Among the worst trades ever was the 1980 transaction which sent Robert Parrish and the #3 draft pick who wound up being Kevin McHale to the Boston Celtics for the two Golden State Warrior draft picks who became Joe Barry Carroll and Ricky Brown. Also popping to mind are draft day deals sending Kobe Bryant from Charlotte to the Los Angeles Lakers for Vlade Divac in 1996 and Dirk Nowitzki from Milwaukee to Dallas for Robert Traylor in 1988...and let's not forget Seattle sending Scottie Pippen to Chicago for Olden Polynice in 1987.
Yet the worst trade in NBA history has to be Milwaukee's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers for four players in 1975. Right?
Nope. It's Vancouver for Memphis in time for the 2001-'02 season. With the Memphis Grizzlies currently selling upper bowl season tickets at $5 per game -- that's no typo -- in preparation for their 10th anniversary season in Tennessee, it is now officially the worst trade the NBA has ever seen.
Franchise relocations are never a badge of honour, but this one might even rank as the least satisfying in the history of North American sport.
It's all in the 2009-'10 NBA Composite Power Rankings released Monday by TheSportMarket.biz. TheSportMarket.biz.http://www.facebook.com/thesportmarket?ref=ts#!/photo.php?pid=3702634&id=280702824731
And here's why: For the fifth straight year, Memphis is dead last in the NBA in pure sport business rankings, with an anemic box office of about $325 K US per game. The Grizzlies drew an average of 13,485 fans to the FedEx Forum in 2009-'10, despite offering the NBA's bottom-priced tickets averaging $24.10 a pop.
Let's put that in perspective: in 2000-'01, their last season in Vancouver -- with the relocation imminent and local fans enduring a sixth straight losing season -- the original Grizzlies somehow posted an average attendance of 13,737 at General Motors Place.
It's true that the Grizzlies were the 18th-ranked team on the floor this season, staying in playoff contention until the final weeks of the season. Yet that makes their plight in Memphis even more troubling for the NBA, which saw the original Grizzlies make the move south-east despite considerably stronger box office results in their six seasons in Vancouver. And that was despite the fact Vancouver's Grizz never had even a sniff of a playoff berth.
The relocation of the once-proud Charlotte Hornets to New Orleans (2002) isn't working out much better, but the Katrina factor is still in play there. It's also ridiculous that Seattle no longer has its Sonics, but last year's controversial move to Oklahoma City is so far, so good on and off the floor, with the Thunder in the playoffs and earning almost three times what the Grizzlies take in every night in ticket sales.
When it comes to basketball market swaps ranking as significant upgrades, you have Minneapolis to Los Angeles in 1960, which created a lucrative heritage brand for the Lakers and -- on and off the court -- one of the most consistently high-performing basketball franchises on the planet. http://thesportmarket.blogspot.com/2010/04/nbas-la-lakers-continue-to-fire-on-all.html
But at the other end of the spectrum, we have Vancouver to Memphis in 2001...a trade that is looking worse every season, for the Grizzlies in particular and for the NBA in general.
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