Worst trades in Celtics history (and the most unusual trade)

[Roy Hobbs]

To correspond with the best trades in team history, Bill Doyle also listed his three worst trades in Celtics history.  There's probably a little more room for debate here.

Three worst trades

•No. 1: Acquiring Rodney Rogers and Tony Delk from Phoenix at the trading deadline for rookie Joe Johnson, Randy Brown, Milt Palacio and a 2002 first-round pick helped the Celtics reach the 2002 Eastern Conference finals, but the deal was a bust in the long run. Rogers signed with New Jersey as a free agent at the end of the season and Delk lasted only one more season in Boston. The most galling part of this deal is Celtics had their choice of including Johnson or rookie Kedrick Brown and made the wrong pick. Johnson went on to become one of the league’s top scorers and an All-Star with Atlanta. Brown never lived up to his potential and is out of the league.

At least the Suns didn’t strike gold with the Celtics’ first-round pick. With the 22nd pick, the Suns selected guard Casey Jacobsen, a little-used reserve for much of his NBA career who is currently playing in Germany.

•No. 2: Rick Pitino’s impatience cost the Celtics the services of Chauncey Billups, still one of the best guards in the league 11 years later. Just eight months after he selected him with the third pick of the draft, Pitino dealt Billups along with Dee Brown, John Thomas and Roy Rogers to Toronto for Kenny Anderson, Zan Tabak and Popeye Jones on Feb. 18, 1998. Anderson helped the Celtics reach the 2002 Eastern Conference finals, but Pitino was gone by then. Billups helped Detroit reach six straight conference finals and win the 2004 NBA title. The Pistons have fallen apart after dealing Billups to Denver early this season and he’s turned the Nuggets into a contender.

•No. 3: Chris Wallace either ignored or was unaware of the rumors of Vin Baker’s alcohol addiction and acquired the former All-Star from Seattle with Shammond Williams on July 2, 2002, for Kenny Anderson, Vitaly Potapenko and Joe Forte. Anderson was past his prime so the Celtics didn’t give up much, but Baker’s poor play and suspensions due to alcohol problems bogged down the Celtics for much of his two seasons.

Most unusual trade

Prior to the 1978-79 season, Celtics owner Irv Levin and Buffalo Braves owner John Y. Brown actually traded teams. Levin, a California businessman, then moved the Braves to San Diego and renamed them the Clippers.

The teams kept a few of their own players, arranging the deal mentioned above as the sixth-best trade in Celtics history.

Levin was unpopular in Boston, but Brown wasn’t any better, prompting Celtics fans to wonder, “Y. John Brown?” Brown built Kentucky Fried Chicken into a money-making machine, but his meddling nearly drove Auerbach to quit and become GM of the Knicks. After one season, Brown sold out to partner Harry Mangurian to finance a successful run for governor of Kentucky. Bird joined the following season and the Celtics were soon back on top.

If you want to do some independent research, you can start here.

[Roy Hobbs]

If you don't look at the trade in hindsight, one of the worst was trading three picks in the 1979 draft (#3, #9, and #21) for Bob McAdoo.  Bill Cartwright, Sidney Moncrief, Vinnie Johnson, and Cliff Robinson were some of the decent guys who came out of that draft.

Of course, that one turned out okay, because we traded McAdoo for another pick, which turned out to be #1 overall, which we then in turn traded for McHale and Parish.  Still, in terms of value, McAdoo wasn't worth nearly what the team gave up.

[Roy Hobbs]

How about this one as one of the worst?

Celtics trade:  1997 second round pick (#30-Serge Zwikker )

Celtics receive: 1997 second round pick (#55-Ben Pepper), Celtics right to sign Heat director of player personnel Chris Wallace

[Andy Jick]

i personally believe that trading danny ainge (and lohaus) to sacramento for pinckney and kleine should be up there.  neither of those 2 were anything to speak of.  an all-star guard was traded for (in essence) 2 backup bigs, neither of which were worth much.

[Roy Hobbs]

Or perhaps:

Celtics receive: Vitaly Potapenko

Celtics trade: Andrew DeClercq, 1999 (top 3 protected), 2000 or 2001 (Cavaliers option) conditional first round pick (1999 #8-Andre Miller)

We could have netted Miller or Marion, and instead ended up with Vitali.