The 4 Worst Trades In Golden State Warriors’ History

If there’s anything Golden State Warriors fans know, it’s the sting of a transaction gone horribly awry.  There have been a great amount of poor trades and acquisitions that haven’t quite worked out for this team, and plenty in times easily recalled.

Luckily, the Warriors are now on an excellent path due to the recent addition of Andre Iguodala.

4. Trading Stephen Jackson for Richard Jefferson

The error of this trade isn’t really in the sending of Stephen Jackson, but rather in the picking up of Richard Jefferson’s contract.  That monetary obligation was an absolute weight on the team’s payroll, especially considering how little Jefferson contributed.

Jefferson saw very little action when he was with the team, especially having been acquired for a more established player in the franchise.  The contract left the Dubs with extremely little wiggle room in free agency this year.  Luckily, Bob Myers managed to offload it in the Iguodala trade.  This was a bad one, but it’s been recuperated now.

3. Acquiring Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson and the rights to Jermareo Davidson

The Warriors deconstructed the 2007 “We Believe” as quickly as it was built.  However, only one major piece of it was actually dealt away from the team.  Star guard Jason Richardson was traded away to the Charlotte Bobcats for Brandan Wright (the crux of the trade).

Richardson’s dynamic scoring ability made him an invaluable part of a team that made the Warriors’ first playoff run in years, a squad that won 16 of its last 25 contests.  Not to mention that it entered the playoffs as an eighth seed and proceeded to knock off the first-seeded Dallas Mavericks.

They fell in the second round, but it doesn’t bode well for a franchise when management deals away a piece of a team that gave the Bay Area so much to believe in.

Jan 15, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jason Richardson (23) is defended by New Orleans Hornets guard Roger Mason Jr. (8) during the second quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. The Hornets defeated the Sixers 111-99. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

2. Trading Wilt Chamberlin

Yeah, that happened.  The guy who was one of the most transcendent athletes in the history of the NBA and managed to score 100 points in a single game was traded away.

The Warriors picked him up as a territorial pick back when they were based in Philadelphia shortly before the move to San Francisco. Chamberlain was a man among boys.  It required three players at times to slow him down during his college days. By the time he’d seen three NBA seasons, he had set multiple NBA records.  Those include highest scoring average at 50.4 points per game and the aforementioned 100 in a single game.

The team was having major financial issues, so they dealt Chamberlain, one of the greatest players of all-time, for Paul Neumann, Connie Dierking, Lee Shafer and cash.  Even if the star center had to go, they could have done better.  Neumann lasted the longest, playing a paltry two and a half seasons.  Dierking was gone before the start of the 1965-66 season.  Shafer retired before he played a single game for the Warriors.

Oh, and the really funny part?  Chamberlain went back home.  He was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers.

1. Trading Robert Parish and Kevin McHale to the Boston Celtics for Joe Barry Carroll and Rickey Brown 

In 1980, the Warriors traded parish, their starting center, and the third pick (which became Kevin McHale) to the Celtics for their No. 1 pick and their No. 13 pick which became Carroll and Brown, respectively.  Carroll played well for Golden State, but eventually headed off to Italy rather than stay.  Brown never panned out, averaging less than six points per game.

Meanwhile, Boston turned that third pick into McHale and stuck him and Parish next to star Larry Bird (whom the Warriors passed up on in the 1978 draft).  What happened to that little crew in the Garden?  Oh, they just won three titles in the eighties.

Good for fans, there’ve been excellent moves made by the newest GM, leading to a team that made a fantastic playoff run and just got even better.