NBA Insiders Dish on the Most Impactful Trades of the Last 10 Years

What five NBA trades over the last decade were the most impactful?

Posing that question to executives and agents, the initial response was "Define impact."

The answer evolved to include deals that led to rule changes, shifts in the NBA economy or directly to championship(s).

Trade: Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Los Angeles Clippers for Eric Bledsoe, Keon Johnson, Justise Winslow and a 2025 second-round pick (via the Detroit Pistons) to the Portland Trail Blazers

Impact: The NBA's 2023 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) includes rule changes to restrict the flexibility of the league's highest-spending teams. The Clippers were targeted by their practice of aggregating contracts to take on even larger deals.

Powell was well-respected as a player, but teams hesitated to take on his expensive multi-year deal. L.A. got him for marginal player value (only Johnson is currently in the league). Covington was later flipped in a similar deal (with aggregation) to add on James Harden.

The Powell trade is widely viewed in NBA circles as the "final straw" that helped lead to the CBA's second apron, which forbids teams above the line from aggregating contracts in trade.

Trade: DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi to the New Orleans Pelicans for Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Galloway, a 2017 first-rounder (Zach Collins) and a 2017 second-rounder (Frank Mason III) to the Sacramento Kings

Impact: Forget the basketball value; the trade produced one of the most awkward moments in league history. The move happened during All-Star weekend, with Cousins representing the Kings.

"It was really embarrassing for the league, so they fixed that quickly," one executive said.

The trade led to a system change, with the trade deadline moving ahead of the All-Star game.

Trade: Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, the rights to De'Andre Hunter, a 2022 first-rounder (Dyson Daniels), 2023 first-round swap rights (didn't swap), a 2025 first-rounder (deferred from 2024), $1 million to the New Orleans Pelicans, and Mo Wagner, Isaac Bonga, Jemerio Jones and a 2022 second-rounder (Kennedy Chandler) to the Washington Wizards; the Wizards also sent $1.1 million to the Pelicans in the deal

Impact: The Davis trade led to the pairing with LeBron James and a Lakers' title in 2020. But that's not why the deal hits the top-five list.

"There was a time teams used to give up everything in trade, but that went out of fashion with the [New Jersey, now Brooklyn] Nets deal with the Boston Celtics that gift-wrapped them Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum," one executive said. "During the LeBron vs. the [Golden State] Warriors era, most teams were super conservative with draft picks."

One example would be Paul George from the Indiana Pacers to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and pre-All-Star Domantas Sabonis (without any picks). The Sacramento Kings only got one first in the DeMarcus Cousins deal.

"Now, if you want a team's All-Star, you're giving out picks, swaps, young players, etc.," the executive continued. "The Lakers shifted the market, and it's been escalating ever since."

Trades: Jrue Holiday, rights to Sam Merrill to the Milwaukee Bucks for Eric Bledsoe, 2024 first-round swap rights (Yves Missi), 2025 and 2027 first-rounders and 2026 first-round swap rights to the New Orleans Pelicans, the rights to RJ Hampton to the Denver Nuggets and George Hill to the Oklahoma City Thunder; the Thunder sent Steven Adams (via extend-and-trade) to the Pelicans for three players via sign-and-trade (Kenrich Williams, Zylan Cheatham and Josh Gray), a 2023 second-rounder (via the Washington Wizards, Hunter Tyson) and a 2024 second-rounder (via the Charlotte Hornets, Tyler Kolek); the Nuggets sent a 2023 first-rounder to the Thunder (Nick Smith Jr.)

Jrue Holiday to the Boston Celtics for Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams III, a 2024 first-rounder (via the Golden State Warriors, Bub Carrington) and a 2029 first-rounder to the Portland Trail Blazers

Impact: Pair the two Holiday trades as one, or pick your favorite, as both deals led to titles. The Bucks won in 2021, and the Celtics are the current NBA titleholders.

"Lump all three Jrue trades together, including the one [from Milwaukee] to Portland," one executive said (Holiday was traded a few days before to the Trail Blazers). "The Bucks rushed that deal. They should have done a multi-team trade to get all the assets Portland got from Boston for Jrue."

Trade: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, a 2021 first-rounder (via the Miami Heat, Tre Mann), a 2022 first-rounder (Jalen Williams), a 2023 first-rounder (via the Heat, Jamie Jaquez Jr.), 2023 first-round swap rights (didn't swap), 2024 first-rounder (Dillon Jones), 2025 swap rights, a 2026 first-rounder to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George to the LA Clippers

Impact: The Thunder built a powerhouse team based on their trade with the Clippers. It's arguably too early to crown this as the most impactful trade, as Oklahoma City hasn't won a title yet. Still, it was the overwhelming favorite of the executives and agents polled in Orlando.

"It may go down as the worst trade in NBA history," one executive said (though another countered "best" from the Thunder's perspective).

Gilgeous-Alexander is an MVP candidate. Williams was a steal. Oklahoma City still has a long list of draft picks (continuing to swap extra picks, like the one for Jaquez, for even more future selections), a young, talented roster and projects to finish with the best record in the conference for two straight years.

The Clippers' team had a solid run with Kawhi Leonard and George, reaching the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history in 2021. George left this summer as an unrestricted free agent to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Kawhi Leonard is just now nearing his season debut after a knee injury.

Would they go back in time to avoid trading Gilgeous-Alexander? Probably, though it might take a truth serum for such an admission.

The list of runner-ups for the top five was long, with many leading to the NBA Finals or trips to the conference finals.

Jimmy Butler, signed and traded to the Miami Heat from the Philadelphia 76ers, helped Miami reach the finals in 2020 and 2023. The Andrew Wiggins deal helped the Golden State Warriors win the championship in 2022.

The string of moves that built the 2024 runner-up Dallas Mavericks is impressive, including Luka Dončić for Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks), the 2023 Kyrie Irving swap (Brooklyn Nets) and recently PJ Washington (Charlotte Hornets) and Daniel Gafford (Washington Wizards).

The Denver Nuggets won the 2023 title after trades that brought in Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic (2021) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope from the Washington Wizards (2022). The Indiana Pacers were noted for acquiring Tyrese Haliburton from the Sacramento Kings (2022) and Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors (2024). The Raptors won the title after taking the one-year risk on Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs (2018).

Some mentioned the Russell Westbrook trade that derailed the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021 (Washington Wizards) and the 2023 deals that got the team out of Westbrook (via the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves and Wizards) and into D'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt for a Western Conference Finals run.

Finally, the champion Boston Celtics were not only built on the Jrue Holiday trade, but also in impactful swaps that brought in Derrick White (San Antonio Spurs), Kristaps Porziņģis (Wizards) and others.

Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X/Twitter @EricPincus.