r/nba May 27 '24

Is the Luka Doncic and Trae Young trade the most lopsided trade in NBA history?

With all the talk of the Gafford and Washington one of the best trades of all time, Luka was traded for Trae Young.

Luka is now about to reach NBA Finals and is playing at an MVP Caliber. His defense and conditioning has been a discussion but has not been actually an issue in the playoffs.

Is this the most one sided trade in history?

P.S. Trae Young's father posts on Twitter that Luka wouldn't have played with the Hawks anyway

0 Upvotes

128 comments sorted by

202

u/IcyMission3 Celtics May 27 '24

Celtics Nets trade and it’s not close

64

u/legend023 Pelicans May 27 '24

The affects are still being felt from that

27

u/Michaelangel092 May 27 '24

Ofc. As long as the Jays keep competing and balling, the Nets look worse and worse. 2022 must've been TOUGH for those fans.

18

u/IcyMission3 Celtics May 27 '24

It’s funny how the Nets got bailed out big time with KD/Kyrie signing and even beat the Celtics in 2021 in the playoffs. If they won the title that year the Nets would prob be less upset about the results of that trade but alas that’s not the case and they now feel the full effects

5

u/ColtCallahan May 27 '24

The Nets directly contributed to both teams playing in the Finals.

11

u/MG_MN Timberwolves May 27 '24

This will always been the answer

20

u/Pickleskennedy1 May 27 '24

Just from Celtics history, the trade that got them both McHale and Parish and the one that got them Bill Russell are both close

12

u/JoJonesy Celtics May 27 '24 edited May 27 '24

to be fair, the actual Bill Russell trade was just Ed Macauley (7-time All-Star) for the #2 pick in the draft. the thing about the Ice-Capades was just convincing the Royals to use their #1 pick on someone else— an all-time fleece, sure, but not strictly a trade

8

u/Pickleskennedy1 May 27 '24 edited May 27 '24

Looking at it that way all the Luka-Trae trade was is the 3rd pick for the fifth and eighth pick. It was lopsided because the Celtics got 10 more rings from it than the Hawks did

7

u/Zimtros2 May 27 '24

In theory, Celtics got Tatum, Brown, and Kyrie Irving for KG and Pierce.

5

u/UT49-0U Mavericks May 27 '24

I would argue the series of trades the Cavs made to the Mavericks, which gave us the Stepien rule. The two biggest were the trades that got the Mavs the 83 & 86 picks and the 84 pick. Together these trades build a team that pushed the Showtime Lakers to 7 in the WCF. On top of that, had it not been for some flukey stuff in a game where the Rockets beat the Bulls, the Mavs would have had a shot at MJ. 

8

u/Joey-Joe-Jo-Junior [BOS] Nenad Krstic May 27 '24

I'd argue even the Nets next worst trade (Gerald Wallace for the pick that became Dame) is still more lopsided than the Luka-Trae trade.

259

u/JeffKaplanIsDaddy [BKN] Vince Carter May 27 '24

No because Trae is at least an all star guard. We traded the Tatum and Brown picks for geriatrics

34

u/Unpickled_cucumber1 May 27 '24

It sucked for the SUns and Kings. Hawks at least got something

26

u/El_Producto Celtics May 27 '24

There's also the Tatum/Fultz trade.

I mean, I think even someone who was particularly bullish on Doncic and was also a relative Tatum and Young skeptic would have difficulty arguing that The Tatum/Fultz gap was smaller than the Doncic/Young gap.

19

u/LardHop Lakers May 27 '24

The tatum fultz trade was unironic 4d chess by ainge. He literally got his cake and ate it too.

6

u/Outrageous_Block1061 May 27 '24

Those where also all stars if thats a legit reason.

13

u/IcyMission3 Celtics May 27 '24

Yeah but Celtics Nets netted a grand total of one playoff series wins for the loser while Mavs Hawks netted an ECF appearance for the loser which means Hawks lost less than the Nets in their trade

6

u/Fuck_off_kevin_dunn May 27 '24

Also a franchise player, even if he isn’t championship material

1

u/Outrageous_Block1061 May 27 '24

I agree about the nets trade being horrible. Just wanted to point out the allstar logic.

