10 NBA Stars Who Will Never Win a Title with Their Current Team

Every NBA player starts his career with aspirations of winning an NBA title and entering the ranks of the truly elite.

Unfortunately, for a majority of players, that dream ends once they find their way onto a team that is inept at winning games or making it past the first round of the playoffs.

Players like Carmelo Anthony, Josh Smith, Kyrie Irving and Chris Paul find themselves in similar situations, but they're not alone.

Ahead is a list of 10 NBA stars who will never win a title with their current teams. 

Josh Smith, PF, Atlanta Hawks

Josh Smith is synonymous with the Hawks. He's spent his first eight years in the NBA with them, and he's also popped up in trade rumors almost every year he's been on their roster.

While Smith has never switched teams, that may change at the end of the season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Even if Smith decides to sign a long-term deal with the Hawks, he won't be winning a ring anytime soon because he simply can't do it himself.

He has Al Horford and now Devin Harris to help him pursue that elusive first title, but Smith isn't going to win a championship until he plays alongside another superstar who can take the opponents' defensive focus away from him.

Smith will have a great year this season like he did last year with 18.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, but that won't mean he'll be winning a ring, because the Hawks just don't have enough talent to help him accomplish that.

Chris Paul, PG, L.A. Clippers

At the end of the 2012-13 season, Chris Paul will be an unrestricted free agent.

There's certainly a chance that he could sign a long-term deal with the Clippers, but there's an equal chance that he will go elsewhere, especially if the Clippers fail to make it to the Western Conference finals or further this season.

Paul won't win a title with the Clippers, mainly because he doesn't have enough veteran talent around him on the roster. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are freakishly athletic, but they aren't the kind of players who are fundamentally sound enough to help Paul compete with the veteran teams of the West.

We saw their struggles with the veteran San Antonio Spurs last year in the playoffs, when they got swept by an average of 11.5 points per game. The same is going to happen this season when the go up against teams like the L.A. Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs and even the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Clippers need veteran talent and mature leadership to reach that next level in the West, but that's not going to happen this season, and that means Paul won't get his first ring this year. 

Carmelo Anthony, SF, New York Knicks

Coming into the NBA after winning the 2003 national title, many thought Carmelo Anthony had a championship mentality, but it turns out he only has a college-level championship mentality.

'Melo has proven that it takes more than explosive offensive production to transition from a college star to being a legitimate NBA star who can lead his team to the promised land. It takes leadership and discipline, and those are two things 'Melo just doesn't have.

He needs a veteran player on his team who can bring the leadership and winning mentality that 'Melo can't, and even with Jason Kidd, Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler, the Knicks don't have that.

Since joining the Knicks, 'Melo hasn't even helped the Knicks win a single playoff series, so why should we think that he can help them win that elusive NBA title? Sorry Knicks fans, 'Melo isn't bringing a title to the Big Apple anytime soon; he's just not mature or disciplined enough. 

Kyrie Irving, PG, Cleveland Cavaliers

With Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters in the backcourt, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot to be excited about heading into the 2012-13 season.

But that excitement will quickly wear out once the Cavaliers find their losing ways yet again. It won't be Irving's fault though. It will be because the Cavs just can't figure out how to put a complete team together.

We saw it with the LeBron James debacle, and we'll see it again once Irving has a chance to bolt Cleveland. The Cavaliers aren't a winning franchise, and they certainly don't have a winning mentality. That in and of itself will keep Irving from staying with the Cavs long-term.

Irving can be a franchise player who leads an NBA team to a title, but he can't do that with the Cavaliers because their front office just doesn't understand how to put together a winning team. 

David Lee, PF, Golden State Warriors

David Lee is one of the best-kept secrets in the NBA.

His 2011-12 averages of 20.1 points and 9.6 rebounds are certainly impressive, and they are capable of helping a team win an NBA title, just not the Golden State Warriors.

