20 worst NBA Draft trades ever
By John Buhler
14. LaMarcus Aldridge from Chicago Bulls to Portland Trail Blazers
After two stellar years starring in the Texas Longhorns’ front court in the Big 12, Dallas native LaMarcus Aldridge declared for the 2006 NBA Draft. He would go No. 2 overall to the Chicago Bulls, but was immediately traded to the Portland Trail Blazers for Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa.
Though it took a few years, Aldridge would become a superstar power forward in Portland for the first nine years of his NBA career. He made five All-Star Games and three All-NBA teams in his nine years with the Trail Blazers (2006-15).
In the 2007 NBA Draft the very next year, Chicago would draft center Joakim Noah out of Florida to anchor their front court. Had the Bulls have kept Aldridge instead of immediately trading his rights to the Trail Blazers, Chicago might have had the most ferocious and balanced front court in the Eastern Conference for the last decade.
Though players like Pau Gasol, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, and Nikola Mirotic are great forwards in their own right, the Aldridge/Noah pairing would have almost certainly brought an NBA Championship to the Windy City for the first time since 1998. Not to mention what the Bulls could have been with a big three of Noah, Aldridge, and point guard Derrick Rose pre-injury.
Next: 13. Ray Allen from Minnesota Timberwolves to Milwaukee Bucks.