1 Trade Still Haunting Every NBA Franchise In 2024

Dig deep enough into the NBA's transaction log, and you'll find skeletons in the closets of all 30 franchises.

Every club has made moves it regrets, and while there's little sense for the decision-makers to dwell on the past, many of them are still facing the ramifications of those deals gone awry.

So, in the spirit of spooky season, let's revisit the one trade still haunting each team.

The trade: Danilo Gallinari, 2025 and 2027 first-round picks and a 2026 first-round pick swap to the San Antonio Spurs for Dejounte Murray and Jock Landale

This might be a controversial pick, since Atlanta's decision at the 2018 draft to swap out Luka Dončić for Trae Young and a first-round pick later spent on Cam Reddish could lead to a lifetime of regret.

At least that choice—unforgivable as it may appear in hindsight—is behind the franchise, though.

As for the Hawks' 2022 all-in wager on Murray, though, they can't even get the grief process started on that misfire. That's because the damage done with that deal is ongoing.

Want to know why Atlanta traded away Murray but stopped short of entering a tear-down tank job this summer? It's because this trade cost the Hawks' control of their 2025, 2026 and 2027 first-round picks. Even if they hit the draft-lottery jackpot, the prize wouldn't belong to them.

They are indefinitely trapped on the treadmill of mediocrity, and because of this trade, it could be years before they're able to put any sort of roster-building plan into practice.

The trade: Desmond Bane to the Memphis Grizzlies and Enes Kanter Freedom to the Portland Trail Blazers; Grizzlies trade 2023 and 2025 second-round picks to the Boston Celtics and cash to the Portland Trail Blazers; Blazers trade Mario Hezonja to the Grizzlies

Bane was the 30th pick of the 2020 draft and has since tallied the class' third-most win shares. That means the Celtics aren't alone in feeling some regret about letting the skilled swingman slip away.

What makes Boston different, though, is that it had Bane firmly in its grasp. The Celtics actually picked him, only to promptly ship him out for a couple of second-round draft picks—neither of which they kept.

Clearly, the reigning champs are doing just fine without him, but even basketball's best roster would have had room for a 20-point scorer who's also a knockdown perimeter shooter, relentless defender and secondary playmaker.

The trade: Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Kris Joseph, Gerald Wallace, three first-round picks and a first-round pick swap to the Boston Celtics for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, DJ White and a future second-round pick

No one does regrettable deals quite like Brooklyn. Not in the modern NBA, at least.

The Nets flipped the first-round pick that became Damian Lillard for 16 months of Gerald Wallace, and that face-palm wasn't even seriously considered here. (What was, though, was the Jan. 2021 trade for James Harden that cost the Nets four players—including Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert—three-first round picks and four first-round pick swaps.)

Yet, this July 2013 megatrade doomed the Nets like no other. Brooklyn thought it was putting the finishing touches on a title team. Turns out, they were just loading up for a second-round exit, as Pierce was gone the following offseason and Garnett moved on at the 2015 trade deadline.

Boston, meanwhile, spent two of the incoming picks on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown—the pillars of its 2024 title team and centerpieces of potential championships to come.

It's the kind of disastrous outcome that could scare the Nets away from the superteam model for good.

The trade: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the Los Angeles Clippers for Miles Bridges and two future second-round picks

The Hornets had the No. 11 pick of the 2018 draft, but they decided they preferred the player taken 12th overall instead. So, Gilgeous-Alexander, who's now a perennial MVP candidate, was out of Buzz City before ever arriving and replaced by Bridges and a couple of second-round picks that never amounted to anything.

Bridges is, at least, a serviceable NBA starter, but it's hard to see stardom in the 26-year-old's future. It's also worth noting his recent past includes pleading no contest to a felony domestic violence charge in Nov. 2022.

As for the picks, they produced Vernon Carey Jr. and Scottie Lewis. They made 39 combined NBA appearances, and each is at least a full season removed from having a roster spot in the Association.

The trade: Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr. and two first-round draft picks to the Orlando Magic for Al-Farouq Aminu and Nikola Vučević

Chicago's inactivity on the trade market the past few seasons felt unforgivable given its unremarkable place in the standings. Maybe it was just the after-effect of this 2021 deadline deal gone wrong.

