3. Trading Four Draft Picks to the Suns for Steve Nash
Before the Lakers acquired Howard in August of 2012, they made fireworks on the fourth of July by sending four future draft picks to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Steve Nash. The initial deal was a sign and trade that sent the Lakers’ first-rounders in 2013 and 2015 and their second-rounders in 2013 and 2014 to Phoenix for the future Hall of Fame point guard.
Lucky for the Los Angeles Lakers the 2015 first-round pick they traded was top-five protected and they had the number 2 pick in the next three drafts. The pick they lost eventually became the number 10 pick in the 2018 draft which turned into Mikal Bridges.
This trade ranks this high on the list because Nash only played around 75 games for the Lakers and in his final season with the team, he averaged a measly 6.8 points and 5.7 assists per game. They did make the playoffs as a seven seed in his first season with the team, but they got swept out of the first round.
The next season they even brought in his old head coach he had past success with, Mike D’Antoni. Even running his old offense Nash could not regain his old form from his Phoenix days and injuries caught up with him.
Nash broke his leg in the second game and could not come back until midseason, he only ended up playing 15 games for the Lakers that year. The Lakers basically gave away four draft picks for a bunch of hype and not much production on the court.
It was thought that Nash would help Bryant get the ball in spaces no other point guard in his career could. In actuality, they were both ball-dominant guards whose inability to stay on the court stunted their chemistry together.
Does that sound familiar to a recent trade?