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.

Dallas Mavericks Trade For Dirk Nowitzki And Steve Nash

On June 24, 1998, the Dallas Mavericks pull off one of the greatest draft day trades of all time, acquiring not one but two franchise players in one fell swoop. 

In what was essentially a three-team trade involving the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns, the Dallas Mavericks received Dirk Nowitzki (the ninth pick in the draft) from the Milwaukee Bucks for Robert "Tractor" Traylor (the sixth pick in the draft) and Pat Garrity; the Mavs then traded Garrity, two throw-in players, and a future first round draft pick to the Suns for Steve Nash.

The move, orchestrated by Dallas head coach Don Nelson, was a brilliant one. Steve Nash went from being an above-average backup to becoming the best point guard in the NBA. Nowitzki became the most versatile seven-footer the league had ever seen and was the first European-born player to win the MVP. 

With the help of those two, the Mavericks went from one of the most inept franchises in the league to a perennial powerhouse in the Western Conference.

 

Steve Nash would later return to Phoenix as a free agent, where he won two MVP awards and turned the franchise around. 

The Bucks, on the other hand, did not get a consolation prize. Tractor Traylor played only seven seasons in the NBA and had a career average of 4.8 points per game -- miles away from Dirk Nowitzki, who averaged 26.6 per game in 2006.

Bucks fans would rue the trade for years to come. Had they not traded away Nowitzki and instead teamed him with their big three of Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, and Glenn Robinson -- a team that would go to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001 -- the Bucks would have been a championship-caliber team. Instead they watched in agony as the Mavericks advanced to the NBA Finals in 2006, while their team struggled just to stay relevant.

Nowitzki has since won an NBA title with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, beating the Miami Heat in six games to win himself, Mark Cuban the Mavericks general manager and the fans of Dallas basketball franchise their first NBA Championship. Nowitzki also won the NBA MVP in 2007, along with being named an NBA All-Star 11 times.

Nash has since went on to win two NBA MVP’s in 2005 and 2006, as a member of the Phoenix Suns, where he was traded in 2004, as well as being named to eight NBA All-Star games.

Golden State Warriors Upset The Dallas Mavericks

On May 3, 2007, the Golden State Warriors completed one of the biggest upsets in sports history with a game-six win, taking the Western Conference Quarterfinals from the NBA Leading Dallas Mavericks.

It all started in April though, the Golden State Warriors were done. After a one-point loss in Washington, where the deciding point came from a technical foul by head coach Don Nelson in the final seconds, the Warriors had lost six in a row. They were nine games under .500 and Nelson was already looking ahead to the next season.



The Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Dallas Mavericks in 2007.

But in their next game, the team - fresh off of a trade in which they acquired Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. They Warriors into Detroit, one of the best teams in the NBA at the time, and destroyed them, leading by 26 at point.

Golden State won 16 of their final 21 games and nine of their last ten to advance to the postseason for the first time in 13 years.

The Warriors met the Dallas Mavericks in the first round, a team Don Nelson had coached only a few years earlier. The Warriors were the only team to beat the Mavericks three times and had won six of the last seven meetings with them.

But with the Warriors as an eight-seed, and the Mavericks as the best team in basketball, no one gave them much of a chance.

Nevertheless, the upset took place. Backed by a raucous home crowd, the Warriors defeated the Mavericks in just six games. Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson, and Matt Barnes had the series of their lives, while the Mavericks appeared rattled by the Warriors’ unorthodox style.

 Baron Davis and the "We Believe" crowd at Oracle after a Game 6 upset of the Dallas Mavericks.

Nelson went small-ball on the Mavs, playing small forward Al Harrington at center, shooting guard Stephen Jackson at power forward, and Monta Ellis at shooting guard.

In the end, their frenetic style was simply too much for the Mavs. On May 3, the Warriors completed the upset by crushing the Mavericks, 111-86 in Game 6. It was the first time in American sports that a team that won 25 games less than its opponent went on to win the playoff series.

In the second round they faced Jerry Sloan's Utah Jazz, who muscled their way to a five-game series win. It was a one-shot wonder for the Warriors, who lost most of their roster only a few years later. As for the Mavs, they remained competitive, but another early exit in 2008 cost head coach Avery Johnson his job.

The Golden State Warriors once again made the playoffs this year, the second time in as many years, and once again faced an uphill battle against the Los Angeles Clippers.

However this year the Warriors playoff series was almost derailed by the shameful remarks that former Clippers owner Donald Sterling made.

Game 7 of the series between the Warriors and Clippers is tonight at the Staples Center in L.A.

Los Angeles Declares March 5, "Derek Fisher Day"

 On March 5, 2008, the city of Los Angeles declared it “Derek Fisher Day” in praise of his work in the community, his love of his family and his commitment to his teammates.  Fisher was honored downtown at a City Hall ceremony where he gave a speech and was presented with a scroll.

Derek Fisher with the NBA Finals trophy after the Los Angeles Lakers won the title in 2010.

A perfect example of Derek’s devotion to his family and his dedication to his teammates came in 2007 when he announced his daughter had a rare form of eye cancer.  Fisher would be by his daughter’s side in New York while she underwent surgery and then later that day would fly to Salt Lake City to play in his Utah Jazz’s Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinal against the Golden State Warriors.

Derek would arrive to the game late in the third quarter to a standing ovation.  He would help send the game into overtime and would hit a late three-pointer to seal the victory for the Jazz, giving them a 2-0 series lead.

Fisher has enjoyed a great career in the NBA including winning five NBA Championships from 2000-2002 with the Los Angeles Lakers, and 2009-2010 with the Lakers again. He was also the NBA Shooting Stats champion in 2004.

Currently Fisher is playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder, his second stint with the team after playing with them for a short period in 2012.

