5 most controversial trade storylines in the NBA: featuring Ben Simmons, Chris Paul, and more

#3 Stephen Curry in the Desert?

Stephen Curry was almost Phoenix bound on Draft night

This was a potential trade that was incredibly close to happening. Leading up to the 2009 NBA Draft, it was rumored that the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors had a deal in place. The trade would send Amar'e Stoudemire to Golden State in exchange for the seventh overall pick, which the Suns were expected to select Stephen Curry with. The funniest part about the entire situation was the man who was the GM of the Phoenix Suns at the time. That's right, current Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. It was rumored that the trade was agreed to until there was some hesitation regarding Amar'e Stoudemire's physical.

#2 Kobe Bryant to the Detroit Pistons

We almost saw Kobe Bryant in a Detroit Pistons uniform

There had been a number of rumored Kobe Bryant trades over his career but this was one of the most controversial that was later confirmed by Kobe himself. Appearing on Grantland Basketball Hour, Kobe confirmed that a deal with the Detroit Pistons was agreed to in principle that would have sent Bryant to the Pistons. The trade would have sent Bryant to Detroit in exchange for Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Amir Johnson and a first-round pick. At the time of the trade, Kobe Bryant was one of the few players in the NBA that had a no-trade clause. The problem with that, is that Kobe wasn't very intrigued with the idea of playing in Detroit. If the trade went through, Kobe would have teamed up with Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace to make a dangerous trio for the Pistons.

#1 CP3 to the Other LA Team

Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant were almost teammates in LA

You could argue that this is simply the most controversial trade storyline in NBA history. It's a massive move that was expected to completely shift the entire state of the league. There was a three-team deal in place that would have sent rising star Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers. Other expected pieces to be traded included Lamar Odom and others to the Hornets, with the Rockets receiving Pau Gasol. On top of that, rumors were that the Lakers were in the process of potentially trading for Dwight Howard. Gilbert Arenas recently went on to leak that the trade was going to involve him, and the Lakers would have used an amnesty clause, which each team was allowed to use once under the new CBA agreement. This would have given the Lakers Dwight Howard, CP3, and Kobe Bryant in their primes with a serious amount of cap space.