Draft Busts, Bad Trades, Bad Checks: What Was Your Team’s Worst Move?
Jim McIlvaine. The only semi-positive thing you’ll get a Seattle Supersonics fan to say about him is, “It wasn’t all his fault.” Back in ‘96, coming off of their NBA Finals run-win with MJ’s 72-win Bulls, the Sonics were looking for that one piece to put them over the top and signed McIlvaine to a seven-year, $33 million deal.
On paper, it (kinda) made sense. Mac was 7-foot-1, 24 years old, and finished in the League’s top-10 in blocks despite playing only 15 minutes a night as Gheorge Muresan’s backup with the Bullets. As the thinking went, if McIlvaine could swat two shots in 15 minutes of burn, in 30-35 minutes he’d be the next Mark Eaton. McIlvaine ended up averaging about three points, three and a half boards and two blocks in a Sonics career that ended after two years when he was traded to the Nets, but him being a free-agent bust wasn’t even the worst part: The McIlvaine signing royally pissed off Shawn Kemp (who was looking to get a raise that summer), which was the first domino in that Sonics team falling apart. A disgruntled Kemp was traded a year later, the Vin Baker era began, and the Supes never got close to the ‘chip again.
Every year teams make bad and potentially disastrous personnel moves, and 2008 has been no different. Just yesterday, the Pistons and Clippers didn’t spend a ton of money on Kwame Brown and Ricky Davis, respectively, but both have a history of making their teams worse. And Nuggets fans watched Marcus Camby — one of the only good defenders on a sorry defensive team — get traded away recently for nothing.
Whether it was a draft pick who turned into a bust, bypassing a future superstar in the draft, getting duped in a big trade, or paying way too much money for a so-so free agent, What was your team’s most memorable bad move?
July 29th, 2008 at 9:03 am
shake&bake says:
After the MJ era, the Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler trade followed by Jay Williams buying a motorcycle.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:05 am
NOBSWORLD says:
the master of all moves isiah thomas signing of jerome james . dont even know the exact figure and even anyone heared about him after that
July 29th, 2008 at 9:07 am
CHEE says:
CELTS
TRADING AWAY JOE JOHNSON AND BILLUPS SO QUICKLY.
ALSO I THINK WE HAD BEN WALLACE AT ONE POINT.
O WELL, AT LEAST WE GOT ONE ‘CHIP.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:21 am
karizmatic says:
In recent history, the Lakers worst move was trading Caron Butler for Kwame Brown, but since that resulted in the Kwame Brown for Gasol highway robbery I guess it wasn’t too bad. Go Lakers!
July 29th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Mark says:
Bucks trading the rights to future league MVP Dirk for Tractor Traylor! there are others but this is one of the dumbest moves ive ever known!
July 29th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Coop says:
I’m a Sonics fan (or was until Bennett moved in and out) and Dime have it spot on here. We did a lot of stupid things (trading pick that was Pippen, for one) but the JM contract was just a fucking joke. Why would you do that when Kemp’s just dragged you to the finals against MJ?
so so so fucking stupid.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Coop says:
Bear in mind, Mark, that there wasnt the confidence in Euro talent then that there is now. Still a god-awful move but worth noting.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:30 am
QQ says:
Magic drafting Fran Vasquez with the 11th pick.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Jayo says:
1. When the Orlando Magic let Shaq go just as he was entering his prime. They thought $100mill was too much for 1 player & that Penny could carry the team. Then they signed Felton Spencer & Rony Seikaly to replace him.
2. Then later they go & trade T-Mac for Stevie Franchise & Cat Mobley. Huh?
3. They sign Reshard Lewis for $118mill. He’s the 3rd best player on the team. Plus he wasn’t even the #1 option w/ the Sonics. Who signs a #2 guy to a max contract? With moves like that the Magic will never get a chip.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:41 am
fiyaman says:
the worst move ever was signing Isiah Thomas and then letting him run the team..
J.James? Starburst? S.Franchise? P.Hardaway? Malik Rose?
I take that back our worst move was letting James Dolan run the team..
July 29th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Kyle Lee Watson says:
Almost Every Draft Pick The Raptors Have Made.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:48 am
pittbull says:
Look as a huge Sonics guy YES we dropped way too much coin on Jimmy Mac.
BUT at the time we NEEDED someone that could get Ervin Johnson and Frank Brickowski the hell off the floor if we were gonna stop the Bulls. (remember Johnson getting abused by Rodman and Longley so bad he got benched in the Finals?)