Back then, the Bulls were looking to accelerate their ascension and needed a co-star for Zach LaVine. While they did technically bring back an All-Star in Vučević (he's been selected twice), they failed to find the kind of difference-maker needed to put them on a championship path.

They have finally accepted their fate and leaned halfway into a rebuilding project, but their efforts have been stalled by a lack of interest in Vučević and LaVine.

As for the trade cost, Carter has held steady as a rock-solid starter, and since he's only 25 years old, it's possible we haven't seen his best.

The picks, meanwhile, both landed in the lottery and produced Franz Wagner—who's on All-Star trajectory—and Jett Howard, who has plenty of time to live up to his billing as perhaps the top shooter in the 2023 draft.

The trade: Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams and two second-round picks to the Atlanta Hawks for Kyle Korver

Save for the Sept. 2022 Donovan Mitchell megadeal, the Cavaliers have kept things fairly conservative on the trade front. And when they have made notable deals, they've largely been smart ones (adding Jarrett Allen in the four-team James Harden trade, turning Ricky Rubio and a couple of picks into Caris LeVert).

So, we'll hit the way-back machine to spotlight this Jan. 2017 swap, when Cleveland was squeezing what it could out of LeBron James' second tenure. Cost-wise, this was a smart investment at the time.

Williams wasn't playing (and never would again), and Dunleavy stopped after that season. Korver, meanwhile, gave the Cavs a knockdown shooter for their last two playoff runs with James.

What could keep Cleveland thinking about this deal, though, are the picks. This was initially a protected first-rounder, but it became a pair of seconds later used on Herbert Jones and Vince Williams Jr.—exactly the kind of multi-purpose wing defenders the Cavaliers would love to slot alongside their Darius Garland-Donovan Mitchell backcourt.

The trade: Reggie Bullock and a 2030 first-round pick swap to the San Antonio Spurs; a second-round pick and a second-round pick swap to the Boston Celtics; Grant Williams and two second-round picks to Dallas

This July 2023 sign-and-trade was supposed to help the Mavericks maximize their then-recently formed Kyrie Irving-Luka Dončić duo.

Dallas needed a defensive-minded forward to replace the loss of Dorian Finney-Smith (sacrificed in the Irving trade) and made a big wager on Williams being that player. Beyond the trade cost, the Mavs also made a four-year, $54 million investment in him.

They ditched those dreams in a matter of months, attaching a first-round pick and Seth Curry with Williams to pry P.J. Washington out of Charlotte at the 2024 deadline. As ESPN's Tim MacMahon relayed on The Hoop Collective podcast, Williams "didn't report in good shape" and "rubbed people the wrong way" in Dallas.

At least the Mavs managed to pivot out of this and into something positive with Williams, who logged their third-most playoff minutes during their run to last season's Western Conference finals.

Still, they blew through a not-insignificant amount of assets (and money) to correct their mistake.

The trade: Donovan Mitchell to the Utah Jazz for Tyler Lydon and Trey Lyles

The Nuggets turned the 41st pick of of the 2014 draft into a three-time (and counting?) MVP in Nikola Jokić and found him a championship running mate with the seventh pick of the 2016 talent grab in Jamal Murray.

So, no one could keep a straight face and say Denver doesn't know what it's doing at the draft.

As for draft-night trades, though, that's apparently a much different story. In addition to the 2017 disaster listed above, Denver previously gave Utah a massive gift in 2013 by letting it have Rudy Gobert (a four-time Defensive Player of the Year) in exchange for Erick Green (52 NBA appearances) and cash.

That trade is, arguably, worse than this one, but at least the Nuggets could claim some ignorance, since no one knew how Gobert would fare upon his stateside arrival. It felt fairly obvious Mitchell would be a net-shredder at this level with his handles and athleticism offering the opportunity to be much more (like, say, a five-time All-Star).

Denver, though, skipped out on that potential to get Lydon and Lyles, who played 163 combined games for the Nuggets.

The trade: Khris Middleton, Brandon Knight and Slava Kravtsov to the Milwaukee Bucks for Brandon Jennings

The Pistons made Middleton the 39th pick of the 2012 draft and then used him to grease the gears of this July 2013 trade. They maybe never expected to think about him again, as he'd logged just 475 minutes over 27 games as a rookie.

Yet, this Brandon-based blockbuster quickly became all about Middleton, who blossomed as a three-time All-Star and one-time championship co-star across his Milwaukee tenure which just entered its 12th season.

