Everyone knows that the NBA is a business. Teams always become impatient with players and would rather get rid of the player than work with him. Sometimes this tactic does work in the team’s favor but there are a few cases as to where the team that made the trade has regretted the decision.
Here are 5 players who were traded away too early.
Kyle Lowry
Kyle Lowry was the 24th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. For the Grizzlies, Lowry played two seasons and put up solid numbers but didn’t look like a player that would stick around on the team. After the Grizzlies had drafted Mike Conley, it was obvious that Lowry’s time on the team would be coming to an end soon and he was later traded to the Houston Rockets in a three-team trade that included Rafer Alston, Brian Cook, Adonal Foyle, and Mike Wilks.
On the Rockets, Lowry’s numbers did increase but, once again, he was nothing more than a solid player. Lowry had a feud with the Rockets Head Coach Kevin McHale and when he went out with a bacterial infection, this paved the way for the Rockets to have backup point guard Goran Dragic take his spot and the Houston Rockets decided to trade him to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Gary Forbes and a future first-round pick.
Kyle Lowry has accelerated and taken off since the trade and on the Raptors, he has become a staple for the team and a multi-time All-Star putting up 17.4 points and 7.1 assists during his time with the Raptors.
The Raptors have also made the playoffs 6 out of the 7 years he has been with them and just won a championship last season.
Victor Oladipo
Victor Oladipo was the 2nd overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Victor Oladipo was pretty good for the Magic and put up 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4 assists during his time there while also showing off his crazy athleticism and his great defensive abilities.
Even though he was pretty good in his first three seasons, the Magic made the foolish decision of trading him alongside Domantas Sabonis and Ersan Ilyasova in exchange for Serge Ibaka, who did not fit on the Magic at all.
On the Thunder, Victor once again had a good season but was once again traded alongside Domantas Sabonis to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Paul George.
Victor Oladipo took off and in his first season he averaged 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, and a league-leading 2.4 steals while leading the Indiana Pacers to the 5th seed in the East. Also, in his first season, he made the All-Star team and won the Most Improved Player Award.
In his 2nd season, his statistics did decrease but he ruptured his Right Quadriceps Tendon which cut his season short, but many people are expecting a great season from him this year.
Zach LaVine
Zach LaVine was the 13th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. LaVine played decent for the Timberwolves, establishing himself as a scorer and showing off his insane athleticism. Zach unfortunately tore his ACL and in the 2017 offseason, and alongside Kris Dunn and the 9th overall pick in the 2017 draft was traded to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton.
On the Bulls, Zach had an inefficient first season as he was coming back from injury, but this past season he took off.
For the Bulls last season, he averaged 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists. Many people are expecting LaVine to improve once again this season and potentially make the all-star game.
Khris Middleton
Khris Middleton was the 39th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. After one season, Middleton was traded alongside Brandon Knight to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Brandon Jennings.
Khris Middleton has steadily improved during his time on the Bucks and was an all-star last season where he averaged 18.3 points, 6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists.
Montrezl Harrell
Montrezl Harrell was drafted by the Houston Rockets with the 32nd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and spent some time in the G-League during his first two seasons. Harrell did not do much during his time on the Rockets and was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Chris Paul trade.
On the Clippers, Montrezl had played well enough to earn another contract with the Clippers and took off this past season.
Last year, he averaged 16.6 points and 6.5 rebounds on 61.5 percent shooting from the field and have established himself as one of the best bench players in the league.
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