Trading Jerseys: Luke Ridnour And Other NBA Journeymen

In six days, veteran guard Luke Ridnour was traded four times. After playing with the Orlando Magic last season, Ridnour was dealt on June 24 to the Memphis Grizzles. Within 24 hours, he was sent to the Charlotte Hornets. Next he was acquired by the Oklahoma City Thunder. And on Tuesday he was traded to the Toronto Raptors. (As of this writing, Ridnour remains a Raptor).

Ridnour, though, has only taken the court for five different teams over his 12-year career. That pales in comparison to other NBA journeymen, some of whom have played for more than a third of the league's 30 teams.

Ridnour was first traded back in 2008, a move that included Joe Smith. The now-retired forward was traded seven times during his career and played for 12 different teams — a record he shares with Jim Jackson, Tony Massenburg and Chucky Brown.

Smith, the No. 1 pick in the 1995 draft, said he "lost count" of how many teams he played for in his 16-year career. In his final pro season he suited up for two different teams, yet totaled only eight points.

Massenburg, Smith's fellow University of Maryland alum, also played for 12 different teams. The former big man was drafted twice, first out of college in 1990 and again in the 1995 NBA expansion draft. In his second season as a pro, Massenburg played for four different teams and was let go by all of them.

Massenburg notched one point while on the Chicago Bulls and two with the San Antonio Spurs. He then played in Spain for two seasons before returning to the NBA, where he went on to play for another 10 years on nine teams.

Lou Amundson — most recently of the Knicks — has signed 13 contracts in nine seasons. Two of those were with the Bulls, a team he's played for in just two games, totaling three minutes.

Like Amundson, Drew Gooden has also played for 10 teams — tops among active players. (Despite their frequent moves, Amundson and Gooden have never been teammates.)

Gooden, the No. 4 pick in the 2002 draft, had moved between nine organizations by 2010. From 2007 to 2010, he put on seven different jerseys. He was even traded to the Washington Wizards for three days during that span but never made it on the active roster. Gooden returned to Washington in 2013, put on a jersey and stuck with the Wizards through the 2015 season. Gooden, though, is now a free agent: he could soon be adding an 11th team to his already-full resume.