Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki (Photo by Holger Sauer/Getty Images)
Dallas Mavericks GOAT Dirk Nowitzki visits Dallas in June 1998
The Dallas Mavericks had a franchise-changing draft night in 1998. They traded back to secure the rights to Dirk Nowitzki. Then, flipped the second first rounder they got in the Dirk deal for Steve Nash. It allowed Dallas to turn around their franchise and begin a two-decade run of success.
It is easy to forget that both deals were risky at the moment. There was no guaranteed Dirk was going to come over from Germany.