With the NBA trade deadline coming up on Thursday, February 19, here is a look back at the best deals made on the day of the trade deadline.
Though the All-Star Game and Zach LaVine’s aerial assault in Saturday night’s dunk contest are still fresh on everyone’s mind, the “for the fans” exhibition that is All-Star Weekend has come to an end. And with the just-past-midseason break over, it is time to get back down to business.
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Just as the All-Star Weekend has become one of the many traditions that the NBA possesses, the NBA trade deadline and the hype surrounding it have also become an essential part of the NBA calendar year. The best part of the long season is on the verge of starting and teams need to be prepared for the final push towards the playoffs.
While fans are fantasizing about pipe-dream situations, actual general managers are doing their best and making trades that will hopefully turn their season around, add the final piece to their championship puzzle, or set themselves up well for the future with developing talent or draft picks.
In years past, the deadline gave teams the chance to improve their team or situation midseason.
Though a lot of big deals have gone down in the weeks before the trade deadline, there is nothing like sitting down in front of the television or computer screen the day of the deadline to track the rumors and deals that are going down. Here are the best deadline day deals since 1987.
Next: Hornacek finds the perfect situation
10. Jeff Hornacek finds the perfect fit with Utah
As an NBA player, you can have all the talent in the world, but if you are stuck on a team that does not know how to utilize your abilities, it can be a long season of discomfort and unhappiness. You did not have to tell that to shooting guard Jeff Hornacek while he was on the Philadelphia 76ers.
After a year where he made an All-Star appearance with the Phoenix Suns, Hornacek was the centerpiece of a trade that brought Charles Barkley to the Valley of Sun while sending him to a 76ers team that was glad to be rid of him. Since Philadelphia already had Hersey Hawkins at the shooting guard position, they moved Hornacek to the point guard position.
Though he was averaged 19.1 points and 6.9 assists a game his first year, the 76ers were a horrible team, going 26-56 in 1992-93. The next year, he was shooting a career-low 31.3 percent when they sent him packing at the NBA trade deadline to the Utah Jazz for shooting guard Jeff Malone and a conditional first round draft pick.
Hornacek was a natural in Utah’s signature pick-and-roll offense. His percentages improved immediately after the trade, almost achieving a 50-40-90-percentage line while scoring 14.6 points and adding a second playmaker to aid John Stockton.
Though they never won a championship, Hornacek was an essential third option and hard-nosed defender on two Jazz teams that made it to the NBA Finals and were perennial playoff contenders. All he had to do was stumble into the right fit.
Next: The Nuggets bring in McGee
9. Javale McGee brings his “entertaining” brand of basketball to Denver
In terms of lovably infuriating players in the NBA, Javale McGee has to rank somewhere near the top. Physically, he is a natural runner, and his length matched with his extraordinary jumping ability makes him have almost limitless potential.
However, his physical tools have not translated into consistent NBA success. With the Washington Wizards, McGee made a habit of completing an impossible play then following it with an impossibly idiotic one. Exhibit A: In 2010-11, McGee needed one more point in the final three minutes to complete a triple-double. When he gets an open dunk to earn it, McGee hangs on the rim and gets an unnecessary technical foul. Hilarious, but come on, man.
In 2011-12, McGee was having a career year, averaging 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks. The Wizards used that as an excuse to trade the enigmatic center at the NBA trade deadline to the Denver Nuggets for a more, um, conventional center in Nene Hilario.
As far as the Wizards were concerned, he was the Nuggets problem.
However, the trade worked well for both parties. Washington got a steady and productive center, while Denver had enough depth at center to relieve any sort of pressure for McGee to be the guy that had to fulfill his potential.
Plus, fans were treated with more opportunities for potential McGee bloopers.
Next: Why, Boston? Why?
8. Boston pulls a classic, “What the hell are you doing?” trade with Kendrick Perkins
It is said in business transactions, there is always a winner and always a loser. Very rarely will you find an NBA trade that will work out equally for both parties. That is especially true with a trade that the Boston Celtics completed at the height of their Eastern Conference powers in the current millennium.
When Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce to form the new Boston Big Three in 2007, there was no doubt that the team would go to do great things. Their destiny was fulfilled with a championship that season, but more than that was the emergence of Kendrick Perkins and the discovery of the importance of his game.
In his fourth year in the NBA, Perkins found a mentor in Kevin Garnett who showed him the proper on-court intensity and grit that he needed to succeed in the league. Perkins became Boston’s nasty enforcer in the paint who fought for every rebound and every inch of position on the court. When he went down with an ACL injury during the NBA Finals two years later, the Celtics lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Many believed if he were in the game, Boston would have won their second championship in three years.
In 2010-11, Perkins was returned off the ACL injury averaging 7.3 points and 8.1 rebounds in 12 games. Apparently, that production was not enough for the Celtic front office, who were looking towards the future with their Big Three aging rather quickly.
In a move that shocked everyone at the NBA trade deadline, Perkins was moved with Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. Though he was dismayed by being traded, he provided the Thunder with the inside presence they always needed.
