15 NBA Players Stuck on Bad Teams
Tyreke Evans (photo. Nicky Woo)
Around the time Tyreke Evans was closing in on the buckets that would put him in the 20-5-5 rookie pantheon with Oscar, Mike and LeBron, and the Sacramento crowd was so cowbell-era loud that I almost mistook Ime Udoka for Doug Christie, I texted some colleagues: “Are you watching Kings/Rockets?”
No answer. Of course. Why would they be watching? These were two certified Lottery teams at work, a game that meant nothing for the NBA postseason picture. And with that, the chance to see Tyreke hit the historic mark (on free throws in the fourth quarter) or watch Houston’s Kevin Martin perform proctological surgery on his former team (39 pts) would be understandably lost on too many potential viewers.
Playing in meaningless late-season games is nothing new to K-Mart, who has only been on one playoff team in his six-year pro career. But with the Rockets he’s at least on a decent squad that should be a postseason contender when Yao Ming comes back next year. Martin has graduated from the group of guys wasting their time and having their talents overshadowed on bad teams.
I’ve always been against the notion that it’s somehow easier for players on bad teams to put up big numbers. If you ask me, it’s harder for Danny Granger to score 30 when the entire defense knows it only has to focus on him, whereas Carmelo benefits from having multiple threats sharing the floor with him. You give Granger a lineup featuring Chauncey Billups, J.R. Smith and Nene instead of Earl Watson, Dahntay Jones and Roy Hibbert, and you think he wouldn’t find opposing defenses a little less suffocating?
Here are the 15 best players toiling on bad NBA teams:
1. Chris Paul
2. Andre Iguodala
3. Danny Granger
4. Monta Ellis
5. Tyreke Evans
6. Al Jefferson
7. David West
8. Baron Davis
9. Stephen Curry
10. Brook Lopez
11. David Lee
12. Rip Hamilton
13. Chris Kaman
14. Devin Harris
15. Rodney Stuckey
Honorable mention: Danilo Gallinari, Troy Murphy, Carl Landry, Kevin Love, Tracy McGrady
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April 13th, 2010 at 10:07 am
s.W.o. 4 Life says:
Glad to see Bosh off this list… Figured he woudla been up there
April 13th, 2010 at 10:23 am
NUGGETS4LIFE says:
how is cb4 not up there…
April 13th, 2010 at 10:25 am
rangerjohn says:
tracy mcbaby made honorable mention, he is part of the reason the knicks are so bad. sure they where bad when he got there but they got worse IMO when he joined them.
funny how so many of those players are paired up with other players on the same team, IE david west and cp. lopez and harris, lee, tracy and gallo (both honorable mentions). this list is kinda skewed imo.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:28 am
dagwaller says:
@ 1 – hate to say it, but he’s not STUCK. He’s about to be free.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:34 am
karizmatic says:
The fact that both Chris Paul and David West are on this list and they play for the same thing says something about them I think…it probably says more about West than Paul but hey…
April 13th, 2010 at 10:39 am
RC says:
Can’t really say that these teams are bad. Some of them are just not healthy this year and full of injuries. And as for the young teams they are steadily improving. You can see the Kings and Warriors pick up good wins near the end of the season because young players are improving and learning. Chris Paul wasn’t healthy this year but if he was the Hornets are a potential playoff team. Specially next year they have two good young guards to help CP with some scoring.
April 13th, 2010 at 10:45 am
TIP says:
Bosh should be on this list…though yeah he’s about to be free.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:01 am
ticktock6 says:
“The fact that both Chris Paul and David West are on this list and they play for the same thing says something about them I think…”
If this was a 2 on 2 league, sure it would. But in a league with 14 man teams? … Just no.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Papa Smurf says:
CP3 is a terrible leader. I would hate to play with him. His demeanor will not gel with most teams/players. He should get comfortable being on this list.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Papa Smurf says:
Plus, he dribbles the air out of the ball.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:12 am
eyes says:
How many bad teams are they’re in the L. Sometimes a players game or stats doesn’t translate into wins.
