NBA Free Agents 2012: Worst Possible Target for Every Team

The NBA offseason and free-agency period is a time for every team to take a good, hard look in the mirror and evaluate every aspect of what they see.

Every team will look to get better, whether that’s by adding one final piece to a championship contender or a future chip to becoming a respectable team. However, by that same token, there’s a few players each team should look to avoid at all costs.

The reason for that may vary, but you don’t want to bring an aging veteran to an old squad, a headcase to a group of unselfish, team-first players or a player at a position your team is already stacked with.

Here’s a list of the worst possible free-agent targets for every NBA team this offseason.

(Note: This list is meant to be somewhat meaningful, so you won’t see me taking the easy way out by listing names like Brian Scalabrine, Rasual Butler or Juwan Howard, because those three players shouldn’t even be in the NBA. I mean, Scalabrine had a roster spot to start last season over Gerald Green? Give me a break).

Atlanta Hawks: O.J. Mayo

The Atlanta Hawks are paying Joe Johnson a gargantuan amount of money to be the team’s shooting guard until 2016, so bringing in a player at the same position doesn’t make much sense to begin with.

However, the Hawks did have a similar shooting guard with a score-first, do-nothing-else mentality in Jamal Crawford, and he won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award in Atlanta. So what makes O.J. Mayo different from Crawford?

Mayo had a great start to his NBA career after being selected third overall in the draft, scoring 18.5 points per game his rookie season. In his sophomore year in the NBA, Mayo averaged 17.5 points per game.

After those first two seasons, Mayo’s minutes per game dropped from about 38 per game to just 26 per game in the two seasons afterward. In fewer minutes, Mayo has truly struggled.

In his last two seasons, Mayo has averaged 11.3 and 12.6 points per game—a major disappointment after a promising start to his career.

Mayo has the potential to regain his form as a solid NBA player, but being buried behind Johnson on the depth chart and not receiving the bulk of the game’s minutes wouldn’t bode well for Mayo or the Hawks.

Boston Celtics: Michael Redd

The Boston Celtics desperately need to insert more youth into their lineup next season. Adding an aging veteran with injury troubles not named Ray Allen for next year would be a travesty in Boston.

Michael Redd had some bright moments in Phoenix a season ago given the fact that his career was in jeopardy after multiple knee injuries, but he would be a bad fit in Boston next year.

If the Celtics move forward by signing veterans, expect those veterans to be Allen or Kevin Garnett to keep their "big four" together, not a different name like Redd.

Brooklyn Nets: Raymond Felton

If the Brooklyn Nets end up signing a point guard this offseason not named Deron Williams, they’ll have a long road ahead of them.

After an incredibly poor year a season ago with the Portland Trail Blazers after a boost in stats the season before playing under offensive guru Mike D’Antoni in New York, Raymond Felton would be a pretty poor consolation prize in Brooklyn if D-Will signed elsewhere.

Charlotte Bobcats: Kris Humphries

If Kris Humphries were to stay with the Nets for their move to Brooklyn next season, I think he’d be a great fourth option behind Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez (assuming those three players also come back).

However, the Bobcats don’t even have solid options at one, two or three yet, so adding a solid fourth wheel would be ugly to say the least.

Missing out on Anthony Davis and adding Humphries to fight for the position of “franchise guy” would be like salt in the wounds of Bobcats fans.

Even so, Humphries would be an improvement from what the Bobcats have now, which admittedly isn’t saying much.

Bottom line, the Bobcats are better off saving their money instead of spending it on a guy who won’t make a big impact on the team’s win column—not to mention the fact that Humphries is one of the most hated athletes in the sport.

It's bad enough to be a laughing stock, but a laughing stock with a player most people dislike? That would not be good.

Chicago Bulls: Gilbert Arenas

Even with the possibility that Derrick Rose could start next season unable to play due to a torn ACL, a washed-up, injury-prone Gilbert Arenas would be a poor fit in Chicago.

C.J. Watson proved to be a solid option off the bench during Rose’s numerous absences due to injury, so expect him to have the job of backup point guard again next season.

The Bulls have an incredibly deep basketball team with a lot of team chemistry. Management won’t want to jeopardize that by bringing in a player who could cause strife in the locker room.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Elton Brand

Elton Brand has been on the decline for a few years now, and at 33 years old, he just doesn’t fit with the current Cleveland Cavaliers squad.

Brand could certainly help a team by bringing leadership and a veteran presence to a championship contender, but the Cavaliers are not anywhere close to competing for a championship at this juncture.