What's worse is the Pistons had a hunch the Texas A&M product had a lot more to offer than he'd shown.

"The Pistons did not want to include Khris in that deal," Orlando Magic senior adviser John Hammond, who was with the Bucks at the time of the trade, told Sean Deveney of Sporting News in 2018. "... We knew what Khris had done at Texas A&M before he got hurt, so there was potential. Detroit did not want to give him up, but in the end they had to in order to make the deal work."

Detroit should have trusted its gut. Jennings played just two-plus seasons with the Pistons, neither of which featured a playoff trip.

The trade: A top-20 protected first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Kelly Oubre Jr.

Back in Nov. 2020, the Warriors were reeling. Their run of NBA dominance had crash-landed during the previous season. They posted a dismal 15-50 record while enduring the free-agency departure of Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson's torn ACL rehab and injury issues that limited Stephen Curry to just five appearances.

Then, their hopes of a rebound were potentially thwarted when Thompson ruptured his right Achilles tendon. The Dubs basically made a panic trade for Oubre.

Beyond the picks (later used on Miles McBride and Aaron Wiggins), they also sacrificed an absurd amount of money to get Oubre: his $14.4 million salary, plus another $68 million in luxury taxes, per ESPN's Bobby Marks.

To no one's surprise, Oubre wasn't worth the investment. He was a poor system fit and inconsistent with virtually everything. He was out of Golden State after just one season and now stands as an uber-expensive lesson learned for the Dubs' decision-makers.

The trade: Chris Paul, two first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Russell Westbrook

In July 2019, the Rockets sacrificed a significant amount of their future flexibility for the chance to extend their contention window with James Harden.

It was obvious early on they'd made a grave miscalculation.

Of all the archetypes to choose for Harden's running mate, Westbrook was a baffling decision. Between his ball-dominance and shaky shooting, it was never clear how he was supposed to help. And frankly, he didn't.

Houston's .611 winning percentage was its lowest in four seasons, and the Rockets were more efficient with Harden working as a solo star (plus-6.3 net rating) than when he was alongside Westbrook (plus-4.9).

Houston was knocked out of the second round and virtually everyone skipped town after. Westbrook, Mike D'Antoni and Daryl Morey all exited during that offseason, while Harden forced his way out a few weeks into the 2020-21 season.

The Rockets plunged into a years-long rebuild after, a project made more difficult by the fact that they were without these assets. They just lost their first of the two first-round picks (Nikola Topić, No. 12 in 2024) and are still on the hook for a top-four protected pick in 2026.

The trade: Kawhi Leonard, Dāvis Bertāns and Erazem Lorbek to the San Antonio Spurs for George Hill

Surely, there are more than a few snarky Pacers claiming their club avoided a real headache here. And sure, based on how Leonard's career has progressed, it's unlikely he would have spent its entirety in Indianapolis and very likely there would have been plenty of injury management involved.

You know what else the Pacers would've gotten, though? MVP-caliber play, some of the best defense this league has ever seen and perhaps a half-decade-plus (at least) of championship contention given the caliber of club Leonard was set to join as the 15th pick of the 2011 draft. Even without him, Indiana won five playoff series over the following three seasons.

To be clear, Hill played a pivotal role in that postseason success. But just imagine plugging a replacement-level point guard in his spot, still having Roy Hibbert and David West man the frontcourt and now expanding the wing rotation to feature Kawhi freakin' Leonard behind Paul George and Danny Granger.

Indiana has never won an NBA title. Reverse this trade, and maybe that changes.

The trade: Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, five first-round picks and two first-round pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George

The cost of this July 2019 blockbuster was always bound to look a little bloated. That's because while George was the only player the Clippers technically received in the trade, this deal effectively delivered them Kawhi Leonard, too.

Leonard's free agency came down to a three-team race between the Clippers, Lakers and Raptors, and the trade for George is what pushed the Clippers over the top.

"I was very close [to signing with the other teams]. Real close," Leonard said. "But when (the Clippers) presented the opportunity of playing with Paul it was easy, it was a yes. I said let's get it going."

The George-Leonard pairing looked tremendous on paper, but constant injury issues prevented it from ever approaching its potential. George, who signed with Philadelphia over the summer, wound up spending five seasons in L.A., a span that somehow produced just three playoff series wins (none since 2021).

