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Readers sound off on Philly’s most notable trades

How could you forget Jim Bunning? What about Andrew Bynum? And who'd we get for LeSean McCoy?

Several readers felt that LeSean McCoy belongs on any list of bad trades in Philly sports history.
Several readers felt that LeSean McCoy belongs on any list of bad trades in Philly sports history.Read more

We had a list last week of the best and worst trades in our town’s history in light of the Carson Wentz deal.

Our best acquisitions included Steve Carlton, Moses Malone, and Bernie Parent. Among our biggest gaffes were Ryne Sandberg, the Sixers trading a No. 1 overall pick, and Ferguson Jenkins.

Late Daily News columnist Chuck Stone used to run feedback when readers disagreed with his stance. “Where possible,” he once wrote, “all sides get their antiphonal day in court in my column, ‘And the Angels Sing.’” Chuck was the best.

In that vein, the chorus chimed in with its thoughts on notable sports trades. Here are some responses:

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The Dick Allen trade [in 1969] wasn’t a complete disaster. When Curt Flood refused to play, the Cards gave the Phils Willie Montanez. A very good player for several years, who was traded straight-up for Garry Maddox.

» READ MORE: Frank Fitzpatrick remembers Dick Allen

Wilt insisted on being traded. The Sixers got Archie Clark (a very good player) and Darrall Imhoff (decent player). They had Luke Jackson to play center. Sadly, Jackson tore an Achilles (in 1968) and his career was over.

-- Jack Katz

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It would have been nice to see Larry Hisle listed. Just another example of the Philadelphia fans giving a person of color a tough time “just because.”

He was probably incredibly happy to have Philadelphia in his rearview mirror.

-- Harold Jacobson

» FROM THE ARCHIVES: Frank Dolson’s 1973 column on Larry Hisle

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Good lists, but have to add: 1) LeSean McCoy for Kiko Somebody ... 2) The trade for No. 1 to get Fultz while losing Tatum.

Reading this list is similar to flogging yourself.

-- Dave Lipshutz

» READ MORE: Marcus Hayes says the Wentz trade is the worst | This reader disagrees

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Bobby Abreu trumps the one-year magic of T.O.

-- Tony Gee

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Missed one: Chet Walker to the Bulls for Jim Washington in 1969.

-- Chuck Mooney

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An arguably worse trade [than sending Wilt Chamberlain to the Lakers] came after that 1968-69 season when the 76ers traded Chet Walker (an excellent scorer) for Jim Washington (a good rebounder, but not much of a shooter).

In my view, the team did not get adequate return for a player of Walker’s caliber. Along with the aging of Hal Greer and the Achilles tendon injury to Luke Jackson, the 76ers entered a slow downward drift culminating in the disastrous nine-win season in 1972-73.

Meanwhile, Chet Walker helped put the Chicago Bulls on the basketball map. They became a very good team in the first half of the 1970s and he was eventually selected to the Hall of Fame.

It took the acquisitions of first George McGinnis, then Julius Erving, the astute decisions to draft Mo Cheeks and Andrew Toney, and finally the Moses Malone trade for the 76ers to become great again.

-- Ed Kean

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Just the other day I said I hope the [Wentz] trade does not come back and bite us in the [butt] as with Sonny Jurgensen, Wilt, and Ryne Sandberg. I was only 11, but remember and thinking, who is Norm Snead?

-- Bob McCreight

» READ MORE: Andrew Bynum is somebody else’s problem now

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Unfortunately, I remember nearly all of them. Let’s not forget Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus, and JVR to Toronto for Luke Schenn.

-- Harry Steinmetz

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In my opinion, the worst trade was in 2012 and no one ever talks about it.

Nik Vucevic was traded in a deal that brought in Andrew Bynum. Nik’s career stats are [comparable] to [Brad] Daugherty.

If every sports columnist in the city was asked to submit their judgment on the worst trade, I have no doubt they would omit the 2012 trade as well. That’s how petrified it is in our collective psyches, for those old enough to have picked up the paper that morning and learned about it.

-- Ed Mackin