In 2013 the newly minted Brooklyn Nets made one of the worst trades in NBA history. They gave up 3 future first round picks and a pick swap in exchange for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (and Jason Terry). The trade was immediately a disaster for the Nets as the three veterans that the Nets traded for gave them one one decent season and then fizzled out leaving the Nets void of talent and picks. Meanwhile the picks they sent to Boston were used to draft Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum and trade for Kyrie Irving.
The Nets trading away those picks was seen as incredibly irresponsible and the fact that those picks deliver the Celtics next young core only emphasized what a bad idea sending out a massive package of picks in a trade. For years afterwards despite the fact that superstar players continued to be traded we did not see anyone trade away a package of picks the way the Nets foolishly had. It seemed like NBA front offices had observed what had happened to the Nets and were determined not to make the same mistake.
Fast forward to 2019 after months of bitter negotiations the Pelicans traded Anthony Davis to the Lakers and changed what superstar trades in the NBA would look like for the next 4 years. In the time since the Nets trade leading up to the Anthony David trade other NBA superstars Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving and Paul George were all traded for various packages of picks and players. Here is what those packages looked like.
I know that the situations for these trades weren’t exactly the same as the Anthony Davis situation. Kawhi’s situation was very strange and PG only had 1 year left on his deal. The Kyrie Irving trade is the most similar with Kyrie being in the prime of his career and having multiple years left on his contract and yet all the Cavs got was a few role players and one pick albeit a pick that was almost guaranteed to be in the lottery (I might be discounting how much the Cavs valued broken down Isaiah Thomas). My point is that in these 3 superstar trades the returns were all very different and there wasn’t a set uniform expectation for what a superstar trade should look like.
In comparison just a few years later the Lakers traded the following package for Anthony Davis
At the time this move was highly scrutinized and many people believed that the Lakers had overpaid and would regret this trade the same way the Nets came to regret their trade
Unlike the Nets however, the Lakers won the NBA championship the following season and by all accounts have no regrets about making that trade.
This Lakers – Pelicans trade proved to be a template for NBA superstar trades going forward in a few different ways.
A lesson for the buyers
NBA front offices seeing the Lakers aggressively push their chips in and win emboldened them to make similar trades. It’s like the Lakers making this trade work untaught the league the lesson that the Nets trade had taught them years before.
This trade also emboldened impatient owners to push their front offices to be more aggressive. When an owner demands that an aggressive all in move be made, the front office could no longer point to the Nets disaster as an example of what would happen now that there was an example of the Lakers raising a banner.
Also the fact that this trade was clearly pushed through by Lebron James made it so other NBA stars in similarly empowered positions could demand that their team make a dramatic trade to acquire their desired teammate. Lebron told the Lakers to get Anthony Davis and the Lakers moved Heaven and Earth to get him why shouldn’t X player get the same respect? So the Lakers making this trade and then winning the championship showed owners, executives and players that all their dreams could come true if they’re willing to pay the price.
A lesson for the sellers
The Pelicans holding out and demanding that the Lakers meet their asking price of several good young players and massive haul of picks and in the end having their demands met taught a valuable lesson to NBA teams. Now when teams were forced to trade away their star players they had a default asking price. “If you want our guy you’ll have to pay for him like the Lakers paid for Anthony Davis.”
Before this trade, teams who had the misfortune of having a star demand a trade or alert them of their intention to leave in free agency had to deal with the reality that they had lost their leverage and would now have to sell their prized players on a discount. This is part of why Anthony Davis was traded for more than Kyrie Irving, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard combined.
Anthony Davis not only demanded a trade but also made it known to everyone that he only was interested in playing for the Lakers and that he would not resign with anyone but the Lakers. Based on what had happened in these situations over the past few years the Pelicans would either have to trade AD to a non Laker team for a smaller package because they would be trading him as a rental or trade with the Lakers who wouldn’t have to raise their offer since they were only bidding against themselves. The Pelicans either because they were very savvy or very bitter that the Lakers had put them in this situation refused to deal Anthony Davis for a discounted price. In the end they were successful and the Lakers paid up. Going forward NBA teams who were forced to trade their stars would follow the Pelicans game plan.
The trades that have happened since
The AD trade opened up the floodgates and over the next 4 years several more trades involving large amounts of picks in exchange for all star players happened.
Just a few weeks later was the Paul George trade which is probably the biggest and most aggressive of all, although the Clippers spin is that they were basically trading for Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. (Kawhi’s ability to force the franchise to make the Paul George trade is a direct result of Lebron being able to do the same for Anthony Davis)
The next year the Bucks went all in on Jrue Holiday who is definitely a step down in talent from AD and PG but he proved to be the missing piece for the Bucks. (This trade was a multi team deal so I just included what the Bucks traded instead of showing that some of those pieces went to Denver and OKC. Also on NBA.com there are multiple versions of this trade that are contradictory so I just went with the version that I think is right.)
Just a few months later the Nets, feeling the pressure from their star players, rolled the dice on another big Superstar trade and acquired James Harden. Once again the Nets would ultimately go on to regret this move. (Again it’s a multi team trade so I’m just showing what the Nets traded away and what they get back)
The next offseason there was a trio of big pick trades with the Hawks making an all in move to get Dejounte Murray and the Jazz detonating their star duo.
Then last season Suns with their new owner tried to level up their team at the trade deadline by trading for Kevin Durant.
So after years of big pick trades being a taboo suddenly they were happening every couple months.
There were two reasons that the Nets trade was viewed as such a disaster.
