Opinion: Top 10 worst NBA trades of the decade

In a league like the NBA, all it takes is one or two superstars to transform a mediocre team into a championship contender. However, in the past decade, there have been numerous failed trades that have sent some franchises back years.

No. 10 Russell Westbrook and second-round picks to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021.

The Los Angeles Lakers got Russell Westbrook along with second-round picks in 2024 and 2028 from the Washington Wizards, in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell and a 2021 first-round pick.

Although Westbrook put up 17.4 points per game in 130 appearances with the Lakers, he couldn’t help the team succeed in the playoffs and was traded after two seasons.

No. 9 James Harden and Paul Millsap to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2021.

The Philadelphia 76ers acquired James Harden and Paul Millsap from the Brooklyn Nets for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, a 2022 first-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick.

The 76ers gave up a large chunk of their depth chart for a 2-year rental that only played in a total of 79 games.

No. 8 Russell Westbrook to the Houston Rockets in 2019

The Houston Rockets received Russell Westbrook from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Chris Paul, a 2024 first-round pick, a 2026 first-round pick, a 2021 first-round pick swap, and a 2025 first-round pick swap.

Houston gave up a lot of draft stock for Westbrook, who only stayed with the team for one season.

No. 7 Nikola Vučević and Al-Farouq Aminu to the Chicago Bulls in 2021

The Chicago Bulls acquired Nikola Vučević and Al-Farouq Aminu from the Orlando Magic for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., 2021 first-round pick and a 2023 first-round pick.

While this trade might’ve sounded good at the time, Vučević is aging and hasn’t led the Bulls to any playoff success. To make matters worse, one of the picks they traded turned out to be Franz Wagner who is currently averaging 24.2 PPG with the Magic.

No. 6 James Harden and a second-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in 2020

Brooklyn traded Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince to Cleveland, while sending guard Caris LeVert, forward Rodions Kurucs, three first-round picks (2022, 2024, and 2026), and four first-round pick swaps (2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027) to Houston.

All for James Harden, who played 80 games with the Nets before getting traded to Philadelphia.

No. 5 Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic in 2016

On draft night, the Magic traded away future stars Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Ersan Ilyasova for Serge Ibaka.

Sabonis is currently averaging 19 PPG, 14 RPG and 6 APG while Ibaka has been out of the league since the 2022-2023 season.

No. 4 Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2022

The Minnesota Timberwolves gave up Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Walker Kessler, 2023 first-round pick, 2025 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick, 2029 first-round pick and a 2026 first-round swap for Rudy Gobert.

Yes, Gobert has put up a solid 12.9 PPG and 11.8 RPG during his tenure with Minnesota. But they gave up their future for an aging center that hasn’t led them past the Conference Finals.

No. 3 Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks in 2024

As a part of a three-team trade, the New York Knicks got Karl-Anthony Towns and James Nnaji while the Minnesota Timberwolves received Julius Randle, Donte DiVincenzo, Keita Bates-Diop and a 2025 first-round pick. The Charlotte Hornets were also involved in the trade, but played a minor part.

This trade was arguably very balanced but it upset both fan bases since they shipped off major pieces of their organizations.

No. 2 Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2025

In arguably one of the biggest trades of all time, the Dallas Mavericks sent their franchise cornerstone Luka Dončić along with Maxi Kleber and Markieff Morris to the Lakers. In return, they got Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick.

This move made Mavericks fans furious. Since the trade, the Mavericks have dropped to ninth place in the West, while the Lakers climbed up to fourth place.

No. 1 Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019

The Los Angeles Clippers went all in for Paul George. As they gave up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, 2021 first-round pick (Tre Mann), Clippers’ 2022 first-round pick (Jalen Williams), right to 2023 first-round swap with Clippers, Clippers’ 2024 first-round pick (Dillon Jones), 2025 first-round pick, right to 2025 first-round swap with Clippers and finally a Clippers’ 2026 first-round pick.

Obviously, the biggest names in this trade are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams who have led the Thunder to first place in the West for the second year in a row.

On the contrary, Paul George only played 263 games in five seasons with the Clippers before leaving for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Chase Brosend is a first-year majoring in journalism. To contact him, email czb5975@psu.edu.