2. Hawks trade Dominique Wilkins and 94′ first round pick
Clippers trade Danny Manning
On February 24, 1994 the Atlanta Hawks sent the franchise’s greatest, most dominant scoring machine, human highlight film and one of their most fiercest competitors in Dominique Wilkins to the awful mess of the Los Angeles Clippers. In return they obtained a player named Danny Manning, who was in the process of being one of the more underachieving talents of all time.
Before the deal went down, Atlanta was in first place with a 36- 16 record and getting ready for a playoff run. Wilkins, 34, was not the same athlete that he once was, but was still the teams leading scorer at 24.4 points per game. Wilkins finally had some help in the form of Kevin Willis, Mookie Blaylock and Stacy Augmon. It was the only time an NBA team ever held first place in the standings and traded their leading scorer in the same season.
With Michael Jordan having left the Bulls to chase his dream of making it as a Major League baseball player, the Hawks had a legitimate shot at making the Finals. It was Lenny Wilkens first year as head coach and he had the squad playing at a high level. As the only superstar the Atlanta Hawks had ever known, “Nique” deserved better.
The Hawks would later bow out in the second round of the playoffs in six games to Reggie Miller and the Pacers. Danny Manning would leave for the Phoenix Suns after the season. Wilkins also would have entered free agency that summer, but to give up the first round pick as well for a less effective player was atrocious.
Dominique Wilkins is of course still the Hawks all time leading scorer. He made 9 all star teams all with Atlanta. After leaving, he saw a dip in production across the board. He attempted to continue his career by joining the Celtics the next year, but was a shell of his former self and went on to play in Greece. He had another short stint with San Antonio and finally in Orlando during the 99′ season. While his number was retired and he does have his own statue outside the arena, he still should’ve been afforded the opportunity to retire a Hawk by Atlanta.