Those miscarriage deals that almost changed the league...

As a business league, for the NBA, in addition to on-the-counter competition, over-the-counter trading is also an important part of the NBA. In recent seasons, deals with big-name stars such as Durant, Lillard and Irving have often become the focus of the media.

But in the long history of the NBA, there are also some regrettable deals that end up miscarriage. If these transactions really happen, not only the team's future, but even the entire league structure may be rewritten. Below, we will take a look at the big deal plans for the ultimate miscarriage hidden in the alliance.

Kobe joins Dallas?

For the Mavericks, Kobe is a pretty unexpected player. After Kobe passed away, Cuban, the then Mavericks boss, said that he would retire the No. 24 jersey for him, which is enough to show Cuban's appreciation of Kobe. But many people don’t know that in 2007, Kobe almost went to Dallas and joined forces with Nowitzki to compete for the championship.

In 2004, after the Lakers lost to the Pistons in the F4 Finals, O'Neal and others left the team, Kobe took over the Lakers and became the core, gradually beginning to enter his peak period, winning the scoring champion in the 2005-06 season and 2006-07 season, and his personal performance was extremely outstanding.

However, the Lakers management did not find a strong helper for him, and his teammates were limited in strength. No matter how hard Kobe worked, the team still could not make a breakthrough and was eliminated by the Suns in the first round of the playoffs for two consecutive years. Years of failure once caused the competitive Kobe to be disappointed and believed that if he continued to stay in the Lakers, he would probably waste his peak.

In the summer of 2007, Kobe filed a trade application with the Lakers. As soon as the news came out, the league was in an uproar and many teams began to join the competition. The most sincere ones are the three teams of Bulls, Pistons, and Mavericks, especially the Mavericks at that time. They were almost the last step away from getting Kobe.

After learning that Kobe was interested in a deal, the team's ace Nowitzki immediately called Cuban and tried his best to promote the deal. Then Cuban and Lakers boss Jenny Buss reached a preliminary agreement, and the Mavericks planned to package Josh Howard and Jason Terry, who had just been selected as All-Star, and add multiple first-round draft picks in exchange for Kobe.

But the deal was miscarriage in the end. Kobe's manle Jerry West had an in-depth exchange with Kobe at a critical moment to calm his eagerness to win the championship, and Kobe finally chose to stay in Los Angeles.

Looking back now, if the transaction was really completed at that time, the alliance structure would probably be rewritten. Kobe, who is at the peak, partnered with Nowitzki, and the Mavericks may be able to win the championship ahead of schedule.

Kobe Goes East Bulls?

As mentioned above, when O'Neal was sent away by the Lakers in 2004, Kobe already had the idea of leaving the Lakers. In the summer of that year, Kobe, a free agent, expressed his affection for the Grizzlies and the Clippers. Although these teams can only provide middle-class terms, according to reporters, Kobe had accepted the offer from the Bulls at that time.

Later in 2006, Kobe admitted in an interview that he was very close to joining the Bulls at that time. But in the end, Kobe chose to renew his contract with the Lakers to sign a maximum salary, but even so, this did not end the rumors about Kobe's transfer. As time comes, the Lakers lost to the Suns in the first round again, Kobe once again expressed dissatisfaction to the management and applied for a deal. At this time, the Bulls once again became the next potential owner.

Even in an interview, Kobe directly publicly stated: "The Bulls are my first choice."

As early as 2004, the Bulls expressed their willingness to recruit Kobe. After three years, the two sides began negotiations again. According to reporters, the key to the final miscarriage of this transaction is that the Bulls are unwilling to send Ruer Deng out.

Bulls are willing to provide a group of potential players including Thales Thomas and Jockin Noah, but the Lakers insist on Ruulden. What's more dramatic is that there is another statement that even if the Bulls agreed to send Ruulden out at that time, Kobe was unwilling to accept the deal. He believed that the Bulls without Ruulden would be more attractive to him than to stay in the Lakers.

Of course, Kobe remained in Los Angeles in the end. The Lakers quickly traded a nearly robbery deal to exchange for the Grizzlies for Gasol, starting a new round of championship competition. In 2009 and 2010, Kobe also successfully won the FMVP, creating another legend after leaving O'Neal. As for the past when he almost wore the Bulls jersey, it has become a regret in history.

Garnett joins the Lakers?

At the same time, Wolf King Garnett almost joined the Lakers. In the 2003-04 season, Garnett won the regular season MVP and led the Timberwolves into the Western Conference Finals. But after that, the madman Spreville and Sam Kassel declined due to injuries and off-court problems, and the Timberwolves missed the playoffs since then.

Garnett's situation is similar to Kobe. At their peak, they all hope to switch teams to compete for the championship. The Lakers, where his friend Kobe is, naturally became one of Garnett's favorite goals.

The Timberwolves and the Lakers once started negotiations. The Lakers planned to send two inside players, Bynum and Kwame Brown, with the 19th pick in exchange for Garnett. And just as the two parties were about to reach a deal, Garnett changed his mind temporarily. Many years later, Garnett explained that the reason he did not go to the Lakers was because of the conflict between Kobe and Phil Jackson, which finally made him shake his mind.

