NBA History: 5 Trades that changed the NBA forever

In the NBA, trades play a significant part in a team's success or failure. Besides free agency, trades can help a franchise go from being an average team to a contending team in a matter of months. This summer is a great example.

Throughout the summer, there have been teams who acquired star-caliber players through trades. The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Anthony Davis in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Lakers gave up Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and draft picks to get Davis. It was arguably a win-win situation for both teams.

The trade makes an impact on the Lakers as they gained another star to pair alongside LeBron James. The Lakers have a chance to go from a team that just missed the playoffs to a potential champion. So, this trade impacts the NBA as it approaches its next season.

This offseason featured other significant trades, as those teams are striving to compete. The Los Angeles Clippers received Paul George in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The move happened shortly after the Clippers gained Kawhi Leonard through free agency. Their agreement led to a deal with Oklahoma City, as the Clippers received a player to pair with Leonard. Now, both the Clippers and Lakers will fight to become the best team in the West. But, we cannot count out the Rockets. The Rockets also made moves as they acquired Russell Westbrook from the Thunder. They gave up their guard Chris Paul for another guard in Westbrook.

Each of these trades shook up the league in their own right. However, other deals have changed the league as well. Kevin Garnett getting traded to the Celtics is a good example of that. The Minnesota Timberwolves traded Garnett to the Boston Celtics in exchange for several players. Garnett became a part of the Celtics "Big 3" along with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, as the trio won their first championship

This and other trades changed the league and left a lasting impact. While fans may not remember these trades, they remember their impact. Here are five trades that changed the NBA forever.

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#5 The San Antonio Spurs trade Kawhi Leonard in exchange for DeMar DeRozan

Leonard won a championship with the Raptors

This trade is the most recent trade on this list. It occurred last summer and easily changed the NBA forever. It all started with Kawhi Leonard.

Last summer, the San Antonio Spurs traded forward Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round draft pick. Leonard's Spurs teammate Danny Green also went to Toronto in this deal.

This trade came as a shock as Leonard's name was tied to teams such as the Clippers or Lakers. The Spurs sent him to Toronto, where he did something amazing. He won a championship.

In the regular season, Leonard averaged a career-high in both points and rebounds with 26.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. He played in 60 games as the Raptors became the second seed of the Eastern Conference.

In the playoffs, the Raptors beat the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Milwaukee Bucks to reach the Finals. They battled the Golden State Warriors and beat them as they won their first championship in franchise history.

Kawhi Leonard was excellent in the playoffs and helped the Raptors accomplish this feat. He stepped up when his team needed him. His performance helped the Raptors do the unexpected. Now, the Raptors are officially championships.

While Leonard will be with another team this season, what he did in Toronto was impressive. In one season, he took a playoff-bound team (that struggled to advance past the second round/Conference Finals) and led them to a championship. If that's not impacting the NBA, I don't know what is.

The Raptors/Spurs deal made an impact on the league and will forever be remembered.

#4 The New Orleans Hornets trade Chris Paul to Los Angeles

Paul joined the Clippers after another initial deal

This trade changed the NBA but not for the seasons; some of the others did. This trade happened after former NBA commissioner David Stern voided another deal. So, this deal is unique because it finally happened after a previous one was stopped.

In 2011, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Chris Paul. They gave up Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, and a first-round pick to get Paul. This deal happened after Paul was set to go elsewhere. In fact, he was set to go to the Clippers' Staples Center rival. He was on the verge of going to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Initially, the New Orleans Hornets agreed to a three-team deal that sent CP3 to the Lakers. The teams came to terms on the deal, but the NBA blocked the deal.

At that time, the NBA owned the Hornets rather than the organization having an owner (such as Mark Cuban with the Mavericks). The NBA's commissioner vetoed the deal, as he thought it would be in the Hornets' best interest to keep him. The league eventually let another deal happen, but it had to meet their demands. So, Paul ended up on the Clippers rather than the Lakers.

After the trade, CP3 went on to play for the Clippers for six seasons. He was a part of their core that consisted of players such as Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. The team known as Lob City went on to become a consistent playoff team. But, that version of the Clippers came to an end as Griffin, Paul, and Jordan went elsewhere. Paul joined the Rockets in 2017-18 and stayed with them for two seasons. He was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this summer.

Paul's trade to the Clippers was an interesting situation. The deal happened only after the Lakers deal was blocked. While this trade changed the NBA in a different way than others, it still caused a "what if" situation and impacted the league.

#3 The Seattle SuperSonics trade Scottie Pippen to the Chicago Bulls for Olden Polynice and draft picks

Pippen almost played for the SuperSonics

This trade is not only one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history, but it also changed the league forever. The deal involved the Sonics trading their draft pick, who on to become an NBA champion. The next trade that changed the NBA was the Sonics sending Scottie Pippen to the Chicago Bulls.