Because that combo never stayed healthy enough to click, and because Gilgeous-Alexander went on to become an All-NBA first-teamer, that one part of the trade—George for Gilgeous-Alexander—already goes down as an L.A. loss.

But once you start factoring in the picks and swaps (which haven't all conveyed but have already produced Jalen Williams, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tre Mann and Dillon Jones), this is the nightmare that keeps haunting the Clippers.

The trade: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and Kyle Kuzma to the Washington Wizards; Isaiah Jackson to the Indiana Pacers; Russell Westbrook and three second-round picks to the Lakers

The Lakers were champions in 2020 and first-round casualties the following year. This August 2021 blockbuster—which featured five teams in total—was intended to change that.

All it wound up doing, though, was dismantling what had been a championship-caliber supporting cast in L.A. and create a top-heavy team whose stars didn't fit.

How this front office watched LeBron James and Anthony Davis win big with support shooters and defenders around him and then decided Russell Westbrook would be a better complement is anyone's guess, but that miscalculation threatened to slam this core's championship window shut.

Westbrook was oil in the Lakers' water, and while that was obvious early on, it took a while for them to find a reasonable solution, since no one wanted his costly contract.

L.A. eventually paid the Utah Jazz a future first-round pick to take Westbrook off its hands, cutting into an asset collection that could have been invested in building up another title-winning team.

The trade: Brandon Boston Jr., Trey Murphy III and Jonas Valančiūnas to the New Orleans Pelicans; Tyler Harvey to the Charlotte Hornets; Ziaire Williams, Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe, Jared Butler and two future second-round picks

The Grizzlies entered the 2021 draft in dire need of a two-way wing. And they knew it.

That's why they made an aggressive—and, said with the benefit of hindsight, regrettable—move up from No. 17 to take Williams with the No. 10 pick.

Williams was young and all types of tools-y, the kind of prospect who either makes a front office look genius if he maxes out his potential or frustrates the heck out of it until it finally cuts bait. Unfortunately for Memphis, he did the latter for three forgettable seasons, and the Grizzlies finally abandoned ship and sent him to Brooklyn for a future second-round pick this offseason.

Meanwhile, the player actually selected 17th, Murphy, has become everything the Grizzlies hoped Williams would be. He is a tenacious, all-purpose defender who also happens to possess a career 39.2 three-point percentage and jump-out-the-gym bounce.

That's why New Orleans was rewarding Murphy with a four-year, $112 million contract extension while Memphis was cutting ties with Williams this offseason.

The trade: Bojan Bogdanović to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Norris Cole

Regrettable trades are tough to find for the Heat. Maybe Miami's fortunes change on that front if Terry Rozier doesn't click—the lottery protected 2027 first-rounder it sent to Charlotte for him in January becomes unprotected in 2028—but it's been so far so good with the scoring guard.

So, we'll instead travel back to the 2011 draft, when the Heat had a superteam to support and an NBA Finals loss to avenge. Rather than playing the waiting game with Bogdanović, who didn't come stateside until 2014, Miami flipped him for Cole, who was taken three spots earlier (No. 28).

Cole played three-plus fine-ish, largely uneventful seasons in South Beach before making stops in New Orleans and Oklahoma City. He last held an NBA roster spot in 2017.

Bogdanović, meanwhile, is in his 11th NBA season and has routinely flashed the kind of support scoring (career 15.6 points per game) and floor-spacing (career 39.4 three-point percentage) Miami's offense could have used these past few seasons.

The trade: Norman Powell and a future first-round pick to the Toronto Raptors for Greivis Vásquez

It would be an overreaction—for now, at least—to suggest the Bucks made the wrong choice last September by giving up Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, a future first-round pick and two future first-round pick swaps to get Damian Lillard.

Having said that, Lillard has yet to deliver the anticipated impact in Milwaukee, Holiday filled a critical role on Boston's championship team, Allen just led the league in three-point shooting and those draft assets could be quite valuable depending on what the future holds for this aging Bucks' team.

So...let's just say stay tuned on that trade.

As for our actual pick—a 2015 draft-night deal—Milwaukee coughed up two long-term assets in hopes of getting immediate assistance out of Vásquez.

Instead, an ankle injury kept that from happening (Vásquez played 23 games for the Bucks that season, three for the Nets the next and was out of the league by Nov. 2016), while Powell embarked on a solid NBA career that has now spanned 10 seasons and the future first-round pick was later spent on OG Anunoby, an exemplary three-and-D wing who scored a five-year, $212.5 million deal this summer.

