On this day in 1998 in Boston Celtics history, the storied franchise’s impatient coach and President of Basketball Operations Rick Pitino sent veteran point guard Dee Brown and his rookie backcourt teammate Chauncey Billups to the Toronto Raptors. This remains a wildly unpopular trade in many corners.
It sent Brown and Billups as well as power forward Roy Rogers and big man John Thomas to the Raptors in exchange for guard Kenny Anderson, power forward Popeye Jones, and big man Zan Tabak. The deal, often included on lists of the worst the club has made, netted Anderson in exchange.
He hadn’t even been with the Raptors for a week after having been traded to the team for point guard Damon Stoudamire, refusing to report to the Canadian franchise.
According to the New York Times’ Mike Wise, only Dee Brown seemed happy about the deal.
“I’m very excited to be going to Toronto,” said Brown. “People make it sound like such a bad situation, but they’re a young team and I look forward to the challenge of helping the Raptors.”
Indeed, Brown would have something of a revival in Toronto, returning to double-digit scoring after falling to 6.8 points per game his last season in Boston.
There, Brown would see his assist total more than double to 3.3 per game by the end of that season.
Billups, the Celtics’ No. 3 pick in the 1997 NBA draft, went on to have a nearly two-decade career with numerous All-Star bids and an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
And while Anderson was key to one of the deepest playoff runs between banners 16 and 17, Jones and Tabak played a total of 36 games combined for Boston. Not exactly the return you’d hope for from such a high pick and an established player.
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