Worst moment? easy. 2 words : Clay Bennett.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:58 am
isotope says:
i’ll give you one: Barkley for Horry, Cassell, Chucky Brown, and Mark James. This was especially bad because the Rockets just finished winning their 2nd championship in a row. Why they tore that team apart, i don’t know.
July 29th, 2008 at 9:59 am
jz_smoove says:
any sorrier trade in raptorland than basically getting peanuts for Vince carter? that dude babcock, then GM, shouldnt be lurking around or near T.O. He might still get shot at.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:01 am
hahns says:
isiah thomas
July 29th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Sho-Nuff says:
Jon Koncack and his millions in Atlanta.
The Nets draft picks, Dannis Hopson, Ed O’Bannon, Kerry Kittles, Chris Morris and not picking Danny Granger in the draft over the kid from A&M. Hell I’d have taken Hakim Warrick that year over dude…
July 29th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Ashlov says:
Wow. The pre-Mickey Arison era is full of genius decisions by Team Fucknuts (Lewis Schaeffel & Billy Cunningham):
Trading our starting center, Rony Seikaly, for Billy Owens. Or maybe trading Steve Smith for Kevin Willis. Or how about trading our 1993 #1 for John Salley. The pick in ‘93 ended up being in Allan Houston, who then killed the Heat on various occassions as a Knick. The irony.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Jeffrey says:
bostjan nachbar
July 29th, 2008 at 10:11 am
YOUNGFED says:
Uhmmmm…..And Exactly WHY are we talking about Seattle? It’s over Austin let it go bro, let it go. lmao
July 29th, 2008 at 10:11 am
fiyaman says:
sign Allan Houston to a $100 mil contract… biggest mistake ever.. we haven’t seen the light since that move
July 29th, 2008 at 10:14 am
YOUNGFED says:
Oh almost forgot
“DARKO (Worst Pick in NBA History)MILICIC”
July 29th, 2008 at 10:21 am
rell says:
++ What CHEE said and also the trading of the ‘06 number 7 pick to Portland for Telfair. The pick eventually became Brandon Roy. Nice job DA. Atleast we go Rondo that year though. Our lineup would have been West/Rondo, Roy, Pierce, Al Jefferson, and Perks. We probably would have not traded for KG and Allen so it all worked out for the good of the team.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:29 am
loc says:
Andrea Bargnani. They are still trying to sell him to us as someone who’ll become a real player, not a 7 ft 3 ball chucker.
But that VINCE trade, ouch, all around ouch. Got two bench players and a Zo who immediately refused to play for them. I mean, at least get a starter for a the leading vote getter in the all star game, even if he is a whiney, fake limping, no heart chump.
Also, Kobe for Vlade and Tractor Trailer for Dirk. Two bad draft day ones there!
July 29th, 2008 at 10:34 am
the mamba says:
@ isotope
The barkley trade wasn’t that bad, cuz we got to the conference finals the next yr. If it weren’t for that damn stockton hittin a dagger we would’ve been in the finals again.
As a rockets fan, it was the yr they had three 1st round picks and passed up houston’s own rashard lewis for I think bryce drew, michael dickerson, and zan tabak (I think). Three guys who were out of the league in a few yrs.
Also pickin nachbar over tayshuan prince was jus ridiculus. An experienced 6′9″ lefty, deadly from 3 and they get boki.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:37 am
mike says:
Have to disagree about the Raptors draft history. Despite not always keeping the players/trading them away for nothing, they have a great track record. Every team has a few blips but they have only been around 12 years and look and what they have drafted.
Damon Stoudemire
Marcus Camby
Vince (I know they actually drafted Antawn Jamison and traded for Vince)
T-Mac
Bosh
Calderon
Bargnani
Charlie V
Kareem Rush
Mo Pete
John Bender
Some guys that have carved out serious careers in the L and some solid role guys as well.
July 29th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Thunder D says:
Signing Jerome James to 5 yr 31 Million deal…Kill Isiah
July 29th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Celts Fan says:
@Chee, half the league had Ben Wallace and I truly think he was one of the most over-rated players ever. Hell of a defender, but TERRIBLE offensively. He was in a perfect fit in Detroit and proved he needed to be on a team like that to be worthwhile. Also, we had him well before he did anything to speak of.