They’d be better off spending money on long-term answers instead of a short-term veteran.

Dallas Mavericks: Lamar Odom

Do I even have to explain why Lamar Odom back to the Dallas Mavericks is a bad fit?

Odom had the worst year of his NBA career, by far, last season with the Mavs, posting 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game over the course of 50 games played.

Due to his abysmal performance, Odom was made inactive by Dallas, shut down for the remainder of the season after a “half-time exchange” with owner Mark Cuban.

Let’s just say that “half-time exchange” is the nice way of putting things.

Denver Nuggets: Nick Young

The Denver Nuggets were one of the worst defensive teams in the league last season giving up 101.2 points per game—bad enough for 29th in the league.

As a result, bringing in a player like Nick Young, who doesn’t play a lick of defense, would do little to improve their basketball team.

The Nuggets are already hyper-offensive with a lot of guys who can put the ball in the basket, especially from long range. George Karl’s crew would be better off bringing in a defensive post presence instead of another three-point threat.

Detroit Pistons: Randy Foye

Randy Foye had a solid season as a complementary player on the Los Angeles Clippers, shooting a respectable 38.6 percent from down town.

However, the Detroit Pistons already have Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Brandon Knight and Will Bynum. All four of those players are tweener point/shooting guards.

Adding another tweener guard to the roster is the last thing they need, especially one who isn't an improvement over the guys in-house.

Golden State Warriors: Hasheem Thabeet

Next season, the Golden State Warriors are paying Andrew Bogut $13 million, David Lee $12,744,000 and Andris Biedrins $9 million.

If they were to sign an unproven prospect like Hasheem Thabeet, it would be nothing short of a waste of time.

You’re not going to pay three players more than $34 million combined to sit on the bench while the team develops a guy with limited potential like Thabeet moving forward.

Houston Rockets: Kenyon Martin

The Houston Rockets missed out on acquiring Pau Gasol this season after David Stern’s veto of the original Chris Paul trade. Adding Kenyon Martin instead of the seven-foot Spaniard this summer would be insult to injury to say the least.

Can you believe that Kenyon Martin was the first overall selection in the 2000 NBA draft? (Sidenote: that’s, far and away, the worst NBA draft in history, if you have some spare time, look it up).

Anyway, Martin is another player who has been on the decline for a while. Additionally, he has the same last name and initials as Rockets’ shooting guard Kevin Martin. Rockets fans, the last thing you want is your significant other mixing them both up all of next season and asking you to clarify.

Also, he may bring stalkers to Houston.

Indiana Pacers: Tracy McGrady

What made the Indiana Pacers so good this year was their team chemistry and understanding of team basketball. Tracy McGrady has spent the past four seasons bouncing from team to team, unable to find a niche, likely because he doesn’t leave a lasting impression on his coaches and teammates.

McGrady’s days of relevancy in the NBA are over as his career winds to a close. It’s hard to believe now that McGrady once averaged 32.1 points per game while a member of the Orlando Magic.

T-Mac is an injury risk and a shell of his former self who doesn’t fit in the Pacers’ team concept.

Los Angeles Clippers: Jason Kidd

At the twilight of his career, Jason Kidd doesn’t have much to offer NBA teams anymore.

Kidd is now 39 years old, and although he could bring a veteran presence to a young Clippers team, I can’t see a scenario in which he’d get much playing time behind Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe.

Also, since the Clippers are bringing Vinny Del Negro back for another season, you don’t want any players in the locker room who could challenge his position as coach...or maybe you do… I’m confused.

Los Angeles Lakers: John Lucas III

John Lucas III is a trigger-happy point guard who has a completely unwarranted sense that he should be hoisting up deep three-pointers whenever he enters the game.

Bill Simmons of ESPN and Grantland.com coined the phrase “irrationally confident” to describe Lucas III, and that label works well to paint the picture.

The Lakers need a distributing point guard above all else, so adding a guy like Lucas III would be an ugly marriage.

Don’t forget the fact that the Lakers gave up pieces to add Ramon Sessions, and they still have $4 million worth of Steve Blake on the roster for next year (and the year after that).

Memphis Grizzlies: DeSagana Diop

DeSagana Diop has been one of the most overpaid NBA players in the league for a long time, and although the Memphis Grizzlies could get him at a bargain price, why would they bother?

The Grizzlies have solid frontcourt depth headlined by Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, so bringing in a guy with limited skills and limited basketball IQ to back up those two isn’t the right choice.

