Worst sports trades

[Lathum]

Anyone know any websites that list the worst trades of all time? I thought it would be fun to check out.

[TLK]

I think the Tigers homepage has a transaction page..... that'd be a good place to start.... :)

TLK

[ACStrider]

My vote goes to P Ernie Broglio of the St. Louis Cardinals for some nobody player named Lou Brock on the Chicago Cubs. Espn has a few articles although I would differ with how what they consider "worst trades". As is the case so often in sports history, people forget the past and over-glorify the present.

[MrBug708]

Pedro Martinez for Delino Deshields
Vlade for Kobe

[Havok]

Its always fun to look at the Wizards trades throughout the last 10 years.

[oykib]

Originally posted by MrBug708
Pedro Martinez for Delino Deshields
Vlade for Kobe

It was actually Vlade and Eddie Jones. AAnd that trade was made because Kobe said that he wouldn't play in the NBA for Charlotte. Since he grew up in Italy, people took the threat that he'd play in Europe for a year seriously.

You can't count most of the bad NBA trades because most of them are the sign-and-trade variety becaause of the arcane salary cap and matching rules.

Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson seems like it should be up there.

And depite the fact that Pappas was much better than people give him credit for, Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas had to be one of the worst trades in history.

That was probably the worst for two reasons.

1. It involves the best position player ever to be traded in his prime, with the obvious exception of Ruth, who was sold because of his owners insolvency.

2. It wasn't one where a veteran was traded for a prospect. Every team has a list as long as your arm of prospects that later turned out to be great that were dealt for strech-drive semi-decent veteran help. But it's rare to find the GM stupid enough to lose a known MVP commodity for something worth a lot less.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Hockey perspective:

Vancouver trades Cam Neely to Boston for Barry Pedersen

Pittsburgh traded Markus Naslund to Vancouver for Alex Stojanov.

Islanders trade Todd Bertuzzi and Bryan McCabe to Vancouver for Trevor Linden.

Philadelphia Flyers trades Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, 1st round selection (Jocelyn Thibault) in 1993, 1st round selection (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, later traded to the Washington Capitals - Nolan Baumgartner) in 1994 and cash to the Quebec Nordiques for Eric Lindros.

Detroit Red Wings trade Adam Oates and Paul MacLean to St. Louis for Bernie Federko and Tony McKegney. Horrible deal for the Wings.

St. Louis send Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley to Calgary for Brett Hull and Steve Bozek.

Hartford Whalers send Zarley Zalapski and John Cullen to Pittsburgh for Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson

Montreal Canadiens send Patrick Roy and Mike Keane to the Forces of Darkness(tm) for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky, and the Russian Tank Andrei Kovalenko.

Blackhawks send Dominik Hasek to the Sabres for Stephen Beauregard and a 4th round pick (Daze).

Edmonton sends Wayne Gretzky, Mike Krushelnyski, and Marty McSorely, for Martin Gelinas, Jimmy Carson, and three first round picks. (This a bit of a "money" deal that needed to happen, but still...)

I didn't include recent deals that were just salary dumps (see: Jagr deal, Bure deal, Kovalev deal, etc.) Most of these deals were back in the day when trades were made for hockey reasons. Well, they were supposed to be.

Other sports: (taken from ESPN2.com)

1. Red Sox sell Babe Ruth

2. Colts deal John Elway to Broncos

3. Nets sell Dr. J to 76ers

4. Golden State furnishes Celtics with Robert Parish and No. 3 pick (Kevin McHale)

5. Pedro Martinez goes from L.A. to Montreal

6. Mets ship Nolan Ryan to California

7. Reds deal away an "aging" Frank Robinson to the O's

8. Cowboys build title team netting 6 players and 12 draft picks (including Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson) from Minnesota in exchange for Herschel Walker

9. Bulls get Scottie Pippen from Sonics for Olden Polynice

10. Blazers deal Moses Malone for draft pick

[stkelly52]

It is really hard to know if it was a bad trade or not. For example, the Red Sox traded Ruth to the Yankies (actually, he was sold so he dosen't even qualify) so that the owner could afford to put on his play. He got exactly what he wanted out of the deal and made alot of money out of the deal.

