NBA Lookback: 5 Lopsided Trades From The 2000s
The 2017 offseason was one of the most historic summers in NBA history.
29 teams had to figure out the best way to either match the firepower of the Warriors or fast-track their descent into the lottery places and luck out with some early draft picks. This resulted in several superstar trades, as All-NBA talents Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Paul George, Jimmy Butler and Kyrie Irving initiated moves to other organizations to go up against Golden State.
It was mostly bereft of transfer debacles of the kind that the noughties were notorious for. Looking back, it was a summer full of deals when both teams achieved their short-term goals and set themselves up for long-term title contention. More activity is expected this offseason as well in the wake of the Dubs' back-to-back title wins, and hopefully, teams can take some lessons from the previous decade and do business more in line with the summer of 2017.
In this article, we take a look at the 5 worst trades made in the 2000s:
#5 Tracy McGrady to the Rockets
Tired of carrying a mediocre franchise, T-Mac stated that he would exercise the opt-out clause on the final year of his 6-year, $67.5 million deal at the end of the 2004-05 season. Orlando did not want to lose him for nothing in the same manner that they lost Shaq in 1996.
Thus, trade talks were initiated with the Houston Rockets, sending McGrady, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines from the Magic in exchange for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato.
While Tracy continued his dominant play for the Rockets in his first season, Steve Francis' play regressed severely. Francis ended up leaving the franchise in his second season without making another All-Star team (he had 3 successive appearances with the Rockets).