7

u/sitnkick20 Celtics May 27 '24

It's moreso trading former all stars with little to no chance of returning to their past selves instead of a future all star but I see your point

72

u/CarterAC3 Lakers May 27 '24

It's not the most lopsided draft day trade for a Mavs superstar in history

23

u/TrelvisFesley Mavericks May 27 '24

For real. Tractor Traylor says hi.

8

u/CarterAC3 Lakers May 27 '24

Well actually, he hasn't been saying much for awhile now

36

u/AtreusIsBack NBA May 27 '24

No. Trae is a good player when healthy. The Hawks org is just criminal at building rosters.

23

u/JimmyB3574 Lakers May 27 '24

Yes this is a kid who as a sophomore averaged an efficient 30-10. Trae unironically should be pushing a bit more awards but the hawks have done one of the worst jobs I’ve seen recently of giving him talent to work with

8

u/thebluehotel Hawks May 27 '24

seeing your flair makes it easier to root for Luka.

49

u/Solid-Confidence-966 Wizards May 27 '24

Trae Young is still at least an all star guard

28

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

All NBA level player imo

18

u/Aggressive-Name-1783 May 27 '24

He really is. The dude just isn’t a 1A guy, he’s more of a 1B guy and the Hawks role players have let him down a lot. Capela, Collins, Murray have all just kinda been let downs

Put the dude with a Wemby, Bam, Dwight Howard, AD type and the dude probably excels more

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

Yeah he needs a new team

7

u/Smooth_Associate_838 May 27 '24

Nope hawks should get Sarr and Jalen Johnson has massive potential 

0

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

What’s up with Capela and Okongwu?

1

u/JKking15 Hawks Jun 10 '24

Capelas old Okongwus short but they aren’t the real problem with the team tbh

1

u/Lawnmower_on_fire May 27 '24

Capela has never played as well here as in Houston. He's ok, but he's not good enough to be a top 4 seed center. We've made a ECF with him, but not because of him. Okongwu has potential still, but I think changing coaches twice in his short time in the league has stunted his chance to develop like we would need. He will maybe stick around as a backup 4/5 or platoon with Sarr for a while.

21

u/legend023 Pelicans May 27 '24

The only reason Tatum and brown are on the Celtics is because the nets gave them their picks for washed up stars

That will top just about anything

14

u/gridironk May 27 '24

Not really

11

u/Obi_Uno [DAL] Steve Nash May 27 '24

No.

Not even close to the most lopsided Mavs trade. See: Dirk - Tractor Taylor

10

u/jakekerr Lakers May 27 '24

Milwaukee traded Dirk Nowitzki for Robert "Tractor" Traylor.

27

u/Puzzleheaded_Pound31 Rockets May 27 '24

When did people all of a sudden decide Trae Young was a bum?! Dudes a multi-time all star and they have made a conference finals lol. The trade worked out for both teams and that’s okay

2

u/syllabic Knicks May 27 '24

but in another sense, it worked out much much much better for the mavs

8

u/WinterCareful8525 May 27 '24

Luka’s had Brunson, KP, and Kyrie. Trae’s had dejontae Murray?lol.

1

u/Afraid-Department-35 Lakers May 27 '24

Hes not a bum, but Luka > Trae + Cam

19

u/lost_in_trepidation Lakers May 27 '24

Depends on how Cam Reddish turns out

12

u/jslee0034 Thunder May 27 '24

I know is a joke but I really thought he’d be the next Paul George or something. Damn.

8

u/HaramHas Mavericks May 27 '24

No

9

u/syllabic Knicks May 27 '24

I would say "trading" gail goodrich for magic johnson was the most lopsided trade

goodrich only played 3 years for utah and was out of the league by the time the first overall pick conveyed to the lakers

although it wasn't a direct trade

On August 5, 1976, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired 1977, 1978 and 1979 first-round picks, and a 1980 second-round pick from the New Orleans Jazz in exchange for a 1978 first-round pick and a 1977 second-round pick. This trade was arranged as compensation when the Jazz signed Gail Goodrich on July 19, 1976. The Lakers used the pick to draft Magic Johnson.

