By Secret GM by Gabriel Allen
If you’ve been in this league long enough, chances are you have at least one awful
trade that still haunts you—at least a little bit—to this day. In the lead-up to the trade
deadline, I thought it would be fun to ask the GMs to share their own personal worst
deals they’ve made during their DTNBA days. Listed in order of response, and not really
meant to be ranked per se, I’ve rated the deals on a scale of gulps, from one to five, five
being the worst. Without further ado, here we go:
76ers Ilia
Gave up: Kawhi
Got: Zubac
“My most recent trade isn’t looking super great right now. Kawhi is having an incredible
season.”
5 gulps, although we’ll see how Zubac fares in Indiana with Haliburton next season.
Celtics Amin
“When I first started, I traded a 1st round pick to LA for Svi Maliku [Mykhailiuk] or
whatever his name was.”
5 swigs for Svi, which is apparently just enough to forget his name. Cheers, Amin!
Hornets Marcus
Gave up: 2025 picks 6 and 9, 2026 Hawks 1st, (currently second worst record), Jordan
Poole
Got: Tyrese Haliburton
“The trade itself was fine only for Hali to rupture his Achilles 2 days later. That’s been
my most devastating one.”
2 gulps, unfortunate what happened to Haliburton, but—call me crazy—I still don’t
despise this deal for the Hornets.
Pelicans Pat
“Ulrich Chomche for Pelicans 2026 1st. Undetermined impact, but given his status, a
waste of a 1st round pick. I think I have more that I’m happy didn’t get accepted than
ones that actually happened.”
2 gulps, it’s never fun feeling like you wasted a first rounder, or any draft pick—though
the projected lateness of this first should prevent Pels-Pat from losing sleep over this
one.
Thunder Dylan
“Oh dear – there’s been a few. One that I really regret was a deal centered around me
giving Giannis up and taking back two first rounders when I had a bit of a roster crunch
one year. Giannis had been in the league for a good few years and although decent –
the moment he left my team he turned in to this ungodly star. Don’t remember the exact
deal but I will see if Geraint, Marc or Pat (the person I traded with who went on to be a
dynasty because of it!) have recollection of the minor details…”
“Here it is – nearly the 10-year anniversary of it all! [puking emoji]”
5 Greek-Freak-sized gulps, a decade and counting of waking up drenched in sweat,
RIP to email trade offers.
Knicks Marc
“I don’t know how far you want to go back – in 2017 I traded a good first and a second
for Brandon Knight who then spent the whole season injured and probably played 30-40
games max in his career afterwards.”
4.5 gulps, not the worst of all time, but definitely an undesirable deal in hindsight.
Spurs Jordan
“February 5, 2018. Colin Hibbert (Bulls) and I did this:
To Spurs: Salah Mejri (1), Thon Maker (1), Semi Ojeleye (1), Suns and Kings 2nd 2018
(2)
To Bulls: Jarrett Allen (1), Davon Reed (1), Myke Henry (1), Nikola Radicevic (1-
international)”
4 gulps, this one has had to hurt, but I wouldn’t say it’s totally traumatizing.
Nuggets Michael
“To be honest, I’ve made so many trades…I don’t know which one is the worst. I did give
away Curry years ago for like 6 [actually 4] 1sts. Ha”
5 deep gulps, it’s no wonder why Nuggets Michael remains skeptical of discussing or
agreeing to trades with Sixers Ilia to this day, as witnessed in recent exchanges on
Discord.
Magic Geraint
“I moved Vooch for DeAndre Jordan and then he started stinking it up where Vucevic
has been productive. That’s the first one that comes to mind.”
5 gulps for Geraint, for anyone else this probably wouldn’t be as unsettling, but the
league’s resident Orlando fan giving up an All-Star Magic-man has understandably
been difficult for him to digest.
Timberwolves Justin
“I do…but it hurts me lol. I gave up on Cade a year early. I traded him for Foz and gave
up multiple 1sts. But had I kept Cade, maybe I don’t get Flagg…so I’m coping”
4.5 gulps, coping (and rationalizing) is the best that can be hoped for here.
Lakers Joey
“I either traded my 2024 or 2026 1st and 2nd for James Wiseman. Put that at number
1.”
5 gulps, this was not wise, man.
Nets Jerry
Nets acquire: Jaden McDaniels (5), ’27 Pelicans 1st (1)
Pelicans acquire: Damian Lillard (10), ’27 Nets 1st (1), ’29 Nets 2nd (1)
“I picked up Dame Dollar and had to trade him because he was out for the whole
season ”
4.5 gulps, arguably more glaring than giving up Dame is the first-round pick swap.
Yikes!
Heat Austin
Nuggets acquire: ’24 53rd Pick (1), ’25 Magic 2nd (1), ’26 Heat 2nd (1), De’Anthony
Melton
(2), Payton Pritchard (1)
Heat acquire: AJ Johnson (1)
“That’s probably the one. Would love to have either of those guards on my team instead
of the guy who had one good summer league game.”
4.5 gulps, sometimes what happens once in Vegas Summer League stays there—and
never happens again.
Trail Blazers AJ
“I am wondering if my recent trade of Zion for LaMelo will be my worst trade [upside
down face].”
2 gulps, any further gulping TBD.
Pacers Ian
“Idk hindsight is 20/20. A lot of trades I made were for fun. Like trading for Bradley Beal,
Oubre and Hield was me just trying to make it fun. If I was really trying to contend, I
would have just waited a few more years. True trades where I got fleeced were trading
Aaron Wiggins. Also trading for Tre Mann is not panning out.”
4.5 gulps, the exact details have been lost to the sands of time, but moving a first-
rounder for the perpetually-injured Bradley Beal is a bummer no matter you slice it.
Jazz Gabe
Gave up: Jazz 28 1st, Jock Landale
Got: Xavier Tillman
5 gargantuan gulps, Tillman’s dtnba and real-life value plummeted immediately
thereafter, and Landale is in the midst of his best season here in 2026. I thought Tillman
would be my defensive specialist and help my talented but ageing team into the upper
echelon of the league, but the sim hated my squad, I opted for a tear-down, and that
2028 1st has lottery written all over it. This one has scarred me to the point that I may
never trade a future 1st again. All that gulping has left me gasping for air.
