NBA Trade: 11 shocking NBA trades that almost happened

6. Charles Barkley - Los Angeles Lakers

Charles Barkley

In 1992 Charles Barkley had a major fallout with the Philadelphia 76ers organisation and publicly trashed numerous executives and even teammates. Barkley was never the easiest person to handle and 76ers were also looking to show him the door.

The Lakers were not competitive after the "Showtime" era and were looking for a new face of the franchise.

It seemed like the perfect fit and a trade for Barkley that involved the Lakers sending James Worthy to Philly was set to take place.

Barkley was even informed by his agent that he had been traded to the Lakers. Overjoyed by the news, Barkley decided to celebrate with a few drinks along with lunch. A few hours later, he received another call from his agent stating that the 76ers had backed out of the deal. Barkley was in a good mood after the lunchtime celebration and decided to play for Philadelphia later on that night.

He was eventually traded to the Phoenix Suns the following season for Jeff Hornaceck, Tim Perry and Andrew Lang. Barkley won the MVP award the same year and reached his only NBA finals.