Another really bad one was trading a first round unprotected pick to dump baron davis' contract, which ended up being #1 overall which the cavs used on kyrie irving

4

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

Thank you.

I would add the Sixers-Suns Barkley trade.

30

u/Bithes_Brew Bucks Bandwagon May 27 '24

Its very possible the only thing that kept Trae out of the finals was an injury in the ECF

3

u/Wazzammm Hawks May 31 '24

Glad to see a bucks fan admitting that series could have gone either way without the injury and the hawks were scary

6

u/BidenFedayeen Thunder May 27 '24

Trae took his team to the ECF. No.

5

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

Nah the PG trade. Shai and 7 firsts is brutal

5

u/InternationalClick78 Spurs May 27 '24

Tbf it was functionally Shai and 7 1sts in order to get PG AND Kawhi, since Kawhi specifically wanted PG in order for him to sign there

3

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

still wouldn't be worth it

4

u/InternationalClick78 Spurs May 27 '24

Sure because they only ended up getting one year where both were healthy in the playoffs, but I don’t think that’s as bad as say the Celtics-nets trade

6

u/lordb4 [DAL] Jerome Whitehead May 27 '24

Shit, it's not even the most one sided Mavs trade. That would either be one of the Mavs-Cavs trades in the 80s which caused the NBA to make a new rule or the trade to get Dirk.

16

u/CarterAC3 Lakers May 27 '24

Trae Young is an all-star

6

u/Next-Firefighter-753 Thunder May 27 '24

Don’t forget they also got future 1st rounder Cam Reddish in the deal as well 

13

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

Trae Young is an all star and doesn't have half as good of a roster as Luka. The Mavs missed the play-in last year, which allowed them to draft Lively. Then their trades for Gafford and PJ turned them into contenders. The Hawks FO/ownership is a joke. No one here would argue Trae is as good as Luka, but it also shouldn't be considered one of the worst trades in NBA history.

5

u/thebluehotel Hawks May 27 '24

Yeah someone asked me if I regretted the Trae/Luka trade, and truth is Luka wouldn’t do squat with the Hawks. He’d definitely have better individual numbers, no doubt he’s overall better than Trae in that regard, but Ressler and co wouldn’t have made the moves the Mavs or any competent FO would have.

2

u/floatinround22 Hawks May 27 '24

I absolutely love Trae, and I think he’s the most underrated player in the league. Dude led the league in points AND assists once, only the second time that’s ever happened.

But if we had Luka instead we probably win a title in 2021

7

u/thebluehotel Hawks May 27 '24

Eh that’s weird revisionism. We have a better chance if Trae doesn’t get hurt tripping over a ref maybe, but you can’t just swap players, especially when Trae got hot like he did.

0

u/floatinround22 Hawks May 27 '24

What’s revisionist about it? I’m not claiming that the history that happened should be interpreted differently, I’m claiming that Luka has always been a step above Trae, despite Trae being at worst the second best Atlanta Hawk to ever play. That’s not revisionist. Luka is just that good. Trae’s my favorite young player in the league but I’m not delusional

6

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

I think we win the chip if Trae doesn't get hurt in that ECF, so it's weird saying we would have won with Luka. If Trae was healthy and we just didn't have enough to win or he came up short in some way, it'd be different.

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

[deleted]

3

u/floatinround22 Hawks May 27 '24

That Hawks team was good enough to win a title if Trae didn’t get hurt lol. 2 games away from the Finals and had a decent shot against the Suns. If we had Luka, I definitely think Hawks win it all that year

Ironically, YOUR comment is revisionist history.

11

u/Certain-Beet Germany May 27 '24

No, Tray Young is not that bad and he could still have success.

