While the Brooklyn Nets continue to deal with what might be regarded as one of the worst trades in NBA history, we decided to take a look at some of the most head-scratching, jaw-dropping trades made in all of sports.
So without further ado, and in no particular order, here is what we came up with:
Montreal Expos trade Randy Johnson to Seattle Mariners
Year: 1989
Expos got: Mike Campbell and Mark Langston
Johnson’s numbers with Expos: 3-4, 4.69 ERA, 51 K’s
Johnson’s numbers with Mariners: 130-74, 3.42 ERA, 2,162 K’s
Career numbers: 303-166, 3.29 ERA, 4,875 K’s
Inducted into MLB Hall of Fame in 2015
Calgary Flames trade Brett Hull to St. Louis Blues
Year: 1988
Flames got: Steve Bozek, Rob Ramage, Rick Wamsley
Hull’s numbers with Flames: 57 games, 27 goals, 24 assists
Hull’s numbers with Blues: 744 games, 527 goals, 409 assists, 1991 NHL MVP
Career numbers: 1,269 games, 741 goals, 650 assists, 1,391 points
Inducted into Pro Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009
Seattle SuperSonics trade Scottie Pippen on draft night to Chicago Bulls
Year: 1986
Sonics got: Olden Polynice, 1988 2nd-round pick (Sylvester Gray), 1989 1st-round pick (B.J. Armstrong)
Pippen’s numbers with Bulls: 17.7 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game, 7 All-Star appearances, 6 NBA titles
Career numbers: 18,940 career points, 10 All-Defensive teams
Inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009
Dallas Cowboys trade Herschel Walker to Minnesota Vikings
Year: 1989
Cowboys got: Jesse Solomon, David Howard, Issiac Holt, Alex Stewart
1990 1st-round pick (turned into Emmitt Smith)
1990 2nd-round pick (Alexander Wright)
1991 1st-round pick (Alvin Harper)
1991 2nd-round pick (Dixon Edwards)
1992 2nd-round pick (Darren Woodson)
Walker’s numbers with Cowboys: 81 games, 3,491 yards, 27 TD’s
Walkers numbers with Vikings: 42 games, 2,264 yards, 20 TD’s
Vancouver Canucks trade Cam Neely to Bruins
Year: 1986
Canucks got: Barry Pederson
Neely’s numbers with Canucks: 201 games, 51 goals, 53 assists, -56 rating
Neely’s numbers with Bruins: 525 games, 344 goals, 246 assists, +138 rating
Inducted into Pro Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005
Boston Red Sox trade Jeff Bagwell to Houston Astros before making MLB debut
Year: 1990
Red Sox got: Larry Andersen
Bagwell’s career numbers: 2,150 games, .297 average, 449 home runs, 1,529 RBI, 1991 Rookie of the Year, 1994 NL MVP
Will be inducted into MLB Hall of Fame in 2017
Chicago Cubs trade Lou Brock to St. Louis Cardinals
Year: 1960
Cubs got: Ernie Broglio, Doug Clemens, Bobby Shantz
Brock’s numbers with Cubs: 327 games, .257 average, 50 stolen bases
Brock’s numbers with Cardinals: 2,289 games, .297 average, 888 stolen bases, 6-time All-Star
Inducted into MLB Hall of Fame in 1985
Atlanta Falcons trade Brett Favre to Green Bay Packers
Year: 1992
Falcons got: 1992 1st-round pick (Bob Whitfield)
Favre’s numbers with Falcons: 2 games, 0 completions, 2 INT’s
Favre’s numbers with Packers: 255 games, 61,655 yards, 442 TD’s, 286 INT’s
Career numbers: 302 games, 71,828 yards, 508 TD’s, 336 INT’s
Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016
Chicago Blackhawks trade Dominik Hasek to Buffalo Sabres
Year: 1992
Blackhawks got: Stephane Beauregard, 1993 4th-round pick (became Eric Daze)
Hasek’s numbers with Blackhawks: 25 games, 13-4-2 record, .897 save percentage, 2.58 goals against average, 1 shoutout
Hasek’s numbers with Sabres: 491 games, 234-170-70 record, .926 save percentage, 2.22 goals against average, 55 shutouts, 6-time Vezina Trophy winner
Career numbers: 735 games, 389-223-95 record, .922 save percentage, 2.20 goals against average, 2 Stanley Cup titles
Inducted into Pro Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014
Golden State Warriors trade Robert Parish and 1980 1st-round pick to Celtics
Year: 1980
1st-round pick became: Kevin McHale
Warriors got: 2 1980 1st-round picks (Rickey Brown and Joe Barry Carroll)
Parish’s numbers with Warriors: 307 games, 13.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg
Parish’s numbers with Celtics: 1,106 games, 16.5 ppg, 10 rpg, 9-time All-Star, 3 NBA titles
McHale’s numbers with Celtics: 971 games, 17.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 7-time All-Star, 3 NBA titles
Both McHale (1999) and Parish (2003) inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame
Boston Red Sox trade Babe Ruth to New York Yankees
Year: 1918
Red Sox got: $100,000
Ruth’s numbers with Red Sox: 391 games, .308 average, 342 hits, 49 home runs, 224 RBI, 89-46 pitching record, 2.28 ERA, 483 K’s, 3 World Series titles
Ruth’s numbers with Yankees: 2,084 games, .349 average, 2,518 hits, 659 home runs, 1,978 RBI, 4 World Series titles
Inducted into MLB Hall of Fame in 1936 (ceremony held in 1939)