The JJ and Chauncey trades were bad, but we got pieces that got us to the ECF. Granted, even if we’d won that series, we would’ve been MASSACRED by the Lakers, but without that one glimpse at Playoff success, we probably woulda lost PP long before this year, so I’ve come to grips w/ that one. Also, Chauncey was average until he got coached by Larry Brown. I hate teh guy, but that’s one thing I’ll give him credit for. Chauncey Billups owes his stardom and contract to LB.
In my opinion, our worst move was trading for Vin Baker. I mean, anytime you can trade for a KNOWN ALCOHOLIC (key word being known) who’s making the max, how do you not make that move?
Honorable mention for the Raef Lafrentz trade (may be higher if he hadn’t been a key part of a move that made the next awful move possible)
Honorable mention: The #7 pick (which was BRoy) and Raef for Theo Ratliff and Telfair. This would definitely be #1 were it not for the fact that without Ratliff’s expiring deal, we never coulda got KG (Minn. is not paying Raef $14M for 2 years,) so in the end it did work out as awful as it looked at the time. Definitely complete luck it did work out, but whatever…
July 29th, 2008 at 10:42 am
PJ says:
todd fuller. I mean, even darko is still in the league (I think)…
July 29th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Michorizo says:
Worst Pick was #1 pick (I think in ‘89)Pervis Ellison for the Sac Kings.
1990 - Then they took Lionel Simmons with the 7th pick.
1991 - Kings select Billy Owens with the #3 pick. Not only did he not want to play for the Kings but he was the only player taken in the top 5 of this draft that never made it to the All-Star game.
1992 - Kings select Walt Williams … I remember him as the Wizard …cool nickname though
1993 - Kings select Bobby Hurley. Great in the NCAA, but got in a car wreck and his game suffered because of it. Sad Story
1994 - Brian Grant is taken. Big Boy, Big Body, Banged and all … 1994 draft was weak anyways…only Kidd and G. Hill stood out to me.
1995 - Corliss Williamson or Scoreless Williamson depending who you ask. Was he good? He was better than I ever was, but so was Pervis Ellison
1996 - This is the year things turned. I was at Arco Arena when Geoff Petrie (1st year as GM with Sac, I think) announced he was taking Pedrag Stojakovic. The crowd went ape shit…yelling, cussing, vomiting. Everyone wanted them to take John Wallace…guess who took him … the Knicks
July 29th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Pistonsfan says:
Easy one for me……Darko over Mellow D Wade Chris Bosh and everyone else in his draft class besides Fran Vasquez we would have a couple more rings had it not been for that screw up
July 29th, 2008 at 10:56 am
JarrJohnson says:
A brief synopsis of Nuggets first round picks:
1998, 1st round, 3rd pick: Raef LaFrentz.
1999, 1st round, 18th pick: James Posey. (2 rings w/two different teams. Strong chance for a 3rd w/CP3)
2000, 1st round, 26th pick: Mamadou N’diaye
2002, 1st round, 5th pick: Nikoloz Tskitishvili
2003 1st round, 3rd pick: Carmelo Anthony (By default. If they had the 2nd pick, things would have been much different.)
2004, 1st round, 20th pick: Jameer Neson (Promply traded for future 1st round draft choice)
2005, 1st round, 20th pick: Julius Hodge
2006, 2nd round, 49th pick: Leon Powe (Traded to Celts for 2nd round choice in 2007 which ended up going to Chicago)
I win.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Celts Fan says:
@Michorizo, most of those guys were serviceable though (or at least understandable picks.)
Corliss won a 6th man award.
Brian Grant had a solid 5 year stretch where he was a beast w/ Rasheed in Portland and w/ Zo in Miami.
Lionel Simmons got serious buckets at LaSalle (though you could say the same thing about Quincy Douby and Rutgers, so i guess that’s pointless, but having gone to LaSalle, I heard the legends of how good he was there for 4 years. If half the crap they told us was true, I can understand it…)
Pervis was a joke, but he was a center fresh off leading his team to a title
Bobby Hurley was okay (never thought he’d be much in the pros, but he never got a true shot thanks to the wreck. sad…)
Ask a Knicks fan for their list of picks and after you stop laughing, you’ll appreciate what you actually got (though Billy Owens is still a tough one, I’m sure…)
July 29th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Jay G says:
I live in the NW (253) and JM was HORRIBLE but………at least they didn’t let Jerome James fool him. Since when does being productive for 12 games out of 90+ earn you millions?