Bad Teams: EAST
Knicks,Nets,Bulls,Raptors,Wizards,,Sixers,Boston(Old)
Pistons,Pacers,Heat,Bucks,Cavs(Overrated)
WEST
Warriors,Rockets,Clippers,Grizzlies(Until Conley leaves)
Hornets,Kings,Wolves(Rick Kamla’s fav team go figure.
Interesting fact as bad as the East is. Lebron still can’t gurantee a Eastern Conf. Finals yearly. For the best player to ever walk the planet that seems strange.
Of the 30 teams in the N.B.A. less than 10 teams are worthy of watching. An only 4 can compete for a Championship. How sad is that literally? What are they selling us & how did this happen. What happen to the N.B.A????????
April 13th, 2010 at 11:12 am
chief youngblood says:
don’t worry , we’re gonna bring IGGY down to new orleans , then you’ll be able to take 3 players off the list
April 13th, 2010 at 11:25 am
QQ says:
Al Jefferson and Granger. Put them in a decent team, and we’re talking Dwight and Durant level.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:32 am
karizmatic says:
@ tick tock
those two are allegedly stars in the league there aren’t too many other teams that have two bonified stars that suck. But granted both have been injured in the last couple of years and they were good when they were healthy.
April 13th, 2010 at 11:49 am
dagwaller says:
@ Eyes – what happened to the NBA? You labeled the Finals favorite a bad team, that’s what hahaha (no offense to the Lakers). How can you say that the Cavs and the Celtics are bad teams? Or the Heat and the Bucks? They’re all in the playoffs, and short of the Celtics, all have bright futures. Depending on the summer of 2010.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Lucas Shapiro says:
I feel bad for Granger. The guy has past his potential and he won’t win a championship unless he gets traded to another team. Poor guy.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
QQ says:
@eyes
Pretty crappy post. The NBA is doing just fine. Dime, please ban posts from people like him.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
UncheckedAggression says:
QQ- Al Jefferson as Dwight Howard? That’s just ridiculous. And I’m someone that thinks Dwight is overrated as it is. How many Minnesota games have you watched lately?
The Granger/Durant comparison is also pretty far off. Granger is a great player but Durant is already far ahead and it didn’t take very long for that to happen
eyes- Ignoring your way-off-the-mark list of bad teams, I still take issue with your comments about the NBA. So would you be happy if there were 8 teams “competing” for a championship? And when was that EVER the case?
April 13th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
magicfaninTN says:
IMO, Barron is part of the problem for LAC. Great player, but wacky motor.
April 13th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
QQ says:
@Unchecked Aggression:
I’m an Orlando fan 4 life, and me throwing out compliments to players is not really my thing. But those two guys really are diamonds in the rough. Jefferson has proven to be a 20-10 staple in this league. His game is a bit less atheletic than dwight, but there is no denying his effectiveness and ability.
Granger is a top 3 shooting guard when healthy and if playing on a good team. Great defensively. He may not have the scoring prowess of durant, but he does almost everything else better!
April 13th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
QQ says:
@17 & 20:
Ummm, that’s the Impostor QQ. Here we go again. Exactly why I haven’t posted much on these boards of late. Thanks Dime. Way to take care of your loyal fanbase. I bet this Impostor QQ doesn’t even have a Dime subscription.
April 13th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Mr. Brogden says:
Ramon and Big Al stuck playin’ for Minnie.
UGH!
Brook and Devin – that’s a given.
Stuckey’s definitely stuck.
Iggy’s been stuck as a SeventySucka forever but he’ll probably be ran outta town. His game is so undervalued.
Troy and Danny on the Pacers.
And unfortunately, I agree with you #14.
But I will say this, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette was supposed to join him with the Clips and they didn’t, leaving him STUCK.
@9 – Papasmurf : get real!
@18 – A Granger/Jefferson combo is a LEGIT PROBLEM.
I’ve seen both. Dwight is still learning moves Al was doing as a teenie bopper. Granger IS the heavier version of KD.
April 13th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
dvs says:
The only teams that are bad year in year out are the kings, clippers, warriors, wiz, twolves, raps and pacers.
the nets, knicks, bulls and pistons will all be significantly better next year and therefore the players on those rosters should be happy. Not many teams stay down for long periods of time.
