The Ten Most Impactful Transactions of the 2010’s

I began this decade as a fifth grader and will exit it as a college junior. When I’m old, I will look back on my childhood and point to right now: the 2010’s. The 2010’s established my sports fandom and will forever shape the way I view the world. I often recall the series finale of The Office when Andy talks about wishing you could know when you’re in the “good old days”. Here’s my attempt to remember the good ol’ days of sports while I’m living in them.

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There have been dozens of trades and free agent signings that have swung championships, but only a handful reshaped their sport. The death of loyalty ushered in the player empowerment era. Here are the most impactful transactions of the 2010’s:

“The Decision” — July 2010

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decided to team up on the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010. They went to four consecutive NBA Finals and won a pair of championships in 2012 and 2013. Yet, the true impact of their congruent free agency decisions have nothing to do with what they accomplished on the court.

LeBron, Wade and Bosh revolutionized the sport of basketball. They took the power from owners and gave it to the players. They questioned why loyalty is only applied towards players, never management or ownership. In the old days, the media would have said LeBron and Bosh “abandoned the teams that drafted them”. But in post-“decision” vernacular, their teams failed to develop a winning roster around them and thus they had no choice but to leave. LeBron, Wade and Bosh prioritized winning and personal happiness. They took a risk and consequently became the villains of the NBA. Nearly ten years later, they are heroes.

Los Angeles trades for Chris Paul — December 2011

In 2011, the NBA lockout delayed the start of the NBA season by several months. On December 11, the Lakers traded for the point god himself, Chris Paul, in a three-team deal. The Lakers received Paul, the Rockets acquired Pau Gasol and the New Orleans Hornets brought in Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom, Goran Dragic and a 2012 first-round pick.

Wait, what? Oh, that’s right — the Lakers trade was denied by NBA commissioner David Stern for “basketball reasons”. Three days later, the Clippers swooped in and acquired Paul and two-future second round picks for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu an unprotected 2012 first-round pick.

The Lakers, left without co-star for the aging Kobe Bryant, added Dwight Howard and Steve Nash the next offseason, creating the most awkward, uninspiring “Big Three” in league history. This trade ushered in more than the “Lob City” era in Los Angeles. Ask yourself this: do Kawhi Leonard and Paul George even consider the Clippers if Chris Paul never becomes a Clipper?

Denver signs Peyton Manning — March 2012

Just two months after Tim Tebow led the Broncos to a playoff victory over the Steelers, the Broncos found a monumental upgrade in free agency. Peyton Manning’s Colts tenure ended abruptly after a neck injury cost him the 2011 season (and the Colts stumbled into Andrew Luck). The Broncos signed Manning to a 5 year, $96 million deal (with tons of injury-related protections).

In his first season, Manning threw for over 4,600 yards and 37 touchdowns. In year two, he had perhaps the greatest passing season in NFL history and led Denver to the Super Bowl. Though he was thoroughly washed by his fourth season in Denver, Manning helped lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory in 2016.

Golden State extends Stephen Curry — October 2012

The Warriors made a litany of brilliant front office decisions this decade: signing Andre Iguodala in 2013, not trading Klay Thompson and hiring Steve Kerr in 2014 and, of course, signing Kevin Durant in 2016. None of these moves would have been possible without Curry’s four-year, $44 million extension before the 2012 season.

Curry averaged just 14 points per game and played in only 26 games in 2011-12 due to significant ankle injuries, which is why the Warriors were able to sign Curry to such a shrewd deal. When Curry won his second MVP award in 2016, he was the 67th-highest paid player in basketball. The only reason Golden State was able to get in the door with Durant and offer him a near-max salary is because Curry was being paid like an average starter. Curry’s extension in 2012 is arguably the single greatest bargain in the history of professional sports.

Boston trades Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to Brooklyn — June 2013

The Nets (foolishly, might I add) acquired three veterans in Paul Pierce (age 36), Kevin Garnett (age 37), and Jason Terry (age 35), while the Celtics took back the contracts of Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, MarShon Brooks, Keith Bogans and Kris Joseph and three future first-round picks. Two of those picks ultimately became the Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum and the third was flipped to Cleveland for Kyrie Irving in 2017. (Ironically, the Nets signed Irving during free agency in 2019.)

The ramifications of this trade continue to be felt across the league. Teams have been terrified to trade multiple first-round picks ever since. Until the trades of Anthony Davis and Paul George in July 2019, almost nobody dared to trade an unprotected first-round pick — and at least the Lakers and the Clippers got back All-Stars in the prime of their career. Depending on the success of Brown and Tatum’s Celtics careers, we could still be discussing the implications of this trade at the end of the 2020’s.

Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray transfer to Oklahoma — January 2014, December 2014

At Texas Tech, Mayfield quickly developed an uneasy relationship with Kliff Kingsbury and transferred to Oklahoma early in 2014. Murray similarly struggled to earn a starting job at Texas A&M and transferred to Oklahoma after the 2014 season.

In 2017, Lincoln Riley took over as head coach for Oklahoma. With Murray as his backup, Mayfield ascended to stardom, captured the Heisman trophy and was drafted first overall in the 2018 NFL draft. Murray must’ve taken good notes because he followed the exact same backup-to-Heisman-to-first overall pick path.