In 1987, the Sonics had the fifth pick of the draft. They used this pick to draft a future Hall of Fame player in small forward Scottie Pippen. However, Pippen didn't stay with the Sonics for long. The Bulls orchestrated a deal that helped them acquire Pippen from the Sonics.

The Bulls had the eighth pick of the 1987 draft but wanted Pippen, but he was gone by their pick. So, the Bulls took matters into their own hands and acquired him in a trade. In this trade, the Bulls traded center Olden Polynice, who they drafted eighth to the Sonics in exchange for Pippen. They also gave Seattle many draft picks.

During his time with the Bulls, Pippen became a key player. He was the "Robin" to Michael Jordan's "Batman". He even became the Bulls go-to scorer after Jordan retired before the 1993-94 season.

The duo achieved great success and went on to win six championships. Pippen's contributions on both ends of the floor played a critical part in the Bulls' success. If Jordan and the Bulls did not have Pippen, they might not have reached the success they had. Jordan and Pippen made a great duo, and with other pieces around them, they became legendary.

While Pippen played for other teams in his career, his time with the Bulls was his most memorable one. On top of his championships with the Bulls, he made numerous All-NBA teams and had his jersey retired by the Bulls.

Pippen did great things with the Bulls, but it nearly didn't happen. If the Sonics/Bulls trade hadn't happened, fans wouldn't have witnessed the Bulls dynasty. This trade changed the NBA and changed it for the better.

#2 The Charlotte Hornets trade Kobe Bryant to the Lakers for Vlade Divac

Bryant was the 13th pick of the 1996 draft

When it comes to trades that changed the NBA, it is nearly impossible to forget this trade. This trade involved one of the NBA's greatest shooting guards (and players) of all time. The young player out of Lower Merion High School went on to have an illustrious career with one of the most prestigious organizations in NBA history. But, he wasn't drafted by them. Instead, he was a part of a trade.

Kobe Bryant was the 13th pick of the 1996 NBA Draft. The Charlotte Hornets selected the young player, who became the first guard to be drafted directly out of high school. This happened a year after the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted forward Kevin Garnett, who was also a high-school prospect. Bryant was the first of two high-school prospects drafted in 1996 (the second was Jermaine O'Neal at the 17th pick) and went on to achieve great success.

Although the Hornets drafted Bryant, he did not play for them. The Hornets traded him in a draft-day trade with the Lakers. The Lakers received Bryant in exchange for center Vlade Divac.

The Lakers traded Divac, as he was their starting center, but Lakers picked up another center during free agency. They signed free-agent Shaquille O'Neal. The Lakers had to make a move to clear salary-cap space to sign O'Neal. So, the Lakers wanted to acquire draft rights (another salary-cap move) to trade Divac and acquire O'Neal. By doing so, they received a young player, who (unexpectedly) became one-half of the Lakers' new duo.

In his first season with the Lakers, Bryant mostly came off the bench. He averaged 7.6 points in 71 games. As time progressed, he became an important player to the Lakers franchise.

The "Black Mamba" accomplished great things with the Lakers. He won five championships, an MVP, and two Finals MVPs. His name is mentioned with other Laker greats such as Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, and more.

Bryant became a great player, and a simple trade helped contribute to his success. This trade was easily one of the trades that changed the NBA forever.

#1 The Milwaukee Bucks trade Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers

Abdul-Jabbar became a Lakers legend

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is one of the NBA's greatest players. He is the all-time leading scorer and won multiple championships. Abdul-Jabbar is an NBA legend and accomplished great things, especially during his time with the Lakers.

In 1969, the Milwaukee Bucks drafted Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor). He was the first pick of the draft, as he had an impressive college career with UCLA. Alcindor came into the league and instantly made an impact. During his time with the Bucks, Alcindor played with Oscar Robertson as they won a championship in 1971.

Alcindor was dominant with the Bucks and won multiple MVPs and was named scoring champion multiple times during his time there. He stayed with the Bucks until 1975, as he requested a trade in 1974. He wanted to go to either the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Lakers. He got his wish as he joined the Lakers the following year.

In 1975, the Lakers received Abdul-Jabbar and Walt Wesley as they gave up Elmore Smith, Brian Winters, Dave Meyers, and Junior Bridgeman. This is where Abdul-Jabbar truly shined.

Abdul-Jabbar became a crucial player for the Lakers, as they went on to become the "Showtime" Lakers. With players such as Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar found great success in L.A.

The Lakers center went on to win five championships with the Lakers, the first being in 1980. He went on to win championships in 1982, 1985, 1987, and 1988. He also won more MVP awards in 1976,1977 and 1980. So, he had great success with the Lakers.

Abdul-Jabbar's success with the Lakers helped him become another Laker great. He started his career in Milwaukee (and played excellent), but it was his stint with the Lakers people recognize. The Showtime Lakers were essential to the NBA, and their trade for Abdul-Jabbar played a big part in that. This trade worked in the Lakers' favor and ultimately changed the NBA forever.