July 29th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Celts Fan says:
@Pistonsfan, if you’d grabbed Bosh instead of Darko (and let’s be real, if CB4 was European instead of American, he’d've been up there w/ Darko, which is RETARDED, but how it works for some reason) you’d be a DYNASTY. Not just another chip, another 2 or 3 at least.
@Machirizo, see post 31 for exactly what I’m saying…
July 29th, 2008 at 11:08 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
Caron never really fit in with the Lake show. But still, trading him for Kwame was the worst. Luckily Mitch stole Gasol for that bum. And now he’s Detroits problem!!
from the Shaq trade we got LO and Gasol.
In Mitch we trust.
Oh, and we never drafted Darko!
July 29th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Michorizo says:
True Celts … I hear you. I’m just a Laker fan living in SAC. I like the Kings but hate their fans. I don’t find King’s fans very knowledgable about basketball. Pervis Ellison came to mind when I saw this article and rolled with it.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:16 am
doc says:
My Sixers fuck up alot too.When we picked Larry Hughes 8th then Dirk went 9th with The Truth 10th pissed me off then and it pisses me off now.Then we drafted fucking Shawn Bradley in 93.Coulda got Penny.We traded the Chuckster for Tim Perry,Hornacek and Andrew Lang.Made a lot of Sixer faithful Suns fans and Rockets fans and they never came back.Take it to before my day and we traded fucking Moses for some trash.Why did they do that?I dont know.And we drafted fucking Willie Green.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:19 am
Damon says:
hiring larry bird as the pres. of basketball operations.
sorry larry legend, but you are on isiah thomas’ level. well, not quite, but almost…
July 29th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Kobeef says:
Hotlanta has been horrible lately…Sheldon “Dolphin Boy” Williams over B.Roy, R. Foye, R. Gay. Marvin over Bynum, Granger, Paul, Deron. Imagine if they picked BRoy and Bynum….they would have had a starting linup of JJ, Roy, Smoove, Horford, Bynum….or CP3 in there.
- 1996 - Dallas picks Samaki Walker (worst player in the NBA) over Kobe Bryant
Minnesota’s Joe Smith debacle has to be one of the worst shoot yourself in the foot moments. It essentially led to trading away one of the league’s all time great talents (KG) after wasting his career. To futher demonstrate what could have been - KG won a ‘chip in his first year on any team other than ‘Sota. Fire Mchale.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:34 am
CHEE says:
IF THEY GOT ROY AND BYRUM, THEY WOULDNT SUCK ENOUGH TO GET HORTFORD.
THEIR PICK WOULD BE LATER IN THE DRAFT
July 29th, 2008 at 11:36 am
RPXXXIV says:
Portland taking Sam Bowie over Jordan. It still hurts to even type this statement…
July 29th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Celts Fan says:
@Michorizo, trust me, we had Pervis and that guy was the definition of the word bum. Absolutely and completely useless, just saying you can at least understand why a center that’d just led his team to a title could go #1. Still haven’t quite gotten an explanation as to why some British dude from Pacific U. went #1 over PP, Vince, Dirk, Antawn and many other quality players back in ‘98…
July 29th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Kudabeen says:
Sixers really messed up when they didn’t appease Pat Croce and give him a little more compensation for making the team relevant again. Croce and AI had the city buzzing for basketball, even when the team wasn’t winning. It was an exciting brand of basketball and Croce was great…
Doc covered the poor drafting/trades for the most part. Don’t forget Sharon Wright (aka Big For Nothing)
July 29th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Kobeef says:
Interesting quote from Delonte’s agent
“They keep saying how much players want to play with LeBron (James). That doesn’t work with Delonte.”
I’m thinking Delonte is done in Cleveland after basically saying it’s all about the money and that he doesn’t care about playing with LeBron.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Kudabeen says:
I disagree with the Kwame Brown comment. I think people want him to be more than what he was allowed to be. You can’t draft a rookie build him up to beat him down, then after he stumbles to get back up mock him and further destroy his pseudo-confidence on the court. He was a high schooler playing the part and his vets and Jordan didn’t protect/cultivate his “talent”. Kwame is an adequate rebounder, decent athlete, excellent defender, but he doesn’t have the confidence to even dunk a basketball without second guessing his move. He is 25 now, so it’s not like he is some kid, but NBA strips guys more than enhance their game too often…
I guess only the mentally strong survive…
July 29th, 2008 at 11:50 am
sweetv0mit says:
nets not re-signing kenyon martin… ever since then they could not make it past the 2nd round of the playoffs and the nets have been trying to find the intensity and tenacity that kmart was giving to them on a nightly basis… even with kenyons knee issues he was good with the nets coz j.kidd made him a much better player than what he really is….
