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5 Trade Requests That Backfired for NBA Stars – Bleacher Report
Trade requests in the NBA can go one of three ways.
The team can choose not to honor the request, like the Los Angeles Lakers did when Kobe Bryant asked out in 2007. The request can be completed, with the player getting what they want and the situation working out, a la Kareem Abdul-Jabbar winning five titles with the Lakers following a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks in 1975.
Then there’s the third scenario, where a player requests a trade that’s granted, only for the new situation to be worse than the one said player just asked out of. Basically, the hardwood isn’t always shinier in the other arena.
As we wait to see how the Damian Lillard saga unfolds in Portland, here are five NBA trade requests that ended up backfiring for the stars who asked out.
Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant were one of the greatest duos in NBA history, spending eight seasons together with the Los Angeles Lakers from 1996-97 to 2003-04. During this stretch, the Lakers made the playoffs all eight times, winning titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
Despite this success, O’Neal actually requested to be traded twice from the Lakers.
The first time came in late 2000 after these Lakers had already won a title together, although a 21-10 start to the season following a 67-win campaign and questions about O’Neal and Bryant’s co-existence led to the All-Star center asking out, something the Lakers refused to honor.
O’Neal’s second request ultimately landed him with the Miami Heat in 2004 when he was 32, sending Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and two draft picks back to L.A.
This was more of a financially driven request, as the Lakers didn’t want to give a past-his-prime O’Neal a max contract, especially with Bryant looking capable of carrying a team. While O’Neal ended up winning one more title by helping Miami take down the Dallas Mavericks in 2005-06, he claimed the Lakers would have wound up with seven total championships had he and Bryant stayed together.
O’Neal has since expressed his regret about leaving the Lakers and Bryant, breaking up the last NBA franchise to secure a three-peat.
O’Neal told the All the Smoke podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes:
“If I had to do it all over again, I probably would’ve had a meeting with the [Buss] family. ‘What y’all wanna do? Want me to take less money, take a lesser role, and stay here? Or you still want me to be Shaq? See, it’s that ego. The ego still got me what I wanted. I still went to Miami. Pat [Riley] took care of me, I still won one. But I would’ve liked to have stayed there the rest of my career.”
O’Neal still averaged 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and shot 60.0 percent overall over his next five seasons after leaving the Lakers in 2004, making four All-Star teams and leading the NBA in field-goal percentage three times.
Bryant would become the league’s best player over this stretch, winning MVP in 2007-08 while capturing scoring titles in 2005-06 and 2006-07. He led the Lakers to two more titles in 2008-09 and 2009-10 with the help of Pau Gasol.
While O’Neal’s tenure in Miami was a success overall, staying in Los Angeles and continuing what he and Bryant had built would have been the better choice.
The Dwightmare marked an ugly era in Orlando Magic history, as Howard’s happiness with the franchise bounced back and forth, leading to two separate trade requests.
A brief timeline of the events went as followed:
In what became a roller coaster ride straight out of a Final Destination movie, Howard’s time in Orlando finally ended after eight seasons.
At the time of the trade, Howard was the best center in the NBA, a defensive intimidator who led the Magic to the 2009 Finals. He was a six-time All-Star, three-time Defensive Player of the Year and led the NBA in rebounding four times and blocks twice.
Of course, Howard’s career after leaving Orlando was a different story.
He left the Lakers after just one season, choosing to sign with the Houston Rockets in 2013. After not meshing with Kobe Bryant and then James Harden, Howard went from a No. 1 option, to No. 2, to then simply trying to find a home.
After his time with the Rockets, Howard would go on to play for five teams over his final six years, never spending more than one season at a time in the same place.
Carmelo Anthony’s time as a New York Knick was marked by individual success but ultimately team failure as New York reached the playoffs just three times in seven years, only winning seven total postseason games.
Had Anthony simply waited a few more months to join the Knicks, things could have been far different.
He originally requested a trade from Denver in the summer of 2010 with an eye on New York, with his brother even toasting a potential partnership between him and Chris Paul with the Knicks at Anthony’s wedding with Nuggets ownership in attendance.
Heading into the 2010-11 season, Anthony had just one year remaining on his contract and was refusing Denver’s three-year, $65 million extension. Had he simply played out the remainder of his contract, Anthony would have been free to sign with any team of his choosing without them having to gut the roster in a trade.
He was eventually dealt to the Knicks in February 2011 as part of a three-team deal also involving the Minnesota Timberwolves. New York had to part with Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first-round pick, a 2016 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks to land Anthony.
This was a massive price to pay for 27 games, as Anthony could have simply signed with the Knicks a few months later.
