Every owner/GM needs to gamble for a team to succeed. Hindsight is always 20/20, but the truth is that every transaction is a risky move until proven worth. Freak accidents, team chemistry issues, etc are all factors you can’t measure before a trade/signing. Off the top of my head, rookie Kobe for Vlade was one of the biggest payoffs in NBA history (as for “riskiest” move, that is up for debate)
Nuggets trading up to draft MPJ
He was barely a lottery pick when he had #1 talent, wasn’t much of a risk.
Nuggets didn’t trade up. They had the 14th pick - last pick of the lottery - due to losing their last regular season game against the Timberwolves.