Drew Gooden

Gooden declared himself for the draft after his junior year. Out of Kansas, Gooden was selected as the 4th overall pick by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2002 NBA draft.[3]

In March 2003, Gooden and Gordan Giriček were traded to the Orlando Magic for Mike Miller, Ryan Humphrey, and two draft picks.[4]

Gooden and Washington Wizards player Darius Songaila try to get a jump ball during a 2007 game

On July 23, 2004, the Cleveland Cavaliers acquired Gooden, Anderson Varejão, and Steven Hunter for Tony Battie and two second-round draft picks from the Orlando Magic via trade.[5] On January 20, 2005, Gooden led the Cavaliers to a win over the Bucks with a career-high 33 points, including 27 in the second half.[6]

Gooden re-signed with the Cavaliers for three more years on August 14, 2006.[7] He agreed to a three-year, $23 million contract.[8]

In the 2006–07 NBA season, he averaged 11.1 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game.[9]

On February 21, 2008, at the 2007–08 season's trade deadline, Gooden was traded by the Cavs (along with Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons, and Shannon Brown) to the Chicago Bulls as a part of a three-team, 11-player deal involving the Seattle SuperSonics.[10]

On February 18, 2009, at the 2008–09 season's trade deadline, Gooden, Simmons, Andrés Nocioni and Michael Ruffin was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons.[11]

On March 1, Gooden was bought out of his contract making him a free agent after playing just one game for the Kings.[12]

On March 5, 2009, Gooden signed with the San Antonio Spurs for the remainder of the season.[13]

Gooden with the Mavericks in 2009

On July 25, 2009, Gooden posted a message on his Twitter page that said "Dallas Here I Come!!!" Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, retweeted Gooden's tweet, adding "Welcome Drew.. !". On July 30, Gooden officially signed with the Mavericks.[14]

On February 13, 2010, Gooden was traded to the Washington Wizards along with Josh Howard, James Singleton, and Quinton Ross for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson.[15] Four days later, he was traded again, this time to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a three-team, six-player trade that sent Antawn Jamison from Washington to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, a 2010 first-round pick and the rights to Emir Preldžič from the Cavaliers to Washington, Al Thornton from Los Angeles to Washington, and Sebastian Telfair from Los Angeles to Cleveland. Gooden changed his number from #90 to #0 during his tenure with the Clippers.[16]

On July 1, 2010, Gooden agreed to a 5-year/$32 million contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, which would make the Bucks his ninth team in as many seasons in the league. On April 9, 2011, he recorded his first career triple-double in a win over the Cavaliers with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists.[17]

On March 7, 2012, Gooden scored a season high 27 points during a 106–104 loss to the Chicago Bulls.[18] On March 14, Gooden recorded his second career triple-double in a win over the Cavaliers with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists.[19]

On July 16, 2013, the Bucks waived Gooden using the NBA's amnesty clause.[20]

On February 26, 2014, Gooden signed a 10-day contract with the Washington Wizards.[21][22] On March 8, 2014, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Wizards.[23] On March 18, 2014, he signed with the Wizards for the rest of the season.[24]

On July 18, 2014, Gooden re-signed with the Wizards.[25] In the team's season opener on October 29, 2014, against the Miami Heat, Gooden was named the starting power forward in what was his first of just seven starts for the season. He subsequently scored a season-high 18 points and did not top that mark for the rest of the season.[26]

On July 13, 2015, Gooden again re-signed with the Wizards.[27]

Gooden's final NBA game was played on April 13, 2016, in a 109 – 98 win over the Atlanta Hawks; he recorded one point and one steal in two minutes of playing time. On July 7, 2016, the Wizards declined their option on Gooden's contract, making him an unrestricted free agent.[28]

In February 2018, Drew Gooden joined Ice Cube's BIG3 basketball league as co-captain of 3's Company.[29]