With him defending the paint, the Thunder made the Western Conference Finals in 2011 and then the NBA Finals in 2012. Boston, on the other hand, never made it past the Eastern Conference Finals again and Jeff Green suffered from an aortic aneurysm that kept him out of the 2011-12 season. Everyone loses sometimes, Boston.
Next: The Pacers double back on Jackson
7. The Indiana Pacers apologize quickly to Mark Jackson
Before he was getting in fights with front offices and making cheesy catch phrases in the broadcasting booth, Mark Jackson was an NBA point guard whose leadership ability was highly valued around the NBA. The Indiana Pacers quickly found out how valuable he was in 1996-97.
Before the 1996-97 season, Jackson was traded to the Denver Nuggets for Jalen Rose. The trade was a disaster for the Pacers as they fell to 10th in the Eastern Conference after making the NBA Playoffs the season before. Meanwhile, the Nuggets were still a bad team even with Jackson averaging 10.4 points, and 12.3 assists.
Feeling the ire of the fans grow with the state of the team without Jackson, the Pacers front office reacquired Jackson at the NBA trade deadline months after the team traded him for next to nothing in terms of assets (guard/forward Vincent Askew, forward Eddie Johnson and second-round draft picks in 1997 and 1998). With Jackson and Rose now sharing playmaking abilities in Indiana, the Pacers improved, but missed the Playoffs in 1997.
However, in the following seasons, Jackson became the poised presence that brought Indiana to the Eastern Conference Finals in the next two years and to the NBA Finals a year after that.
Next: Tim Hardaway's great escape
6. Nothing like a new home for Tim Hardaway
Much like when Jeff Hornacek found his niche on the Utah Jazz, Tim Hardaway found a home on the Golden State Warriors. With head coach Don Nelson placing his mad scientist brand of basketball and running mates like Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, Tim Hardaway was running-and-gunning his way to All-Star selections early in his career.
Under Don Nelson, Hardaway made three All-Star teams and was averaging 20.5 points, 9.6 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. After Nelson left the Warriors after the 1994-95 season, things went downhill for Hardaway the next year.
New head coach Rick Adelman inexplicably put Hardaway in the sixth man role and limited him to 28.6 minutes per game, nearly ten minutes less than his career average up to that point. His numbers predictably dipped and he made it clear that he wanted out if he was not going to start. Adelman obliged his request.
Hardaway, along with Chris Gatlin of Shawn Kemp fame, was traded to the Miami Heat for Bimbo Coles and the ageless wonder Kevin Willis at the NBA trade deadline. Willis was a solid forward and Bimbo Coles showed promise, but was never able to improve after joining the Warriors.
Using the change of address to refresh his love for basketball, Hardaway would make the most of his time in Miami, making two All-Star teams in 1997 and 1998 while averaging 19.6 points, 8.4 assists, and 1.8 steals in those two years. The Killa Crossover was revived once more.
Next: The Phoenix Suns find their point guard
5. Kevin Johnson gets a chance to shine with the Phoenix Suns
During a player draft in any professional sports, there are two schools of thought when choosing who will join your team: picking the best available player, or picking a player that fills a specific need. The Cleveland Cavaliers went with the former in 1987.
Even though they already had point guard Mark Price who was selected in the second round of 1986 NBA Draft, the Cavaliers decided to grab point guard Kevin Johnson with the seventh overall pick in the 1987 NBA Draft. Understandable considering Price made a minimal impact for the team the prior year.
However, Price used Johnson’s arrival as motivation and scored 16.0 points from the point guard position, a just over nine-point improvement, and the Cleveland was stuck with two point guards that could score, but only one that would get any real playing time. Instead of utilizing Johnson’s scoring and play-making from the bench (he was averaging 13.1 points and 6.7 assists during his time in Cleveland), the Cavs decided to trade him for more help in the frontcourt at the NBA trade deadline.
Johnson, along with Tyrone Corbin, and Mark West, would be traded his rookie year to the Phoenix Suns for Larry Nance, Mike Sanders, and a 1991 second-round draft pick. Johnson would develop into an all-star and run with Charles Barkley, Dan Marjerle, and Tom Chambers all the way to the NBA Finals in 1993. Nance, on the other hand, would go on to be a part of this iconic play:
Next: The revolving point guard door
4. The Point Guard Shuffle of 1999
Many times for an NBA trade, a third team is needed in order to facilitate and complete the deal. In 1999, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks, and New Jersey Nets were all in the giving mood and needed new point guards.
In a NBA trade deadline deal with nine players and future draft considerations being exchanged, the headline pieces were the point guards being traded. The Timberwolves made a tough decision to give up talented, but selfish point guard Stephon Marbury in exchange for Brandon Terrell who was a year removed from being selected to two consecutive All-Star teams.