- The Nets got almost nothing out of Pierce and Garnett.
- The picks that they gave up gave Boston an elite young core.
2 of these big pick trades have conveyed most of the picks in the trade so I wanted to take a look at what those picks have become so far.
The Lakers
The Lakers in their trade cleared the first hurdle and got a championship out of Anthony Davis but there was still a risk that the picks they gave the Pelicans would turn into the next generation of young stars.
The 2019 first round pick – 4th overall
This was a high pick but the Lakers already knew that when they made the trade so that was part of the calculation when they made the trade.
The Pelicans traded this pick that became Deandre Hunter and got Jackson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander Walker. As far as what the 4th overall pick could be either Hunter or the Hayes – Alexander Walker duo is probably something that the Lakers aren’t upset to have missed out on although if they had kept the pick they could have and probably would have taken Darius Garland so that is something to be a little sad about. This trade also got them the second round pick that become Herb Jones who is a good NBA player but that has more to do with David Griffin doing a good job trading the 4th overall pick than the Lakers handing over Herb Jones. Other parts of this trade were used to get CJ Mccollum and Larry Nance so that is also part of the occasion.
The 2021 First round pick – Didn’t convey so it become a 2022 First round pick
The 2022 First round pick – 8th overall
This is probably a higher pick than the Lakers were hoping to give up so early in AD’s Laker career but that’s the way it turned out. The Pelicans used the pick on Dyson Daniels. Daniels is still a work in progress so it remains to be seen what he will turn into but so far in his second season he’s averaging just 7.4 ppg and playing just over 26 mpg so it’s not like the Lakers are missing out on star production.
The 2023 Pick Swap – Didn’t convey
There was a moment when the Pelicans were the top seed in the West and Lakers were scuffling at the bottom of the standing that people were worried that this might become Victor Wembanyama but the Pelicans took a dive and the Lakers turned their season around and kept their pick.
The 2024 First Round Pick
We’ll see.
So with one Lakers pick left the picks the Lakers gave up have turned into
Jackson Hayes – (Not on the team anymore)
Nickeil Alexander Walker – (Included in CJ Mccollum trade)
Herb Jones – (Kind of)
Dyson Daniels – (Still on the team)
If Herb Jones, CJ Mccollum, Dyson Daniels and the players the Pels take with the Lakers 2024 pick are the supporting cast on a Pelicans team lead by Brandon Ingram and Zion that become an annual contender you could argue that the Lakers gave the Pelicans the future of their franchise but so far the pick haul the Lakers gave up is yet to deliver the the Pelicans a real star despite the fact that they have given up some higher picks.
The Clippers trade
This trade is tough because the Clippers spin is that this trade allowed them to get Kawhi Leonard and at the time Kawhi Leonard was considered by some people to be the best player in the league and Paul George, who was actually acquired in the deal, was coming off of the best year of his career. This deal made the Clippers instant title favorites and both Leonard and George are still on the team so they avoided one of the Nets trade pitfalls which was that Pierce and Garnett were both off the roster after 2 seasons. Unfortunately for the Clippers out of all the big pick trades that have happened over the last several years they traded away the best young player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Trading away a pick that becomes a great player is painful but having a great player in your building and trading him away as part of a package is even more painful and if this trade had just been George for Alexander without the other picks the Thunder would still have won the trade.
But what did all these Clipper picks become for the Thunder?
The 2021 First Round Pick (Via Miami) – 18th Overall
The Thunder used this pick to draft Tre Mann who as of right now is a pretty good NBA player that looks like he might get squeezed off the Thunder by the rest of their emerging young talent but as far as 18th picks go it’s a pretty good one by the Thunder.
This pick is kind of famous though because it was involved in 4 different trades before eventually landing in OKC.
The 2022 First Round Pick – 12th Overall
When the Clippers made this trade I am sure they thought that they wouldn’t have to worry about this pick being in the lottery but they had a disastrous 2022 season and handed over the 12th pick which the Thunder used to draft the first of their 2 Jalen Williams (that joke works better verbally)
Williams looks like a key part of the Thunder core and potentially has all star upside so it’s a great number 12 pick for the Thunder.
The 2023 First Round Pick (Via Miami) – Didn’t convey
The Thunder now have the rights to the Heat’s 2025 pick
The 2023 First Round Pick Swap – Didn’t convey
Still to come:
2024 LAC First Round Pick
2025 LAC Pick Swap
2025 MIA First Round Pick
2026 LAC First Round Pick
The Clippers made a very similar gamble to the Lakers and it just didn’t go their way. Unfortunately for them the young player they sent over ended up being better and even though the draft picks the Lakers sent the Pelicans were better picks the players the Thunder drafted so far have been better players and they still owe the Thunder 4 more picks.
It’s kind of a disaster but at least George and Leonard are still on the team and there is still the opportunity for them to deliver the Clippers and championship although it looks like there are several teams in the west better than them including the Thunder.
When the new CBA was announced and it was apparent that it would be very punishing for the teams that dare to spend over the cap some people theorized that we had seen the end of the big pick NBA Super Star trade. In the first off season with the new CBA looming over the league teams were very careful and even though some big names moved around the pick compensation in the trades were minimal compared to what was getting thrown around the previous off season. However I don’t think we have seen the end of these crazy all in packages. Once the fear of the new CBA wears off teams will start doing risk reward calculations on these packages again and all it will take is one front office to roll the dice for all the impatient owners, empowered superstars and desperate executives to follow suit.
The Dishwasher 
Leave a comment