1989 NBA Trades

Charlotte acquired Armon Gilliam from Phoenix Suns for Kurt Rambis; 1990 second round pick (#31-Negele Knight); 1991 second round pick (#32-Chad Gallagher).

The Clippers acquired Ron Harper plus first-round picks that became Loy Vaught and Elmore Spencer and a second-round pick for the rights to Danny Ferry and Reggie Williams. Ferry became a durable Cavalier, but Cleveland surrendered an in-prime two-way guard and excessive draft capital, giving Los Angeles the clear win.

Minnesota acquired 1990 first round pick (#20-Gerald Glass); 1991 second round pick (#44-Alvaro Teheran); 1992 conditional second round pick (#36-Duane Cooper) while sending out Rick Mahorn in the 1989-10-27 transaction with 76ers.

Dallas received 1993 second-round pick (#33-Eric Riley) from Milwaukee Bucks and sent draft rights to Pat Durham in return.

Charlotte acquired Richard Anderson from Portland Trail Blazers for Robert Reid.

Boston acquired John Bagley from Nets in exchange for 1991 second-round pick (#51 Zan Tabak); 1993 second-round pick (#46 Richard Petruska).

Chicago acquired Ed Nealy from Phoenix for a conditional 1996 second-round pick that did not convey.

Miami acquired Tellis Frank from Golden State on October 2, 1989, for a conditional Cavaliers second-round asset later used at No. 41 on Steve Bardo. Frank supplied 77 Heat games, 39 starts, 1,762 minutes, 735 points and 385 rebounds during 1989-90. Bardo never appeared in a Warriors NBA game; his subsequent brief NBA stints belonged to other teams. Heat Win, Miami A-, Golden State D+.

Golden State realized the stronger long-term return. The Warriors acquired Jim Petersen from Sacramento Kings for Ralph Sampson.

Charlotte acquired 1991 second round pick (#28-Kevin Lynch) from Denver Nuggets for Tim Kempton.

Cleveland acquired second-year guard Steve Kerr from Phoenix on September 5, 1989 for a 1993 second-round pick that eventually became No. 49 Mark Buford. Kerr gave the Cavaliers three seasons of useful shooting and reserve guard play, including one of the league's best three-point percentages in 1989-90. He later became famous for championships elsewhere, but none of that later value belongs to Cleveland in this trade. Phoenix waited four years for the pick and ultimately received no meaningful NBA production from Buford. On realized value, Cleveland clearly won a modest transaction without turning it into a franchise-changing acquisition.

On August 28, 1989, Philadelphia sent Maurice Cheeks, David Wingate and Christian Welp to San Antonio for Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent. Dawkins started 81 Sixers games in 1989-90 but suffered a serious injury the next year; Vincent played 17 Philadelphia games. Cheeks started 49 Spurs games before being exchanged for Rod Strickland, while Wingate played 78 San Antonio games in 1989-90. Spurs Win, San Antonio A, Philadelphia B-.

The realized return strongly favored Houston: Houston received Anthony Bowie from San Antonio Spurs for cash.

Golden State acquired Alton Lister from Seattle for a 1990 first-round pick. The pick became No. 2 overall and the SuperSonics selected Gary Payton, who spent thirteen seasons in Seattle, won Defensive Player of the Year and led the franchise to the 1996 Finals. Lister supplied useful center minutes, but the value gap is historic. Seattle wins.

Charlotte acquired rights to Stuart Gray from Indiana Pacers for rights to Dyron Nix.

Chicago acquired 1990 second round pick (#29-Toni Kukoc), 1992 second round pick (#29-P.J. Brown) from Magic for Dave Corzine, producing a clear realized-value win.

Detroit acquired rights to Anthony Cook from Phoenix Suns for Micheal Williams; rights to Kenny Battle.

Golden State traded the 1989 first-round right later used on Dana Barros to Seattle for a 1990 first-round right later linked with Gary Payton. However, the Warriors returned that 1990 right to Seattle on August 7, 1989, to acquire Alton Lister. Payton was eventually drafted by the SuperSonics, not Golden State. The inherited Warriors Win grades Golden State A+ and Seattle C+, though that valuation needs careful rights-chain interpretation.

Seattle received 1993 second round pick (#52-Mike Peplowski) and sent Sonics agreed to not select B.J. Armstrong with the #16 or #17 pick in the 1989 NBA draft. The long-term value clearly favored Bulls.

Chicago acquired 1989 first round pick (#18-B.J. Armstrong) from Sonics for Brad Sellers, producing a clear realized-value win.

Portland acquired Buck Williams from New Jersey for Sam Bowie and the 1989 first-round pick used on Mookie Blaylock.

Milwaukee acquired Timberwolves' agreement to select Mark Davis (Giles) in the 1989 NBA expansion draft while sending out 1989 second round pick (#34-Gary Leonard) in the 1989-06-15 transaction with Timberwolves.

San Antonio acquired Terry Cummings and a second-round pick for Alvin Robertson, Greg Anderson and a second, adding the veteran scorer who helped the Spurs jump from 21 wins to 56 in David Robinson’s rookie season.

Kings Edge. Sacramento acquired the best player in Danny Ainge and preserved some later trade value, while Boston received useful frontcourt depth in Ed Pinckney and Joe Kleine. The returns were closer than a simple name-value comparison suggests, but Ainge's post-trade productivity breaks the tie. SAC B+, BOS B.

New York acquired Kiki Vandeweghe from Blazers for 1989 first round pick (#22-Byron Irvin). The value leaned toward New York, but the partner still received meaningful return.

Indiana traded Herb Williams to Dallas for Detlef Schrempf and the second-round pick used on Antonio Davis, creating two long-term contributors from one veteran center.

Win. Wayman Tisdale became a long-term primary scorer in Sacramento, while LaSalle Thompson gave Indiana legitimate frontcourt value without matching Tisdale's offensive impact. The Kings did not turn the move into team success, so A- is more appropriate than A+. Indiana's B reflects a useful return, but Sacramento captured the better player outcome.

Dallas received Adrian Dantley; 1991 first-round pick (#19-LaBradford Smith) from Detroit Pistons and sent Mark Aguirre; 1989 conditional second-round pick (if Mavericks advance to conference finals) (not exercised); 1991 conditional second-round pick (if Mavericks advance to conference finals) (not exercised) in return.

Denver received David Greenwood; Darwin Cook from San Antonio Spurs, sending Calvin Natt; Jay Vincent in return.