July 29th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Wolves Fan #1 says:
mark my words. the garnett trade is the BEST THING THAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED FOR MINNY!! mchale has now made two good blockbusters in a row. but…. two worst moves minny ever made, letting spree and cassell walk after the WFC, and also, ndudi ebi.
July 29th, 2008 at 11:51 am
fiyaman says:
@post 39 .. thats a gd point ..it goes to show how clueless Mchale is that KG was able to win a ring his 1st yr with another team and all the time with Minny he only made it to the playoffs 1 or 2 times..
July 29th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Kudabeen says:
You have to chose between playing for $ and playing with LeBron?
Cleveland isn’t San Antonio, LA, Boston, Detroit… Yeah they are a playoff team, where he can start, but hell he is a basketball player not a jock rider. He should be his own man and go find a situation that will enable him to play and be more secure financially. LeBron is great and that’s wonderful, but if I can play and I’ve proved it why should I except less or make my business decisions based on another man?
July 29th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Celts Fan says:
@Kobeef, Delonte was drafted in the 20s and is just wrapping up that deal. He’s not a superstar and didn’t have a huge rookie deal. Nothing wrong with seeking the most money out there. He can get it from a contender. Essentially, he’s doing what James Posey did and probably gonna sign w/ the contender that gives him the most money. I have no problems with that at all. At least he’s not lying like most people and saying it’s not about the money…
July 29th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Kevin says:
This outta be a challenge for San Antonio fans!
July 29th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Celts Fan says:
@Wolves Fan #1, sorry, but to me, the worst move they ever made BY FAR, was that sorry under-the-table signing of Joe Smith of all people. That cost them 4 out of 5 #1s in KG’s prime and was the main reason they never got past the first round. If this had happened in NY, McHale would never have gotten out of MSG alive, instead, casual fans forget and tend to blame KG for their failures.
also, maybe hiring Kevin McHale, not such a great move…
July 29th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Brown says:
Trading Tim Hardaway for Rony Seikaly.
I can’t remember what we ended up getting for Chris Webber, but that alone tells me it was a bad move. The Warriors haven’t been the same since. B Diddy brought respectability back, but that was short-lived.
Signing Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy and Adonal Foyle to ridiculously large contracts is the worst in recent memory. Those contracts are still screwing up our salary cap situation. Foyle, Jackson and Harrington take up close to $20 million in salary this coming season. That’s enough to make me throw up.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Slutbunwallah says:
#41 is right. You put Jordan and Clyde on a team and you have rings falling out of your ass. Pick Bowie and you get NOTHING! so of couse Portland takes Bowie even though Clyde and others wanted Jordan.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
doc says:
@Kuda.The last thing I was gonna type was they shouldnt have let Croce go.I just was typed out at the moment.But Croce was a good dude.I used to go to all the Sixers games back then.Aaron Mckie nephew and me grew up tight and I had a family pass.After the game we used to go in the family room to wait for Aaron to get out the shower if they wasnt going out on the road after the game,and Pat Croce was always there loud as shit with his whats up fellas we kicked they ass tonight and a hyper handshake.I used to love that dude.Them was the days.AI mom used to make brownies for us and everything.Tyrone Hill whole family ugly to it aint just him.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Kobeef says:
@Celts
I wasn’t really blaming Deltone for taking the money - if someone’ going to pay him take the money.
I am surpised at his comment which downplays his interest in playing with Lebron…imagine if Sasha Vujajic (?) said something like “yeah - kobe is nice but I’m not staying around cause I want to play beside him”….he’d be done like dinner…it’s almost team policy to cheer for KB24 and should be close to the same with Lebron…if Cleveland wants to keep him.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
doc says:
@fiya.KG and them used to make the playoffs constantly getting out the 1rst round was the problem.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Amar says:
some of those are bad, but THIS IS THE ALL-TIME WORST MOVE EVER!!!!
Utah Jazz trade 1st rnd draft pick for Gail Goodrich. Before playing 1 game for the jazz, Gail retires. 1st round draft pick becomes Magic Johnson.
Another one from utah: drafting dominique wilkins, trading him to atlanta for money (could you imagine nique running with stockton, malone and eaton?)