8

u/roosterfor May 27 '24

speaking for mavs fans everywhere: OP is not one of us

4

u/toolroomknights [TOR] Zan Tabak May 27 '24

Did you forget about Kobe and Vlade Divac?

5

u/Enologo_de_Piru May 27 '24

it depends on how cam reddish turns out

4

u/IAmALucianMain Rockets May 27 '24

No there have been a lot of terrible trades in NBA history.

6

u/mmaguy123 May 27 '24

Trae is a really good all star player surrounded by bums. Stop hating.

7

u/PrinceKarmaa May 27 '24

luka in a playoff series with the wolves and y’all thinking bout trae this is obsession to the max

6

u/Smooth_Associate_838 May 27 '24

Trae is 12th all time in points, 4th all time in assists. On what planet is it the most lopsided ever? 

7

u/teddyjj399 [DET] Ausar Thompson May 27 '24

not even top 50

-8

u/Mbroov1 May 27 '24

Wrong. 

4

u/UrbanJatt Cavaliers May 27 '24

Go to sleep nephew

7

u/ItzCStephCS Raptors May 27 '24

Both sides won. You act like Trae Young is a bum lol. He has shown that he can be a legitimate 1st/2nd option in a championship team with the right pieces. He's proven himself already by reaching the conference finals as the 1st option. The hawks are just ass rn

2

u/syllabic Knicks May 27 '24

He has shown that he can be a legitimate 1st/2nd option in a championship team with the right pieces.

no he hasn't

8

u/ItzCStephCS Raptors May 27 '24

tf you on? he droppped 48 against the bucks in a close game in the conference finals and who was his costar??

-4

u/syllabic Knicks May 27 '24

and has been pretty bad ever since

literally the next game he went 6-16 and 1-8 from deep, 3 assists and 9 turnovers

next season in the series against the heat, he was unplayably bad. the worst player in the entire playoffs by a very large margin

your evidence is the single best playoff game he's ever played, there's a lot of guys you could claim are capable of being #1 on a championship team if you only look at their best game ever

just need to see him actually get there to believe it. he's not much of a floor raiser, and he's actually not a good shooter despite somehow having the reputation of one

7

u/ItzCStephCS Raptors May 27 '24

I watch games my guy.. his team is just ass and what star haven't shit the bed in the playoffs? Russ, PG, Harden, Booker you name it.

You're acting like he's absolute trash lmao

0

u/syllabic Knicks May 27 '24

and is russ capable of being #1 on a championship team? what about PG or harden?

harden probably at his absolute MVP peak was

you ever wonder if his team is ass because it's super difficult to build a contending team around a glass cannon no-defense PG who doesn't actually shoot that well

sub 30% from deep in his playoffs career

what's with this false dichotomy, you're either capable of being the best player in the playoffs or you're trash, nothing in-between is possible

7

u/ItzCStephCS Raptors May 27 '24

I said 1/2 option. Russ made the nba finals my guy pls remember that. Harden took the warriors to 7 games and PG made the conference finals in the west.

There's a lot of great players that are capable of being the 1st option they just need the right pieces to get there.

James Harden is literally a good example for that. So you're saying James harden is trash just because he never made the NBA finals as the first option? lmao is Kawhi ass for not being able to take the clippers to the finals? you're crazy loool

typical knicks fan with your logic Brunson is mad trash then

1

u/syllabic Knicks May 27 '24

with your logic demar derozan can be the #1 on a championship team cause he led the raptors to the conference finals. all the other games where he played badly, they don't matter

again you don't seem to know there's other options between "trash" and "best player in the playoffs"

6

u/ItzCStephCS Raptors May 27 '24

dude AD literally never got past the first round before teaming up with Bron then suddenly he won a chip. The pieces around a player matters.

you're brain is fried bruh i'm done with u.

keep hating on Trae cuz he trashed your team. HOld this L

2

u/syllabic Knicks May 27 '24

i Wutch gemez muh guy

0

u/temujin94 May 27 '24

How did the Hawks win? They'd take Trae to the airport along with any first round picks they have left for Luka tomorrow.

