5. Selected Villanova’s Mikal Bridges with the 10th overall pick and traded him to Phoenix (2018)
Michael Carter-Williams won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2014 while with the Philadelphia 76ers. Some thought he could be the Sixers’ long-term answer at point guard. Sam Hinkie thought otherwise and traded MCW to Milwaukee as part of a three-team trade in February 2015.
Hinkie was right about MCW. That trade also landed the 76ers the Phoenix Suns’ first-round draft pick in 2018, which turned out the be 10th overall. Philadelphia had come off their first playoff appearance in “The Process” era and had a chance to get a young lottery pick.
They did just that in selecting Villanova and hometown kid Mikal Bridges. This was a gift from the basketball gods. It was looked at as a great move AND a great story for the 76ers – for about five whole minutes.
Brett Brown was acting GM for the 76ers during that draft in between the Colangelo Twitter-firing debacle and Elton Brand being hired as GM. Instead of keeping the young 3-and-D wing, Brown and the 76ers chose to trade Bridges back to Phoenix for Zhaire Smith and a 2021 first-round pick (Tre Mann).
Bridges went on to make an NBA Finals appearance with the Suns and is now a budding star for the Brooklyn Nets. Smith is currently out of the league and Tre Mann now plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder.