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Every season, a team that did not manage to compete for a title but who have a star on their team has a big decision to make. They can either trade away their star for draft picks and start the rebuild, or they themselves can look for another marquee signing to complement their existing franchise player. In some cases, even teams that were competitive have chosen to dismantle their existing team and start a new chapter.
During the off-season, there are countless rumors surrounding almost every star in the NBA. Most of these rumors are quite farfetched and are never really given too much attention. There have also been cases where the unthinkable has occurred and deals that the media was totally unaware of have taken place and thus catching them and everyone else completely off guard.
Here are some of the biggest trades in the NBA that weren't just rumors, but looked set to happen. Had some of these trades had taken place, the complexion of the league would've been extremely different. For various reasons though, they never happened.
Honorable Mention: Tracy Mcgrady - Philadelphia 76ers
This has to be one of the biggest ever "What If's" in NBA history. In 1999 the Philadelphia 76ers had a deal in place to send Larry Hughes to Toronto and receive a twenty-year-old Tracy McGrady along with a first-round draft pick as well.
Looking back at it, this had to be one of the most lopsided trades in favour of the 76ers if it had taken place. At the time though, McGrady was still not an offensive force and Hughes was actually the better player. McGrady though always had way more upside.
The deal looked all but done. At the last second though, 76ers General Manager Billy King got cold feet and in the process robbed Philly as well as the rest of the world from witnessing what could have been the greatest offensive backcourt in the league's history (McGrady and Iverson).
With the 76ers reaching the finals in 2001, it is quite understandable for people to think that had McGrady also been a part of that side, Philadelphia would have gone on to win the title.
What makes things even worse is the fact that neither McGrady nor Iverson were never able to win an NBA title and both are considered some of the greatest players ever to not win a ring.
10. Kevin Garnett - Phoenix Suns
This non-trade had a huge impact all over the league and if it had taken place, might have changed quite a bit of history.
In 2007 Kevin Garnett was set to leave his beloved Timberwolves in chase of a title. The set destination was Phoenix. The deal was just hours away from being completed when Shawn Marion refused to be traded to a team that wasn't offering him a max contract.
This blocked a trade that sent Garnett to the Suns and Marion to Minnesota.
Garnett eventually joined forces with Ray Allen and Paul Pierce in Boston and went on to make two finals appearances whilst winning one of them. They were also serious contenders for about half a decade.
Marion's refusal to go to Minnesota though left an even larger impact on the league. He was first traded to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O'Neal. He was soon disgruntled by his pay at Miami and was traded to Dallas.
Heat fans though can look back at Marion's decision with nothing but fondness.
With Miami losing two huge contracts in O'Neal and Marion, they had enough cap space to sign LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2011 and the rest, as they say, is history.
9. Michael Jordan - Los Angeles Clippers
Any trade involving Michael Jordan can be considered one of the biggest of all time. This one though was particularly eye-opening.
The L.A. Clippers were always considered a bit of a bad joke for most of their franchise history. This could've all changed in 1987.
The now disgraced Donald Sterling apparently was so eager to sign the twenty-four-year-old Jordan that he offered a staggering five players and any number of draft picks chosen by the Bulls to bring him to L.A.
Although Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf wasn't too impressed by the offer, the General Manager of the Bulls at the time Jerry Krause pondered the options that he would receive if he were to accept the trade.
Fortunately for the city of Chicago, Reinsdorf wasn't convinced and the trade never materialized
I think it's safe to say they made the right choice but it also makes you wonder what could have been if the trade had actually gone through.
The Clippers would have ended up with the greatest player of all time, quite possibly won multiples titles and maybe even freed themselves from being the lesser of the two teams based out of Los Angeles for the coming decades.
8. Chris Paul - Los Angeles Lakers
In 2011 the Lakers were looking for a quick reload. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom weren't the same players they were a couple of seasons ago and with the emergence of the big three in Miami, they were looking for a new partner to pair with Kobe Bryant.
