Phoenix Suns Trade Charles Barkley To Houston Rockets

On Aug. 19, 1996, the Phoenix Suns trade superstar forward Charles Barkley -- along with a second round draft pick -- to the Houston Rockets for Robert Horry, Sam Cassell, Chucky Brown, and Mark Bryant. Barkley, at the time a 10-time All-Star, had demanded a trade since he learned that the Suns were interested in dealing him. "The bottom line was, I initially wanted to finish my career in Phoenix," Barkley said, "but I told them if they were going to shop me, I would never play there again.
With the move, the Rockets added one of the greatast players of all time to a roster that already featured Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. Had the deal been made just a year or two sooner, the Rockets might have had one of the greatest trios in NBA history. 

Instead, Olajuwon, Drexler and Barkley were all in their thirties and were not the players they once were. The trade gave them an initial boost, as the Rockets won 57 games and advanced to the conference finals in 1997. But after that, the team progressively got worse and worse until they missed the postseason in 2000.

As for the Suns, the deal did nothing for them either. 

Although they remained competitive and made the postseason in 10 of the next 12 seasons, the main players they received in the trade -- Sam Cassell and Robert Horry -- were nothing more than trade bait. 

In December, Cassell was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Jason Kidd and was later sent to the New Jersey Nets. 

Horry, meanwhile, had a memorable incident with Suns coach Danny Ainge where he threw a towel at him during a game; he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers not long after that.

Houston Rockets Trade Hakeem Olajuwon To Toronto Raptors

On August 2, 2001, following in the footsteps of New York Knicks, who had recently traded Patrick Ewing to Seattle, the Houston Rockets trade an aging Hakeem Olajuwon, their best player in franchise history, to the Toronto Raptors for a pair of draft picks. Olajuwon was one of the 50 greatest players in history and had spent the previous 17 years in Houston. But upon making it clear that the Raptors were offering him more money, the Rockets moved him in a sign-and-trade.

Many wondered if the alliance of Olajuwon and Vince Carter would make the Raptors, who came within a jump shot of beating the Eastern Conference champion 76ers, a legitimate contender. But those who felt this way overestimated Olajuwon, who had been trailing off in his later years in Houston. With the Raptors, on a new team, in a different country, Hakeem's performance faltered. In 61 games, Olajuwon shot only 46.4% from the floor while averaging just 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game -- all career lows.

The Raptors lost to the Detroit Pistons in the first round that year. Before the start of the next season, the 39 year-old Olajuwon called it quits after suffering a back injury, ending one of the best careers in NBA history. Olajuwon was so irrelevant in Toronto that many people may be surprised to learn he even played there.

Olajuwon ended his career as one the most prolific scoring centers to have played the game and was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in 2008. Olajuwon finished his career as a two-time NBA Champion in 1994 and 1995, and was the NBA MVP in 1994, and the NBA Finals MVP in 1994 and 1995. Olajuwon was also selected to the NBA’s 50^th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.

Los Angeles Lakers Sign Magic Johnson To 25 Year Deal

There are short contracts. There are long contracts. And then there's the contract Magic Johnson received on June 26, 1981.

After just two seasons, Magic Johnson was already considered one of the most talented players the NBA ever had. It was that level of skill that granted Magic the the most extensive deal in NBA history, as Jerry Buss handed Magic a 25-year, $25 million contract to stick around with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The deal began in 1984, would have ended in 2009, and gave the Lakers' guard one million per season. 

Johnson became just the third player to earn a million-dollar annual salary, joining fellow L.A. teammate Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Houston Rockets forward Moses Malone.

Though he had been given largest contract in the history of professional sports, Johnson was a long way from being happy. Only five months later, the franchise player asked to be traded and subsequently forced Buss to fire head coach Paul Westhead.



With the hiring of Pat Riley in Westhead's place, Johnson remained with the Los Angeles Lakers and helped them win multiple titles over the course of the decade. But by the time his contract became active, it was no longer the lucrative mega-deal that it was when he signed it. Players of all sports were now making $2-3 million a year, and his 25-year deal was preventing him from raking in the cash. He later renegotiated his deal and resumed make top dollar like everyone else.