3 Best and worst Draft day trades in NBA history

While not all draft picks are as obvious as the Cleveland Cavaliers taking LeBron James with the number one pick, most are just picks of hope that you're franchise has taken someone who has the potential quality to help your team in some way to win a title.

The potential for changing the future of your franchise is incredibly high come late July. Not only do you have the opportunity to draft the next future Hall Of Famer to add to your roster, but draft day trades are constant every year for teams who swap picks, trade a star or are just trying to clear cap room to secure a big fish in free agency.

Most draft day trades often go unnoticed at the time, due to young players barely having a name for themselves yet many don't pay attention to these trades till years later when they ask the question "what if."

Few fans of the NBA would even be able to tell you some of the most reason draft day trades like Kevin Love originally being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlers, of Rajon Rondo taken by the Phoenix Suns before being traded to the Wolves and Celtics respectively.

Today we look back to find the top three worst, or best depending on what team you support, draft day trades which changed the shape of the NBA for years to come.

#3 Kobe Bryant - Hornets to Lakers, 1996

Technically, this trade wasn't official until a few days after draft day, although it was well and truly set in motion and agreed upon before then.

While most people would put this as the biggest draft day trade mistake in history by the Hornets, some credit must be given to the franchise. Kobe Bryant had made it very clear that he did not want to play for them and wanted to play for a big market where he would be able to grow his skills and his brand, thus the Los Angeles Lakers came calling.

Reportedly, the Hornets were never interested in drafting Kobe with the 13th pick of the draft until the Lakers came to them with a deal involving sending Vlade Divack to the Hornets, which at the time is what they needed.

The 20 season career of Kobe Bryant would have no doubt been drastically different, as would the NBA as a whole if he had stayed with the Hornets. The Shaq-Kobe partnership would most likely never had formed and who knows how many rings Kobe would've achieved, most likely fewer than the five he earned with the Lakers.

2. Scottie Pippen - Sonics to Bulls, 1987

A much lesser known trade than the infamous Kobe deal, but Scottie Pippen was actually taken with the 5th pick by the Seattle SuperSonics in 1987 before being traded to the Chicago Bulls along with a 1989 first rounder for the 8th pick, Olden Polynice, a 1988 second rounder, Sylvester Gray and a 1989 first rounder, B.J. Armstrong.

Just based on the names of this trade, it's obvious how one-sided it now seems. The history of the Bulls in this era is very well documented, as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen became the greatest partnership in NBA history as the pairing led the Bulls to six NBA titles in eight years.

Perhaps the only criticism on Jordan's career, as small as it is, is that he never won a playoff series before Pippen arrived. This is often pushed aside as before Pippen had arrived Jordan only had a few seasons of his long prestigious career, but the question can be asked what would have happened if Pippen was never traded to the Bulls on draft day.

Would Michael Jordan still be considered the undisputed greatest of all time or would he have failed to amass the achievements he did and go 6-0 in the Finals?

There is no doubt this trade changed the shape of the NBA in a huge way, but we will never know by quite how much.

#3 Dirk Nowitzki - Bucks to Mavericks, 1998

Currently 7th on the all-time scoring list, after LeBron James recently overtook him with 31,231 points. Dirk and Dallas could have seen drastically different times over the past two decades had the seven-foot German not been traded for the sixth pick of the draft, Robert Traylor.

Traylor's name will go down in NBA history, but only as the guy Bucks traded for Dirk Nowitzki. A pioneer for the stretch big Dirk was the first big man who could shoot the ball with efficiency from long range. A multiple time All-Star, MVP, Finals MVP and the man who brought the first title to Dallas in 2011, famously upsetting the LeBron James super team in Miami.

With 21 seasons playing for Dallas, Dirk broke the record this year for most seasons played for one franchise, beaten Kobe Bryant's 20 years for the Lakers. Still possible to overtake Wilt Chamberlains total points, Dirk is undoubtedly a future Hall Of Famer and will go down as one of the greatest big men of all time.

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