Fansided

20 best NBA Draft trades ever

By John Buhler

11 May 2001: Kobe Bryant
11 May 2001: Kobe Bryant /
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BOSTON - APRIL 13: The Boston Celtics' 1985-86 championship starters, Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish sit on the bench during a game against the New Jersey Nets at Boston Garden on April 13, 1986. (Photo by John Blanding/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON – APRIL 13: The Boston Celtics’ 1985-86 championship starters, Danny Ainge, Larry Bird, Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish sit on the bench during a game against the New Jersey Nets at Boston Garden on April 13, 1986. (Photo by John Blanding/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

3. Robert Parish/Kevin McHale from Golden State Warriors to Boston Celtics.

This draft day trade epitomizes how an elite organization can decimate a poorly run one. In 1980, the Boston Celtics orchestrated one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history during the 1980 NBA Draft.

Legendary head coach and general manager Red Auerbach robbed the Warriors blind. He sent Golden State the No. 1 overall pick in that draft and another first round pick for center Robert Parish and the No. 3 overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft. That No. 3 pick became Hall of Fame power forward Kevin McHale.

With McHale and Parish, Larry Bird would have the pieces he needed to win three NBA Championships (1981, 1984, 1986) for the Celtics. All three Boston big men would be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

While Joe Barry Carroll, who Golden State used the No. 1 overall pick on, would make an NBA All-Star Game, the Celtics along with the arch rival Lakers were the best two teams in the NBA in the 1980s during Magic Johnson and Bird’s heyday. Golden State rarely sniffed the playoffs in the decades after that one-sided deal.

Next: 2. Kobe Bryant from Charlotte Hornets to Los Angeles Lakers.

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