Nets Rank Top-3 in Worst Trades in Sports This Century

The Brooklyn Nets have made blockbuster trades throughout franchise history, and the 2013 acquisition of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett is frowned upon as the third-worst trade in sports this century, according to Bleacher Report.

Billy King, the general manager at the time, attempted to turn his team into a championship contender by trading for aging, experienced veterans from the Boston Celtics.

He sent Keith Bogans, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Kris Joseph, Gerald Wallace, a 2014 first-round pick, a 2016 first-round pick, a 2017 first-round pick swap and a 2018 first-round pick to Boston for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry, D.J. White and a 2017 second-round pick.

Pierce, 36, and Garnett, 37, were one-time NBA champions, defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA Finals. That experience, although five years removed, is what King valued, and he hired Nets legend Jason Kidd to lead the team.

Sending four first-round picks warrants high expectations, and the team failed to live up to them immediately.

Brooklyn made the playoffs in its first season with Pierce and Garnett at the helm. It won the first series against the Toronto Raptors in seven games, but lost in the second round against LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games.

Pierce tested free agency after one season with the Nets and signed a two-year, $11 million contract with the Washington Wizards in July 2014.

Garnett's tenure ended 42 games into the 2014-15 season, as he was traded back to the team that drafted him, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

King's blockbuster trade lasted no more than one season.

Four first-round picks for one playoff appearance with the duo is a failure, and Boston quietly built itself into a contender over the years. It drafted Jaylen Brown, who Brooklyn tried to trade for this offseason, and Jayson Tatum in back-to-back drafts.

Brown and Tatum powered the Celtics to two Finals appearances in 2022 and 2024, losing to the Golden State Warriors in their debut and getting their redemption against the Dallas Mavericks in their return.

King's gamble did not pay off and the team relieved him of his duties in January 2016, choosing Sean Marks as his successor.

Marks hasn't been the best general manager, but he's built a solid foundation for the organization. He traded with the Houston Rockets in the 2024 offseason, netting two first-round picks, which he used to draft Egor Dëmin and Mikel Brown Jr.

Marks hasn't made a huge gamble, like his predecessor, and it's worked out in his favor so far.