3 best NBA trade deadline deals of the 2010s: Raptors complete championship team with Marc Gasol, and more
Kyrie Irving shocked the entire NBA on Friday when he requested a trade out of the Brooklyn Nets. With the trade deadline less than a week away, it will be interesting to see if there is another blockbuster trade at the buzzer for the second year in a row.
In the first part of this series, there were no significant trades in the 1980s. However, there were plenty in the 1990s and 2000s. The Utah Jazz's acquisition of Jeff Hornacek in 1994 helped them earn two NBA Finals berths in 1997 and 1998.
On the other hand, the Detroit Pistons traded for Rasheed Wallace in 2004 which led to an unexpected championship. Now, let's take a look at some of the best trade deadline deals of the 2010s.
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3 best NBA trade deadline deals of the 2010s
Honorable Mentions: Kevin Garnett and Dwyane Wade returns home
The Brooklyn Nets traded Kevin Garnett to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2014 in exchange for Thaddeus Young. It was a homecoming for Garnett, who started his career in Minnesota. He won the NBA MVP with the Timberwolves in 2004 and spent 12 seasons there from 1995 to 2007.
Dwyane Wade playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers felt wrong during the 2017-18 season. That was corrected at the trade deadline when Wade was traded back to the Miami Heat for a second-round pick.
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#3 Miami Heat acquire Goran Dragic in 2015
The Phoenix Suns traded Goran Dragic alongside his brother Zoran to the Miami Heat in 2015. It wasn't an all-time deal, but Dragic became an All-Star with the Heat. He spent six-and-a-half years in Miami, averaging 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game.
Dragic was also part of the 2019-20 Heat team that faced the LA Lakers in the NBA Finals inside the bubble. He played just two games in the series due to injury, but could have been the difference maker if he was fully healthy.
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#2 LA Clippers' salary dump in 2011
In typical LA Clippers fashion in 2011, they traded Baron Davis to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Mo Williams, Jamario Moon and that year's first-round pick. It was a salary dump for the Clippers despite knowing that they could be in the lottery in the same year.
The Cavaliers got lucky as they nabbed the first overall pick in the 2011 draft from the Clippers. They drafted Kyrie Irving and the rest was history. Irving helped LeBron James win the team's first ever championship in 2016. As for the Clippers, they are still looking for their first one.
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#1 Mark Gasol completes Toronto Raptors championship roster in 2019
The best NBA trade deadline deal of the decade happened in 2019. The Toronto Raptors traded Jonas Valanciunas, CJ Miles, Delon Wright and a second-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for Marc Gasol.
Gasol proved to be the missing piece in the Raptors' championship pursuit. He averaged 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors. The Raptors captured their first title in six games over the defending champs.
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