John Elway had said that he was not going to play for the Colts so the Colts had no choice but to trade him away.

There are lots of reasons why teams could be on the losing end of a trade, and it often isn't because they made a bad deal. It was just the best choice that they had to make.

[Ksyrup]

Cards trade Steve Carlton to Phillies for Rick Wise, over $10,000 contract dispute. Thank you Cards.

[klayman]

I imagine Honolulu_Blue doesn't like this hockey trade right about now either.

Flames trade J.S Giguere to Anaheim for a 2nd round draft pick :)

[BreizhManu]

Originally posted by Honolulu_Blue
Philadelphia Flyers trades Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, 1st round selection (Jocelyn Thibault) in 1993, 1st round selection (later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, later traded to the Washington Capitals - Nolan Baumgartner) in 1994 and cash to the Quebec Nordiques for Eric Lindros.

Must agree, this one was horrible, yet a Forsberg vs Lindros trade would hve been horrible too.

[Radii]

The Cubs giving up Lou Brock is a big one. The Cubs were also beneficiaries of two of the worst trades ever too IMO. White Sox give up Sosa, Cubs give up George Bell. Also, the trade that brought Ryne Sandberg to the Cubs from the Phillies, I can't remember who the Cubs gave up but it wasn't much for a hall of fame(next year hopefully :P ) second baseman.

The Herschel Walker for 4 million draft picks from Minnesota has to be up there too.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally posted by klayman
I imagine Honolulu_Blue doesn't like this hockey trade right about now either.

Flames trade J.S Giguere to Anaheim for a 2nd round draft pick :)

No. I would much rather have Giguere wallowing in Calgary at this moment. Much rather indeed. Way to go Former-GM Craig Button.

Speaking of Giguere, what the hell is it about the Red Wings and French-Canadian goalies?

As to not threadjack, I will continue this discussion on the NHL play-off thread.

[primelord]

Originally posted by oykib
It was actually Vlade and Eddie Jones.

No it wasn't. Eddie was traded with Elden Campbell to Charolette for Glenn Rice. The Kobe deal was just for Vlade.

[oykib]

Originally posted by primelord
No it wasn't. Eddie was traded with Elden Campbell to Charolette for Glenn Rice. The Kobe deal was just for Vlade.

I remembered it as part of the saame negotiation. But I hte the Fakers, anyway. I'm sure you're right.

My main point is that it wasn't a bad trade. Kobe wasn't going to sign with Charlotte. So, they had to deal him.

If David Stern had some nuts, he would've told Kobe and Srtevie Franchise and the lot of 'em that you play for the team that drafts you or you don't play. All he had to do was change the rules so that the rights are kept for three years instead of one.

It's easy to say that you're gonna sit out for a year. But to say that you're gonna sit out for three would be tough. It would also give the team leverage if they wanted to trade the rights.

[sachmo71]

Kovalev trade. The worst part is that it was necessary. Hockey is in big trouble.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally posted by Honolulu_Blue
St. Louis send Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley to Calgary for Brett Hull and Steve Bozek.This one always gets included in the list of bad hockey trades. Hull turned out OK (cough), but I think if you trade a prospect for veterans and then win a cup within a few seasons of the deal, you should be exempt from the hall of shame.

How about California handing Guy Lafleur to the Habs?

Or this little classic: Flames trades Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Rick Wamsley (him again!) Ric Natress and Kent Manderville to the Leafs for Gary Leeman, Jeff Reese, Alex Godynyuk, Michel Petit and Craig Berube.

[henry296]

Originally posted by Honolulu_Blue
Hockey perspective:

Pittsburgh traded Markus Naslund to Vancouver for Alex Stojanov.