The trade: Jimmy Butler and Justin Patton to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jerryd Bayless, Robert Covington, Dario Šarić and a 2022 second-round pick

In June 2017, the Timberwolves parted with three potential building blocks (Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn) to bring Butler onboard. By November 2018, Minnesota wanted out of the Butler business, and the star swingman was just as eager to exit.

Granted, this wasn't the easiest market for Minnesota to navigate, since Butler, an impending free agent after that season, had made his discontent so public. Still, this was a pretty underwhelming return at the time for someone of his caliber, and the years that have passed have only made it look worse.

Butler has booked a couple of All-Star trips and earned MVP votes since, and he has delivered some truly magical postseason moments while morphing a generally mediocre regular-season Miami team into a playoff powerhouse (three Eastern Conference Finals runs and two NBA Finals trips in a four-year span). Covington, meanwhile, lasted the longest in Minnesota despite being moved at the 2020 trade deadline.

June 22, 2017: Traded by the Chicago Bulls with Justin Patton to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen.

November 12, 2018: Traded by the Minnesota Timberwolves with Justin Patton to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jerryd Bayless, Robert Covington, Dario Šarić and a 2022 2nd round draft pick (Matteo Spagnolo was later selected). 2022 2nd-rd pick is more favorable of PHI and DEN

The trade: Nick Richards to the Charlotte Hornets for a future second-round pick

In terms of traditional bigs, the Pelicans arguably have the Association's worst center rotation. And we're being generous by including the arguably qualifier.

Not counting small-ball bigs, New Orleans—which has legitimate playoff aspirations, by the way—has only rookie Yves Missi and veteran journeyman Daniel Theis at the 5 spot.

It didn't have to be this way. Not when New Orleans found a perfectly serviceable center with the 42nd pick of the 2020 draft in Richards, who's one of only 15 players averaging double-digit points and rebounds this season.

Richards, obviously, isn't anywhere near a star, but he's a competent player at a position where New Orleans doesn't nearly have enough of him.

Adding insult to...well, insult, New Orleans didn't even keep this pick, which was cashed in this summer for now-Knicks reserve point guard Tyler Kolek.

The trade: Marcus Camby, Steve Novak, Quentin Richardson, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks to the Toronto Raptors for Andrea Bargnani

New York's recent trades have been generally positive—or simply too recent to tell how they'll play out. Maybe hoops historians will one day scoff at the prices paid for Mikal Bridges (five first-round picks) or Karl-Anthony Towns (Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, a first-round pick and two future seconds), but it's way too early to judge either deal.

So, let's instead spotlight a swap that, while not holding many long-term ramifications, still boggles the mind.

Bargnani, the top pick in 2006, already looked like a bona fide bust when this July 2013 deal went down, yet the 'Bockers still deemed him worthy of sacrificing depth pieces, a future first and two second-rounders.

The Italian played just two injury-impacted, defensively indifferent seasons in the Big Apple, which coincided with New York's slide from a 54-win power in 2012-13 to a 65-loss laughingstock by 2014-15.

The players and second-round picks mercifully didn't amount to much, but that future first was later spent on Jakob Poeltl (who went two spots ahead of Domantas Sabonis, for whatever that's worth), who later keyed Toronto's 2018 trade for Kawhi Leonard.

The trade: Jaden McDaniels and Ricky Rubio to the Minnesota Timberwolves; Immanuel Quickley to the New York Knicks; James Johnson, Aleksej Pokuševski and a future second-round pick to the Thunder

The Thunder just spent the last handful of seasons organically growing a championship-caliber roster. As you might expect, management misfires come few and far between with this franchise.

If you look closely, though, you can find a few would-be mulligans. The September 2017 trade for Carmelo Anthony, for instance, cost them the 2018 second-round pick that later became Mitchell Robinson. They also could have exited the 2021 draft with Alperen Şengün, but they flipped him the same night.

This 2020 three-team move appears the most regrettable, though, as Oklahoma City had a chance to add two building blocks—Quickley and McDaniels—but bypassed it to get Pokuševski, who was out of Oklahoma City in three-plus seasons and out of the NBA in four.

The trade: Jonathon Simmons, a second-round pick and a future first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Markelle Fultz

This 2019 deadline deal felt harmless enough at the time. Maybe even shrewd.

