Portland Trail Blazers – Gerald Wallace
In the realm of random stops leading to strokes of luck, Gerald Wallace fits the mold for the Portland Trail Blazers. He was coming off a run as one of the original Charlotte Bobcats where he was able to make an All-Star appearance and get the team into the postseason for the first time. The next season started off rather poorly, seeing head coach Larry Brown get off to a 9-19 start before being let go. Mere months later, Wallace found himself on the move. He was shipped to the Blazers for Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, Sean Marks, and two draft picks.
Wallace played 65 games over parts of two seasons for the Blazers. In the first season he helped solidify the playoff push for a team dealing with injuries. In his second season he dealt with plenty of his own before ultimately being traded again at the deadline. During his time with the Blazers, Wallace averaged 14.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
His greatest impact for the team came in that trade away. Billy King, general manager of the New Jersey Nets, famously only put top-three protection on the pick he sent to the Blazers to bring back Wallace. He did this by stating aloud that he only believed there were three worthy players in the draft, ostensibly alluding to Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Bradley Beal. Unfortunately for King, Damian Lillard was the sixth pick in the draft.