Fansided

The 5 greatest NBA trade deadline deals ever

By Adam McGee

April 5, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) controls the ball against the defense of Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol (16) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 5, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) controls the ball against the defense of Los Angeles Lakers power forward Pau Gasol (16) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 19, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Former Houston Rockets Clyde Drexler waves to the crowd as he is introduced during halftime of the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets game at Toyota Center in honor of the 20th anniversary the Rockets were honoring their 1993-94 and 1994-95 Champion NBA teams. Rockets won 118 to 108. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Former Houston Rockets Clyde Drexler waves to the crowd as he is introduced during halftime of the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets game at Toyota Center in honor of the 20th anniversary the Rockets were honoring their 1993-94 and 1994-95 Champion NBA teams. Rockets won 118 to 108. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Clyde Drexler, Tracy Murray to the Rockets; Otis Thorpe, Marcelo Nicola, 1995 first round pick to the Trail Blazers

Entering the 1994-95 season as the league’s defending champions, the Houston Rockets had every reason to be disappointed as they approached the NBA trade deadline in sixth place in the West. Boasting a generational talent in his prime in the form of Hakeem Olajuwon, the Rockets needed to make the most of their opportunity.

In order to do so, the Rockets traded for the then eight-time All-Star Clyde Drexler, adding another chapter to a pairing that already had a place in the history books of Houston basketball.

The move marked a reunion for Drexler and Olajuwon, who played alongside each other on the “Phi Slama Jama” Houston Cougars team that made back-to-back Final Four appearances in 1982 and 1983.

Drexler’s presence wouldn’t spark an immediate return to form for the Rockets as they closed the season out with a record of 17-18 from the date of the trade, but they entered the playoffs with one of the most dangerous one-two punches in the NBA.

If that made Houston one of the teams that the other top contenders in the West would have preferred to have avoided, they were proven to have had good reason. As the sixth seed, the Rockets rolled through Utah, Phoenix and San Antonio, seeds three through one respectively, before sweeping the Orlando Magic in the Finals.

Although the Rockets wouldn’t reach those heights again, they got three more playoff trips out of Drexler before his retirement, and could rest easily knowing that their 1995 deadline trade earned them a second title.

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