Hartford Whalers send Zarley Zalapski and John Cullen to Pittsburgh for Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson

Just some comments on the two Pittsburgh trades.

The Naslund trade is getting a lot of talk in Pittsburgh right now. The trade was in 95 when the Penguins still had a lot of skill forwards but needed a grinder and Naslund was making good money since he was a first round pick but not playing a lot, so they decided to punt. Stojanov played his role ok but got hurt in a traffic accident during the following offseason and really never played again.

The Hartford trade is backwards. The Penguins got Ulf and Francis plus Grant Jennings for Zalapski, Cullen and someone else, who I think was Jeff Daniels. That trade made Craig Patrick's reputation as a GM and lead to the 2 Stanley Cups.

Todd

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally posted by henry296


Just some comments on the two Pittsburgh trades.

The Naslund trade is getting a lot of talk in Pittsburgh right now. The trade was in 95 when the Penguins still had a lot of skill forwards but needed a grinder and Naslund was making good money since he was a first round pick but not playing a lot, so they decided to punt. Stojanov played his role ok but got hurt in a traffic accident during the following offseason and really never played again.

The Hartford trade is backwards. The Penguins got Ulf and Francis plus Grant Jennings for Zalapski, Cullen and someone else, who I think was Jeff Daniels. That trade made Craig Patrick's reputation as a GM and lead to the 2 Stanley Cups.

Todd [/B]


Yeah. That's right. I did get the Hartford-Pitt deal totally backwards. Brain. hurts.

[Easy Mac]

The Herschel Walker Trade

[kid_dynamite]

The Bears four years ago turned down the chance to take Champ Bailey, Chris McAlister, David Boston, Daunte Culpepper and Chris Claiborne because they traded down to get Cade McNown. i dont know if this counts or if this is the worst ever but it sure wasnt pretty.

[oykib]

I still contend that you can't compare the prospect-who-turned-out to-be-great trades with the all veteran trades.

I get back to Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson. That's a bad trade. It's like if you traded Sammy Sosa for Andy Pettiete two years ago. Although Robinson was a little better than Sosa and Pettiete is a little better than Pappas was.

[JPhillips]

Do non-trades count? I think the Bengals turning down Ditka's offer of his whole draft and instead picking Akili Smith should at least get honorable mention.

[Doug5984]

Ditka trading an entire draft + some to move up a few spots and take Ricky Williams....we are still recovering from that draft....
Also, I am to young to remember this trade really but the Saints traded a high first round pick for QB Steve Walsh?

Anytime you want to look at 'the worst' in the NFL look no further than teh Saints....Biggest bust of all time? I would put Russell Erxleben(sp?) on that list.....1st round pick for a kicker(punter)??

[MrBug708]

My main point is that it wasn't a bad trade. Kobe wasn't going to sign with Charlotte. So, they had to deal him.


Kobe wasn't holding out. Jerry West wanted Kobe because of the potential. Kobe was just a HS kid with the potential there. He never threatened not to sign with the Hornets

[bbor]

Daryl Sittler for Rich Costello

Russ Courtnall for John Kordic

Lanny Mcdonald for Pat hickey,Wilf Paiement

[BishopMVP]

Originally posted by oykib
I still contend that you can't compare the prospect-who-turned-out to-be-great trades with the all veteran trades.

All right then. The Celtics trading for Vin Baker. It doesn't even matter who (I think Kenny Anderson, Vitaly Potapenko and maybe Joe Forte too) but the loss of cap flexibility and the fact that Baker is now in rehab. Hopefully he'll retire.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally posted by bbor
Russ Courtnall for John Kordic
You know, to this day I still think that was a good trade.

[Coffee Warlord]

Chicago Bears #1 draft pick for....Rick Mirer.

[bbor]

Originally posted by Maple Leafs
You know, to this day I still think that was a good trade.

