Welcome to the Worst Trades for Each Team in NBA History— a series of stories that looks at arguably the most disastrous move made during a franchise’s time in the league. Per team, we’ll nominate two deals and look at who and what were involved in the trade, the immediate consequences of the move, and the long-term implications it had for whichever teams took part.
These deals are justified as the “worst” using historical context and analyzing what happened because of the trade.
Staff Writers Yazin Ahmed and Dominic Chiappone contributed to this article.
The Worst Trades in Hawks History
Yazin Ahmed: What!? Why!? Pau!?
Trade details:
- ATL receives: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, 27th pick in 2001 NBA Draft (Jamaal Tinsley)
- MEM/VAN receives: Draft rights to Pau Gasol (3rd pick), Brevin Knight, Lorenzen Wright
Explanation:
The confusion about this trade as a young NBA fan always bamboozled me. “How was Pau a Hawk in June, but in Memphis by season time?”, is a constant question I considered.
For the first year, this trade was a big win-win. Shareef was an up-and-coming forward who needed the opportunity and place to explode on the big stage. Vancouver was a small market and then GM Pete Babcock wanted to “get someone that would help them win within the next 5+ years, someone that didn’t need time to develop and someone with a large upside.”
Should he be the GM of a rebuilding Hawks team, who just got the sixth pick last year and now the third pick this time around?
The Turnout
Anyways, Abdur-Rahim had the potential to help the franchise grow with a solid core of Jason Terry, Glenn Robinson and Toni Kukoc. But Abdur-Rahim never came up as big as they wanted him to in the ATL. He was awarded his first but only All-Star appearance that 2002 season with averages of 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal per game.
But from then on, he plateaued at this, only going down and down from there on out. He would average slightly decreased numbers with slightly better splits, but it was clear he already hit his peak. Atlanta recognized this at the perfect time. By age 27, after 2.5 seasons, they sent him to Portland for Rasheed Wallace. He’d have a stint in Sacramento before calling it quits in 2008, right when Pau was in his prime.
And speaking of Pau, his rookie year was arguably more promising than Abdur-Rahim’s first season as a Hawk. He averaged 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks en route to a Rookie of The Year crown.
He’d consistently be the head of some early Memphis days filled with success, potentially his best seasons. We know Pau’s greatness, he’d become a Hall Of Famer, a six-time All-Star, four-time All-NBA member, and a two-time champion. Pau’s greatness in NBA terms is often understated and is arguably up with the Tim Duncans in terms of consistency with a very quintessential 17 points and nine boards for his career average.
Dominic Chiappone: Fumbling the Luka pick
Trade details:
- ATL receives: No. 5 pick in 2018 (Trae Young), 2019 protected first-round pick (Cam Reddish)
- DAL receives: No. 3 pick in 2018 (Luka Dončić)
Explanation:
As far as three years ago, there was still a case to defend this trade for the Hawks. Now, not so much.
Future MVP candidate Luka Dončić slipped by several teams at the top of the draft. Atlanta had the chance to get him and did… for a few seconds. On draft night, Atlanta traded two spots back with Dallas to get an additional first.
This move hurt on a few fronts, with Dončić’s ascent as a superstar not even being the worst part. That additional pick only got the Hawks Cam Reddish, who was traded to the Knicks by his third season. Trae Young reached a strong peak when the Hawks made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. Now, that looks more like an anomaly than ever, especially over the past few years. Meanwhile, Dončić just took Dallas to the Finals. Even wilder: Luka is still 25 years old.
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