The art of making a successful trade in the NBA is ripe for controversial takes by fans and national pundits wherever. Team chemistry can be hindered or improved when teammates are moved. But how does that sort of chemistry react when one player is traded more than once in the same week?
Rules for trades in the NBA makes it hard to move players in consecutive deals, especially at the trade deadline. Plus, moving major stars rarely happens, so to fit the criteria of this piece pretty much means that only role players and those that were fighting to even make the NBA would be the only ones included.
Of the two focused players, Scotty Hopson and Luke Ridnour, Ridnour is much more of the household name and actually went on pretty much the craziest trade journey that has happened in a very long time in the NBA, moving to four different teams within one week’s time frame.
For Hopson, the former University of Tennessee Volunteer was sent packing three separate times in one week in 2014, predating Ridnour’s journey across four teams in the league by one year and one month, roughly.
Luke Ridnour
Drafted 14th overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Seattle Supersonics, the former Oregon Duck was regarded as a solid guard coming out of school One that could be a solid option alongside the likes of Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, and… Brent Barry? Vladimir Radmanovic?
This team was quite rough in the early stages of the 2000s, and while their 37-45 record paints a below-average picture, they were much worse of a team, at least on paper.
Led by head coach Nate McMillan, the Supersonics had a payroll of $52.34 million, and Allen held around 26 percent of that with his $13.5M contract. But for Ridnour, he was the second-to-lowest $1M+ earner on the team, which is still a lot of money for a kid right out of college.
Ridnour did not start right away for Seattle, instead pulling the role of a large bench contributor, playing 1,114 minutes across 69 games that season, which was the seventh-most games that any player on the Supersonics suited up for in ‘03.
Eventually, Ridnour broke into his own and became a regular contributor in the league, going from making six starts in ‘03 to starting all 82 games of the ‘04 season for Seattle, helping lead them to a 15-game increase and a first-place finish in the Northwest Division. While they fell to the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals in six games, they did manage to beat the Sacramento Kings in the first round, needing only five games to dispatch the Kings.
While only averaging 10 points per game in ‘04, Supersonics fans were able to see why they selected Ridnour in the previous year’s NBA Draft, playing the third-most minutes for Seattle while being a solid glue guy in the starting lineup.
In total, Ridnour played his first five seasons in the NBA with the Supersonics, which also represents the place that he spent the most time at. He ended up joining the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2008 season in a three-team deal that involved the Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who had relocated from Seattle to Oklahoma City.
Ridnour’s first run with Milwaukee lasted two seasons, in which he made 50 starts in his first season with the team but made zero starts the next season, but did appear in all 82 games. His contract ran out and signed a four-year deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves that next offseason for $16 million.
He lasted for three full seasons in Minnesota, where he averaged his two highest point totals on a per-game basis (with 11.8 and 12.1, respectively) in his first two seasons with the team. But as things normally are in life, Ridnour was able to go full circle and returned back to Milwaukee, albeit only for a short period of time.
In a three-team deal that focused on sending newly-extended guard Kevin Martin from OKC to Minnesota, Ridnour was thrown in as a piece going to MKE, along with a second-round pick and cash considerations. But Ridnour only lasted in Milwaukee for 36 games, when he was then shipped off to Charlotte along with guard Gary Neal in return for guard Ramon Sessions and forward Jeff Adrien.
For Charlotte, Ridnour suited up for 25 games, including 2 starts, in what would be his second-to-last season playing in the NBA. His contract expired again, and he signed with the Orlando Magic on July 25, 2014, which was actually 11 months prior to when he would be traded yet again.
His four-team voyage through the league started in Orlando, who shipped him to Memphis in return for the draft rights of Janis Timma on July 24, 2015. One day later, Memphis shipped him back to Charlotte in return for forward Matt Barnes, and then was traded back to the Thunder (along with a second-round selection) for guard Jeremy Lamb all on the 25th of July.
He ended up finding his final resting spot with the Toronto Raptors, who acquired him and cash from OKC for the draft rights of Tomislav Zubcic. July 9 was the date that the Raptors waived Ridnour, marking the end of a very tumultuous summer that saw Ridnour not report to three teams during the summer.
He sat out the 2015-16 season, and ultimately retired on June 22, 2016, ending what had been a very role-player-esque career in the NBA that spanned 12 seasons. While the end to his career may have provided more excitement than his playing career did at times, Ridnour was a well-respected veteran who made his presence felt on five different teams, seven if you count all the teams included in his final trade.
Scotty Hopson
The well-traveled shooting guard was technically listed on the regular-season rosters of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Hornets, New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets, and the Dallas Mavericks, Hopson only recorded playing time for the Cavs and Mavs.
Having played two games with the Cavs in the 2013-14 NBA season before LBJ came back, Hopson showed next to nothing in his audition, resulting in him being traded during halftime of a Summer League game July 11, 2014, to the Hornets.
Two days later, Hopson was shipped to the Pelicans, who then traded him to Houston later that same day.
Hopson played his final NBA game in the 2017-18 season with the Mavericks, suiting up for one game and playing eight minutes, scoring one point hitting half of his free throws.
While a very short and uneventful NBA career is what Hopson has, he may actually be best known for his multitudes of trades, especially those that happened in the same day. Not many people, besides Ridnour, can hang their hat on such an interesting stat as Hopson can.
Hopson has played professionally in Greece, Israel, Turkey, Spain, China, Croatia, and New Zealand, and he currently suits up for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League.
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