Brandon Terrell was doing well playing for the Milwaukee Bucks, who needed a pure guard to distribute the ball add scoring rather being the main trigger man with the talented Ray Allen, Glenn Robinson, and Dell Curry lighting it up from the outside. However, head coach George Karl wanted a more mature point guard to enhance his already threatening perimeter shooting, so he dealt Terrell to the Timberwolves and got Sam Cassell from the New Jersey Nets.
A season after he broke out for 19.6 points and eight assists per game, Cassell had “dropped off” to only average 18 points and 4.8 assists. Jumping at the chance for a younger, more dynamic guard, the Nets acquired Marbury while dumping Cassell on Milwaukee and first-round draft pick to Minnesota.
All three guards continued to produce at the levels they were before, with Cassell helping the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001 and Marbury becoming an All Star in his final year in New Jersey.
Next: Out with the old, in with the new for Seattle
3. The Seattle Supersonics dumps Gary Payton for a younger model
Do you remember when you bought your first new car? The cabin was fresh with that new car smell and the leather was still nice and taut as you parked your rear end into the driver’s seat with a huge smile on your face, ready to break in that new engine and push the car to the limit. That is how it was the Seattle Supersonics with Gary Payton.
Pairing Shawn Kemp and Payton together, the Supersonics used their superstar duo to win multiple Pacific Division titles and even brought the Sonics to their first NBA Finals since Lenny Wilkens and Dennis Johnson won the NBA Championship in 1979. However, when Kemp left and the money in Seattle beginning to dry up, the front office was left with an aging Gary Payton and a team that was good but never great.
With Gary Payton still producing 20.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 8.8 assists in 2003, the Sonics decided to deal the 34-year-old point guard and Desmond Mason at the NBA trade deadline to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for a younger star named Ray Allen, Kevin Ollie, Ronald Murray and either one first-round draft pick or two second-round draft picks in the upcoming draft. The Sonics had a new car to drive their team.
Though Payton was advanced in age, his numbers were still all-star worth and he helped take the Bucks to the NBA Playoffs. Ray Allen would go on to become one of the greatest shooters of all time, making a then-record 269 three-point field goals during the 2005-06 season and was a four-time all-star with the Sonics.
Next: The 76ers find sidekick for Iverson
2. The 76ers find a defensive monster to help their offensive one.
Allen Iverson was never one to back down from a challenge (unless it was during practice). The diminutive guard had heart that surpassed the listed 6-foot, 165-pound frame he carried, but heart and determination can only do so much on defense where teams punished him and the Philadelphia 76ers.
For all his offensive grittiness, Iverson was still Michael Jackson without Tito, Captain without Tennille, Ash without Pikachu. Though the 76ers were just talented enough around Allen Iverson to get to the playoffs, there was no clear-cut number two that could help Iverson take the next step while still allowing him to keep the ball in his hands. The 76ers eventually found their man at the NBA trade deadline.
Philadelphia was able to acquire the human eraser in Dikembe Mutombo by giving the Atlanta Hawks Theo Ratliff, Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, and Pepe Sanchez. Ratliff was an All-Star in 2001 averaging 3.7 blocks, and he was younger than Mutombo by about seven years, so the trade made sense for the Hawks. Only Ratliff would miss the second half of the 2000-01 season.
The 76ers on the other hand had a proven all-star who was perfectly content in playing the role of rebounder and shot rejecter while Iverson did his thing on offense. The perfect combination of offensive and defensive brilliance allowed the 76ers to make the NBA Finals the same year that Mutombo was acquired in 2001. Though they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers, the trade was about as instant a success as it could have been for the 76ers.
Next: Rasheed liked it, so he put a ring on it
1. Sheed defines instant success in Detroit
When head coach Larry Brown inherited the Detroit Pistons from Rick Carlisle in 2003, he got a team that had been in the playoffs two consecutive years, making it to the Eastern Conference Finals the previous spring. As the season progressed, the Pistons had a 32-16 record going into February before they went 2-6 headed into the trade deadline.
Not content with the way their roster was playing, the Pistons started taking a sledgehammer to a roster that made a deep run into the playoffs the year before, hoping to turn the good Pistons team to a championship contender. Much like he did with Philadelphia where he brought in Dikembe Mutumbo at the NBA trade deadline, Brown and the Pistons orchestrated a trade that would bring the team immediate, positive returns.
In a convoluted three-team trade, Detroit ended up shipping Chucky Adkins, Lindsay Hunter, and a first-round draft pick to the Boston Celtics for Mike James. Simultaneously, they sent Bob Sura, Zeljko Rebraca, Chris Mills and a first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks for sweet shooting, technical foul machine Rasheed Wallace.
Although he had a reputation of going off script and freelancing on the court, he immediately gelled with Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Ben Wallace, buying into the team oriented structure that Larry Brown instilled. Because of Brown’s ties to North Carolina and Dean Smith, who coached Wallace at North Carolina, Brown was able to harness Wallace’s talent a bring a championship to Detroit after topping the Los Angeles Lakers who had four hall of famers on their roster.
Next: NBA Trade Deadline: 10 players likely to be traded
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