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[Saba Sports News] This decade has already featured its share of questionable NBA trades. From the Lakers shipping Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Russell Westbrook just 10 months after winning a title to the Timberwolves giving up four first-round picks and Walker Kessler for Rudy Gobert, the blunders have been glaring.
Now, the 2024 offseason has added two more trades to the growing list of potential disasters, poised to go down as some of the worst in recent memory.
1. Knicks Gamble Big for Mikal Bridges
– Knicks Receive: Mikal Bridges, Keita Bates-Diop, a 2026 second-round pick, and draft rights to Juan Pablo Vaulet
– Nets Receive: Bojan Bogdanovic, Mamadi Diakite, Shake Milton, four unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031), an unprotected 2028 pick swap, a top-four protected 2025 first-round pick (via Bucks), and a second-round pick in 2025
The Knicks mortgaged their future for Mikal Bridges, but advanced metrics paint a grim picture of his performance. Bridges holds a -1.5 Box Plus/Minus (BPM), the lowest among the Knicks’ starters, and his -8.3 True Shooting Added underscores his inefficiency. Defensively, his reputation as a lockdown player has eroded, with opposing stars consistently exploiting him this season.
Despite leading the league in minutes per game (38.3) and playing all 24 contests, Bridges has been underwhelming. His struggles, particularly from beyond the arc (34.3%), have significantly diminished his offensive impact, leaving the Knicks with little to show for their massive investment.
2. Pelicans’ Costly Gamble on Dejounte Murray
– Pelicans Receive: Dejounte Murray
– Hawks Receive: Dyson Daniels, E.J. Liddell, Larry Nance Jr., Cody Zeller, a first-round pick in 2025 (via Lakers), and a top-four protected first-round pick in 2027
After fracturing his hand in the season opener, Dejounte Murray has appeared in just eight games, averaging 15.9 points while shooting an abysmal 33.6% from the field and 25.5% from deep. His struggles to create his own shot and lead the offense have raised serious concerns about his fit in New Orleans.
Meanwhile, the Hawks are thriving post-Murray, with Trae Young flourishing and Dyson Daniels emerging as a defensive powerhouse.
Daniels leads the league in steals (3.2 per game) and has transformed Atlanta’s defense. The Pelicans, on the other hand, sit in last place in the Western Conference at 5-20, making their costly trade look increasingly regrettable.
These moves are shaping up as textbook examples of why NBA teams must weigh the risks of blockbuster trades carefully. For the Knicks and Pelicans, the price of ambition may end up being their undoing this decade.