Skip to main content

Worst Ways Pro Athletes Have Learned About Trades

Athletes are traded all the time, but the ways they find out about the moves can be quite interesting.

Trades are a common part of sports, but many still come as a surprise on an individual basis.

Sometimes, we all know a trade is going to happen, but we're not sure where the player will go or when it will happen, like when Derrick Rose was moved by the Bulls in the summer of 2016. Other times it's a complete surprise that it went down, like when Odell Beckham was traded by the Giants in March 2019.

But in these specific cases, the most intriguing (or gut-wrenching) aspect of the deal is how players found out about it.

DeMarcus Cousins traded by Kings to Pelicans

Cousins and soon-to-be teammate Anthony Davis were actually together when this deal went down. It was during the 2017 All-Star Game. And Cousins and Davis learned about the deal by team media personnel right before facing reporters after the exhibition contest.

T.J. Yates traded by Texans to Falcons

The quarterback was grabbing dinner with his wife at Chipotle when the news came in that he was going to Atlanta in 2014. I hope he splurged for guac that day.

Tyler Seguin traded by Bruins to Wings

After his third year in the league, the center was moved from Boston to Dallas. On July 4, 2013, while he was partying on Cape Cod. At least he was already in a celebratory mood.

DeMar DeRozan traded by Raptors to Spurs

On the July 2018 night DeRozan found out he was leaving Toronto for San Antonio, he was in Los Angeles. More specifically, he was at a Jack in the Box parking lot trying to get a late meal.

Odell Beckham traded by Giants to Browns

This one isn't about the player who was traded, but his franchise quarterback teammate. You would think an organization might tell the quarterback of 15 years that his top receiving threat is getting sent away after just signing a massive extension, but you would be wrong. Eli Manning learned OBJ was out of New York like the majority of the general public: While watching TV and seeing the information scroll past on the news ticker.

Kyrie Irving traded by Cavaliers to Celtics

People were shocked to learned Kyrie Irving wanted to be moved prior to the start of the 2017-18 season. But when the deal went down, nobody was as pleasantly surprised by the news than Irving, who ran off the set while filming Uncle Drew to rejoice about going to a new team.

Enes Kanter traded by Thunder to Knicks

The backup center was at a camp he was hosting for kids in Oklahoma City when news came through in September 2017 that he was headed to New York for Carmelo Anthony. After getting told, he asked the kids to break the huddle for the camp by saying "one, two, three, Knicks!"

Derrick Rose traded by Bulls to Knicks

This is a story about someone who wasn't able to take as much joy out of being sent to New York. The Chicago native and 2011 MVP was in the middle of filming a documentary about his career when the news came in in 2016. So for better or worse, we got video of the moment that Rose found out his hometown team was moving on from their No. 1 pick.