Each NBA team’s best trade in franchise history

Miami Heat

Alonzo Mourning, LeRon Ellis, and Pete Myers for Glen Rice, Matt Geiger, Khalid Reeves and a first-round pick to CHA (1995)

As was touched on in the Charlotte Hornets’ slide, the professional jealousy between Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson caused what eventually became an irreparable schism that curtailed any hopes the franchise had for long-term prosperity with those two as the cornerstones.

One of them had to go and between the two of them, the Hornets chose to jettison the player they didn’t hand a lofty contract extension to: Mourning. Once Mourning rejected Charlotte’s extension offer, they traded him to the Miami Heat in return for a haul that included fellow All-Star Glen Rice.

In many ways, Mourning was the precursor to Dwight Howard: he didn’t befuddle defenders with a chest full of dizzying post moves, but his athleticism and girth made him nearly impossible to move on the offensive and defensive block. It also helped that he had Tim Hardaway feeding him the rock whenever defenses keyed in on the veteran point guard.

With “Zo” in the team, Miami quickly morphed into one of the league’s best defensive teams, especially in 1998-99 and 1999-00 when Mourning took home Defensive Player of the Year honors in back-to-back seasons. Miami ranked in the top-10 in defensive rating in both of those seasons, though they fell to the rival New York Knicks to end both campaigns.