The move sent a lot of talent and assets to the Nuggets, who would finish the season on an 18-7 run while the Knicks were swept in the first round of the playoffs.
The pick swap in 2016 ended up being the best part of the deal for Denver, as the Nuggets got to move up to No. 7 overall for the right to select Jamal Murray.
Anthony desiring a change of scenery, and wanting to play for the Knicks was fine. Had he just waited a little longer, however, his career in New York could have been far more successful.
LeBron James has played with a number of Hall of Fame talents throughout his career, although perhaps no one has blended with his game as well as Kyrie Irving. The on-court chemistry the two had from 2014 to 2017 was incredibly special, as James was still in his prime while Irving was just beginning to come into his.
Irving seemingly had it all with James by his side.
After he failed to make the playoffs in three years as a No. 1 option, Irving’s move to a No. 2 allowed him to reach the NBA Finals in three straight seasons, winning the 2016 NBA title. He shared the spotlight and Finals credit with James, as the pair both went for 41 points in Game 5, with Irving hitting the series-winning shot in Game 7.
Irving wasn’t sacrificing his own production, either, as his 25.2 points per game in 2016-17 were a career high. He even averaged more shot attempts than James (19.7 to 18.2) in their final season together.
Even with all of this personal and team success, Irving wanted his own team and out of James’ shadow, requesting a trade out of Cleveland in the summer of 2017. James went to management and asked them not to honor Irving’s request, although the Cavs had little choice when the All-Star point guard threatened to have knee surgery and miss the 2017-18 season.
Irving was eventually dealt to the Boston Celtics for a package headlined by an injured Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and an unprotected 2018 first-round pick owned by the Brooklyn Nets, one that landed at No. 8 overall and was used on Collin Sexton.
Irving lasted just two seasons in Boston while James’ Cavaliers ended their 2018 run and returned to the NBA Finals. It’s been a rocky road for Irving ever since, signing with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 before requesting a trade and landing with the Dallas Mavericks in February.
Irving wasn’t even two years removed from playing with James before he apologized for the way things ended. Irving said via ESPN’s Tim Bontemps:
“Obviously, this was a big deal for me, because I had to call [LeBron] and tell him I apologized for being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips, and I wanted everything at my threshold. I wanted to be the guy that led us to a championship. I wanted to be the leader. I wanted to be all that, and the responsibility of being the best in the world and leading your team is something that is not meant for many people.”
The two have flirted with a reunion ever since.
James went on record to share his disappointment in the Lakers not trading for Irving at the February 2023 deadline, while Irving reportedly tried to recruit James to Dallas this summer.
This was a pairing that simply should have stayed together, as both are still playing at an extremely high level six years later.
Paul George’s time in Oklahoma City was brief but successful, as the 13-year veteran actually played the best basketball of his career with the Thunder.
OKC made a surprising trade for George from the Indiana Pacers in 2017, looking for a replacement for Kevin Durant to pair with Russell Westbrook, who had just won MVP honors.
After their first season together, George became an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. While the Los Angeles Lakers looked like the leading candidate to sign George, the All-Star forward re-signed with the Thunder on a four-year, $137 million max deal.
What followed was an MVP-caliber season (he’d ultimately finish third in the voting), with George putting up a career-high 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, a league-leading 2.2 steals per game and a 38.6 percent mark from three. Westbrook led the NBA in assists for the second straight year while triple-doubling for the third time (22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists).
With Steven Adams, Dennis Schröder, Markieff Morris, Nerlens Noel and a young Jerami Grant entering the starting lineup, the Thunder were assembling a strong supporting cast around their two stars.
Of course, this all changed with a phone call from Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard began recruiting George to the Clippers, where Kawhi was leaning toward signing after winning the 2019 title with the Toronto Raptors. George’s agent then called Thunder president Sam Presti, asking him to trade his client to the Clippers even with three years remaining on his contract.
While the trade has gone on to age beautifully for OKC (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round picks including one that’s already turned into Jalen Williams), George’s time in Los Angeles had been a huge disappointment.
There was no way of knowing it at the time, but Leonard’s continued knee injuries have limited him to 161 total games over four years, a run that’s included an ACL tear that saw him miss the entire 2021-22 season. The Clippers have advanced past the second round just once in Leonard and George’s time together due to injuries as well.
The story of George in Los Angeles is far from complete, as both he and Leonard are under contract for another season and carry player options for 2024-25. With the Western Conference only getting stronger, the Clippers look more likely to miss the playoffs than win a title, however.
As it stands, George would have been better off staying in Oklahoma City, a place where he thrived as a No. 1 offensive option with a strong supporting cast.
