10 Trades That Changed The NBA Forever
8. The Dwight Howard Trade
August 2012 would see a blockbuster trade, involving four NBA teams, to move Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Los Angeles gave up their starting center, Andrew Bynum, and a 1st round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers. They also sent Christian Eyenga, Josh McRoberts, and a 2nd round pick to the Orlando Magic.
The Denver Nuggets lost Aron Afflalo, Al Harrington, with a 1st & 2nd rounder to the Magic.
The 76ers would send Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets. Then agreed to send Mo Harkless, Nikola Vucevic, and a 1st round pick to Orlando.
The Magic in turn would send Howard, Earl Clark, and Chris Duhon to the Lakers. Jason Richardson would also be sent to Philly.
Get all that? 12 players and 5 draft picks would exchange hands that day. Who actually came out on top? *Spoiler alert: No one.
Orlando: Harrington would only play 10 games, McRoberts would play one more season for the Magic, Afflalo got traded back to Denver the next year, and Harkless would contribute little in 3 seasons. Eyenga was waived. All of those picks basically amounted to receiving Elfrid Payton in the 2014 draft. The lone bright spot being Nikola Vucevic, who has been a solid starter and went to an All-Star game while leading the Magic to the playoffs in 2019.
Denver: The Nuggets got arguably the best player in the whole deal in Iguodala. However he'd only play one season in Denver before joining the Golden State Warriors, appearing in 5 finals and winning 3 rings.
Philadelphia: Bynum ended up being a complete bust, never suiting up for the 76ers. Richardson would play two seasons, retiring as Philly started the infamous era known as "The Process".
Los Angeles: Duhon and Clark played sparingly for the Lakers. Dwight Howard ended up as a one year rental. D12 would clash with Kobe Bryant, and after getting swept in the playoffs, Howard shunned LA for a chance with the Houston Rockets. In a surprising turn of events, Howard would return to LA 7 years later.