Maravich Nets 68 Points

On Feb. 25, 1977, “Pistol” Pete Maravich, while playing for the New Orleans Jazz, scores a career-high 68 points against the New York Knicks, giving him the eighth-highest single game score total in history to that point.

New Orleans Jazz guard Pete Maravich (right) in a game against the New York Knicks.

Maravich fouled out with a minute to play and missed the opportunity to score 70-points, a feat that only Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain had accomplished to that day. It was also the most points a guard had scored in a single game to that day.

Maravich was a good playing in the NBA, but basketball critics never thought he amounted to the player he was in college at LSU, however Maravich had a 24.2 point per game average in the NBA.

Though Maravich was known for his no-look passes and crazy shot attempts, the 68-point game was the highlight of his pro-career.

NBA Suspends Rodman Indefinitely

On Jan. 17, 1997, ESPN reports bad boy Dennis Rodman was suspended indefinitely by the NBA season due to the first lockout that actually went on during the NBA season.

Rodman kicked a courtside cameraman and was fined $25,000 for the incident. Rodman was reinstated and went on to become one of the top rebounders in the league.

Rodman started his career in Detroit with the Pistons, after being drafted 27^th overall in the second round of the 1986 NBA Draft. On the Pistons, Rodman was part of the “Bad Boys” for their hard-nosed approach to basketball.

The squad featured Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars at the guard positions, Adrian Dantley and Sidney Green at forward, and center Bill Laimbeer.

Rodman would play with the Pistons from 1986-1993 and would earn two NBA Championships with the Detroit franchise. He would earn two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, two All-Star nominations, one All-NBA Third Team nomination in 1992, five NBA All-Defensive First Team nominations and two NBA Rebounding Champion awards.

The Detroit Pistons would retire his no. 10 jersey in 2011.

After his first five years with the Pistons, Rodman would move to the San Antonio Spurs for three years from 1993-1995. With the Spurs, Rodman would continue his dominance as a defensive presence, winning another All-Defensive First Team award in 1995, as well All-Defensive Second Team award in 1994, while earning the NBA Rebounding Champion every year in San Antonio. He would also earn another All-NBA Third Team award in 1995.

After his short stint with the Spurs, Rodman would make his best career move, joining the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan on his first return from retirement. During his four years with the Bulls, Rodman would win four more NBA Rebounding Champion awards, one more All-Defensive First Team award, and most importantly three more NBA-Championships from 1996-1998.

After the 1998 season Rodman would leave the Bulls for the Los Angeles Lakers. He would only play one year with the Lakers, during the lockout-shortened season he would only see action in 23 games before being released.

In the 2000 season Rodman would join the Dallas Mavericks. For the Mavericks, he played 12 games, was ejected twice and alienated the franchise with his erratic behavior until he was waived again; then Dallas guard and teammate Steve Nash commented that Rodman "never wanted to be [a Maverick]" and therefore was unmotivated.

After leaving the NBA in 2000, Rodman went on a hiatus from basketball for three years until picking up with Long Beach Jam of the newly-formed American Basketball Association during the 2003–2004 season, with hopes of being called up to the NBA midseason.

In the following 2004–2005 season, he signed with the ABA's Orange County Crush and the following season with the league's Tijuana Dragons.

After retiring from wrestling, Rodman became Commissioner of the Lingerie Football League in 2005.

In 2005, Rodman also made two visits to Finland. At first, he was present at Sonkajärvi in July in a wife-carrying contest. However, he resigned from the contest due to health problems. In November, he played one match for Torpan Pojat of the Finland's basketball league, Korisliiga.

That same year, Rodman published his second autobiography I Should Be Dead By Now and promoted this by sitting in a coffin.

The return to the NBA never materialized, but on Jan. 26, 2006, it was announced that Rodman had signed a one-game "experiment" deal for the UK basketball team Brighton Bears of the British Basketball League to play Guildford Heat on January 28, and went on to play three games for the Bears.

In spring 2006, he played two exhibition games in the Philippines along with NBA ex-stars Darryl Dawkins, Kevin Willis, Calvin Murphy, Otis Birdsong and Alex English. On April 27, they defeated a team of former Philippine Basketball Association stars in Mandaue City, Cebu and Rodman scored five points and grabbed 18 rebounds.

On May 1, 2006, Rodman's team played their second game and lost to the Philippine National Basketball team 110–102 at the Araneta Coliseum, where he scored three points and recorded 16 rebounds.

Apart from basketball, Rodman is a retired part-time professional wrestler and actor. He was a member of the NWO and fought alongside Hulk Hogan at two Bash at the Beach events. He had his own TV show The Rodman World Tour, and had lead roles in the action films Simon Sez and Double Team alongside Jean-Claude Van Damme. Both films were critically panned, with the latter earning Rodman a triple Razzie Award. He appeared in several reality TV series and was the winner of the $222,000 main prize of the 2004 edition of Celebrity Mole. Rodman won the first ever Celebrity Championship Wrestling tournament.

On April 4, 2011, it was announced that Rodman would be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

This year Rodman got into some hot water with the media for his comments made during his trip to North Korea.

Mavericks Play First Game

On Oct. 11, 1980, the Dallas Mavericks play their first NBA game.

The franchise opened their existence with a 103-92 win against the San Antonio Spurs. Dallas won just 15 games in their first season. It would take 30 years for the Dallas franchise to win an NBA title, as they did in 2010.

The Mavericks are better known in the basketball community for their out going owner Mark Cuban, who runs up and down the court along with the players during the games. 

The Mavericks have been a staple in the NBA Playoffs since the late 2000’s and are a cornerstone in the Western Conference playoffs with Dirk Nowitzki every year, although they did miss out on the playoffs last year.