It was........For Montreal :D

You're not really Gord Stellick are you?

BTW:the deal was kind of a wash....One alcoholic for another.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally posted by bbor
You're not really Gord Stellick are you?
I wish.

Seriously, Courtnall was a talented player, but soft (if he was playing today, he'd be a Senator). The Leafs were getting pushed around every night in the toughest division in hockey, so they went out and got probably the second or third most feared tough guy in the league. It didn't work out because Kordic couldn't control his personal demons, but for the time he was in Toronto the Leafs finally stopped taking crap and started playing like a team. Courtnall blossomed in Montreal, but probably never would have in Toronto.

The Leafs made essentially the exact same trade five years later when they dealt Daniel Marois to the Inslanders for Ken Baumgartner, and that ended up being a great deal.

[bbor]

Damn....Daniel Marois...there is a name from the past.....you gonna throw out Rocky Saginuks' name too ? :)

I enjoyed Courtnal.....that dude had some sweet wheels...he could absolutly fly.I guess i enjoy players like that...in turn that is prolly why i enjoy watching the Oilers play so much.

The Oiler/Stars series is by far my favorite series.....2 wide open hell bent for leather teams that can skate like the wind.I prefer that much more than the slugging Flyers/Leaf series.

[primelord]

If we are talking hockey trades the Pavol Demitra for Christer Olsson was a pretty bad trade for the Sens. Although it has worked out very nicely for the Blues. :)

[Maple Leafs]

Originally posted by bbor
Damn....Daniel Marois...there is a name from the past.....you gonna throw out Rocky Saginuks' name too ? :)
Sounds like we need a round of "shady NHL players".

[bbor]

Originally posted by Maple Leafs
Sounds like we need a round of "shady NHL players".


I'm in...i am a wealth of useless hockey names:)

[oykib]

Originally posted by MrBug708
Kobe wasn't holding out. Jerry West wanted Kobe because of the potential. Kobe was just a HS kid with the potential there. He never threatened not to sign with the Hornets

I didn't say that he held out. I sadi that the rumor was that he'd go to Italy. He'd already told the Nets as much directly. A lot of teams shied away from him.

The Story (http://classic.sacbee.com/sports/kings/articles/2001/oct/20011028kings_ss_04.html)

[Franklinnoble]

If you're a Raiders fan, it would be trading tackle Jim Lachey to Washington for Jay Schroeder.

Lachey ended up being a stud and anchored the OL that won the 'Skins the Super Bowl. Schroeder didn't amount to much.

[ColtCrazy]

Let's go through Colts' history.

The worst one is actually, the Jeff George trade. A number one and Andre "Bad Moon" Rison. Rison had an outstanding rookie year with us, and George is the classic example of strong arm, no brain. I never understood why we gave up on Chris Chandler so fast. Oh well.

The Elway trade was a product of the Colts having Frank Kush as coach. Elway wouldn't play for him, so threatened to play baseball instead. In the deal we got Chris Hinton, a ring-of-honor player and actually a great LT for us. But, he left to soon....ironically he was in the 3rd part of the George deal. Very smart, trade to draft a QB and give up a great LT for it. Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

[Franklinnoble]

Originally posted by ColtCrazy
Let's go through Colts' history.

The worst one is actually, the Jeff George trade. A number one and Andre "Bad Moon" Rison. Rison had an outstanding rookie year with us, and George is the classic example of strong arm, no brain. I never understood why we gave up on Chris Chandler so fast. Oh well.

The Elway trade was a product of the Colts having Frank Kush as coach. Elway wouldn't play for him, so threatened to play baseball instead. In the deal we got Chris Hinton, a ring-of-honor player and actually a great LT for us. But, he left to soon....ironically he was in the 3rd part of the George deal. Very smart, trade to draft a QB and give up a great LT for it. Kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

I thought Andre preferred "Spider-man" to "Bad Moon"...

