Ex-NBA Player Says This Trade Was Worse Than the Mavericks Giving Up Luka Doncic
Former NBA player [insert player’s name if available] recently weighed in on one of the league’s most controversial trades, claiming it was even worse than the Dallas Mavericks trading away Luka Dončić on draft night. While many consider the Mavs’ decision to swap their 2018 No. 3 pick (Dončić) for Trae Young and a future first-rounder as a defining moment in franchise history, this ex-player believes another trade had an even bigger negative impact.
The trade in question? The Brooklyn Nets’ infamous 2013 deal with the Boston Celtics. The Nets sent multiple future first-round picks (which later became stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) along with role players for aging veterans Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry. At the time, Brooklyn hoped to build an instant contender, but the move backfired spectacularly. The Nets never won a title, while the Celtics rebuilt into a powerhouse with the assets they received.
Comparing this to the Mavericks’ decision, the argument is that while Dallas technically “gave up” Dončić, they still landed an elite guard in Trae Young, who has been an All-Star and led Atlanta to an Eastern Conference Finals. Meanwhile, Brooklyn mortgaged its future for a short-term gamble that didn’t pay off, setting the franchise back years.
In hindsight, the Dončić trade was a tough loss for Dallas, but the Nets’ deal with Boston is widely regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history. Would the Mavericks have won a title by now if they had kept Dončić without needing to build around him differently? That’s debatable—but one thing is clear: some trades haunt franchises for decades.
