1. Kawhi Leonard to Toronto (2018)



Let's start with the most obvious one. For almost an entire season, the relationship between Kawhi Leonard and the San Antonio Spurs was a mess. To summarize, the Spurs organization stated that Kawhi was ready to play after being cleared from his injury. Kawhi, on the other hand, said he wasn't ready. It soon became ugly after teammates started calling Kawhi out on not wanting to play until it ended with The Klaw demanding a trade. Kawhi was sent to Toronto in exchange for Demar Deroza and ended up making history for the Canada-based team.



2. Rasheed Wallace to Detroit (2004)



Good players with bad reputations are very difficult to trade. That's why when the Atlanta Hawks traded away Rasheed Wallace, the Detroit Pistons only had to give up Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura, Lindsey Hunter, and Chucky Atkins, all bench players, along with a few draft picks to get him. That year ended up being one of the best runs we've ever seen in the NBA with Detroit winning the championship without a traditional superstar leading the charge.



3. Pau Gasol to LA (2008)



Pau Gasol to LA was viewed as a lopsided trade that should have been vetoed by the league. And it may have looked that way for a few years especially after Pau won back-to-back championships in his first 3 years with the Lakers. But looking at it now, maybe it really wasn't that bad. Marc Gasol, Pau's brother and part of the trade package that LA sent to Memphis, became a central part of Memphis' Grit and Grind era. Marc became an All-Star, a Defensive Playr of the Year, made it to the All-NBA First Team, and pushed the Grizzlies to seven straight Playoffs appearances including a Western Conference Finals.



4. LeBron James to Miami (2010)



The Decision, for those who don't know it, was a television special which featured LeBron James announcing that he was taking his talents to South Beach. While many people think that he was signed by the Heat as a free agent that year, it was actually a sign and trade that brought him to Miami in exchange for a handful of draft picks. Signing with Cleveland first before being traded allowed James to get a longer contract and bigger yearly raises than if he signed directly with Miami.



5. Kevin Garnett / Ray Allen to Boston (2007)



You can argue that concept of the modern day super team / big three came from the Celtics when general manager Danny Ainge worked his magic to get Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to Boston. What cannot be argued is that these trades propelled the biggest turnaround for any team in NBA history. From being a 24-win team the prior season, the KG and Allen trades netted the Celtics a 66-win season and an NBA championship.