[primelord]

Originally posted by bbor
I'm in...i am a wealth of useless hockey names:)

Seeing as there have been a wealth of useless hockey players in Toronto I guess that makes sense. :D :D :D

[Mountain]

I think this was the trade but I'm not sure.

How about the Braves sending Brett Butler and Brook Jacoby to the Indians for Len Barker who almost immediately blew out his arm upon arriving in Atlanta.

[bbor]

Originally posted by primelord
Seeing as there have been a wealth of useless hockey players in Toronto I guess that makes sense. :D :D :D

Ouch!!:)

[Samdari]

Originally posted by oykib

If David Stern had some nuts, he would've told Kobe and Srtevie Franchise and the lot of 'em that you play for the team that drafts you or you don't play. All he had to do was change the rules so that the rights are kept for three years instead of one.


Huh?

The rules for player movement, including those pertaining to draft rights, are negotiated with the player's union. Stern cannot arbitrarily change them. And sitting out a year to re-enter the draft seems to be deterrent enough, as noone has ever actually done this.

Changing the rules like that after a draft would be as silly as changing the playoff rules in the middle of a season, and the NBA would never do that, would they?

[Ksyrup]

You can't force someone to play for a specific team, especially if they don't have a contract. Elway, for example, had leverage. Trade me or I play 3B for the Yankees. Those teams could have forced the issue, or the players could have chosen to forego a year of playing (and getting paid) to go back into the draft.

JD Drew did it, and there's another guy this year who is about to do the same thing.

[rexalllsc]

Originally posted by oykib
I didn't say that he held out. I sadi that the rumor was that he'd go to Italy. He'd already told the Nets as much directly. A lot of teams shied away from him.

The Story (http://classic.sacbee.com/sports/kings/articles/2001/oct/20011028kings_ss_04.html)

That's ok...the trade was worked out before the pick was made...You think if Lebron James told the Nuggets that he wouldn't play for them that they wouldn't pick him anyways?

[RonnieDobbs]

Cut the Hornets some slack. They weren't the only ones skittish on taking Bryant.

1. Philadelphia Allen Iverson Georgetown
2. Toronto Marcus Camby Massachusetts
3. Vancouver Shareef Abdur-Rahim California
4. Milwaukee (1) Stephon Marbury Georgia Tech
5. Minnesota (1) Ray Allen Connecticut
6. Boston (from Dallas) Antoine Walker Kentucky
7. LA Clippers Lorenzen Wright Memphis
8. New Jersey Kerry Kittles Villanova
9. Dallas (from Boston) Samaki Walker Louisvile
10. Indiana (from Denver) Erick Dampier Mississippi State
11. Golden State Todd Fuller North Carolina State
12. Cleveland (from Wash.) Vitaly Potapenko Wright State
13. Kobe

[Blackadar]

Well, shit, Kobe was an unproven skinny High Schooler at the time. The word on the street was there was a much bigger risk taking Kobe than Garnett (from a few years' earlier) because Kobe wasn't as tall or built.

[oykib]

Originally posted by RonnieDobbs
Cut the Hornets some slack. They weren't the only ones skittish on taking Bryant.

1. Philadelphia Allen Iverson Georgetown
2. Toronto Marcus Camby Massachusetts
3. Vancouver Shareef Abdur-Rahim California
4. Milwaukee (1) Stephon Marbury Georgia Tech
5. Minnesota (1) Ray Allen Connecticut
6. Boston (from Dallas) Antoine Walker Kentucky
7. LA Clippers Lorenzen Wright Memphis
8. New Jersey Kerry Kittles Villanova
9. Dallas (from Boston) Samaki Walker Louisvile
10. Indiana (from Denver) Erick Dampier Mississippi State
11. Golden State Todd Fuller North Carolina State
12. Cleveland (from Wash.) Vitaly Potapenko Wright State
13. Kobe

Yeah, but we know for sure that the Nets would've taken him. But, we call West a genius for drafting Kobe when we know that other teams ahead of him would've taken Kobe. I guess he's also a genius for signing Shaq to that 'funny' contract some years ago.

