Each NBA team’s best trade in franchise history

Sacramento Kings

Chris Webber for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe (to WAS) (1998)

Oh goody, another chance to gush about how great those early-2000s Sacramento Kings teams were. If you are a fan of clubs like the Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs, go back and watch those Rick Adelman-coached Kings teams, as they perfected the art of passing and unselfishness.

Of course, no matter how deft a team’s passing is, the offense would bog down without a star player who commands the defense’s attention. That’s where Chis Webber comes in. In his first five seasons with the Warriors and the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Webber proved to be worthy of his number one overall pick status, but his teams found little postseason success despite his efforts.

That changed after the Kings traded for him in exchange for aging star Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe. Webber was initially hesitant about playing for the Kings due to their moribund track record, but once they added the likes of Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, and Jason Williams — who was later traded for Mike Bibby — Sacramento became one of the most exciting teams in the NBA with the playoff appearances to match.

We all know what happened to this team in the 2002 Western Conference Finals, but the team could take solace in knowing that without Webber’s .149 WS/48, they never would’ve gotten to that point.