Milwaukee Bucks: Best Players that were traded away

Dirk Nowitzki

Milwaukee Bucks receive: Robert Traylor

Dallas Mavericks receiver: Dirk Nowitzki, Pat Garrity

This is where the 1st round pick that turned out to be Pat Garrity went. The final piece of the Vin Baker trade, completely wasted. It’s interesting to think about what if they didn’t have that pick and they couldn’t convince the Mavericks to take this young German big man with a killer fadeaway. Maybe things go in a completely different direction.

Any way you slice it, this is one of the worst trades, not just in Milwaukee Bucks history, but in the history of the National Basketball Association. In almost all of these trades, there was some return or some upside or silver lining. Here you will find none. Robert Traylor was a failed NBA player. His stats aren’t even worth telling you about.

Dirk Nowitzki will be a Hall of Famer. He was an NBA Champion, NBA Most Valuable Player, and 14-time All-Star. He did it all with one team, the Dallas Mavericks, never wavering from the team that traded for him the night he was drafted. He never wore another uniform. It’s easy to see the possibility that could have been with this same loyalty to Milwaukee.

Glenn Robinson

Milwaukee Bucks receive: Toni Kukoc, Leon Smith, 1st round pick (T.J. Ford)

Atlanta Hawks receive: Glenn Robinson

Here’s a fun fact: The Milwaukee Bucks have had the number one pick four times, and every single one of them have been eventually traded away. Glenn Robinson was no exception after spending his first eight seasons in Milwaukee.

Robinson was a huge part of the 2001 run to the Eastern Conference Finals, but after the Bucks under performed the next season, he was the first domino to fall in what would be another fall from greatness into a long period of dark times. History repeats itself.

Robinson averaged over 20 points per game in the following season for the Hawks, but played only two more years after that. He was aging, and getting rid of him wasn’t a huge issue, but he left a big scoring gap that Ray Allen couldn’t fill by himself, even with a young Michael Redd. Only a year later, Ray Allen was sent out too.

Ray Allen

Milwaukee Bucks receive: Gary Payton, Desmond Mason

Seattle Supesonics receive: Ray Allen, Ronald Murray, Kevin Ollie, 1st round pick (Luke Ridnour)

This was one of the most short-sighted trades that you could imagine. The Bucks traded their already established young star, two players, and a first round pick for two guys that they knew wouldn’t be in Milwaukee for very long.

They got a whole 28 games of Gary Payton. To be fair, he played well in those games, averaging 19.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Nevertheless, he was gone after that. Desmond Mason stuck around for two more seasons, including arguably his best season in 2004-05 when he averaged 17.2 points per game.

Ray Allen went on to be a star for the Supersonics and Celtics, and hit one of the most clutch shots in NBA Finals history for the Miami Heat in game six of the 2013 Finals to help them beat the San Antonio Spurs, one of his two championships. He was a ten-time All-Star, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and will go down as one of the best three-point shooters of all-time.

Tobias Harris

Milwaukee Bucks receive: J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon, Ish Smith

Orlando Magic receive: Tobias Harris, Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih

Speaking of short-sighted trades, the story of Tobias Harris is still being written. After being buried on the bench by the Milwaukee Bucks, he has flourished after being traded. He can do it all, averaging 15.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game for his career, and those numbers are including his stats from his time on the Bucks.

Last year he averaged 20 points per game for two good teams in the Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia 76ers. He’s not just putting up empty stats on bad teams. He’s also formed himself into a three-point shooter with a career percentage of 36.2 from behind the arc.

This trade was entirely unnecessary for the Milwaukee Bucks. We have to remember that this was in the Herb Kohl era and the mantra was trying to compete now, instead of rebuilding for the future. They made this move so that they could secure the eight seed and have the right to get swept by the eventual champion Miami Heat with Lebron James and Dwyane Wade.

On the bright side, they had a pick outside the lottery, so they weren’t pressured to take someone who would make an instant impact, which led to drafting some 18-year-old kid from Greece named Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In the end, all of these trades have brought the Milwaukee Bucks to where they are right now: A 43-7 record and a very real chance at winning an NBA Championship. Let’s hope that Jon Horst doesn’t do anything to drastic and throw away this opportunity.