Obviously, he is a smart basketball man. But we don't have to go shouting 'genius' for every move he's made.

As to the draft rights, the veterans'd sell out the rookies at the drop of a dime. He could probably get it as a mid-CBA adjustment like the first-round playoff extension for a song.

I just think that the management of the NBA has conducted themselves in a way that helps most of us be suspicious of them.

Who doesn't think that these guys prefer a system in which Steve Francis winds up in Houston instead of Vancouver and Kobe ends up in L.A. just in time for the new arena and Michael's retirement.

I've been joking about the lottery, like a lot of you, but who doesn't think that The Knicks or Bulls are gonna wind up winning it?

[A-Husker-4-Life]

The Atlanta Falcons Trading QB Brett Farve for RB John Stephens..
Stephens didn't even play a game for them... Jerry Glanville was a joke, he had Farve as the 3rd string Qb..... Atleast we have Vick now....

[Alf]

Originally posted by primelord
No it wasn't. Eddie was traded with Elden Campbell to Charolette for Glenn Rice. The Kobe deal was just for Vlade.

That was a bad trade for the Lakers :
Campbell + Eddie Jones for Glenn Rice....

[detroit_fan]

For anybody but a Dallas fan it would have to be the Herschel Walker trade. I'm not a Vik's fan, but what were they thinking?

[JAG]

Originally posted by Doug5984
Ditka trading an entire draft + some to move up a few spots and take Ricky Williams....we are still recovering from that draft....
Also, I am to young to remember this trade really but the Saints traded a high first round pick for QB Steve Walsh?


Actually, believe it or not, the Saints traded a first, second, AND third round pick for Walsh, allowing Jimmy Johnson to avoid the embarassment of having lost the 1st overall pick in the 1990 draft by taking Walsh in the supplemental draft in '89...

I'm certainly biased by being a Cowboys fan, but I still can't think of a worse trade in history than essentially giving up three drafts for essentially one player. For the record, that's...

Minnesota receives...

RB Herschel Walker
Cowboys' 1990 3rd rd pick (TE Mike Jones)
San Diego's 1990 5th rd pick (through Dallas) (WR Reggie Thornton)
Cowboys' 1990 10th rd pick (WR Pat Newman)
Cowboys' 1991 3rd rd pick (WR Jake Reed)

Dallas receives...(essentially, as ESPN notes: "the picks eventually involved 15 teams and 55 players as they were combined with other choices and traded around the NFL. One such deal helped the 'Boys land the No. 1 pick in the 1991 draft, which they used on defensive tackle Russell Maryland." I don't plan to figure out all of them. :) )

CB Ike Holt
Vikings 1990 1st rd pick
Vikings 1990 2nd rd pick
Vikings 1990 6th rd pick
Vikings 1991 1st rd pick
Vikings 1991 2nd rd pick
Vikings 1992 1st rd pick
Vikings 1992 2nd rd pick
Vikings 1992 3rd rd pick

There will never be such a ludicrous trade of draft picks ever again, three consecutive 1st and 2nd round picks? If the Vikings hadn't been brilliant in the later rounds of the draft those few years (picking up players like RB Terry Allen, WR Jake Reed, LB Ed McDaniel etc...), the hideousness of this trade would've been even more pronounced. Mike Lynn was guilty of understatement when he said "...if we don't get to the Super Bowl while Herschel Walker is a member of the Minnesota Vikings , then we have not made a good trade."


-Jamie

EDITED: The full details of the trade are available at http://www.vikingupdate.com/history/historyprofiles/thetrade.html

[tucker342]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, as I'm to lazy to look through the thread... but it has to be Babe Ruth for some money... I'm glad I'm not a Red Sox fan...