Washington Wizards: remembering the greatest trade in team history

There was once a time where the dynamic duo for the Baltimore/Washington Bullets, now Washington Wizards in the 70s looked very different. Instead of Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld, it was Jack Marin and Wes Unseld. A far less successful duo.

Instead of the Wizards having The Big E, he was in Houston playing for the Rockets. This was easy for him as he played for Houston in college and was from Louisiana, making the Rockets one of the closest teams to his hometown. Especially after they relocated from San Diego to Houston.

Following the conclusion of the 1971-’72 season, neither the Wizards nor the Rockets were particularly good teams. Both teams finished sub .500 and the Rockets missed the playoffs. It was clear that both teams needed a change.

This led to a star-for-star swap between Hayes and Marin. A blockbuster trade that left the NBA world spinning at the time. It looked like a trade that would shake up the league that was wide open for the entire decade.

After the trade the Washington Wizards quickly became the clear winners of the deal.

While Jack Marin’s stats immediately took a hit and his production decreased significantly. Even his percentages and shot attempts went down. The Houston Rockets also won two less games compared to the season before.

Elvin Hayes on the other hand, also took a hit in his statistical output, but instead of his percentages falling, they went up next to another elite center. Next to Wes Unseld, Hayes helped lead his new team to a 50-win season.

While the Rockets had a big three of Jimmy Walker, Jack Marin, and Rudy Tomjanovich, they didn’t mesh overly well and couldn’t produce wins. In contrast, the Wizards put together one of the greatest frontcourt tandems in NBA history and saw wins immediately pile up.

On top of this, Marin only played until 1977, five seasons after the trade, and was a journeyman in the league after just a year and a half in a Rockets uniform. Hayes played seven years after Marin’s retirement. This included three years with his original team at the end of his career. He played nine years with the Wizards.

Just the seasons played alone is enough to say that the Wizards definitively won the trade. However, the sheer highway robbery that they pulled off in this trade goes multiple layers further.

Hayes would see his numbers continue to be elite, if only slightly worse than they were on the team that drafted him. He averaged 21.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game with the Wizards. This is compared to 15.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game with very little defensive stats.

While Marin was mildly more efficient with his field goal attempts, the difference in stats is far too large for that to matter. Especially since Hayes was on a far superior team next to an elite rebounding player. Hayes would also make eight All-Star games with the Wizards compared to Marin’s zero career appearances.

To rub salt in the wound, the Wizards would go onto win an NBA championship with Hayes as their leading scorer. Something the Rockets would fail to do until Hakeem Olajuwon led them to the top of the heap during the Michael Jordan off years.

While it wasn’t quite like the Magic Johnson trade that would happen just a few years later, this is by far the most lopsided trade in the history of the Washington Wizards franchise. It is also the move that led to the only championship in franchise history.