5 NBA Offseason Gambles That Look Like Busts

In the preseason, each team makes their moves and until the games are played, all the gambles seem to work out. 

Then what happens is you start playing, and the more you play the more you start wishing you could go back in time and undo the trade, signing, front office move, etc...

The following are five teams that rolled the dice in one way or another and have found out they didn't come up boxcars. 

Lamar Odom

At the time of the trade, the Lamar Odom to Dallas Mavericks deal was considered an absolute ripoff for the Dallas Mavericks.It just goes to show that there's no such thing as a sure thing.

So far this season, it's been awful for Odom as he has been nothing more than a bust. He's averaging 7.0 points, 4.4 boards and is shooting .314. That field-goal percentage is not a typo, nor is it his three-point percentage. That's his actual field-goal percentage. 

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets were gambling on being able to get a Dwight Howard deal done, and in the process put off Tyson Chandler and Nene to the point where they went elsewhere. 

Now they have none of them and own not only the worst defense in the NBA, but arguably the worst defense in the history of the league.

New Jersey is also the worst field-goal percentage team as of this writing. 

Yikes! That's bad. 

Milwaukee Bucks Trading for Stephen Jackson

Stephen Jackson was acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks from the Charlotte Bobcats on a draft-night deal. 

Since he came to Milwaukee he's done two things. First he complained about his contract. Now he's managed to perform miserably enough to get demoted to the bench. 

These deers are not to be feared. 

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics made one move, Big Baby Davis for Brandon Bass. They thought they were going to be a contender with that move. 

On it's face that move was a great one. Bass is a better player than Davis. The problem with Boston wasn't the moves they did make, it's the moves they didn't. The Celtics clearly didn't do enough. 

They made a move as though they were only a tweak away from building a championship contender when they actually needed an overhaul. Now that gamble is not paying off. 

Tyson Chandler Dug One Hole to Fill Another

The New York Knicks took a gamble of a different sort. They gambled that they could fit a square peg in a round hole. They've been trying to do that repeatedly.

What I mean by that is they are collecting players that don't fit the system. Mike D'Antoni is not the ideal coach for Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler. We know that Amar'e Stoudemire will work, but only if he has the right kind of point guard, like Steve Nash or Raymond Felton. 

The Knicks' gamble is not paying off, unless the gamble was to win the lottery and not the title. New York is closer to missing the postseason entirely than they are to winning a championship.