The NBA trade deadline of Feb. 7 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time is approaching and there have already been plenty of big names thrown around in potential deals.
MORE: Anthony Davis requests trade away from Pelicans
With players like Anthony Davis, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol already in the mix, this is shaping up to be a potentially very entertaining trade deadline.
Let's take a look back at some of the biggest NBA trade deadline deals since the year 2000. In chronological order...
2001 - Philadelphia 76ers trade for Dikembe Mutombo
76ers receive: Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod
Hawks receive: Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, Theo Ratliff and Pepe Sanchez
The 76ers were already in first place in the Eastern Conference when they acquired Mutumbo. The star centre went on to win Defensive Player of the Year, earned First Team All-Defence honours and All-NBA Second Team honours while playing a key role in Philadelphia's push to The Finals. They were swept by the Los Angeles Lakers, but it's safe to say this trade turned out near-perfect for Philly.
2002 - Ron Artest is sent to the Indiana Pacers
Pacers receive: Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Ron Mercer and Kevin Ollie
Bulls receive: Jalen Rose, Travis Best, Norm Richardson and a 2nd round pick
Artest had a good run in Indiana which included four playoff appearances, a Defensive Player of the Year award, two First Team All-Defense honours, one Third Team All-NBA honour and an All-Star Game appearance.
Jalen Rose had a solid run in Chicago as well, averaging over 20.0 points per game in his time on the Bulls.
2003 - Ray Allen and Gary Payton get swapped
Supersonics receive: Ray Allen, Ronald Murray, Kevin Ollie and a 1st round pick
Bucks receive: Gary Payton and Desmond Mason
This deal worked out tremendously for the Supersonics, who got four seasons of an NBA superstar who was arguably the best shooter in the entire league during that span.
Gary Payton only played 28 games in a Bucks uniform while Desmond Mason played three solid seasons in Milwaukee.
2004 - Detroit Pistons go get Rasheed Wallace
Pistons receive: Rasheed Wallace and Mike James
Hawks receive: Chris Mills, Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura and a 1st round pick
Celtics receive: Lindsey Hunter, Chucky Atkins and a 1st round pick
This trade paid off immediately for the Pistons. After adding Wallace, Detroit fought through a gruelling Eastern Conference playoff push before defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in five games in the NBA Finals. Wallace played five more seasons with the Pistons after that, reaching the playoffs every season in Detroit.
2008 - The Pau Gasol for Marc Gasol trade
Lakers receive: Pau Gasol and a 2nd round pick
Grizzlies receive: Marc Gasol, Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie and two 1st round picks
The Lakers needed another piece to battle with the Big 3 era of the Boston Celtics, so they went out and got Pau Gasol. LA sent his brother Marc to Memphis in return, who would later become one of the best players in Grizzlies' franchise history. The trade certainly worked out for the Lakers as well, who won two NBA Championships with Pau.
2008 - Shaquille O'Neal to the Phoenix Suns
Suns receive: Shaquille O'Neal
Heat receive: Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks
Time was running out on the 'seven seconds or less' era in Phoenix so Suns' GM Steve Kerr made the move to acquire Shaq, trying to take this team to the next level. They gave up a vital piece of their team in Shawn Marion, who played the rest of that season in Miami, then was traded at the deadline the following year to the Toronto Raptors.
O'Neal's time in Phoenix didn't pan out the way they had hoped as they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round in 2008. The next season, despite finishing 10 games over .500 they missed the playoffs, concluding Shaq's Suns career.
2011 - The Knicks sell the house for Carmelo Anthony
Knicks receive: Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams, Corey Brewer and a 1st round pick
Nuggets receive: Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Kosta Koufus, Timofey Mozgov, two 1st round picks, two 2nd round picks and cash
Timberwolves receive: Eddy Curry, Anthony Randolph, a 2nd round pick and cash
In the largest trade in NBA history that included 13 players and six draft picks, the Knicks got their prized superstar in Melo. Anthony made two All-NBA teams, earned a scoring title and was an All-Star in seven seasons in New York but only reached the playoffs three times. Of those three times, they only made it out of the first round once but lost to the Indiana Pacers in the conference semi-finals in six games.