April 13th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Papa Smurf says:
Mr. Brogden,
I’m as real as New Orleans’ record.
April 13th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Diego says:
I feel sorrier for Troy Murphy than Granger–and would put him higher on list than Granger. Troy plugs away and is consistently solid. Granger’s injury problems have been his problem this year.
If Granger is all that–and is healthy–, he should lead his team to the playoffs in bottom of weak East playoff bracket.
Several of AB’s top 15 are current underperformers (for their supposed talent) who are as much the problem as the solution for their team (e.g., Iggy, Harris, Hamilton, West, Jefferson). (I imagine in this regard Michael Redd would have been high on this list last year–not this year though.)
April 13th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Sacto_J says:
Congrats to Tyreke for reaching this memorable milestone. Too bad the Kings couldn’t pull out the W, but still can’t wait to see how he develops over the summer. Hoping he can maintain the level of play that put him in such rare company through the course of his career…
April 13th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
thunderfan says:
We’d be happy to take 2,6,10,11,or 12 on down here in the O-K-C!! They would LOVE Durant and Co!
April 13th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
ay yo. says:
@ Diego
Exactly!
Troy Murphy should be on the list, and higher than Granger. This guy is very underrated and skilled. You put him on Dallas, and he puts up Dirk numbers (including 3′s), with better boards and blocks.
April 13th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
sh!tfaced says:
How about KG, Pierce, Ray and Rondo stuck on Rasheed’s team? The man just pretty much spread the cancer on a solid, mentally tough, (but old) championship team. But cancer just the same.
Where Starbury failed, Sheed succeeded…
The biggest big-name Celtic failure up there with Vin Baker. But at least, Vin had a pretty good reason…
April 13th, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Rizwan says:
@28
Tell me you didnt just compare Troy Murphy to Dirk?! Or better yet you think he would put up better numbers than Dirk!!
MY GOD
April 13th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
steven says:
The Sixers are pretty awful, but I think that Iggy is part of the problem. He’s proven he can’t lead a team. He’s a great second option but not a reliable first option. The Sixers have a problem in that they thought both Brand and Iggy would be men, but Brand is busted and Iggy will never be a complete player. Oh and of course, we all knew Jordan’s system was way too complicated for the collected Sixers’ IQ. Let’s just work on running, gunning, cutting and playing help defense.
April 13th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Seven Duece says:
Sorry but Baron asked for his prison sentence and has helped the inmates drive out the warden.
April 13th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
KT says:
Correction: Devin Harris and Brook Lopez don’t play on an NBA team, they just play for the Nets.
April 14th, 2010 at 2:27 am
Sporty-j says:
Cant believe any person in there right state of mind would ever compare Murphy to Dirk. If Murphy was that good he would at least be able to lead his to to the palyoffs as at least an 8th seed in the east. Iggy is 1 of the reason Y the sixers sux and is way overrated. Dont see how Paul and West are stuck on bad teams and to players of there calibers should be enough to lead a team to the playoffs when healty though. A lot of those guys are just like Iggy buy the way and are what you call second class all-stars after the big names in the NBA.
April 14th, 2010 at 4:04 am
NBAQueen says:
no dwyane wade???
the man carries the team!!! how is he not in this list???
April 14th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Mo says:
Papa Smurf sounds like an asshole. LMAO.
April 15th, 2010 at 6:49 pm
Noah says:
What is Monta Ellis doing on this list?
I realize he scored 25 points per game, but please, he did that because he was a ballhog. Go to 82games.com. When he was on the court -7.4 margin per game for the Warriors. Off? +4.4! He’s one of the main reasons they are a bad team – their offense is MUCH less efficient when he’s on the court taking all the shots.
April 15th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Noah says:
Come to think of it, a lot of these guys are like that – high volume, low efficiency scorers, particularly Al Jefferson.
There’s no reason to think Al Jefferson would be a good addition to a good team – he plays awful defense and isn’t an efficient scorer. He doesn’t pass out of the post when double teamed so even on a good team with the court theoretically opened up with other scorers teams would double team him anyway.