For a relatively low cost—the first-round pick was top-20 protected—Orlando got the chance to help Fultz, the top pick in 2017, find his footing. Had the Magic managed to solve his shooting woes, they perhaps could have found the perimeter scorer who might turn this nucleus into a heavyweight contender.

Not only did that fail to come to fruition—Fultz shot 27.5 percent from range across five seasons in Orlando and couldn't find a contract in free agency this offseason—but the Magic also managed to let an actual perimeter net-shredder slip through its hands.

Thanks in no small part to a seemingly meaningless crunch-time bubble bucket barrage from Mike Muscala, Oklahoma City's pick slipped to No. 21, meaning it conveyed to Philadelphia, which promptly invested it in Tyrese Maxey.

The trade: Jayson Tatum and a future first-round pick to the Boston Celtics for Markelle Fultz

The Celtics held the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft and had a prospect they preferred. The Sixers owned the No. 3 pick and seemingly also had a player they were targeting. Philadelphia just didn't know that its favorite and Boston's favorite wasn't the same.

So, the Sixers sacrificed a first-round pick (later spent on Romeo Langford) to climb from No. 3 to No. 1 to get Fultz. The Celtics slid back and grabbed Tatum, who was their top choice all along.

By now, you know how this story played out. Something threw Fultz's shot all out of whack—a shoulder injury, the yips, a combination of the two?)—and it effectively derailed his career. He made his mark as a defender and distributor in Orlando, but his shooting limitations shrank the offensive end and surely explained why he wasn't able to find an NBA contract this offseason.

Tatum, meanwhile, has secured three All-NBA first-team honors and earned three top-six finishes in MVP voting. In an alternate universe, perhaps he'd be chasing championships with Joel Embiid in Philly right now instead of hoisting the 18th banner into the rafters of Boston's TD Garden.

The trade: De'Anthony Melton, Josh Jackson and two second-round picks to the Grizzlies for Jevon Carter and Kyle Korver

These are critical times for the Suns, who may have plenty to regret should their asset-depleting decision to form a Big Three with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal fail to deliver the intended results.

Still, it would be premature to wave Phoenix's white flag, especially if new coach Mike Budenholzer and offseason additions such as Tyus Jones and rookie Ryan Dunn help carry this club farther than it went last season (sixth in the West, swept in the first round).

So, we'll instead look back on this financially driven July 2019 deal. The Suns needed to clear cap space to sign Ricky Rubio—who, for the record, spent just one season in the desert—and jettisoned Josh Jackson's remaining contract to open it up.

They had to incentivize the Grizzlies to take Jackson off their hands, though, so this meant cutting ties with Melton, too.

Phoenix would surely take a redo here if it had the option. Like Rubio, neither Korver (immediately waived) nor Carter (two seasons with the Suns) proved long for Phoenix, while Melton found his niche as a two-way playmaker in Memphis.

Injuries have been an unfortunately persistent thorn in his side, but when healthy, he's a master at making winning plays, whether that's defending at the point of attack, creating chaos off the ball, attacking in transition or becoming an above-average outside shooter (38.2 percent since the start of 2020-21).

The trade: Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers for Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, Justise Winslow and a 2025 second-round pick

The Blazers have saved their biggest blunders for free agency.

Even in the warped 2016 NBA economy, a four-year, $70 million investment in Evan Turner was wild. And losing LaMarcus Aldridge for nothing in free agency the following summer was less than ideal.

The trade market has generally been kind to the Trail Blazers, but this 2022 deadline deal was rough. Three-and-D forwards are generally hard to get, but Portland essentially gave two of them away for a chance to trim payroll.

It's always important to keep finances in mind, but you don't necessarily want to take a big talent hit when you're still building around a 30-something Damian Lillard.

Not only did the Blazers sell low on Powell and Covington, but they also did so after previously buying high on both.

The Nov. 2020 trade for Covington and the March 2021 acquisition of Powell cost them Gary Trent Jr., Isaiah Stewart, Rodney Hood, Trevor Ariza and a lottery-protected first-round pick.

After this trade, they had basically nothing to show for those sacrifices, as Bledsoe was waived and neither Johnson nor Winslow stuck around after the 2023 offseason.

