20 best NBA Draft trades ever
By John Buhler
13. Ray Allen from Minnesota Timberwolves to Milwaukee Bucks.
This won’t be the last time that Ray Allen’s name appears on this list. For some reason, the future NBA Hall of Fame sharpshooter has been in the middle of two massively important NBA Draft day trades. The first came on the day he was drafted back in 1996 by the Timberwolves.
Allen went No. 5 overall to Minnesota after starring in the Big East for the Connecticut Huskies. He was swiftly traded along with Andrew Lang to the Bucks for the draft rights to No. 4 overall selection in point guard Stephon Marbury out of Georgia Tech.
Marbury would briefly form an interesting one-two punch with Kevin Garnett in Minnesota before bouncing around the NBA on the worse side of several other big NBA trades. In Milwaukee, Allen became a star.
Allen spent his first six and a half years in the NBA playing for a strong Bucks team with players like Glenn Robinson, Sam Cassell, and later Michael Redd. Allen made his first three All-Star appearances with the Bucks. He had his best season in Milwaukee during the 2000-01 campaign, where he made Second Team All-NBA and squared off with the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
He would be traded to the then SuperSonics in a multi-player deal involving Gary Payton in 2003. Milwaukee hasn’t been back to the Eastern Conference Finals since Allen starred for the Bucks at starting shooting guard.
Next: 12. Steve Nash from Phoenix Suns to Dallas Mavericks.