2011 - Boston Celtics trade Kendrick Perkins
Celtics receive: Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, a 1st round pick and cash
Thunder receive: Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson
At face value, this doesn't seem like a blockbuster deadline deal like the others mentioned, but this trade arguably cost the Celtics a second NBA Championship in what became the final season of the Big 3 era. Perkins was the defensive anchor in what may have been the best defensive frontcourt in the NBA at the time and their lack of frontcourt depth showed in a five-game gentleman's sweep by the Miami Heat.
2011 - Los Angeles Clippers dump Baron Davis to Cleveland Cavaliers
Clippers receive: Jamario Moon and Mo Williams
Cavaliers receive: Baron Davis and a 1st round pick
The Clippers will regret this trade for a long time coming. They were desperate to dump Davis' contract at the deadline and willingly threw in their first round pick for that season just to get Williams and Moon in return.
That first round pick ended up winning the lottery, giving the Cavaliers the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft in which they selected Kyrie Irving, who later hit the biggest shot in franchise history to win an NBA Finals and end a historic championship drought for the city.
2012 - Milwaukee Bucks send Andrew Bogut to Golden State Warriors
Warriors receive: Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson
Bucks receive: Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown
Like the Perkins trade, at face value, this might not seem like a big deal. But when you get into the fine print of this trade deadline move it helped set the scene for what has become the Warriors' dominant run in the NBA today.
Okay, that might be a stretch, but trading Ellis, Udoh and Brown freed up the salary cap space to sign Andre Iguodala in the offseason. Iguodala went on to win a Finals MVP and has been a key bench player throughout the Warriors' three NBA Championships in the past four seasons. Bogut was an elite rim protector in Golden State's title run in 2014-15 and moving on from Ellis paved the way to draft Klay Thompson, creating the famous splash brothers duo with Stephen Curry.
So is it really a stretch?
2015 - Phoenix Suns trade Isaiah Thomas to Boston Celtics
Celtics receive: Isaiah Thomas, Gigi Datome and Jonas Jerebko
Suns receive: Marcus Thornton and a 1st round pick
Pistons receive: Tayshaun Prince
In 2015 the deadline time had passed before Twitter notifications came through about Thomas being traded to the Celtics.
I.T. made a killing in his three seasons in Boston, turning the franchise around into the contender that it is today. He helped create the culture that this team still plays by and became beloved by Boston fans forever.
He led the Celtics to three consecutive playoff appearances and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2017.
2017 - DeMarcus Cousins trade rumours finally come true
Pelicans receive: DeMarcus Cousins and Omri Casspi
Kings receive: Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, Langston Gallaway, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick
Cousins' name floated around in trade rumours every time the trade deadline came around. In 2017, he was finally dealt from Sacramento to New Orleans.
Cousins played out the remainder of the 2017 season, and when things finally started to click playing alongside Anthony Davis, Boogie tore his Achilles and was forced to miss the rest of the season. The following offseason, he signed a one-year deal with the Golden State Warriors.
In hindsight, the trade actually worked out better for the Kings who received Buddy Hield, a potential Most Improved Player of the Year candidate this season.
2018 - Blake Griffin gets sent to the Detroit Pistons
Pistons receive: Blake Griffin, Willie Reed and Brice Johnson
Clippers receive: Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick
The Clippers seemed to have committed to Griffin long-term when the star forward inked a five-year, $173 million extension in the 2017 offseason. At the trade deadline that year, he was sent to Detroit in return for the group of players listed above.
Griffin played the first eight seasons of his career in LA but the Big 3 of him, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan failed to make a Conference Finals.
Things haven't gone as planned in Detroit thus far either, but the Clippers have turned Harris into a potential All-Star and are in the Western Conference playoff picture this season.