I’m sure that someone will sign Diop with the hopes that he can be a cheap shot-blocker off the bench, but he’s 30 years old now, and his best years are certainly behind him.

Miami Heat: Delonte West

Need I say more?

Well, regardless of whether or not Delonte West had relations with LeBron James’ mother, bringing in West wouldn’t be worth the media hullabaloo that would inevitably follow.

Honestly, this is a shame because I think that West’s skill set would fit well in Miami.

Milwaukee Bucks: Aaron Brooks

Remember Aaron Brooks? The point guard the Phoenix Suns gave up Goran Dragic and a first-round pick to acquire before he bolted for China during the lockout? Yeah, that guy.

Sorry, I’m a Suns fan who’s clearly still bitter about the bone-headed trade that sent a stud point guard in Dragic as well as a first-round pick to Houston for a mediocre player in Brooks.

Since his time spent in China is over, Brooks is now a restricted free agent, so the Suns still have first dibs if they choose to bring him back.

It’s unclear at this moment if Phoenix wants to do so, but regardless, it’s safe to say he’d be a bad fit in Milwaukee with the Bucks.

The Bucks already have Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis in the backcourt—two score-first guards. Adding a third, who is undersized to boot, would take away from the Bucks’ true need—interior size.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Steve Nash

It’s hard to imagine that a two-time MVP would be a bad target for any NBA team, but that may be the case in Minnesota.

Ricky Rubio burst onto the scene last year, throwing flashy passes, showing off a tremendous basketball IQ and being all-around fun to watch.

Steve Nash is a fantastic NBA point guard who’s still going strong at 38 years old, but the NBA would be worse off if he were taking minutes away from Rubio next season. It's silly, but having two of the most unselfish point guards in the NBA on the same team might make that team too unselfish.

The Timberwolves did utilize lineups that featured both Rubio and Luke Ridnour out on the court at the same time last season, but I think Nash is too much of a defensive liability for that to work.

Throw in the added fact that Nash will want to play for a championship contender, and his chances at playing in Minnesota dwindle even further.

New Orleans Hornets: Chris Kaman

Earlier this season, Chris Kaman sat out games while still a member of the New Orleans Hornets because management was exploring a possible trade to move him out of town.

Apparently ,the Hornets had no takers for the former All-Star, so he remained with the team and is now a free agent.

The Hornets are a 99 percent lock to pick Anthony Davis with the first overall pick in this year’s draft, so bringing Kaman back to compete for court time with him makes very little sense.

Davis will come in right away and establish himself as a capable NBA talent. It’s time for New Orleans to embrace the future.

New York Knicks: Baron Davis

Baron Davis’s season with the New York Knicks ended in the playoffs against the Miami Heat when he sustained a gruesome knee injury that may very well have ended his career.

The recovery time for the injury, specifically complete tears of his ACL and MCL among other negatives, is 12 months.

Personally, I don’t see Davis rehabbing his knee and coming back after the injury, especially when you take into consideration that B-Diddy had back surgery that kept him on the shelf for the majority of the season to start with.

Also, it's not as if Davis was a big difference maker on the court for the Knicks last season. During the regular season, Davis had more turnovers (76) than he had field goals (68).

The Knicks will have to focus their attention on re-signing Jeremy Lin moving forward. He means too much to the team’s success and their marketing abilities moving forward.

If Davis returns next season, I bet it’s as an assistant coach, not a player.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Aaron Gray

Aaron Gray isn’t necessarily a bad fit in Oklahoma City considering that Nazr Mohammed is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but when you have a team as good as the Thunder, nobody can really be seen as a bad pickup for the end of the bench.

Gray could be seen as a solid backup behind Kendrick Perkins at center, but Nick Collison has proven to be a great fit already as a hustle guy who takes charges and fouls in the right situations.

Gray is one of the slowest players in the NBA, and he doesn’t play great defense for a big man (he averages just 0.3 blocks per game for his career). Overall, I think Gray would just get in the way when Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden drive to the basket.

Orlando Magic: Robin Lopez

The Orlando Magic have the best center in basketball right now, Dwight Howard.

If they intend to keep Howard in Orlando moving forward, they’ll have to surround him with meaningful pieces that will help the team win. Even as a backup center, Robin Lopez does not fit that description.

In four seasons in Phoenix so far, Lopez has failed to show any improvement on a year to year basis. Additionally, as a seven-foot center, he’s never averaged more than 4.8 rebounds per game in a season—alarming stat.

