NBA Free Agency 2012: 10 Players Doomed to Fail on New Teams

The free-agent market is meant to infuse much-needed talent into rosters that need a little something, and sometimes a lot of something.

But, you know what they say about good intentions.

Of course, signing the right guy can make all the difference in the world. There's no doubt that bringing Tyson Chandler on board prior to last season gave the New York Knicks the opportunity to become a first-rate defensive club.

There's also little doubt those same Knicks regret spending so much money on Amar'e Stoudemire.

This summer's decisions will lead to more than a few regrets.

Whether the culprit is desperate overspending, declining talent or simply pursuing the wrong kind of fit, some general managers will look back and wonder what they were thinking.

Here are a few of the decisions that may not pan out as expected.

Omer Asik: C, Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets made some interesting decisions this summer, and the offer sheet extended to Omer Asik for three years and $25 million was certainly one of them

As it turns out, the Chicago Bulls will not be matching that offer.

Sure, Asik is capable of being a starting center in the NBA. He can rebound and defend with the best of them, and he can run the floor. These are treasured qualities among seven-footers.

But, he's a complementary player on a good team—not the kind of big man a young team wants to feature. And, he's definitely not worth that kind of money, especially given that he will, very possibly, trade off with the opportunity to add superior talent.

Asik will do just fine, but the Rockets will need him to do much better than that.

Kwame Brown: C, Philadelphia 76ers

Kwame Brown may have settled in as a role player in this league, but it's a limited role at that.

The first overall pick in 2001 has yet to live up to expectations, but he's managed to stick around on account of his rebounding ability and having the requisite size and strength to guard the post. So, yes, he does serve some function.

But, even by defensive standards, Brown isn't especially mobile and won't keep up on pick-and-rolls and other scenarios in which he's required to move his feet.

The Philadelphia 76ers needed some depth and defensive grit to supplement much-improved center Spencer Hawes. To their credit, they're picking Brown up on a pretty affordable deal.

Still, don't expect the disappointing big man to improve upon a career of mediocrity at this point. The 30-year-old is what he is by now.

Jamal Crawford: SG, Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers signed Jamal Crawford to stabilize a backcourt that lost Mo Williams via trade and Nick Young to free agency.

On the face of it, this isn't a bad deal for L.A.

We know Crawford can score, and like so many others, he should benefit from playing alongside a top-shelf facilitator like Chris Paul. The 32-year-old guard is still capable of filling it up, even if it is on a fairly streaky basis.

Nevertheless, this isn't exactly a long-term solution to the Clippers' needs at shooting guard.

Crawford's bread and butter involves creating his own shot rather than coming off screens or spotting up on the wing. With the ball in Paul's hands so frequently, Crawford may be better suited for a sixth-man role, meaning the Clippers would still have to feature the undersized Chauncey Billups as their starting 2.

More importantly, Crawford has never been a good defender.

We know this club can score, but it's not going anywhere until it can stop equally potent offenses out West.

Don't let Crawford's production fool you. He'll be giving up plenty of points to the guy on the other team.

Raymond Felton: PG, New York Knicks

No matter how successful Raymond Felton is on the court this season, he won't be Jeremy Lin.

For that reason alone, it's a lose-lose situation for a guy who could be in store for a bounce-back campaign. Of course, he'll need a bounce-back campaign if he expects anything but the wrath of disaffected New York Knicks fans.

NYC signed Felton despite an atrociously inefficient season with the Portland Trail Blazers this past year. 

Sure, he averaged over 17 points per game during his last stint with the Knicks, but there was one key difference: Mike D'Antoni was coaching back then and advancing a run-and-gun mentality in which just about any trigger-happy point guard could thrive.

That season was an anomaly for Felton, who's spent most of his career making around 41 percent of his field-goal attempts and missing more than his fair share of three-pointers.

With the ball in Carmelo Anthony's hands so frequently in Mike Woodson's isolation-heavy offense, Felton could be in store for another rough season.

Landry Fields: SG, Toronto Raptors

Landry Fields is the kind of guy who looks awfully good when he's playing on a cheap rookie contract.

He'll be held to higher scrutiny, though, after the Toronto Raptors brought him aboard for three years and roughly $20 million. Chances are he won't quite live up to that contract.

