FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Hyped78 said 07/04, 11:38 AM
I agree with #1 (Robert Parrish, Kevin McHale) and with #3 (Kobe Bryant).

But I am going to replace #2 (Pippen) with:


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


The Bucks basically did what no team should do: they traded an MVP for role players.

In 1975, Kareem was a 3-time NBA MVP and had won a title with the Bucks (NBA Finals MVP, by the way).

So the Bucks decided to trade their best player, getting little true talent in return.

The result?

Kareem would win another 3 MVP titles with the Lakers, along with 5 NBA championships.

He is the player with the all-time most MVP awards.

He was selected for an added 14 All-Star games, with the Lakers, adding to the 5 appearances he already had with the Bucks.

One of the best all-time Centers.


Do you know why this trade is even worst than yours (#2)?

Because the Supersonics traded a rookie, a player that they didn't know was going to be that good.

It was a terrible mistake, granted.

But the Bucks did even worse, trading the then 3-time MVP!

Hyped78 said 07/04, 03:28 PM
Time for Trivia!

Do you know how many championships the Bucks have won? 1, in 1971... with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Do you know how many conference titles the Bucks have won? 2, in 1971 and 1974... with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Do you know the Bucks player that was selected 4 years in a row (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974) to the All-NBA First Team? Yep, it was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

And then what did the Bucks decide upon doing?

They traded him for little-known role players.

They never won a championship again.

They never won a conference finals again.

The Lakers were thankful though: they won 5 NBA championships with Abdul-Jabbar.

The Bucks traded a Center that they knew was one of the best players in the history of the NBA. The threw championship hopes out the window and got role players in return.

It's different from the Pippen trade, as lopsided as that trade was.

Pippen was considered an interesting prospect out of the University of Central Arkansas, but there was no way to be sure he would become a bonafide NBA star.

Hyped78 said 07/04, 05:24 PM
The thing with Pippen and Polynice is tragic but simple: they were both top prospects that year; Pippen was selected #5 and Polynice #8.

They were immediately traded, rookie for rookie, prospect for prospect.

Of course, now we all know Pippen turned out to be the better player in what was a very lopsided trade. But both sides gambled, at the time.

Very different from the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar trade, where the Bucks traded a proven MVP, All-Star, Finals MVP and All-NBA member, for weak role players.

You keep saying that the Bucks landed good talent with that trade.

Let us keep it real.

Were these guys worthy of losing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar?

- Elmore Smith - a Center who never had a single All-Star appearance or any personal accolades worth mentioning. This was the C they got in return for KAJ. By the way, Smith only played 1 season in Milwaukee.

- Brian Winters - probably the best player that the Bucks got in this trade. A solid in unspectacular player. Solid but certainly not a star.

- Dave Meyers - only played 4 seasons in the NBA.

- Junior Bridgeman - a 6th man.

I'd say the Lakers are still smiling today, looking at this trade.