 2015. With the Knicks, though, Bargnani took up a ridiculous amount of cap space, was abysmal on defense, and missed a lot of time due to injuries. That sort of hit on a franchise is not worth the possibilities that can come about from three draft picks.

2. The Oklahoma City Thunder Traded James Harden To The Houston Rockets

Rockets Receive: James Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, Lazar Hayward

Thunder Receive: Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, 2013 First-Round Pick, 2013 Second-Round Pick, 2014 First-Round Pick

The reason for the infamous James Harden to Houston trade that occurred back in 2012 is a big ol’ what-if. At the end of the 2012 season, Harden had just been named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, and the Thunder had just made an appearance in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. With having to worry about other superstars such as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, the salary cap casualty had to be James Harden considering how much money he would eventually command. They decided to deal him to Houston but were hardly compensated fairly.

Almost immediately, James Harden broke out as one of the most lethal offensive players in basketball. He would go on a string of 10 straight All-Star appearances, including eight with Houston. Harden would also win three straight scoring titles from 2018 thru 2020 as well as an MVP award and three straight seasons of averaging over 30.0 PPG. As for the Thunder, their roster never returned to an NBA Finals, and Durant eventually shockingly left the franchise in 2016. All three players would win MVPs after Harden’s departure from the team, but could they have won more as a unit if they had remained together?

1. The Boston Celtics Traded Paul Pierce And Kevin Garnett To The Brooklyn Nets

Nets Receive: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, D.J. White, 2017 First-Round Pick, 2017 Second-Round Pick

Celtics Receive: Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Kris Joseph, Gerald Wallace, 2014 First-Round Pick, 2016 First-Round Pick, 2017 First-Round Pick, 2018 First-Round Pick

In the worst trade in the NBA since 2000, the Brooklyn Nets were tricked into one of the worst deals in NBA history. The Nets decided to make an enormous splash in 2013 by acquiring Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry from the Boston Celtics. The move was supposed to pair the trio with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson to compete for an NBA championship. Unfortunately for Brooklyn, the deal fell apart with age and injuries showing with Garnett and Pierce. They would advance to the second round of the playoffs in 2014, but Garnett would be gone by the middle of the next season, and Pierce was gone after 2014.

For the Celtics, pay no attention to the players that they received in this deal. Gerald Wallace was well past his prime, and no other immediately impactful player was acquired. Notice how I said immediately. The draft capital acquired from Brooklyn in exchange for Garnett, Pierce, and Terry was used brilliantly by Danny Ainge and company in Boston by drafting both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who have become one of the best duos in the NBA today. The duo has already led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals three times and the NBA Finals once. They are on the cusp of the first title in Boston since 2008, while the Nets just watched yet another failed superteam experiment crumble before their eyes in 2022-23. 

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