NBA: Looking back at the 5 worst trades of the decade so far

Dishonorable mentions

Kyle Lowry to Miami

The trade: Lowry signed and traded to Miami at 3 years-$85M, for Goran Dragic, and Precious Achiuwa.

Kyle Lowry totally made sense as a “#Heatculture” guy, but his body has just given out since the trade. He played arguably worse than Goran Dragic last season while getting paid about $10 million more. His contract is bad, even in a market where below-average starting point guards get paid significantly more than players at other positions.

In the last two years, the Heat has also been defined by a lack of size, an area where perhaps Precious Achiuwa would’ve helped.

The inbound and outbound James Harden-Nets trades

Perhaps my Nets fandom is showing here. I can understand why someone would make a case that giving up the team’s entire allowable draft rights, plus Caris Levert, Jarrett Allen, and more, for Harden was a bottom-five move. It certainly did not work out, but at the time of the trade, Harden was still a top 10 player with multiple years left on his contract, and a coach had been fired for playing Allen more than De’Andre Jordan.

Any time a top 10 player is available, it’s at least somewhat defensible to pay all you possibly can to get him.

The Nets, of course, would trade Harden barely a year later for the striking Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and some picks, in a move that can be defended on the basis of draft equity, and the theory of Ben Simmons – a theoretical player who would have perfectly complemented the more shot-happy Durant and Irving.

Unfortunately, both trades were complete failures for the Nets, but their defensibility is the basis for them being better than these five horrific trades.