The Magic’s best bet at the moment is to surround Howard with solid role players and hope there’s enough improvement to convince him to stay.

Philadelphia 76ers: Marreese Speights

The majority of Marreese Speights’ time in Philadelphia was spent occupying head coach Doug Collins’ dog house.

The year before this season, Collins said that not getting the best out of Speights was that season’s biggest disappointment. Needless to say, the two didn’t see eye to eye.

Speights was eventually traded to the Memphis Grizzlies where he had a decent year backing up Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

Bringing him back to Philly to quarrel with Coach Collins would be the worst possible move.

Phoenix Suns: Boris Diaw

Boris Diaw had some good times while a member of the Phoenix Suns, but those times are long gone.

Bringing in Diaw to a team that already has Channing Frye locked into a contract with the young Markieff Morris needing court time doesn’t make much sense.

Additionally, Diaw is now a veteran at 30 years old, and he hasn’t aged well. His numbers have consistently dropped over the past few seasons.

Unless the Suns manage to bring back Steve Nash (unlikely), then they’ll have to embrace the youth movement going forward as they rebuild from the ground up.

Portland Trail Blazers: Greg Oden

After a tumultuous start to his career in Portland, riddled with multiple injuries, the Trail Blazers finally decided to sever ties with Greg Oden this season.

He plans to sit out all of next season, so signing him this summer doesn’t make much sense anyway.

Add in the fact that Oden is the face of failure for Portland Trail Blazers basketball and I shouldn’t have to explain why he’s the worst target for them this summer.

Sacramento Kings: Kirk Hinrich

The Sacramento Kings found a diamond in the rough last season by drafting Washington point guard Isaiah Thomas with the last pick in the draft.

In addition to Thomas, the Kings have Tyreke Evans, Jimmer Fredette, Marcus Thornton, John Salmons and Francisco Garcia in the backcourt.

That’s already a major logjam, so bringing in another point guard or shooting guard would be a terrible move.

Kirk Hinrich could be a solid veteran option for a few teams in the NBA, but for a team like Sacramento stacked with guards already, not a good fit.

San Antonio Spurs: J.R. Smith

J.R. Smith is a streaky jump shooter with seemingly unlimited amounts of confidence and swagger.

With that said, he’s a bit of a headcase who has had clashes in the past with teammates and coaches. I just can’t see that type of personality fitting in with the current San Antonio Spurs roster, especially not under a no-nonsense coach like Gregg Popovich.

The move this season to bring in Stephen Jackson, who has some baggage of his own, was a great pickup. However, Jackson started his career with the Spurs, already knew what to expect and has a lot of respect for coach Popovich.

Smith is a good NBA role player with a streaky three-point delivery, but I can’t see him fitting in with the "all about business" guys in San Antonio.

Toronto Raptors: Ray Allen

Yes, the Toronto Raptors desperately need someone who can score the basketball (they ranked 28th in points per game last season). Yes, Ray Allen is a great scorer and a lights out three-point shooter.

However, Allen is currently 36 years old, and he's coming off ankle surgery to repair an issue with bone spurs. Unless he’s the missing piece on a team contending for a championship trophy, I don’t see much of a reason to sign him to a contract.

The Raptors need scoring, but they’re better off going with a younger option considering they’re so far away from being competitive at this juncture.

Utah Jazz: Josh Howard

Josh Howard royally disappointed in the playoffs for the Utah Jazz this season.

In four playoff games (three of which he was in the starting lineup for), Howard averaged 3.8 points on 29.4 percent shooting from the field.

This had my friend Brett, a diehard Jazz fan, scratching his head and wondering why Utah didn’t go with their big lineup: Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Derrick Favors, which could have caused the San Antonio Spurs some matchup problems.

If Jazz management decides to extend Howard a contract this summer after his abysmal playoff performance, Jazz fans have every right to be upset.

Washington Wizards: Antawn Jamison

Back in the days when Gilbert Arenas was taking the league by storm in a Wizards uniform, Antawn Jamison was also making the All-Star team as his teammate.

Jamison’s All-Star caliber performance earned him a four-year, $50 million extension, solidifying the Wizards’ “Big Three” at the time which included Arenas and Caron Butler.

Even with all three of those players in their primes, they proved not to be a championship-caliber club.

Bringing Jamison back to play alongside Nene and John Wall could bring back bad memories for the Wizards' fanbase.