We have listed the top 10 big deals made by Southern California sports franchises, and there is undoubtedly room for argument. Ten wasn’t nearly enough – which might be hard to believe for those fans who believe their teams also don’t do nearly enough – but the honorable mention list is lengthy.
First, a reminder of the Top 10:
• Wayne Gretzky to the Kings, 1988
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers, 1975
• Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant to the Lakers, 1996
• David Beckham to the Galaxy, 2007
• Mookie Betts to the Dodgers, 2020
• Nolan Ryan to the Angels, 1971
• Kirk Gibson to the Dodgers, 1988
• LeBron James and Anthony Davis to the Lakers, 2018-19
• Teemu Selanne to the Ducks, 1996 and 2005
• Vladimir Guerrero to the Angels, 2004
Now the rest:
Wilt Chamberlain to the Lakers, 1967. The trade: Chamberlain from Philadelphia to L.A. for Archie Clark, Darrall Imhoff and Jerry Chambers. This was specifically to combat the Celtics’ Bill Russell, who had tormented the Lakers throughout the ’60s. But by the time Wilt won a title in L.A., in 1972, Russell was three years retired.
Kawhi Leonard/Paul George to the Clippers, 2019. Leonard signed as a free agent coming off an NBA title in Toronto. George was acquired from Oklahoma City for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and five first-round picks. One deal couldn’t happen without the other, and they were seismic moves – literally, since the Ridgecrest earthquake rocked the region the night news of the deals broke. They’ve gotten the Clippers closer to a championship than ever before, but they’re not there yet.
Ollie Matson to the Rams, 1959. The trade: Matson from the Chicago Cardinals to L.A. for OT Ken Panfil, DT Frank Fuller, DE Glenn Holtzman, DT Art Hauser plus 1959 draftees RB Don Brown, RB Larry Hickman, and end John Tracey along with two picks in the 1960 draft (second and fourth rounds). It was a blockbuster but wasn’t a success; Matson played well, and would eventually be a Hall of Famer, but the Rams were 2-10 that year and didn’t make the playoffs again until George Allen’s arrival in 1967. The Rams had done this before, trading 11 players for the rights to Les Richter in 1952. By the time Allen got there, draft picks were really expendable.
Chris Paul to the Clippers, 2011. The trade: Paul from the New Orleans Hornets to the Clippers along with cash and a second-round pick for Al Farouq Aminu, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and a first-round pick. Lakers fans are probably still steaming about this one, because their team had a deal for Paul involving Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, but Commissioner David Stern vetoed it. (Since the league at the time also ran the New Orleans franchise pending an ownership change, draw up your own conspiracy theories.)
Don Baylor, Joe Rudi and Bobby Grich to the Angels, 1976. This was the first full free-agent class in major league history, and Gene Autry – who would distinguish himself as an owner willing to spend – signed the three prominent players within 10 days. All three would be part of the Angels’ first division title team in ’79, the start of the franchise’s first real run of success.
Scott Niedermayer/Chris Pronger to the Ducks, 2005-06. Niedermayer, a three-time Stanley Cup winner in New Jersey, signed with Anaheim partially because he saw what Brian Burke was building as GM and partially because it gave him a chance to play with his brother, Rob, for the first time. A year later, Pronger (or, according to rumors, his wife) wanted out of Edmonton after leading the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Final, and Burke acquired him for Joffrey Lupul, Ladislav Smid, two first-rounders and a second-rounder. That fall the Sporting News picked the Ducks to win the Cup, and Pronger snorted: “Anybody can be good on paper.” But darned if they weren’t right.
Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers, 2008. The trade: Ramirez from Boston to L.A. for Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris. This was the shortest of short-term fixes, but boy, was it fun while it lasted. Ramirez had pretty much forced the Red Sox to trade him, and after arriving in L.A. at the deadline he was (a) on his best behavior and (b) playing MVP-caliber ball as the Dodgers zoomed past the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the division and got to the National League Championship Series. It went sour later, but for two months Mannywood was a blast.
Rod Carew to the Angels, 1979. The trade: Carew from Minnesota to Anaheim for Dave Engle, Paul Hartzell, Brad Havens and Ken Landreaux. Carew won seven batting titles and an MVP award in Minnesota. He didn’t win any batting titles in Anaheim but was an All-Star every year but one and was part of the AL West championship clubs in 1979 and ’82.
