A good trade can set up an NBA franchise for years to come or at least add a few wins to their total at the end of the year.


On the flip side, a bad trade can set back a franchise that was ascending and completely derail its plans of chasing after a championship.

10 – The Denver Nuggets trade Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks

NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 09: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks pursues a ball as it goes out of bounds in the game against the Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden on December 9, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
It was known that Carmelo wanted out of Denver, and the Nuggets granted his wish by trading him to the Knicks. The Knicks traded four players (which included good young players such as Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari), a 1st Round Pick, and 2nds for Carmelo and other players.

It was a puzzling trade at the time because although Carmelo was an excellent player, there was a belief that he would sign in New York at the end of the season when he became a free agent. Instead, the Knicks traded all their depth for Anthony and never really sniffed a deep post-season run with him leading the way.

9 – The Lakers deal Shaquille O’Neal to the Miami Heat

LOS ANGELES – JANUARY 16: Shaquille O’Neal #34 of the Miami Heat dunks during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on January 16, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers won 100-92. (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
It’s widely known that there was a power struggle in L.A. between Shaq and the late Kobe Bryant, and it finally came to an end when the Lakers decided to trade O’Neal to the Heat and end the pairing of one of the most dominant duos of all time. Shaq would team up with Dwyane Wade and win another NBA title in 2006, while the Lakers took a step back for a few years and tried to figure out what life was like without the dominant duo together.

8 – The Raptors trade Vince Carter to the New Jersey Nets

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – APRIL 27: Vince Carter #15 of the New Jersey Nets goes to the hoop in-between of the New Jersey Nets Chris Bosh #4 and T.J. Ford #11 of the Toronto Raptors in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2007 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2007 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
“He was to Canada what Michael Jordan was to the Bulls” said former Raptors forward Donyell Marshall at the time of the trade, and it tells you all you needed to know. Carter was electrifying and brought life to the neighbors up north. The Raptors received Alonzo Mourning (who refused to play for any other team than the Miami Heat) and two first-round picks that amounted to basically nothing. It didn’t help Toronto that Carter actively was trying to be traded, but it is hard to believe that is all they got in return for a player like Air Canada.

7 – Bucks trade Dirk Nowitzki to the Mavericks on Draft Night

22 Feb 2001: Dirk Nowitzki #41 of the Dallas Mavericks waves to the crowd before the game against the Boston Celtics at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks defeated the Celtics 98-91. Mandatory Credit: Ronald Martinez /Allsport
A little-known fact: Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki was drafted by the Bucks and traded from Milwaukee to Dallas on draft night for Robert “Tractor” Traylor. He was a top international player then, but Milwaukee didn’t know they had made a big mistake. Dirk would go on to be the best player in Mavs history and lead them to a championship in 2011, while the late Traylor would only start 73 games in his 7-year career.

6 – Lakers send Draft Picks for Steve Nash

FRESNO, CA – OCTOBER 07: Steve Nash #10 of the Los Angeles Lakers signals the Laker coaches during the game with the Golden State Warriors at Save Mart Center At Fresno State on October 7, 2012 in Fresno, California. The Warriors won 110-83. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
The Lake Show needed to win now with an aging Kobe Bryant and decided to trade two 1st Round Picks and two 2nd Round Picks to acquire the 38-year-old Nash. The trade backfired, and Nash ended up playing 2 injury-riddled seasons in L.A. and only played in 65 games. The Lakers weren’t very good and ended up in the lottery the next few years afterwards.

5 – Pacers trade Kawhi Leonard on Draft Night

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 13: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs reacts to his charginfg foul in front of teammates Tiago Splitter #22 and Tim Duncan #21 during the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on November 13, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The Spurs would win 84-82. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Pacers traded the rights to Leonard for George Hill and it may have cost them big time. Although Hill was a solid player, Kawhi developed to be one of the best players in the NBA. A Paul George and Kawhi Leonard pairing just might have been enough to get through Lebron James in the East. With just George, the Pacers never found true success in the East and failed to do much of anything in the post-season.

4 – Phoenix Suns trade for Shaquille O’Neal

SAN ANTONIO – APRIL 29: Shaquille O’Neal #32 of the Phoenix Suns has his shoulder tended to by a tranier during the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2008 NBA Playoffs at the AT&T Center on April 29, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
This time, O’Neal is on the wrong side of the spectrum. The Suns swapped versatile forward Shawn Marion and seldom used guard Marcus Banks to acquire Shaq at the 2008 trade deadline. Many pundits were skeptical of the move since O’Neal’s arrival would severely interfere with how the Suns liked to play during that time with Steve Nash as the floor general. The trade was clearly a huge mistake as Shaq expectedly clogged the paint which limited Amar’e Stoudamire’s effectiveness on the floor.

3 – OKC Thunder trade James Harden to Houston

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – APRIL 21: Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder looks to pass the ball guarded by James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets during the first half of Game One of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena on April 21, 2013 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Thunder defeated the Rockets 120-91. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Who would’ve thought Harden would turn out to be the player he was in Houston? Trading Harden was the beginning of the end for Oklahoma City, and they wouldn’t reach another NBA Finals with just the duo of Westbrook and KD. Harden went on to become arguably the best player in Rockets history and set multiple records for the franchise. OKC didn’t get anything of value in return for Harden and ended up trading KD and Westbrook a few years later.

2 – Lakers fleece Hornets for Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant(L) of the Los Angeles Lakers drives around Bobby Phills(C) of the Charlotte Hornets on a pick set by Shaquille O’Neal(R) 16 February game in Los Angeles, CA. Bryant scored 16 points and the Lakers beat the Hornets, 116-88. AFP PHOTO Vince BUCCI (Photo by VINCE BUCCI / AFP) (Photo by VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images
Just about everyone knows by now, but Kobe Bryant originally was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets right out of high school in 1996. After the two sides encountered contract disputes that couldn’t be resolved, the Hornets traded Bryant for Vlade Divac. Although Divac was a solid player, he was nothing compared to Bryant. Kobe led the Lakers to 5 championships and multiple records and became a top 10 player in the history of the NBA.

1 – Nets trade the farm for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 25: Paul Pierce #34 and Kevin Garnett #2 of the Brooklyn Nets look on from the bench in the first half against the Toronto Raptors in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2014 NBA Playoffs at the Barclays Center on April 25, 2014 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Widely considered to be the worst trade in the history of the NBA, this trade set the Nets back for a decade. The Nets traded for 36- and 37-year-old Pierce and Garnett, respectively, and traded a haul of players and 3 valuable 1st round picks. The Nets ended up having minimal success and bottomed out in just a few years, while the Celtics used two of the 1st Round Picks acquired in this trade to draft franchise pillars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. A trade that completely changed the f