10 Best NBA Trades That Truly Helped A Team Win A Championship
There’s no doubt that an NBA trade can tilt the scales of destiny for any team, transforming them from frail contenders into championship winners, especially if the acquired player becomes a perfect fit for the team. A well-executed trade can be the decisive factor between hoisting the trophy or watching from the sidelines at the end of each NBA season.
In today’s list, we will take a look at the 10 Best NBA trades that truly helped a team win an NBA championship.
Lakers Struck Gold Dealing a Former Bust for Pau Gasol
After years of Kobe Bryant doing it all for the Lakers since Shaq’s departure in 2004, the Lakers struck gold when they shipped Kwame Brown, Marc Gasol, a second-rounder plus a bunch of bench warmers to pry Pau Gasol out of Memphis in the 2008 trade deadline.
This was a huge move as Kobe finally had the second star he desperately wanted. The impact of Gasol’s arrival was massive as the Lakers won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, further solidifying Kobe’s legacy in a purple and gold uniform. Once viewed as a one-sided trade, this eventually became a win-win for both teams as Marc Gasol turned out to be a stud after all for the Grizzlies.
1982 NBA MVP Moses Malone was Dealt to Join Dr. J
This is perhaps one of the most lopsided trades of all time if we talk about immediate results. Even though Moses Malone was named the 1981-1982 regular season MVP, the Rockets did not hesitate to trade him to the Sixers in exchange for Caldwell Jones and a 1983 first-round draft pick.
To the surprise of nobody, Malone won the MVP award again with Philadelphia in just his first season with the team and was the missing piece that Dr. J and the Sixers needed to get them over the hump to win the NBA championship in the 1982-1983 season.
Kevin McHale Gifted Kevin Garnett to his Former Team
As we all know, Kevin McHale was one of the best power forwards in the Celtics’ colorful history. During his time as Minnesota’s general manager, he made one of the biggest deals in franchise history – gifting KG to Boston in exchange for a bunch of underwhelming players and two first-round draft picks.
With Boston, Garnett teamed with long-time Celtic Paul Pierce and the often underappreciated Ray Allen(who was dealt to Boston from Seattle) and formed a formidable “Big Three.” As expected, with all of them in the middle of their prime years, the trio steered Boston to win a championship in 2008.
The Phi Slama Jama Reunion
Clyde Drexler was arguably the second-best shooting guard in the NBA behind Michael Jordan during the 80s and mid-90s. The former high flyer led the Blazers to reach the NBA Finals twice but failed to scale the mountaintop in 1990 and 1992. After the inevitable decline of his precious Blazers in 1995, the team honored Drexler’s desire to be traded to a contender. The Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon, were inexplicably struggling in the middle of the 1994-1995 season despite winning the NBA championship the previous year.
Portland sent Drexler to Houston in exchange for Otis Thorpe, the rights to an overseas player and a first-round pick before the 1995 trade deadline. Not only were Olajuwon and Drexler reunited again after their college days as members of the fabled “Phi Slama Jama”, but the trade was instrumental for the Rockets as they went on to win another championship in 1995.
Big O Joining a Young Lew Alcindor
Arguably the first and the original “Mr. Triple Double” in the league, Cincinnati’s Oscar Robertson was dealt to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk before the start of the 1970-1971 NBA season. The trade came as a shock to everybody as Robertson was considered as one of the best players in the league during that time.
Reports suggested that the Big O had a falling out with their head coach and their relationship was irreparable. With the Bucks, Robertson immediately formed a dynamic duo with the young Lew Alcindor. Both stars led the Bucks to a championship in 1971.
Shaq Exchanges Hollywood for Sunny Miami
With Shaq beefing hard with his Lakers teammate, Kobe Bryant, LA decided to keep the latter and dealt the three-time FMVP to Miami in exchange for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant. The move rattled the NBA landscape as Shaq was still considered the best big man in the NBA during that time.
While the Heat did not immediately win a title during Shaq’s first season with the team, they eventually became champions in 2006, defeating the Mavericks in six games with O’Neal and a young Dwayne Wade leading the squad.
Jordan “Tamed” the Troublesome Rodman with the Bulls
MJ’s comeback in 1995 fell short at the hands of the Magic and the Bulls immediately realized that they needed to do something to fill the void left by their former power forward, Horace Grant, who bolted to the Magic in 1994. Chicago’s solution was dealing for the eccentric Rodman from the Spurs in exchange for backup center Will Purdue before the start of the 1995-1996 season.
Jordan allegedly assured the Bulls management that he’ll “tame” Dennis Rodman and make him an integral part of the team’s journey to get back at the top. Safe to say that it worked as the Bulls secured another three-peat from 1996 to 1998. Rodman was a madman in the rebounding department during his time with Chicago.
Ball Don’t Lie When the Pistons Needed Rasheed
With the Pistons realizing that they might have an outsider’s chance at competing for an NBA title in the 2003-2004 season, they made the bold move to pry Rasheed Wallace from the Hawks(Wallace suited in just one game for Atlanta after the Blazers traded him there a few days before the 2004 trade deadline) in exchange for two backup guards and a first-round draft pick.
Sheed’s acquisition eventually proved fruitful for the Pistons as they went on to upset the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals, four games to one. Wallace was indeed the missing piece that Detroit needed to win it all.
A One-Year Rental Kawhi Made an Entire Country Proud
Although acquiring a disgruntled Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs also meant that Toronto was going to lose beloved Raptor DeMar DeRozan in the process, Raptors GM Masai Ujiri pounced on the chance in the hopes of finally bringing an NBA title across the border.
Ujiri’s gamble paid off as Leonard was able to lead Toronto to an unprecedented title run in 2019 against the Golden State Warriors. Even though Kawhi bolted to the Clippers after leading them to a championship, not a single fan from the franchise felt betrayed by his actions. It was truly a great one-year rental that made an entire country proud.
Lakers Finally Found LeBron’s Ideal Teammate
The price to acquire Davis was hefty, but it was all worth it for the Lakers when they made the deal to pry him out of New Orleans in the 2019 offseason. The deal proved to be a great one for the Lakers as they ultimately won the 2019-2020 championship which was considered one of the hardest titles in NBA history due to Covid-19 ravaging the entire world at the time.
Some may put an asterisk on the Lakers’ so-called “Bubble Title” but players who experienced the whole thing while being isolated in Orlando blatantly dismissed the notion that the Lakers had it easy. Nonetheless, Davis finally won the first title of his career while LeBron won his fourth one.
10 Best NBA Trades That Truly Helped A Team Win A Championship
News Daily Reports
No comments: