10 Failing NBA Players Who Won't Turn Their Seasons Around

Several NBA players who had high expectations heading into this season have had terrible starts, and in a lockout-shortened season they may not be able to recover.

There is no shortage of excuses and explanations for the many poor performances across the league, but the simple truth is that professional basketball is a results-based business, and these guys have not been cutting it.

Here are 10 players who have had awful years so far and are not going to improve going forward.

10. Devin Harris

Devin Harris was given the unfortunate task of filling Deron Williams' shoes in Utah and has come nowhere near living up to the standard D-Will set.

The Jazz's former point guard was a 20-and-10 player, whereas their current point guard's stint has been characterized by lackluster offense and shoddy defense. 

Harris has averaged just 9.0 points and 4.4 assists this season as the Jazz have been slowly sliding down the Western Conference standings. Utah ranks 23rd in the league in points per game allowed (97.2), and Harris shares culpability in that.

The point guard was once pegged as a future star in Dallas and even made the All-Star Game in 2009 with the Nets. Since coming to Salt Lake City, his play has been nothing special. 

Harris will be 29 at the end of this month; he certainly is not old, but he is past the point in his career where he will be making dramatic improvements to his game. Do not expect him to turn any heads for the rest of this season. 

9. Wesley Johnson

The Timberwolves had high hopes for Wesley Johnson when they took him with the fourth overall pick of the 2010 draft, but he has been a disappointment so far in his young career.

Johnson had some growing pains last year in his rookie season, but also showed promise. There were glimpses of the talent he showed at Syracuse, where he was a versatile scorer who could play guard or forward.

With the rise of Kevin Love and the addition of Ricky Rubio, the 2011-12 Timberwolves have taken a big step forward, but Johnson has taken a step back.

After averaging nine points per game last year, he is putting up just six points this year. He is shooting just 37 percent from the field and an abysmal 25 percent from three-point range.

Instead of progressing, Johnson has been regressing, and unfortunately for Minnesota, this trend is going to continue for the rest of the season.

8. Andray Blatche

Last season, Andray Blatche flashed the ability to be an effective scorer at the power forward position and got Washington fans excited. This season, he has proved definitively that there is nothing in Washington to be excited about.

Blatche posted career highs in points (16.8) and rebounds (8.3) in 2010-11, and was given a five-year contract extension by the Wizards.

This year, his scoring average has plummeted to just 10.3 points per game. He has also been wildly inefficient with his shots and is making just 38 percent of his field goals. 

Washington made Blatche its power forward of the future last year, but things now look pretty dim going forward. Do not expect fans to think highly of either Blatche or the Wizards at any point of this season.

7. Metta World Peace

The basketball player formerly known as Ron Artest has been on the decline for several years now, but this season has been extraordinarily bad.

Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace in the offseason, but did little to improve his game.

World Peace was always know more for his defense than his offense, but was a decent scorer before coming to the Lakers. 

His scoring average has gone down every year in Los Angeles. This season, he seems to have bottomed out and is currently averaging 4.9 points per game. The forward also has an astoundingly bad 32 percent field goal percentage.

Lakers coach Mike Brown moved World Peace to the bench in the offseason to try and get him more involved in the second unit's offense. This plan completely failed, and the former All-Star showed he will never be a productive scorer again.

To World Peace's credit, he has been a fantastic teammate in his time with the Lakers. Unfortunately, he has not been a very good basketball player, and that is not going to change this year.

6. Mehmet Okur

Mehmet Okur is 32 years old and coming off an injury-riddled season, but that did not stop the New Jersey Nets from taking on his $10 million contract.

The center has recorded dismal statistics since arriving in the Garden State. He has scored 7.6 points per game on 37 percent shooting and is grabbing just 4.8 boards.

Those statistics should be coming from the eight or ninth guy in the rotation, not the starting center and the second-highest paid player on the team.

Okur's career has entered its final stages, and the Nets are sinking fast. Once a productive player, Okur will not be impressing anyone for the rest of this year.

5. Corey Maggette

Corey Maggette has always been a subpar defender and teammate, but could also always score the basketball. This season, he cannot even do that.

Maggette is averaging 12.2 points per game but has been remarkably inefficient with a 30 percent field goal percentage and 2.5 turnovers a game. 

The Bobcats are the worst team in the NBA and it is partly because of Maggette's willingness to jack up ill-advised shots, then jog back and loaf it on defense.

Charlotte is in trouble and heading towards a historically bad season. Maggette's lack of maturity and effort is only going to exacerbate the team's problems.

The forward's last hope for this year is to get traded to his fourth team in three seasons, but he still would not be any good if that happened.

4. Jameer Nelson

Many NBA fans forget that Jameer Nelson was an All-Star in 2009, and it's easy to see why given the point guard's dismal play so far this season.

Nelson has never been the type of player to dish out a ton of assists and has only averaged 4.9 dimes a game across his career. 

He has been as a scoring point and an efficient shooter, but this season he has been ice cold. Nelson is averaging 8.4 points per game and is shooting just 38.7 percent from field and 28.6 percent from three. All these numbers are career lows.

Nelson is seriously struggling, and with Orlando devolving into chaos due to the Dwight Howard trade saga, his play is not going to improve.

3. Rashard Lewis

Rashard Lewis has all but wrapped up the title for "NBA's Most Overpaid Player."

Lewis is averaging 8.4 points per game on 39 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from beyond the arc. He has always been a below-average defender, which means he has been essentially useless this year.

For those dismal numbers, the forward is getting paid $22 million this season, which is more than any other player besides Kobe Bryant.

Lewis is a veteran leader on a young team and has clearly been failing at that duty given his team's current 5-21 record.

He has done nothing right this year, and is getting rewarded handsomely for it. One of these things is likely to change before next year, and it will not be Lewis' level of play.

2. Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom had a tumultuous offseason, and it has had a very negative impact on his play this year.

Odom's cousin was murdered this summer, and the forward was also involved in a car accident that resulted in the death of a 15-year-old pedestrian.

While dealing with personal tragedies, the forward had to deal with professional turmoil as well.

Odom was traded to the New Orleans Hornets, but the deal was vetoed by the league and he was returned to the team that had spurned him. His relationship with the Lakers was irreparably damaged and he forced his way out of Los Angeles and landed in Dallas.

All the calamity in the preseason left Odom poorly prepared for the year, and since coming to the Mavericks, he has been disappointing. He is averaging just 7.9 points per game and 4.8 rebounds. His shooting percentages have been ugly as he has hit just 34.2 percent of his field goals and 25.8 percent of his threes. 

The Lamar Odom that won two championships with the Lakers is not the same player that was traded to Dallas, so do not expect much out of him going forward.

1. Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett is a future Hall of Famer, but this year he has been a shadow of his former self.

KG is scoring just 14 points per game this season, his lowest average since his rookie year. He has been able to develop an "old-man game" on offense to still be somewhat effective on that end of the floor, but is not the scoring threat he was when he first came to Boston.

He is also averaging just 7.3 rebounds and the former Defensive Player of the Year is not an imposing presence around the rim anymore. 

Garnett's intimidating defense was the backbone of this current Boston nucleus. The forward's mobility is now limited due to age, and he can barely get off the ground when he attempts to jump. 

The Celtics are not a championship contender if Garnett cannot be a dominant post defender. The point in his career where that description fits him has passed and it is never coming back.