Fansided

20 worst NBA Draft trades ever

By John Buhler

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 08: NBA Europe Games 2003, Paris; San Antonio Spurs - Memphis Grizzlies 105:93; Pau GASOL/Grizzlies, Radoslav NESTEROVIC/Spurs (Photo by Henri Szwarc/Bongarts/Getty Images)
PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 08: NBA Europe Games 2003, Paris; San Antonio Spurs - Memphis Grizzlies 105:93; Pau GASOL/Grizzlies, Radoslav NESTEROVIC/Spurs (Photo by Henri Szwarc/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – MAY 7: New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing(L) and forward Charles Oakley sit on the bench late in the fourth quarter of their loss to the Chicago Bulls 07 May during the Eastern Conference semifinals at the United Center in Chicago. The Bulls won the game 91-80 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. (Photo credit should read BRIAN BAHR/AFP/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL – MAY 7: New York Knicks center Patrick Ewing(L) and forward Charles Oakley sit on the bench late in the fourth quarter of their loss to the Chicago Bulls 07 May during the Eastern Conference semifinals at the United Center in Chicago. The Bulls won the game 91-80 to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. (Photo credit should read BRIAN BAHR/AFP/Getty Images) /

17. Charles Oakley from Cleveland Cavaliers to Chicago Bulls

While he won’t ever make it to Springfield as a Basketball Hall of Fame caliber player, during his heyday physically imposing power forward Charles Oakley was one of the NBA’s most feared and defensively gifted big men.

Oakley was a rebounding machine and an elite rim protector in the paint. Opposing point guards often thought twice about entering the paint when Oakley was patrolling the rim. While he had his most productive years in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls (1985-88) and the New York Knicks (1988-98), he could have easily starred for his hometown team who drafted him No. 9 overall in 1985 in the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers traded the Cleveland native Oakley to region rival Chicago immediately after drafting him. Oakley would go on to play on great teams both in Chicago and in New York before retiring after the 2003-04 NBA season.

Though Cleveland was immensely talented in the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, had the Cavaliers just kept Oakley they might have had enough of a dominant low-post presence to win an NBA Championship during the Lenny Wilkens era (1986-93).

Next: 16. Portland Trail Blazers move back from No. 3 with Utah Jazz in 2005.

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