Jalen Ramsey to the Rams, 2019. The trade: Ramsey from Jacksonville to L.A. in October 2019, for two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder. Ramsey, already an All-Pro cornerback, had requested a trade from the Jaguars and wound up an elite player on an elite defensive unit in L.A. Of the first-rounders the Jaguars got, linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson (20th overall in 2020) is just a guy at this point, and running back Travis Etienne (25th overall in 2021) is on injured reserve. (And is Marcus Peters still mad that Ramsey replaced him in L.A.?)
Marcel Dionne to the Kings, 1975. Dionne was among the first NHL players to test free agency when he signed with the Kings that June, but the league later ruled that the Kings would owe the Detroit Red Wings compensation. So it turned out to be a trade: Dionne and Bart Crashley to L.A., Terry Harper, Dan Maloney and a second-round pick going to Detroit. Dionne spent 12 seasons of his 19-year Hall of Fame career with the Kings, scoring 550 goals and 1,307 points with Los Angeles (leading the league in scoring in 1980 with 53 goals and 137 points) and centering the famed Triple Crown Line with Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor.
No. 1 pick (Jared Goff) to the Rams, 2016. The team had just returned to L.A., it needed a quarterback – not just to ultimately win games but help sell tickets – and there were two potential stars at the top of the draft board, Jared Goff and Carson Wentz. The Tennessee TItans had the No. 1 pick, and two weeks before the draft Les Snead sent them first-rounders in 2016 and 2017, two second-rounders in 2016 and third-rounders in ’16 and ’17 to get that pick, then selected Goff. He helped get them to a Super Bowl, signed a four-year contract extension, and eventually got them Matthew Stafford. And consider that the two deals involving Goff, coming and going, cost the Rams nine draft picks. It’s the cost of doing business.
Reggie Jackson to the Angels, 1982: Mr. October’s last act as a Yankee was losing to the Dodgers in the 1981 World Series. Naturally, he then traipsed into their own back yard, signing a four-year contract with the Angels that would take him to age 40 – and it included an attendance clause that his agent at the time, Gary Walker, said would kick in at “a lot more than two million.” The Angels drew more than 2.8 million, and with Jackson joining Carew, Grich, Doug DeCinces, Lynn, Brian Downing, Don Baylor and Bob Boone in a star-studded lineup, they won the division. They did so again in ’86, before Reggie returned to Oakland for his final season as a player.
Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers, 2012. This was the first big move of the Guggenheim ownership after taking over the team that May. The August waiver deal sent Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett, Nick Punto and cash to the Dodgers, with James Loney, Ivan de Jesus, Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa and Jerry Sands going to the Red Sox. The Dodgers were eliminated from the 2012 postseason on the next to last night, but Gonzalez was a key performer on the teams that began the club’s eight-year division championship streak in ’13. Moreover, the trade sent a message: The days of Frank McCourt’s austerity were over.
Jim Everett to the Rams, 1986. Even as the pre-St. Louis iteration of the Rams was winning, long-term stability at quarterback was an issue from the moment Roman Gabriel left town in 1973. And after back-to-back seasons of Jeff Kemp and Dieter Brock at the controls, something needed to be done. Everett, the No. 3 overall pick in the ’86 draft from Purdue, had been drafted by the Houston Oilers but he was holding out. He was available, and the cost turned out to be All-Pro guard Kent Hill, defensive end William Fuller, two first-round picks and a fifth-rounder. Everett was QB1 for eight seasons, though there were times the fans looked longingly at the backup.
Albert Pujols to the Angels, 2012. Pujols had just won a World Series in St. Louis in 2011 and was at the peak of his career. Who knew, when he accepted Arte Moreno’s 10-year, $240 million offer, that he would only participate in the postseason twice after that, and only once in Angels red? (At least Pujols gave the Angels value for his contract terms. Josh Hamilton signed for five years and $125 million the following winter and was a total bust.)
Reggie Smith to the Dodgers, 1976. The trade: Smith to the Dodgers from St. Louis for Joe Ferguson, Bob Detherage and minor leaguer Freddie Tisdale at the deadline (then June 15). Smith was a five-tool player who had regained his zest for the game in St. Louis after eight seasons in Boston. But he was going to be a free agent so the Cardinals sent him home to L.A., where he’d played at Compton’s Centennial High. Smith played five seasons for the Dodgers, drew MVP votes in 1977 and ’78 when the team reached back-to-back World Series, and had an outrageous 1.003 OPS (168 OPS-plus) in 1977. That was a trade that might not have seemed like a blockbuster at the time but turned into one.
jalexander@scng.com
@Jim Alexander on Twitter