The trade that sent Josh Smith from the Clippers to the Rockets on Friday didn’t include anyone else currently in the NBA, but it did involve two draft-and-stash players. Maarty Leunen went from the Rockets to the Clippers, while Sergei Lishouk went from the Clippers to the Rockets in the deal, which marked the third time Houston has traded for Lishouk’s rights. It’s six trades overall for the 49th overall pick from the 2004 draft, and still zero NBA games played, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle pointed out (Twitter links). The Ukrainian native has played internationally all the while, as he continues to toil for Murcia of Spain.
Georgios Printezis is the only other draft-and-stash player whose rights currently belong to an NBA team who has been traded more often than Lishouk has, but plenty of others have been dealt more than once. More than a dozen other draft-and-stash players have seen their NBA rights traded traded multiple times and, by definition, they’ve yet to sign a contract with any NBA team. Edin Bavcic, the 56th overall pick from 2006, comes closest. He’s been traded four times, most recently in the 2014 trade that sent his rights to the Cavaliers in a deal that allowed Cleveland to clear the cap space necessary for the return of LeBron James. So, these players, while obscure, aren’t inconsequential.
Here’s a look at every current draft-and-stash player whose rights have been traded more than once:
SEVEN TRADES
Georgios Printezis (2007, 58th overall)
- Spurs to Raptors
- Raptors to Mavericks
- Mavericks to Knicks
- Knicks to Trail Blazers
- Trail Blazers to Thunder
- Thunder to Hawks
- Hawks to Spurs
SIX TRADES
Sergei Lishouk (2004, 49th overall)
- Grizzlies to Rockets
- Rockets to Lakers
- Lakers to Rockets
- Rockets to Sixers
- Sixers to Clippers
- Clippers to Rockets
FOUR TRADES
Edin Bavcic (2006, 56th overall)
- Raptors to Sixers
- Sixers to Pelicans
- Pelicans to Nets
- Nets to Cavaliers
THREE TRADES
Cenk Akyol (2005, 59th overall)
- Hawks to Clippers
- Clippers to Sixers
- Sixers to Nuggets
Albert Miralles (2004, 39th overall)
- Raptors to Heat
- Heat to Celtics
- Celtics to Bucks
Emir Preldzic (2009, 57th overall)
- Suns to Cavaliers
- Cavaliers to Wizards
- Wizards to Mavericks
TWO TRADES
Semaj Christon (2014, 55th overall)
- Heat to Hornets
- Hornets to Thunder
Tadija Dragicevic (2008, 53rd overall)
- Jazz to Mavericks
- Mavericks to Bulls
Roberto Duenas (1997, 57th overall)
- Bulls to Pelicans
- Pelicans to Heat
Lior Eliyahu (2006, 44th overall)
- Magic to Rockets
- Rockets to Timberwolves
Petteri Koponen (2007, 30th overall)
- Sixers to Trail Blazers
- Trail Blazers to Mavericks
Chukwudiebere Maduabum (2011, 56th overall)
- Lakers to Nuggets
- Nuggets to Sixers
Milovan Rakovic (2007, 60th overall)
- Mavericks to Magic
- Magic to Bulls
Sofoklis Schortsanitis (2003, 34th overall)
- Clippers to Hawks
- Hawks to Thunder
Latavious Williams (2010, 48th overall)
- Heat to Thunder
- Thunder to Pelicans
RealGM was used in the creation of this post.
No mention of Georgios Printezis?
What about Giorgos Printezis?:
June 28, 2007: Drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2nd round (58th pick) of the 2007 NBA Draft.
June 28, 2007: Traded by the San Antonio Spurs to the Toronto Raptors for a 2008 2nd round draft pick (Goran Dragic was later selected).
January 24, 2011: Traded by the Toronto Raptors to the Dallas Mavericks for Alexis Ajinca, cash and a 2013 2nd round draft pick (Jamaal Franklin was later selected).
December 10, 2011: As part of a 3-team trade, traded by the Dallas Mavericks with Tyson Chandler and Ahmad Nivins to the New York Knicks; the Dallas Mavericks traded a 2012 2nd round draft pick (Darius Miller was later selected) to the Washington Wizards; the New York Knicks traded Andy Rautins to the Dallas Mavericks; the New York Knicks traded Ronny Turiaf, cash and a 2013 2nd round draft pick (Arsalan Kazemi was later selected) to the Washington Wizards; and the Washington Wizards traded a 2012 2nd round draft pick to the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas also received a trade exception from New York. Dallas did not receive the 2nd round draft pick from Washington because it was top 55 protected.
July 16, 2012: Traded by the New York Knicks with Dan Gadzuric, Jared Jeffries, Kostas Papanikolaou, cash and a 2016 2nd round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers for Raymond Felton and Kurt Thomas.
February 21, 2013: Traded by the Portland Trail Blazers to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Eric Maynor. Oklahoma City also received a trade exception from Portland.
July 15, 2014: Traded by the Oklahoma City Thunder with Thabo Sefolosha and cash to the Atlanta Hawks for Sofoklis Schortsanitis and a trade exception.
July 9, 2015: Traded by the Atlanta Hawks with a 2017 2nd round draft pick to the San Antonio Spurs for Tiago Splitter.
Source: link to basketball-reference.com
You guys are right. Printezis is in there now. Thanks for letting me know.