Sure, Fields is a glue guy. He'll never be a go-to scorer, but he rebounds and does the little things that make teams competitive. Even by those standards, however, Fields isn't an exceptional defender, and his overall game hasn't progressed much after a breakout rookie season in 2010-11.

Fields will have to share time with DeMar DeRozan and rookie Terrence Ross on the wing, which should suit him reasonably well. 

He just won't be worth the price Toronto is paying.

Randy Foye: SG, Utah Jazz

It's not hard to understand why the Utah Jazz opted to sign shooting guard Randy Foye for the upcoming season.

This is an organization that's resigned itself to surrounding good role players with mediocre role players. They've masterfully positioned themselves for another low seed and first-round exit.

Instead of accepting their fate and moving forward with a rebuilding process, the Jazz insist on bringing in just enough veteran talent to remain painfully average. Foye will hit a few threes, but he'll also prove why he was better off in the same backcourt as Chris Paul.

His greatest contribution will be robbing second-year guard Alec Burks of valuable playing time. 

That's the Utah way. 

Why let Gordon Hayward develop when you can bring in Marvin Williams? Why create playing time for Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter when you can still trot out Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap.

This organization is either clinging to a dream or the promise of some first-round playoff revenue. Foye will be just good enough to keep the Jazz an arm's length away from a draft pick that could actually make a difference.

Brendan Haywood: C, Charlotte Bobcats

If Brendan Haywood couldn't cut it with the Dallas Mavericks, it's hard to believe he'll be any better off with the Charlotte Bobcats.

At least owner Michael Jordan got something of a bargain by claiming the big man off of waivers.

Haywood was set to make over $8 million next season with the Mavericks, so it's no secret why the under-performing center got amnestied. 

There are at least a few reasons to believe the move to Charlotte won't be a total disaster. It's closer to home for Haywood, and he may have an opportunity to earn himself more playing time. If he starts to slip from the rotation, though, watch out.

Haywood has never had a problem filling the stat sheet. He can rebound, block shots and score a bit in the paint. His problem is remaining motivated and consistent, and that's the kind of problem that can be exacerbated on a young team deep into a rebuilding process.

Antawn Jamison: PF, Los Angeles Lakers

No, the Los Angeles Lakers don't need Antawn Jamison to play like an All-Star. The organization is bringing him in to add some scoring punch to a woefully thin bench.

By that measure, Jamison's threshold for success is pretty low.

The problem is that he's not an especially efficient scorer at this point. He's limited to perimeter shots, and his ability to hit those shots consistently is in question. He'll produce on a team like the Cleveland Cavaliers, but how will he respond to a more limited role where efficiency matters all the more?

And just how limited will his role be?

Jamison isn't much of a defender at this point, so staying on the floor under head coach Mike Brown could be somewhat of a struggle.

Don't be surprised if Jamison starts looking ahead to retirement a bit early while enjoying a rare ride with an actual contender.

Jason Kidd: PG, New York Knicks

The once-great point guard has already done his best to steal the New York headlines from Jeremy Lin.

A DUI and crumpled Cadillac might not have been what he had in mind, though.

Jason Kidd would have been an excellent on-court mentor for Lin, but it's hard to fathom any other reason the New York Knicks would have signed him.

He creates the wrong kind of matchup problems defensively, offering little resistance to quicker point guards. And, he won't do much on offense besides spotting up for a few three-pointers. In general, his production has slipped to incredibly forgettable levels.

When all is said and done, Kidd may help New York survive while Iman Shumpert recovers from a torn ACL.

But, any fans expecting him to make meaningful contributions at the point will be disappointed.

Rashard Lewis: F, Miami Heat

It seems like nothing can go wrong for the Miami Heat, but you have to wonder just how lucky a team can get with a platoon of past-prime spot-up shooters.

Shane Battier and Mike Miller worked out pretty well in the NBA Finals, but this isn't an especially sustainable formula. 

Of course, there's no reason for the reigning champions to pass up the opportunity to sign Rashard Lewis. It's an inexpensive gamble and worth the $1 million and change by any metric.

Whether it will translate into anything is another question.

Last season was the first time Lewis played fewer than 30 minutes a game since his second year in the league. The results weren't pretty. His time on the floor was also limited by injury, but that could be par for the course from here on out.

He may still be just 32 years old, but his body has been through a lot of NBA action after entering the league directly from high school.

He could bounce back and make the Heat nearly unbeatable, or he could wind up spending a lot of time on the bench.