A more recent blunder: drafting raul lopez with tony parker still on the board ONLY because they didn’t want to take on another roster and pay him that season, so they drafted the guy who would stay in europe.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
doc says:
@kobeef I feel Delonte on that.He saying yall not gonna dick me with my salary because Lebron here.Fuck Bron!I aint come in this league with himand I aint going out with him neither.I feel where he coming from.Even though Lebron good for giving his ass about 6 more points and 3 more assists a game.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
spindlest says:
The wiz making MJ GM and all the terrible moves that followed.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I.Dot says:
When the Hawks traded Dominque Wilkens for Dan Manning. Had the Hawks kept Dominque the Hawks would have went to the NBA Finals in 94 and 95. Yeah I said we could have been their.
July 29th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Kudabeen says:
Sixers pick up Kareem Rush…
Still need another shooter, but it’s a decent pickup…
Sixers could use a guy like Novak or a guy that can play the 3/4 and hit the outside shot. On the cheap, they can dig up Darius Rice and bring him to camp to see what he has…Rasual Butler is available, Demitrious Nichols (sp)…
July 29th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
nick says:
raptors dfarting haffel arujo over andre iggoudala.
also trading away CV to the bucks for tj ford because they were drafting bargnani. If they had kept CV, they could have had roy. the vince to jersey trade was pretty bad.
one that sticks out is atlanta taking marvin williams over deron and cp3. yes marvin may turn out to be a great player down the line but compared to them two he has been a bust.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
sans says:
Danny Ferry. Danny Ferry. Both times around. What a fn leech, I hate that fact that he got ring with the Spurs after weighing down the Cavs for so long. For a couple of seasons he was the highest paid player (per minute) in the L.
And the trade that brought Reignman to Cleveland. Terrel Brandon was great, Vin Baker a perennial all-star, and Kemp a legit superstar–has any trade ever devalued 3 legit players so quickly afterwards? Man, none of those players were the same three years later.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
dapro says:
Letting MJ walk away from the game only to come back and play for the Wizards. The Bulls management thought they could rebuild a dynasty and Michael took exception to that.
Jerry Krause made a spotty moves and openly courted Tim Floyd while Phil Jackson was still under contract for one year.
The Bulls didn’t want to lock Scottie into a long term deal only to let him walk away for nothing .
All the years of bad contracts and busted draft picks. Only to draft key pieces and trade them for nothing
July 29th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
KJ says:
Hiring Stu Jackson as the GM who then ruined the Grizzlies.
Drafting and signing Big Country Reeves to 6yrs/61 mil
Drafting Shareef and making him the franchise player
Drafting Steve Francis when he publicly said he didn’t wanna play in Vancouver
Trading for Otis Thorpe for a Future 1st round pick which couldve been Carmelo/D-Wade/Bosh
I hate Stu Jackson
July 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
AB_40 says:
damn kwame brown is only one year older then joey dorsey.
the cavs drafting luke jackson in 2004. The guy played the same position as your best player and you spend a draft pick on a great college player but who is far too unathletic to succeed in the nba… sorry.
And any team who traded for steph (who should’ve enjoyed his summers in miami or summin like that so he wouldn’t give a F about the weither in minnesota) got significantly WORSE… ok ok that one year in phoenix was nice but that took a while.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Kobeef says:
@Doc
“Even though Lebron good for giving his ass about 6 more points and 3 more assists a game”
Totally agree - I mean, who’s your F&*^ing daddy!?
Everyone thinks “I’m my own man” and that is fair game but do you really come out and say that?
July 29th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Leland72 says:
For my hometown squad I would say Wes Unseld GM, that was until Michael Jordan GM. Why all the Pervis Hate, dude played well when his knees would let him. If he was Sacto’s biggest mistake they would have been good in the 80’s/ early 90’s, they weren’t because they made much bigger mistakes. For my hometown of the last 16 years I would say trading Mitch Richmond for Billy O.
July 29th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Jeremy says:
yeah any move wes unseld made as gm of the bullets/wiz. great player but one of the worst decision makers i’ve ever seen. cwebb in his prime for washed up mitch richmond?? giving juwan howard $100 million?? adn many more
July 29th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
B says:
Austin - I’ll take it back one step further and say that hiring Wally Walker, who previously was doing the teams tv color commentary, as GM was the move that led to the Supes demise. He wasn’t even good as an announcer so how the hell they thought he would be a solid gm is beyond me.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Walker
In addition to signing Jimmy Mac and resulting fallout w/ Kemp, between ‘94-’06 this dude only had 1 draft pick that ever panned out to anything; Rashard Lewis. He traded the rights to Corey Maggette for an againg Horace Grant.