Chris Paul at the time had firmly cemented himself as the league's best point guard after having six stellar seasons in New Orleans.
The Lakers, Rockets and New Orleans had agreed for a trade in principle that would have sent Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to Houston while Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic would head to New Orleans along with a first-round pick (Jeremy Lamb).
Unfortunately for L.A. the league commissioner David Stern vetoed the trade stating that he wanted to keep the league "pure".
Stern, later on, stated that the deal could have still taken place with Kyle Lowry being involved as well. According to Stern, Laker GM Mitch Kupchak panicked and traded Odom to the Mavericks and thus didn't have the pieces to allow the second proposed trade to take place.
Paul eventually signed for the Clippers in the same summer to rub salt in the wounds of Laker fans.
7. Julius Erving - Atlanta Hawks
In 1972, Julius Erving who was at the time playing for the Virginia Squires (ABA) was eligible for the NBA draft. He was picked twelveth by the Milwaukee Bucks. This would have seen him team up with Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabber.
Erving though had already signed a contract with the Atlanta Hawks before the draft. He even played three exhibition games in Atlanta. But due to a legal injunction, was forced to return to the Squires. The Hawks were fined $25000 for each game he played.
Erving was eventually traded to the New York Nets (ABA) and won a title that same year.
When the Nets were absorbed by the NBA, the New York Knicks demanded that the Nets pay them $4.8 million for "invading" the Knicks' NBA territory. Due to this, the owner of the Nets was not able to fulfil his promise to give Erving a raise and led to Erving refusing to play under the given conditions and held out on training with the Nets.
The Nets offered to pay back the Knicks by offering them Erving's contract but were declined.
The 76ers eventually shelled out a mammoth six million to buy Erving from New York and pay his wages. A strong hunch tells me they made the right choice.
6. Charles Barkley - Los Angeles Lakers
In 1992 Charles Barkley had a major fallout with the Philadelphia 76ers organisation and publicly trashed numerous executives and even teammates. Barkley was never the easiest person to handle and 76ers were also looking to show him the door.
The Lakers were not competitive after the "Showtime" era and were looking for a new face of the franchise.
It seemed like the perfect fit and a trade for Barkley that involved the Lakers sending James Worthy to Philly was set to take place.
Barkley was even informed by his agent that he had been traded to the Lakers. Overjoyed by the news, Barkley decided to celebrate with a few drinks along with lunch. A few hours later, he received another call from his agent stating that the 76ers had backed out of the deal. Barkley was in a good mood after the lunchtime celebration and decided to play for Philadelphia later on that night.
He was eventually traded to the Phoenix Suns the following season for Jeff Hornaceck, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang. Barkley won the MVP award the same year and reached his only NBA finals.
5. Scottie Pippen - Seattle Supersonics
With Michael Jordan out of the league, the Bulls weren't sure of Scottie Pippen's ability to lead a franchise by himself.
The Sonics that season had become the first ever one seed to lose to an eight seed in the playoffs. Hence, they were looking for a change as well.
A trade between the two sides that involved Pippen and the Sonics' star forward Shawn Kemp was almost inevitable. The rumours started early in the offseason and carried on throughout the break.
The Bulls were particularly eager to force the trade but Seattle wasn't as certain due to Kemp being four years younger than Pippen. Added to this, there was outrage among Sonic fans as Kemp was a fan favourite.
Sonics coach George Carl stated that he even called up Jordan regarding the trade. Jordan said "Do it. Scottie can make your other players better. Kemp can't."
On the day of the draft, Seattle agreed. But owner Barry Ackerly called the Sonics headquarters later that day and said that the deal "didn't feel right".
Chicago frantically tried to make numerous other offers to make sure the trade took place but the Sonics refused to change their mind.
Fortunately for the Bulls, Jordan did return and led them to three more titles.
4. Stephen Curry - Phoenix Suns
The Golden State Warriors drafted Stephen Curry with the eight pick in the 2009 Draft. The Warriors at the time were still rebuilding and didn't have nearly enough pieces to contend for a title.