In 2004, the Lakers OK combination disintegrated, and Zen Master Jackson left the Lakers. Later, in his personal autobiography, he publicly criticized Kobe's playing style. Even though he returned to the Lakers in 2005, the relationship between him and Kobe was still quite tense, and Garnett naturally did not want to get involved in this complicated situation.

In the end, Garnett chose to join the Celtics, which directly changed the league structure.. In his first year of joining the Celtics, the Celtics defeated Kobe's lead Lakers in the finals and successfully won the championship.

Meddy succeeds Jordan?

On the eve of the 1997 draft, Bulls general manager Jerry Klaus was determined to reform and considered breaking up the champion lineup that was in the defending state at the time, and planned to exchange Pippen for potential newcomer McGrady. It was the end of the Bulls Iron Triangle. Rodman was 36 years old, Jordan was 34 years old, and Pippen, 32 years old, was also frequently worried. The management naturally hoped to plan for the future in advance.

There were already media reports about this transaction at that time, and McGrady himself confirmed it in an interview. Judging from McGrady's draft report that year, as a swinger with a height of 203 and a wingspan of 218, he is undoubtedly a super new star with great potential.

The Bulls' management has always had unique vision. The best case was that Jordan was chosen and Pippen was traded. A few hours before the draft, McGrady even went to Chicago to participate in a physical examination, and the deal seemed to be just the final announcement. However, Jordan intervened and stopped the transaction, and took the initiative to call the management, making it clear that he did not want to see Pippen being traded. In the end, the management could only respect Jordan's wishes. After all, for the Bulls at that time, challenging the second three-game championship was the primary goal.

Afterwards proved that Jordan's choice was not unreasonable. The Bulls successfully defended their title in the 1997-98 season and won the second three-game title. As for McGrady, he has also quickly grown into a top star and took over the Magic core within four years. Although he missed the championship in his career, he also achieved the strength of a Hall of Fame-level star.

George almost surrendered to the enemy?

Time came to 2017. Paul George was the one who attracted the most attention in the trading market at that time. At that time, many media believed that George would choose to join the Lakers, but in the end the Thunder became Cheng Yaojin, who broke out halfway. But before he heads to the Thunder, George actually had the opportunity to join forces with James to compete for the championship.

In the summer of 2016, Durant joined the Warriors, and the Cavaliers were defeated in the finals for two consecutive years. The Cavaliers management believes that Love's performance in high-intensity competitions is not stable enough, so he wants to introduce new stars to help James and Ou win the championship again. In the market at that time, the Cavaliers quickly turned their attention to George.

George had played for Indiana for seven years at that time, with his best result in the Eastern Conference Finals. In the 2016-17 season, George averaged 23.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, shooting percentage of 46.1%, and shooting percentage of free throws was as high as 89.8%. Both scored and hit percentages hit a career high, at the peak of his personal career.

George submitted a deal application to the Pacers, which gave the Cavaliers who were determined to strengthen the game. Then the two sides began negotiations. According to reporters, the deal involved the Cavaliers, Pacers and Nuggets. The Cavaliers packaged Love, some role players and at least one future first-round draft pick in exchange for George; the Nuggets got Love, while the Pacers got Gary Harris's additional draft picks. Team three even held a conference call to discuss the details of the transaction.

However, just as the deal was about to be completed, the Pacers suddenly regretted withdrawing the negotiations and eventually sent George to Thunder. Perhaps it was because the chips offered by the Thunder were more attractive, or it might be because the Pacers were unwilling to fund their opponents in the same district, and the deal ended up a missed.

According to NBA reporter Zach Low, the Pacers asked the Cavaliers to add Irving to the deal package during multiple negotiations, but were rejected by the Cavaliers, which is likely to be one of the reasons why the deal ultimately failed. The Knights who failed to get George began to collapse in the summer of 2017.

Looking back at the 2018 playoffs, James entered the finals with almost no stable support. Recalling that the Cavaliers management might have missed this unconfirmed deal. If George had joined forces with James back then, the situation might have been different.

Westbrook joins hands with George to settle in the North?

According to ESPN reporter Woj, in July 2019, shortly after the Raptors won the first championship in team history, the team began to actively communicate with the Thunder, hoping to package the deals in one fell swoop to George and Westbrook and partner Leonard to continue the championship window.

"On a crazy negotiation night, Thunder general manager Presty cleverly used the competition between the Clippers and the Raptors for Leonard and George to create an atmosphere of price raising between the two sides. According to people familiar with the matter, senior Clippers executives were once worried that Presty would soon reach a deal with the Raptors and send George to the defending champion."

It is reported that if Presty successfully finalized the deal with the Raptors and Leonard is willing to renew his contract to stay in the team, then George is naturally willing to report to Toronto. At that time, Presti was not only willing to give George, but even package Westbrook into the transaction. But in the end Presti chose the Clippers' offer, which included the young potential at the time Alexander, who later quickly grew into a league star, and the Thunder was able to quickly complete the reconstruction.

In contrast, because the Raptors did not win George or Westbrook, their combat effectiveness in the championship was difficult to maintain, and they ultimately had to choose to dismantle the original championship lineup. Although the Clippers got George and Leonard, they were unable to break through the West for the next five years, let alone the championship.

Until the summer of 2024, George switched to Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent, and the Clippers' Double Star Age officially ended. Looking back at this almost real deal, perhaps the only real winner behind this may be the Thunder.