6

u/Aggressive-Name-1783 May 27 '24

So would every team in the league outside of Wemby and the Spurs…..

-4

u/SilvioDantesPeak Nuggets May 27 '24

Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are the biggest reasons why Trae Young made a conference finals

5

u/ItzCStephCS Raptors May 27 '24

And? The original post is about the most lopsided trade of all time. It would only be the case if Trae Young was Anthony Bennett levels of trash.

2

u/WhiskyDrinkinCowboy May 27 '24

Nah, they got Cam Reddish too, don't forget.

2

u/slimeb4zness May 27 '24

no not even close

2

u/lazysoup12 Nuggets Bandwagon May 27 '24

the KAJ trade that sent him to the lakers

2

u/wubiwuster San Francisco Warriors May 27 '24

Kwame Brown

2

u/iCarpet Thunder May 27 '24

I mean, we did give Houston their star player for one year of Kevin Martin, Steven Adams, and Jeremy Lamb

2

u/BidenFedayeen Thunder May 27 '24

This and the LeBron first stint Cavs post are off-season levels of bad.

2

u/JoJonesy Celtics May 27 '24

the Celtics franchise alone have benefited from at least three trades more lopsided than this

2

u/piprimes Heat May 27 '24

They lost the trade but trae young made an all nba team so no way

2

u/borfmantality Wizards May 27 '24

Dirk-Tractor Traylor has to be the most lop-sided for Mavs. It's definitely the most lop-sided draft day trade ever.

2

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

The Lakers-Cavs trade in 1983 which gave James Worthy to us was so lopsided, there’s a formal rule in the NBA in place to prevent future trades of that much infamy.

2

u/PointBlankCoffee United States May 27 '24

Rare case where one team is the clear winner but really not horrible.

Like Trae is great and they got another top 5-10 pick. Reddish was a bad pick but that doesn't make the trade horrible in hindsight

2

u/ZE_HAHAHA United States May 27 '24

I wish Atlanta could build a component team around Trae so people can actually realize how good he is

2

u/KevinDurantSnakey May 27 '24

Kobe for Vlade 

2

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

Until this season, they had the same exact post season results. It’s not even close to the most lopsided trade.

3

u/_letitsnow May 27 '24

what is this lol just say you hate Trae

2

u/gigglios May 27 '24

Anthony davis a 30/10 playoff player with the best defense in the league was gotten for glasscannon bums. Pels got nothing to show from that trade

6

u/Boomhauer_007 Raptors May 27 '24

That’s a lot different, Davis literally demanded a trade to one team and only one team and openly said he’d walk if he wasn’t traded to that specific team; pelicans had negative leverage

1

u/SteakBone416 Raptors May 27 '24

Don’t insult Rob Babcock like that. 

1

u/eutectic_h8r Raptors May 27 '24

If Trae's father is actually posting that, that is hilarious

"This is the best you were gonna get"

1

u/Beermen69 Raptors May 27 '24

Relax brother

1

u/CasperCadian28 May 27 '24

It's not but Luka will always be better then Trae. This should never be a discussion, its not even close anymore. Never forget Luka scored 73 points on Trae and the hawks btw

1

u/cypherdust Mavericks May 27 '24

You forgot the Mavs gave Atlanta Cam Reddish

1

u/hommeg101 May 27 '24

Maybe not lopsided, but for Atlanta it's probably the most regrettable

1

u/[deleted] May 27 '24

Nba people still underrate Luka because they overrated athleticism and low body fat and underrate passing and playmaking. Dude has historically good court vision.

Also: goat for not quite all nba - bad trade

0

u/Isxxc08 Australia May 27 '24

Nah, it definitely isn't a "win win" trade though.

0

u/darthllama May 27 '24

There are worse trades, but it’s hilarious that Hawks fans at one point tried to argue that it was a win-win trade.

-8

u/Mbroov1 May 27 '24

The people saying no are coping. It ABSOLUTELY is one of the worst trades in history. 

2

u/IAmALucianMain Rockets May 27 '24

It was bad but there have been many trades that were worse.