The Phoenix Suns though had a really strong lineup with the likes of Steve Nash, Amar'e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. With Mike D'Antoni's run and gun offensive style of play, they were looking for a sharpshooter. They felt that Curry was the right man for the job and tried to partner him with Nash which would've made a formidable back-court.
Suns GM at the time Steve Kerr stated that a deal for Curry in exchange for Stoudamire was close. Golden State was responsive to the offer but requested more time to weigh their options.
Having given it a long thought the Warriors decided to stick with Curry due to Stoudamire's injury issues. It turned out to be the right choice since Stoudemire was injury prone for the rest of his career and the Suns never reached the NBA finals.
Curry eventually became the face of the Warriors by winning two MVP titles.
The Suns missed out Curry, but Steve Kerr didn't. He became the head coach of the Warriors and won two NBA titles with them and has a possibility of winning more.
3. Michael Jordan - Houston Rockets
This was a situation that involved quite a few "ifs" and "buts" but was too big to ignore nevertheless. A team of Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. Yes, you read that right.
Houston had drafted Ralph Sampson with the first pick in 1983 and also had the number one pick in the following year's draft as well. They used that pick to draft Olajuwon.
Sampson had a stellar first season and won Rookie Of The Year. He was one of the hottest prospects in the league and the Portland Trailblazers, who held the second pick in the 1984 draft offered their pick as well as Clyde Drexler for Sampson.
Houston though was convinced that Sampson would be the perfect partner for Olajuwon since there had been a big man trend in prior decades and decided to decline this offer.
Olajuwon later stated that if the deal had gone through, the Rockets would have used the number two pick to draft Jordan.
If the trade had actually taken place, we would have got to see three MVP calibre players playing on the same team. This would have also led to possibly the greatest dynasty since Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics.
Still, we did get to see the three go head-to-head with each other for over a decade and can be extremely satisfied with the epic battles they produced, so it probably worked out for the best from a neutral perspective.
2. Kobe Bryant - Chicago Bulls
Kobe Bryant was not a happy man in 2007. The Lakers were not doing well after Shaquille O'Neal left the team and with Shaq winning a title with Miami a season earlier, the Lakers had made him feel like he was the reason for O'Neal's departure.
Bryant was extremely public about the fact that he unhappy by appearing on numerous radio talk shows stating that he wanted to be traded.
The Bulls looked like the most likely destination for Bryant and a deal that included Joakim Noah and Luol Deng was set. Bryant though, at the time had a no-trade clause in his contract and refused to join the Bulls in any trade involving Luol Deng since Deng at the time was an elite scorer. He knew that taking him and Noah meant that the Bulls were breaking their spine and would have nothing left on their side when Bryant did arrive.
In reality, Chicago just didn't have enough pieces to make this trade happen.
In the end, it probably worked out for all three parties. Kobe and the Lakers won two more titles while the Bulls landed Derrick Rose soon after.
1. LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers
This was a situation that wasn't exactly too close to happening but couldn't be left out solely due to the magnitude of the trade
In 2007 Kobe Bryant was looking to move out of Los Angeles and as you can imagine, there were quite a few teams that were looking to bring "The Black Mamba" into their squad.
The Chicago Bulls came closest to doing so, but the deal never materialized once Bryant didn't agree to be dealt in a trade that involved Luol Deng.
The Lakers were still looking to find a suitable trade for him and contacted Cleveland for a deal that would send Bryant to the Cavaliers in exchange for LeBron James.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert though, being as ambitious as he is, declined the trade and in turn offered pretty much every other player on their roster for Bryant. The Lakers replied with an emphatic no.
If either of these trades had taken place, the complexion of the NBA would have been completely altered. LeBron on the Lakers would have been exactly what they required to bring back the "Showtime" aura to L.A. while if Kobe had actually been able to pair up with James, that would have been the greatest duo to ever play on the same team.
