In the NBA, there are trades. Many, many trades. And to a lot of us, they are one of the best parts of NBA fandom.
For every trade that does happen, however, there are countless that do not. Every day in an NBA front office is an exercise in information-gathering, establishing value, evaluating every possible option and maximizing the potential of every asset on the books. And of all the scenarios discussed, only a fraction ever come to fruition.
Of the deals that did not happen, only some make it into the public realm. Some reported deals came very close to completion, and some were in fact announced before force majeure events led to their cancellation. Be it the bigger deals that could change the outcome of NBA Finals, or the more fun smaller-scale ones (such as the MarShon Brooks/Dillon Brooks confusion), there have been many times where events could have played out very differently, and almost did,
There follows a look at some of the biggest almost-trades in NBA history.