Each NBA team’s best trade in franchise history

Atlanta Hawks

Dominique Wilkins for John Drew and Freeman Williams to UTAH (1982)

Historically, the Atlanta Hawks have not experienced much luck with trades. Keep in mind that this was the same franchise that traded away the draft rights to Bill Russell in 1956 and essentially gave away Pau Gasol for nothing in 2001, so their track record in this arena isn’t the greatest.

Sandwiched between those disasters, however, was a rare triumph in 1982. Coming off of an unspectacular 42-40 season in 1981-82 that ended in a two-game sweep to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs, the Hawks held the 10th overall pick in that summer’s draft, giving them little chance to build a championship roster.

To move into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference, Atlanta needed a drastic makeover: running it back with Dan Roundfield, John Drew, and Eddie Johnson would’ve produced the same results as the season prior. Fortunately, one of the top picks in the 1982 draft desired a change, too.

The Utah Jazz took Georgia small forward Dominique Wilkins with the third overall pick, but due to a combination of financial constraints and Wilkins’ desire to play elsewhere, the team decided to trade their potential young star away.

Several months after the draft, the Hawks swooped in to solve both of Utah’s problems, sending Drew and Freeman Williams to the Jazz in exchange for Wilkins. This turned out to be one of the most lopsided trades in NBA history and for once, it worked out in the Hawks’ favor.

While Drew and Williams only play a combined four seasons for the Jazz, Wilkins gave the Hawks something they hadn’t had since Bob Petit: a legitimate superstar who put them in title contention. Sometimes, even a broken clock is right twice a day.