For the record, if I was a Knick fan I would  love this Carmelo trade. I was on twitter arguing with people and I was amazed that so many people thought that Knicks gave up too much to acquire him. Are you serious? People the Knicks are a 28-26 team. That is basically .500, an average team that is going nowhere. Now with Melo not only are they must see TV, but they are poised for a bright future.

Melo is a top 3 small forward in the league, and a top 10 player overall. Period. Ok he is not a lock down defender, I will give you that. But name me one guy that averages over 27 a game who is. Dirk? Durant? Kobe (especially at this age)? Um no. Melo demands a double team, and rebounds well for his position. And all the negative things people are saying about Melo right now, they said Amare just last summer. And how did that workout so far?

And did I mention Chauncey Billups is now a Knick as well? They only have him for 2 more seasons (when CP3 & D Will are free agents), and he is a far more proven player than Raymond Felton. It’s funny to me how now Raymond Felton is an un-tradable asset off of a good 1st half of the season. Really? The Knicks settled for him last off-season, and who is to say his stellar play would continue? The regular season and the playoffs are a totally different beast.  Remember Mo Williams people?  Chauncey may not be the perfect fit for the system D’antoni runs, but when the game slows down he will spread the floor giving Amare and Melo more room to operate.

For my full thoughts on Melo

The happiest guy about this trade has to be David Stern. Chris Broussard’s sources have confirmed that commissioner David Stern didn’t even need to pop Extenze for the rest of the season. He will be elated for a decade knowing the largest market in the entire league is not only relevant, but also thriving.

But all of this chatter got me thinking about what were some really bad trades. You want to see a bad trade I will give you a bad trade.

To the list: (they are numbered but not in order)

1. Milwaukee Bucks trade Dirk Nowitzki & Pat Garrity to the Dallas Mavericks for Robert Traylor (1998)

Are you serious? You traded away a very poor mans version of Larry Bird and quite possibly the greatest European to ever play in the NBA for that fat pound of goo? This is quite possibly the best thing Don Nelson ever accomplished in basketball. Not only is Dirk going to go down as the best player in Mavericks history, he has won an MVP, led his team to the finals, and been 10 time All Star.

Tractor Traylor meanwhile flamed out of the NBA following the 2005 season when he was cut in training camp by the New jersey Nets. He has been playing over sees, and doing his best to avoid jail time as it was discovered he laundered money for his incredibly successful drug dealing cousin. No word if he will get a cell with a window if he plays on the guards team in jail. Either way the man they call Tractor had a tough mow of it. Ok that was bad, but this trade was very lopsided and the Bucks, despite a nice run with Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson, and Sam Cassell, never got over passing on Dirk.

2. Seattle Supersonics trade Scottie Pippen to Bulls for Olden Polynice in 1987

Let me be clear I despise Scottie Pippen. But there is no doubting that he was the perfect Robin to MJ’s Batman. A prototype all around small forward, Scottie while great at nothing was very good at everything. He was the 2nd best player on 6 championship teams while Olden Polynice twice placed 2nd in the ashiest man alive contest. No confirmation of the rumor that Otis Thorpe claimed 1st place both years.

3. Charlotte Hornets trade Kobe Bryant to Lakers for Vlade Divac in 1996

Um. Um…Whoops? Ya think the Hornets ever move to New Orleans if Kobe Bryant is running the squad out there? I don’t think so either. People always tell you don’t trade size away, but in this case you had a starting center in Divac that was very skilled and improving, and you give him up for a 17 year old who took ugly ass Brandy to prom? Jerry West ain’t the logo for nothing. Kobe will go down as an all time great, and one of the greatest scorers ever to walk the planet. And Divac, well he is best known as being the greatest flopper, this side of D fish in NBA history.

4. Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers for Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers, and Junior Bridgeman in 1975

A lot of young people do not realize that Kareem was not drafted a Laker. In fact a lot of young people think Kobe is the greatest Laker of all time. No sir my 106 & Park watching friends. There was once a man who dominated High school, college and NBA basketball, and developed to this day the most unstoppable move the world has ever seen. He was a man that media types disliked because he was grumpy and more intelligent than them. He is man simply known as: Captain, or Cap for short. He is the NBA all time leading scorer. And the Milwaukee Bucks traded him away. Why in the world would you ever do that? I have no f@*#ing idea either. I have never seen Brian Winters, Dave Meyers, Elmore Smith (not to be confused with Elmore Leonard) and Junior Bridgeman every dribble a basketball or shoot a jump shot. I don’t need to either. That fact that I have never ever heard of any of those stiffs is all I need to know because I watched Kareem Average 20 points as a 40 year old. Think about that for a second. This wasn’t a trade as much as this was a shakedown. Prison style. “Phone check homie.” Like a new guys first night in Oz.

5. 1992—76ers traded Charles Barkley to the Suns for Andrew Lang, Tim Perry and Jeff Hornacek.

This trade right here reminds me of the Melo trade. I remember it well; I was still at Xavier University in Cincinnati Ohio at the time. And my roommate Jason Carapellotti (305) was, and still is, the single biggest Charles Barkley fan I have ever seen. So when this trade happened I specifically remember commenting that the Suns gave up too much for the Chuckster. Child please. If a legit, not the over hyped sensation, but a legit superstar is available you go get him every single time. You know why? The team that trades him away always wants draft picks in HOPES of drafting anther him. Tim Perry was like Gallinari is now, tall rangy, athletic, with loads of potential. Guess what potential means, unproven. Barkley was proven. As is Melo.