While the Warriors have a lot of excitement heading into the 2012-13 season, with Steph Curry back healthy and Andrew Bogut at center, they won't be able to beat the top teams in the West because they simply won't have enough team chemistry.

Offense certainly won't be a problem, but the fact that defense is hard to come by for the Warriors will be an issue for Lee as he pursues his first NBA ring. Unfortunately, unless Lee demands a trade, it looks like he'll be with the Warriors through the 2015-16 season. That means at least four more years of basketball without a championship.

Lee is too good of a player to go his entire career without an NBA title, and that's why he needs to find a way out of Golden State. 

Brandon Jennings, PG, Milwaukee Bucks

Brandon Jennings got some serious help when the Bucks traded for Monta Ellis. But Ellis won't help Jennings win a ring.

First of all, Ellis will be in the player option of his contract at the end of the 2012-13 season, which means his career in Milwaukee could be coming to an end sooner than later.

Secondly, while Ellis is an elite scorer, with career averages of 19.4 points on 46.4-percent shooting, he's not the player the Bucks need to get them closer to an NBA title. That's because Ellis isn't a leader, and he doesn't have a winning mentality.

Jennings does have what it takes to win a ring, but he can't do it as his team's franchise player; he's just not enough of a leader. 

Kevin Love, PF, Minnesota Timberwolves

Kevin Love's only hope at winning an NBA title with the Minnesota Timberwolves lies squarely on the shoulders of Brandon Roy.

If Roy can be the same All-Star player he was before he retired, the Timberwolves will have a good shot at being the dark horse coming out of the West. But that's certainly a long shot, and returning to All-Star form is something that will happen later rather than sooner.

Love is the foundation of the Timberwolves' entire team, and that's exactly why he won't win a ring in Minnesota. He's just not the kind of player who can win a ring alone.

He needs another star player beside him to help carry the load, and once he gets that, he'll be one big step closer to his first championship. But that won't happen in Minnesota because they don't have the capacity or the big-market appeal it takes to reel in the kind of talent that Love needs to help him win a ring. 

Dwight Howard, C, L.A. Lakers

Call me crazy, but I don't see Dwight Howard staying with L.A. Lakers for more than the 2012-13 season, and that's why he won't win a title with the Lakers.

The Lakers won't beat the mighty Miami Heat if they don't establish chemistry early in this upcoming season. Having to adjust to three new players in pivotal positions in Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison, that chemistry is going to take much longer to develop.

Howard will be more of a headache for the Lakers this season than a help because it's going to be hard for him to coexist with Nash in the pick-and-roll.

That will lead to a ringless 2012-13 campaign and an early exit from the bright lights of Los Angeles. I know L.A. fans don't want to hear it, but the Dwight Howard saga will continue well into next season. Once the losses pile up, Round 2 of the D12 drama will start up.

John Wall, PG, Washington Wizards

The amazing John Wall is going to be ringless as long as he's on the Washington Wizards; there's just no way around that fact.

While the Wizards got better this offseason by letting go of Rashard Lewis and acquiring Bradley Beal and Emeka Okafor, they just won't be able to compete with the top teams in the NBA. 

The Wizards will undoubtedly be a better team this season than last, but without a proven winner to lead their team, they will struggle to be a playoff team yet again.

Wall is too inconsistent right now—with a career shooting percentage of 41.6 percent from the field and 23.6 percent from beyond the arc—to lead a team to that elusive next level. A change of scenery is what Wall needs, and hopefully, he will get that sooner or later. 

Eric Gordon, SG, New Orleans Hornets

Eric Gordon's only chance at winning an NBA title within the next few years is to pull a Dwight Howard and demand a trade.

The Hornets just don't have enough established talent on their roster to help Gordon. While they have young talent like Austin Rivers, Ryan Anderson and Anthony Davis, those players are going to need more time to develop than Gordon will give the Hornets.

There are only a few players who could carry a team to an NBA title by themselves, and Gordon isn't one of them.

Gordon needs to compliment a true NBA superstar—not be one—to ultimately win his first NBA ring.