Whitsitt, the previous GM, built the team with Kemp, GP, Detlef, and guys like Ricky Pierce and Eddie Johnson. Walker destroyed the Sonics.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Austin Burton says:
@B — Agree on Wally Walker. He must have had friends in high places.
I also wasn’t a fan of the Ray Allen trade (letting him go, not bringing him in), but we know now the goal was to make the team worse on purpose.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
godfreyallstar says:
spurs=trading scola. oberto sucks. damon stoudamire was kind of a flop too. but that’s recent history
July 29th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Celts Fan says:
@AB, definitely true, but at least trading Ray kinda made sense in the Rebuilding around KD timetable (though a normal team keeps Rashard OR keeps Ray for 1 more year to at least let KD develop for 1 year without having to introduce himself like, “Hi, I’m Kevin. I’m only 19 and a rookie and have just become the best player on the team by default. I know you’re all jealous since the team was gutted of anything resembling a veteran leader with talent, so you’re all gunning for me, but please help mentor me. I do need it despite my boatloads of talent. Hello..? Wally, stop kicking me in the knee…”
July 29th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Luigi says:
ive learned alot about history there. so im guessing the worst move my wiz has ever done. drafting Kwame B. instead of Gasol etc. but we came out a few yrs later with Gilbert Arenas so yeah. but some teams give bogus trades for cap space 4 superstars.
VC for who? Zo?
Washed up C-Webb to PHI for. Kenny T?
Rip for J-Stack? who didnt relle like to play 4 WSH
T-Mac for Francis [career ruined] Cat n Kelvin Cato [who]?
Seattle to OKC for nothing in return?!! good job Clay
Baron 2 GS for Speedy n who else? wackkk
Caron for Kwame n Profit =]] verry good
Gason for Kwame n Javaris C. good job LA
Darko over 2004 for HoF class good job Dumars
Camby for Nothing
NyK trading washed up Starks for in prime ‘Spree. very good NY
the Nets practically selling Dr.J to the Sixers
Scottie for Polynice or how ever u spell his name
Portland and Buffalo Braves giving up Moses Malone
Kareem to the Lakers from Miluakee.
Kobe for Vlade
Warriors breaking up RUN-TMC
July 29th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
B says:
Austin - Yeah man. Whitsitt, Karl, and Ackerly all clashed and then Paul Allen threw the $ in Whitsitt’s direction. Whitsitt went on to assemble the Blazers and what could be arguably the best team on paper of the modern era (http://blazers.tripod.com/roster/). As we know they choked against the Lakers and then completely self imploded, he got ousted and now the Blazers are coming up again under Pritchard’s watch. So who knows how it would have worked out if Whitsitt had remained at the helm, but he was a far better at both evaluating and aquiring talent than yes-man Wally Walker ever was.
Btw, the Allen outgoing trade was a Sam Presti move, and actually I thought they did ok. Wasn’t much of a market for an aging sg coming off surgery on both ankles. Plus I think Green is gonna be a pretty solid player. But yeah they were def trying to make the team as bad as possible to undermine any public support to further justify the team moving. I know the current roster didn’t really have much attachment to the fans but I was definitely excited about the future for that team, especially with KD. Sad to see em go.
July 29th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
ML says:
Im not a Heat Fan But when you Draft Harold Minor. That must sting. Most of you dude’s don’t remember Baby Jordan Lol. Harold was a waste of talent he thought he had.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:15 am
Austin Burton says:
Ray was coming off ankle surgery, but he was also coming off a career year scoring the ball (25 ppg). You can still rebuild around a young guy without completely gutting the team of any veteran presence. You look at Dwight Howard, who walked into a situation where Grant Hill and Steve Francis were still there; LeBron had Ilgauskas; Phoenix isn’t trading Nash just to make Amare their main guy, etc.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:20 am
DW says:
Clipper fans…Stojko Vrankovic…worst move ever? I think that was a fatty contract too.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:18 am
karan says:
i’m a knicks fan, so i don’t think there is enough space on the entire internet for me to list my team’s bad moves
but in recent years, the daylight robbery done by jerome james seems to sting the most