After being dealt, MVPs have a history of doing great things

Trade at Your Peril



By Rob Peterson

If NBA history teaches us anything it is: Keep your friends close, but your MVPs closer.

Dating back to the first Most Valuable Player award in 1955-56 when St. Louis
power forward Bob Pettit was named MVP, 24 men have won the award
in its 48-year history. Not including the recently shipped to South Beach
Shaquille O'Neal, only seven* were traded in the course of their careers.

And with the exception of Charles Barkley, who was named MVP the season
after he was traded from Philly to Phoenix (and Shaq), every MVP who has
been sent packing eventually won an NBA title after being traded. Four
of them -- Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Moses
Malone -- won titles with the teams to which they were traded, while
Bill Walton and Bob McAdoo helped win titles as important role players
later in their careers.

Let's look at the four MVPs, in chronological order, who went on to win
titles with the teams they were traded to. One notable aspect of all these
trades is that these MVPs and Hall of Famers were never traded for another
MVP or Hall of Famer.

WILT CHAMBERLAIN, 1960 MVP

Traded from: San Francisco Warriors

Traded to: Philadelphia 76ers

Traded for: G Paul Neumann, C/F Connie Dierking, F Lee Shaffer and cash

Trade date: Jan. 15, 1965

Chamberlain's age at time of trade: 28

When they left for Golden State after the 1962 season, the Philadelphia
Warriors, one of the NBA's original franchises, not only left the City of
Brotherly Love without an NBA team for a year, but they also took Wilt
with them. The NBA returned to Philly when the Syracuse Nationals moved
south before the 1963-64 season. On Jan. 15, 1965, Wilt returned to Philly
thanks to a trade with the Warriors.

The Warriors would only win 17 games in the first full season after trading
Wilt. The trade had an immediate affect on the Sixers as they would
make the Eastern Conference Finals the same season before losing to the
Celtics.

The next three full seasons in Philly, Wilt won three consecutive MVP awards,
led the Sixers to 185 regular-season wins, including a then-record
68 during the 1966-67 season. They would also go on to win the Sixers'
first NBA title that year defeating, yes, the San Francisco Warriors.

WILT CHAMBERLAIN, 1966-1968 MVP

Traded from: Philadelphia 76ers

Traded to: Los Angeles Lakers

Traded for: F Jerry Chambers, G Archie Clark and C Darrall Imhoff

Trade date: July 9, 1968

Chamberlain's age at time of trade: 31

After winning three NBA MVP awards with the Sixers, Wilt headed west once
again, this time to the Lakers, who went to The Finals in Chamberlain's
first two seasons in purple and gold. In his fourth season in L.A., Wilt
and the Lakers would go on to win a record 33 games in a row en route
to a then-record 69 regular-season games and defeat the New York Knicks
4-1 in The Finals, the Lakers' first title in L.A.

Wilt would lead the Lakers to one more Finals appearance in 1973 before
retiring. That same season, the Philadelphia 76ers would win an NBA-record
low nine games.

OSCAR ROBERTSON, 1964 MVP

Traded from: Cincinnati Royals

Traded to: Milwaukee Bucks

Traded for: G Flynn Robinson and F Charlie Paulk

Trade date: April 21, 1970

Robertson's age at time of trade: 31

While he was six years removed from winning the MVP award, Robertson still
had plenty left in the tank, averaging 25.3 points, 8.1 assists and 6.1
rebounds in his final Cincinnati season.

But the Big O had a falling out with Royals coach Bob Cousy, who came out
of retirement to play seven games for the Royals in the 1969-70 season.
Robertson also wanted to win an NBA title, which he did when he teamed
up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Bucks, one season after arriving in
Milwaukee. Robertson and the Bucks would be one of the NBA's best teams
in his four seasons in Milwaukee, which made another Finals appearance in
1974.

After trading Robertson, the Royals would play two more seasons in Cincinnati
before becoming the Kansas City/Omaha Kings in the 1972-73 season.


KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR, 1971, 1972, 1974 MVP

Traded from: Milwaukee Bucks

Traded to: Los Angeles Lakers (with C Walt Wesley)

Traded for: C Elmore Smith, F/G Junior Bridgeman, G/F Brian Winters, F D
ave Meyers

Trade date: June 16, 1975

Abdul-Jabbar's age at time of trade: 28

That date -- June 16, 1975 -- is a date that will live in infamy for Milwaukee
Bucks fans. It was on that date the Bucks traded their (still) all-time leading scorer and three-time NBA MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers for four
players.

With Kareem, the Bucks won an NBA title in 1971 and went to another Finals
in 1974. And while the Bucks have retired Winters' No. 32 and Bridgeman's No. 2, the Bucks haven't been back to The Finals since trading Kareem. Red Sox fans
have their "Curse of the Bambino," Bucks fans suffer from the "Curse of Kareem."

With the Lakers, Kareem would win three more NBA MVP awards (1976, 1977,
1980), become the league's all-time leading scorer and win five NBA titles when paired with another Hall of Fame point guard, Earvin "Magic" Johnson.




Not even Magic and Kareem could stop Moses during the 1982-83 season.

Jim Cummins

NBAE/Getty Images  

MOSES MALONE 1979, 1982 MVP

Traded from: Houston Rockets

Traded to: Philadelphia 76ers

Traded for: C Caldwell Jones and 1983 first-round draft choice

Trade date: Sept. 15, 1982

Malone's age at time of trade: 27

Malone, with Abdul-Jabbar, was the premier center in the NBA and he was
exactly what the Sixers felt they needed to topple Larry Bird's Celtics
in the East and Jabbar's Lakers in The Finals.

After winning his second NBA MVP award in 1982, Malone became a free agent. The Sixers signed him to an offer sheet. Houston had the right to match and did, but traded him to Philadelphia anyway.

The Sixers would roll to a 65-17 record in the 1982-83 season and an NBA
title. Malone would win his third and final MVP award.

The Rockets finished at 14-68 and won the coin toss to pick first in the
1983 NBA Draft.

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, 2000 MVP

Traded from: Los Angeles Lakers

Traded to: Miami Heat

Traded for: F Lamar Odom, F Brian Grant, G Caron Butler and a future first-round pick

Trade date: July 15, 2004

O'Neal's age at time of trade : 32

Only time will tell.

(*Dave Cowens, the 1972-73 MVP, would make it eight MVPs traded, but he
retired after the 1980 season. Cowens came out of retirement and the Milwaukee
Bucks traded for him before the 1982-83 season in exchange for Quinn Buckner.
So, Cowens was traded, but his career was basically over by that point.)
--
修改:happia FROM 211.66.6.*
FROM 211.66.6.*