6. Pistons traded Grant Hill to the Magic for Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins. 2000

Ya know the end result ended up the opposite of what most predicted what would happen. Even the most optimistic Piston fan couldn’t have dreamed that Grant Hills ankle would never heal properly, and Ben Wallace, the undrafted “guy” from Virginia Union would evolve into a Zulu warrior. Ben was the centerpiece of a Pistons 2004 NBA championship and went on to win 4 Defensive player of the year awards. Meanwhile Grant Hill sat behind the Orlando bench for 5 years in different color suit and ties. I must say I am happy for Grant to see him still playing for the Suns now trying to recapture half a decade lost in muggy ass Orlando.

7. Bulls traded Elton Brand to the Clippers for Tyson Chandler (and Brian Skinner). 2001

Franchises win championships not players. Jerry Krause famous last words. In 2001 Elton Brand was still good, actually on the verge of being really good. And the Bulls instead of building around him decided to mortgage their future on two very young players Tyson Chandler and Eddie Curry. Both were deemed as can’t miss prospects who’s physical dominance at the high school level would surely lead to superstardom at the NBA level. Sadly for the Bulls it didn’t quite work out that way. Tyson Chandler was a poor mans version of the Tyson Chandler you see now. So basically imagine him skinnier, with no confidence, and no HOF point guard to throw alley oops to him. He was disaster early in his career, while Elton Brand went on to be a multiple All Star forward for, gulp, the Clippers. This was a moronic trade that helped set the Bulls back for a decade.

8. Rockets traded Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, and Brandon Armstrong to the Nets for Eddie Griffin. 2001

People thought Eddie Griffin was the next big thing. He was the High school player of the year and attended Seton Hall University for one season under the 3rd stiffest black man on earth (Bryant Gumbel, Alphonso Ribeiro are the others). He stayed one year, to mixed results. He was dismissed from the team for getting into a fight teammate Ty Shine. Regardless of his immaturity the Rockets tabbed as the next great wing player to entire the NBA. The fact that you cannot remember him says it all. If you google his name it comes back: ummm. Yes Richard Jefferson is no elite player but he has been a very good NBA player and made two final appearances with the New Jersey Nets.

Sadly Griffin died in a car crash in 2007 in Houston, Texas.

9. Warriors trade Mitch Richmond to Kings for Billy Owens. 1991

This trade right here hurt. The Pistons always have and always will be my squad. Even now as “we” float aimlessly in the sea of purgatory. But back in the late 80’s early 90’s I picked up a 2nd squad. That team was the Golden State Warriors. Led by Zeke disciple, Tim Hardaway, my dude Chris Mullin, and flashy powerful 2 guard from Kansas State Mitch Richmond. They were called RUN TMC.

What made this trade so bizarre is, Chris Mullin was one of the 2 or 3 best small forwards in the game. So why in the hell do you trade your starting two guard for the Syracuse All American Bill Owens (Lamar Odom before Odom), who you guess it was a small forward. Now in Don Nelson’s system he could play the 4 some, but the point is, you are young and winning and exciting why break that up. This trade made no damn sense in 1991 and makes even less sense now.

10. Lakers trade Caron Butler to the Wizards for Kwame Brown. 2005

Caron Butler is a good NBA player, but he is no great player. So this trade may not jump out at you at first, but think of the dynamic with the Lakers back then. Considering the fact that your franchise player (Shaq was in Miami already) Kobe Bryant makes friends about as easy as Hellen Keller rides a unicycle, as the Laker brass you probably don’t want to trade his buddy Caron Butler away.

Trading for Kwame Brown is akin to trading needles with Tommy Morrison. You don’t pursue Kwame Brown. You pick him up only when you are forced to, like the last immigrant worker outside a Home Depot who’s a missing hand. Kwame Brown couldn’t start for the La Sparks. So the fact the Lakers gave up anything more than some Chanakhuu ornaments and flavored incense this move was doomed from the start. The only thing that let the Lakers recover from this biblically horrific trade was:

11. Memphis Grizzlies trade Pau Gasol to Los Angeles Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, & two First Round Draft Picks (2008)

This trade right here was total bullsh*t. Jerry West was technically no longer the president in Memphis, but his 3rd best Laker trade (behind Shaq and Kobe) was giving Pau Gasol to the Lakers for case of Michelob light, and 6-week supply of Lemon Heads. Seriously this trade is why people think there is a conspiracy in the NBA. The Grizzlies had just drafted Mike Conley with a top 5 pick to be the point guard of the future. So why in the hell do you trade for another one? And old dusty ass Aaron Mckie, who at the time wore a suit more than a jersey. And of course you know my feelings already on trading for Kwame Brown. Greg Popovich at the time opposed the trade, but some how all those Laker fans who hated Lebron going to Miami had no problem with Memphis dumping Pau Gasol like an overworked bus boy who is way behind in his fantasy league. Horrible, Horrible, Horrible trade.