The trade: Jaden Hardy to the Dallas Mavericks for two future second-round picks

The Kings' trade ledger looks fairly clean. Maybe some won't be enthralled by their 2017 trade of DeMarcus Cousins or the 2022 deadline deal that swapped out Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis, but there isn't anything egregious.

Including this, honestly. Jaden Hardy has shown some encouraging flashes, but his minutes, shots and points have trended down each of the past two seasons. He won't wow anyone with his efficiency. Or his playmaking. Or his defense. You get the idea.

Still, he's a slippery scorer with an ignitable jump shot. He can heat up in a hurry, ditch defenders in one-on-ones and even create for others when he's so inclined.

Hardy is interesting and 22 years old, which is why the Kings might, in hindsight, prefer having him over the two picks, both of which Sacramento has since routed elsewhere.

The trade: Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a first-round pick

Spurs fans might take exception to this selection.

They may recall Kawhi Leonard wanted out, which didn't help the franchise's leverage. For that matter, neither did his injury history (he suited up just nine times the season prior to this July 2018 trade) nor his unsettled future (free agency awaited him in 2019).

They could also recall that all three parts of the incoming package yielded value. DeRozan averaged better than 21 points and six assists over his three seasons in the Alamo City. Poeltl provided rock-solid interior play and was later rerouted back to the Raptors for a first-round pick and a couple of seconds. Plus, the pick collected here became Keldon Johnson, who has averaged better than 16 points across his first four-plus seasons.

Even still, that's underwhelming value for someone who, when healthy enough to play, might be basketball's best two-way player.

At the time of this trade, Leonard was a two-time All-NBA first-teamer in the heart of his prime. San Antonio could have named its price and opted for a deep bag of roster-building assets. Strangely, it tried to chase competitiveness instead, locking itself into the lower portion of the Western Conference's middle class for the next handful of seasons.

The trade: Kyle Lowry to the Miami Heat for Precious Achiuwa and Goran Dragić

Much like the Spurs, the Raptors refused to accept that the loss of Kawhi Leonard meant their championship window was closed.

Even though they lost him for nothing in 2019 free agency, they tried to forge ahead and actually managed 53 wins and a playoff series triumph the year after he left.

The wheels fell off the following season, though, and Toronto still wouldn't accept its fate. The Raptors were buried in the standings when the 2020-21 trade deadline rolled around, yet they kept Lowry, a 35-year-old on an expiring contract, instead of exploring trades for long-term assets.

Toronto finally realized its time with Lowry was up that offseason and could only find this sign-and-trade.

Dragić didn't want to be in Toronto and wasn't for long, as he was sent packing the following February. Achiuwa played two-plus seasons with the Raptors before being included in last December's OG Anunoby blockbuster.

The trade: Santi Aldama to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jared Butler and two future second-round picks

The Jazz haven't encountered obvious regrets in recent trades. When they've needed to move major players, they've done so for massive returns: Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, two first-round picks and three first-round pick swaps for Donovan Mitchell; five players, four first-round picks and a first-round pick swap for Rudy Gobert.

This 2021 draft-night deal isn't on the same scale. It's hard to think it's keeping anyone in Salt Lake City up at night.

Still, the Jazz managed to find a useful role player with the 30th pick in Aldama. They flipped him for the 40th pick, Butler, and two second-round picks.

Butler was waived in Oct. 2022, and both of the picks have since been traded away. Aldama, meanwhile, is entering his fourth season in Memphis and third as a rotation regular.

The trade: Kristaps Porziņģis to the Boston Celtics for Tyus Jones (from the Memphis Grizzlies), Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala and Julian Phillips

In June 2023, the Wizards were ready for a reset. Moving on from Kristaps Porziņģis was part of the future-focused plan.

He held a player option for the 2023-24 season, so one could argue Washington did decent to get anything from him on the way out. Having said that, this return feels almost nonexistent for a 7'2" unicorn who posted All-Star-caliber numbers over 65 games during the previous campaign (23.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.1 threes and 1.5 blocks).

This could have looked better had the Wizards flipped Jones for something during his lone season in the District, but they instead had him pilot a 67-loss season and then leave for nothing in free agency.

Gallinari and Muscala were packaged to get Marvin Bagley III (salary-dumped by Detroit), while Phillips went to Chicago for a couple future seconds.

That's it for Washington's haul for Porziņģis, who played a pivotal role on a championship team during his first season in Boston.