Despite their vastly different pasts — Mayfield was a little-known three-star recruit; Murray was a highly touted five-star prospect — their decisions to transfer to Oklahoma brought their futures together.

Washington signs Max Scherzer — January 2015

MLB teams to this day are hesitant to give out long-term contracts to pitchers near the age of 30, even for top of the line aces. So, when the Nats handed 30-year old Scherzer $210 million over seven years — the second largest ever for a pitcher (at the time) — eyebrows were raised across the league.

Five years later, Scherzer has been worth every penny. He’s finished in the top-five of Cy Young voting each season and took home the award twice. He’s tallied a pair of no-hitters and led the Nats to the 2019 World Series championship. In hindsight, Washington would’ve happily handed Scherzer the Gerritt Cole contract (9 years, $324 million).

Kevin Durant signs with Golden State Warriors — July 2016

In many ways, Durant’s signing with the Warriors mirrored LeBron joining the Heat. Their new teams became instant title favorites and individually they became public enemy number one. Hypothetically, Durant likely never joins the Warriors — the team that beat his Thunder in humiliating fashion just two months prior — without LeBron’s 2010 decision.

Durant joining the 73-win Warriors created an unbeatable empire. Golden State had two MVP’s (Durant and Stephen Curry), the Defensive Player of the Year (Draymond Green), the league’s most potent heat check (Klay Thompson and the 2015 Finals MVP (Andre Iguodala). Those five formed the “Death Lineup”, an invincible combination of shooting, ball movement and defense the NBA had never seen.

Golden State was one game away from going undefeated in the 2017 postseason, but lost Game Four of the NBA Finals to Cleveland. In 2018, the Rockets took a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Golden State completed the comeback and subsequently obliterated the severely overmatched Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

The 2017 Cavaliers and 2018 Rockets would have most likely won the title in any other year. Durant’s addition to the Warriors literally created a monopoly over the NBA for two seasons, likely three if Durant doesn’t injure his Achilles in the 2019 postseason.

Houston trades for Justin Verlander — August 2017

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow uses analytic models as the main factor in his decision-making process, which typically frowned upon making deadline deals. He also knew that his team stood no chance of winning the World Series in 2017 without a new ace. According to Astroball, Luhnow struck a deal with the Detroit Tigers for Justin Verlander with literally two seconds to spare until the midnight eastern time deadline.

Verlander turned out to be the Astros missing piece. Houston went 4-1 in his five postseason starts and he added an additional win in a crucial relief appearance in Game 4 of the ALDS against Boston. The Astros captured the franchise’s first World Series championship in seven games against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Though Verlander was already 35 years old when Houston acquired him, he’s only gotten better with age. He led the American League in strikeouts in 2018 and both leagues in WHIP in 2018 and 2019. He finished second in Cy Young voting in 2018, while winning the award in 2019. Houston didn’t need a trash can in the hallway for that production.

Kansas City, Houston, Baltimore acquire franchise quarterbacks — April 2017, 2018

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Trading up in the draft is almost always a bad idea. In 2017, the Chiefs and Texans saw a pair of uber-talented quarterbacks falling and pounced. The Chiefs traded with the Bills for the tenth overall pick and took Patrick Mahomes (sigh), while the Texans moved up to twelfth overall and took Deshaun Watson. In their first full seasons, Mahomes won the MVP and Watson led Houston to the AFC South division title in 2018.

Meanwhile, the 2018 quarterback class was touted as among the best in recent history. In fact, four quarterbacks went in the top ten picks — none of whom were named Lamar Jackson. The Ravens shrewdly traded for the 32nd overall pick and stole the presumptive 2019 league MVP.

The best is likely yet to come for Mahomes, Watson and Jackson. Mahomes and Jackson have (likely) already won an MVP apiece, but the majority of their impact will be felt in the 2020’s.

Honorable Mentions

Houston Rockets trade for James Harden — October 2012

LeBron James signs with Cleveland Cavaliers — July 2014

Kansas City Royals trade for Johnny Cueto, Ben Zobrist — July 2015

Philadelphia Eagles trade up for draft rights to Carson Wentz — April 2016

Kevin Durant signs with Golden State Warriors — July 2016

Boston Red Sox trade for Chris Sale — December 2016

Joe Burrow transfers to LSU — May 2018

Toronto Raptors trade for Kawhi Leonard — July 2018

Transactions that could Shape the 2020’s

Dallas trades the draft rights to Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick (Cam Reddish) to Atlanta for the draft rights to Luka Doncic — June 2018

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim sign Mike Trout to a twelve-year, $430 million extension — March 2019

Los Angeles Lakers trade Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, three future first-round picks and a pick swap to New Orleans for Anthony Davis — July 2019

Los Angeles Clippers trade Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, five future first-round picks and two pick swaps to Oklahoma City for Paul George; the Clippers simultaneously signed Kawhi Leonard in free agency — July 2019

New York Yankees sign Gerrit Cole to nine-year, $324 million deal — December 2019

The inevitable Ben Simmons trade from Philadelphia — Date TBD