Billy King knows he’ll always have to answer for The Trade, but the ex-Nets general manager would love to answer for it if another NBA franchise will give him the chance.
King, now president of a startup television network, occasionally appears as a guest on NBATV but remains infamous for mortgaging the Nets’ future in what is considered the worst trade in NBA history. By some measures, it is the worst trade in sports history.
“I sensed that it was going to linger,” King told Sports Illustrated for a story published Friday. “It was going to be something that I have to overcome. I think a lot of people within the business that I talk to, they know what was going on. But the outside noise sometimes overshadows the inside noise.”
Noise was inevitable.
King was the GM who spearheaded the disastrous 2013 deal that brought Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to Brooklyn. In return, the Celtics received everything but the lighting fixtures.
Gerald Wallace, MarShon Brooks, Kris Humphries, Keith Bogans and Kris Joseph were sent to Boston, along with, most damagingly, first-round draft picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018, as well as swap rights in 2017.
It was, by all accounts, a massive, indefensible and incomprehensible blunder from which the franchise still is recovering. But to his credit, King has not tried to hide from it.
“I was the GM,” King said. “I’m responsible.”
Responsible or not, King wishes one bad decision wasn’t the defining moment of an NBA career that also included a successful 10-year stint with the 76ers and time as an assistant coach with the Pacers.
“I don’t want that to define my overall basketball career,” King said. “A lot of good things happened during my time in the NBA. Things like [The Trade] overshadow everything else. I know I have a lot more to give. People call to ask about players I have had on my teams. It does motivate me [to get back]. Not that I want to erase what happened in Brooklyn, but I want to help.”
Predictably, it has been difficult for King to convince a team to bring him in. The likely fan outrage alone would be enough to scare off many potential suitors.
Still, King has years of NBA experience, and if it is true people learn from their mistakes, King has gone through the greatest learning experience in the history of the league.
“There is no ego here,” King said. “I’d just like to help. I look at a lot of teams, [and] I think I could help just giving advice: about the lessons I’ve learned over the years, the mistakes I have made.
“The GM role in the NBA changed drastically from when I came in. So many teams forget it’s about managing the personalities, managing the locker room, managing the coaching staff. If you don’t, it will fall apart.”
There are other ways it can fall apart, but King can tell you all about those, too.
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