It's hard to deny that NBA executives have a difficult job, and having to make so many tough decisions will ultimately lead to some disastrous ones.
There are times when decisions are so catastrophic that they end up making it on a top-five list of the most disastrous decisions in NBA history.
5. 1978 NBA Draft: Larry Bird
Larry Bird is one of the best players in NBA history. For some reason, however, five teams passed on Bird during the 1978 NBA Draft, which is how the 6-foot-9 forward ended up with the Boston Celtics as the sixth overall pick.
For the record, these teams were the Portland Trail Blazers, Kansas City Kings, Indiana Pacers, New York Knicks, and Golden State Warriors. All five teams had the opportunity to select a franchise-altering superstar such as Bird, but unfortunately for them, they all opted to go in a different direction.
4. St. Louis Hawks: Bill Russell
As far as bad trades go, the Bill Russell trade in 1956 has got to be one of the worst ones in league history.
Having spent all 13 years of his career with the Celtics, not many folks know that it was actually the St. Louis Hawks that drafted Russell in 1956 as the second overall pick. The Celtics had their eye on Russell all along, and somehow convinced the Hawks to trade away Russell. As we all know, the 6-foot-10 big man led the Celtics' dynasty in the 1950s and 1960s, which resulted in 11 NBA championships during that span.
For what it's worth, St. Louis got Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan in exchange for Russell, who both made multiple All-Star appearances in their respective careers. Nonetheless, this serves as little consolation for the Hawks in hindsight.
3. New York Knicks: Jerome James
To this very day, few, if any, signings are considered as bad as when the New York Knicks signed Jerome James in 2005. For some reason, then-general manager Isiah Thomas thought it was a good idea to bring in the 7-foot big man to The Big Apple to fortify their frontcourt. This came out to the tune of $30 million for five years.
For starters, James was never really any good in the first place. After being selected 36th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft, he ended up playing just 16 games for the Sacramento Kings in his debut season. He missed the entirety of his sophomore year due to injury and headed abroad to play overseas for Year 3. James returned to the NBA and played four uneventful seasons with the Seattle SuperSonics, where he averaged 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds prior to entering free agency in 2005.
The Knicks pounced on what they deemed to be a steal, only to find out how absolutely terrible this decision turned out to be. So what did they get in return? James played just 86 games during his first two years in New York, averaging 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per contest. Things got even worse from there, with James playing a grand total of just four games (!) in his final two years with the Knicks.
The Knicks came to their senses in 2009, trading James to the Chicago Bulls, who waived the big man a couple of months later.
2. Charlotte Hornets: Kobe Bryant
Having spent his entire illustrious career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant was one of the last few “lifers” in the NBA. interestingly, however, it was actually the Charlotte Hornets that drafted Bryant in 1996 as the 13th overall pick. By the way, we also need to call out the 12 other teams that passed on Kobe during the draft, but much of the regret falls on the Hornets, who actually already had Bryant in their hands before trading him away to the Lakers.
The Hornets got a terrific player in Vlade Divac in exchange, but at the end of the day, he was no Kobe Bryant. Just imagine what The Black Mamba could have done as the cornerstone superstar of the Hornets. Obviously, this is the only thing this franchise can do in hindsight: imagine.
1. Portland Trail Blazers: Michael Jordan
This is how the first three picks of the 1984 NBA Draft went:
- The Houston Rockets took Hakeem Olajuwon, which was a no-brainer, especially considering how the league was dominated by big men during that era.
- The Portland Trail Blazers drafted Sam Bowie, another center.
- The Chicago Bulls then nabbed Michael Jordan.
For what it's worth, Sam Bowie was a pretty good player for Kentucky prior to entering the league. He averaged close to a double-double and stood at 7-foot-1. It was hard for the Blazers to pass up on a talent with such potential, and they had recently drafted a star shooting guard in Clyde Drexler.
Nevertheless, we're not going to let them off the hook. They had the golden opportunity to bring Jordan to Portland, but they decided he was not the best option for them at that time since they already had Drexler. To this very day, many consider this to be the biggest mistake the Blazers made in franchise history, and arguably the worst decision made in the NBA ever.
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