20 worst NBA Draft trades ever
By John Buhler
20. Mark Price from Dallas Mavericks to Cleveland Cavaliers
During the late 1980s to the early 1990s, there were few teams better in the Eastern Conference than the Cleveland Cavaliers and there arguably wasn’t a worse run organization in the Western Conference than the Dallas Mavericks. A perfect example of this is illustrated in the Mark Price deal of the infamous 1986 NBA Draft.
Price starred collegiately at Georgia Tech and became one of the better sharpshooting guards of his era during his time in Cleveland (1986=95). Price made four trips to the All-Star Game, made the All-NBA First Team in 1993, and has his No. 25 jersey retired by both the Cavaliers and the Yellow Jackets.
Dallas started to rapidly decline as an organization shortly after the Price trade with Cleveland. From 1988 to 2000, the Mavericks qualified for the Western Conference Playoffs once (1990) and were shut out in the first round by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Price was a focal point of many several good, but not great teams in Cleveland. While he was considered undersized at six feet as the first pick of the second round in the 1986 NBA Draft, one could argue that Price’s solid offensive game would have helped the Mavericks during their decade of dysfunction in the 1990s.
Next: 19. Brandon Roy from Minnesota Timberwolves to Portland Trail Blazers.