1986: 76ers make maybe worst trade in NBA Draft history
The Philadelphia 76ers had been one of the elite franchises of the NBA for a decade. Led by Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving and later joined by center Moses Malone, the Sixers had made, at least, the conference finals every year but one between 1977 and 1985, winning it all in 1983.
But the 76ers had that streak broken in 1986, losing to the Washington Bullets with Malone out due to an eye injury.
The Sixers had the No. 1 pick in the draft that season thanks to a long-forgotten trade with the
The Sixers decided they wanted to go with a quicker paced-team the following year. Waiting for Malone to get upcourt did not fit with that.
The consensus top player in the draft was North Carolina center Brad Daugherty, which the Sixers figured would also not help a fast-paced offense.
So. on draft night, in one of the most boneheaded trades in NBA history, the 76ers sent Malone to the Bullets for Jeff Ruland (who would play six games for them and retire) and Cliff Robinson (not the UConn guy) who lasted a year-and-a-half before getting traded.
The Sixers then doubled down on their stupidity by doing this with the No. 1 pick:
Aftermath:
Hinson had been a good (not great) athletic power forward for the Cavaliers. But he was slender and had bad knees. He only averaged 13.3 points for the Sixers in 100 games before being traded to the Nets. By the time he was 29, Hinson was out of the league.
Daugherty made the All-Star team five times in his eight-year career before back problems prematurely ended what might have been a Hall of Fame career.
If the Sixers had done nothing, they could rolled out for the 1986-87 season a starting lineup of Daugherty-Erving-Charles Barkley-Moses Malone and Maurice Cheeks.
The trades destroyed the franchise. The Sixers have only reached the conference finals once (2001) in the following 36 years.
1993: Note to Warriors, Chris Webber was good
The Golden State Warriors were still seeking relevancy 13 years after the disastrous Joe Barry Carroll trade.
The Warriors decided that former Michigan star Chris Webber could be the key to championship contention.
The Orlando Magic had the No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft, and they were more than happy to take Webber. So the Warriors, picking third, made them an offer they could not refuse:
Aftermath:
So No. 3 overall and three future first rounders got Orlando to give up a sure superstar in Webber (Would Troy Weaver have same price for Cade Cunningham? One can speculate).
At first, things were fine. Webber played well for Golden State, averaging 19.7 points and being named Rookie of the Year.
However, after one season, the Warriors traded Webber to the Washington Bullets for Tom Gugliotta and three first-rounders (two of them their own from Orlando trade).
To add insult to injury, one of the first rounders they got back ended up No. 5 in 1998. Golden State drafted Vince Carter and immediately traded him to Toronto.
Chris Webber and Vince Carter, both in their prime, would have been a nice 1-2 punch. Instead, the Warriors would not win a playoff series for another 22 years.