Hoops Habit
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NBA Trade Deadline Deals That Led to Championships

By Maxwell Ogden

Jan 16, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; (Left to Right) Larry Brown and William Wesley and Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton and Mehmet Okur and Chauncy Billups and Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace and Lindsey Hunter pose for a photo after the game against the Golden State Warriors at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 113-95. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; (Left to Right) Larry Brown and William Wesley and Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton and Mehmet Okur and Chauncy Billups and Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace and Lindsey Hunter pose for a photo after the game against the Golden State Warriors at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 113-95. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 16, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons former player Rasheed Wallace waves to the crowd during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 113-95. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons former player Rasheed Wallace waves to the crowd during the second quarter against the Golden State Warriors at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 113-95. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

2004: Rasheed Wallace to the Detroit Pistons

This is the single most famous example of an organization making a deal at the deadline and becoming championship-caliber team because of it. In a wild and relatively costly three-team deal, the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons bet the season on a mercurial player who could make them legitimate: Rasheed Wallace.

There was a rift between those who loved the deal and those who didn’t, at the time, but it all paid off when Wallace helped the Pistons win an NBA championship.

Wallace played his first game for the Pistons on February 20, 2004, when the team was 34-22. The Pistons finished the regular season at 54-28, going 20-6 upon the acquisition of Wallace—and one of those losses was his first game with the team.

More importantly, Wallace helped the Pistons balance their elite defense with timely offense during a run to an improbable Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Detroit defeated Michael Redd and the Milwaukee Bucks, Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets, and the Jermaine O’Neal, Ron Artest, and Reggie Miller-led Indiana Pacers en route to the NBA Finals. Upon reaching the grandest stage in basketball, the Pistons upset the heavily-favored Los Angeles Lakers 4-1.

Wallace helped Detroit make a second consecutive NBA Finals appearance in 2005, thus solidifying this as the ultimate trade deadline deal.

Next: 2008