Former Top NBA Prospects Whose Careers Are on Life Support
NBA careers aren't the only things born on draft night. So, too, are massive expectations.
First-round selections aren't necessarily asked to provide immediate production, but this league has been known to have problems with patience.
That's something this list of former top prospects have come to learn all too well. The sound of bouncing basketballs has been replaced by the eerie chirps of these players' hoops heart monitors.
What should be the time of their lives is instead a struggle to prove their worth, to prove that the glowing scouting reports from the past weren't entirely unfounded.
Tempered expectations cannot begin to describe where these players now find themselves. The absence of expectations, and with them careers, is an all-too-real possibility for these former basketball prodigies.
*Unless otherwise noted, statistics are used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
Michael Beasley
1 of 8
Drafted: No. 2 in 2008
Career Per-Game Stats: 14.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 26.3 MPG, 15.0 PER
Michael Beasley's career marks—especially when compared to the rest of this list—suggest the former Kansas State star is worlds removed from the unemployment line.
Yet, that's exactly where the 24-year-old found himself when the Phoenix Suns decided they'd rather part with $7 million than endure another two seasons with Beasley.
If not for a lifeline from the same franchise that brought him into this league, the Miami Heat, he might still be standing there. Even now he's not that far removed from that fate, holding a veteran's minimum contract that won't be fully guaranteed until Jan. 10.
Off-the-court problems and declining on-court production (he shot a career-worst 40.5 percent from the field last season) highlight the massive hit Beasley's stock has taken. The same player who once drew a comparison to Carmelo Anthony, via NBADraft.net, is now desperate to find a second life as a floor spacer in Miami.
The Heat will welcome Beasley for as long as he improves their chance for the NBA's first successful three-peat since the Los Angeles Lakers (2000-02). However, the next basketball bridge he burns could be his last.
Jimmer Fredette
2 of 8
Drafted: No. 10 in 2011
Career Per-Game Stats: 7.3 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.0 BPG, 16.1 MPG, 12.6 PER
While failing to secure a team option on a rookie-scale contract is often viewed as a disappointment, it's hard to imagine Jimmer Fredette felt the same way when the Sacramento Kings declined his.
Fredette's been almost unrecognizable in a Kings jersey. He was a part-time player under former Kings coaches Paul Westphal and Keith Smart, and is nothing more than an afterthought for current head coach Michael Malone (three DNPs and three minutes played on the year).
Even if you weren't high on his NBA potential, his inactivity at this level seems extreme. Just two years ago, Jimmer Mania captivated the college hoops world with the same fervor as Jeremy Lin's meteoric rise with the New York Knicks that same season.
Fredette has failed to capture that same magic on the big stage, though. He has a point guard's body (6'2", 195 lbs), a shooter's mentality and a street baller's approach to the defensive end.
Maybe his ticket out of Sacramento will be his ticket to stardom. Or perhaps it will mark an early NBA exit for this former lottery pick.
Kendall Marshall
3 of 8
Drafted: No. 13 in 2012
Career Per-Game Stats: 3.0 PPG, 0.9 RPG, 3.0 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG, 14.6 MPG, 7.8 PER
It's tough to put the "top prospect" label on Kendall Marshall, but a lot was expected from the former North Carolina Tar Heel.
He was the second point guard selected from his rookie class. NBADraft.net compared him to current Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who sits third among the league's all-time career assist leaders.
Maybe he wasn't viewed as a transcendent talent, but the hype was there.
Barely one year removed from his NBA debut, though, that hype is gone. For now, so too is his NBA career. Marshall was traded this offseason by the Suns to the Washington Wizards, who barely gave him time to collect his luggage before waiving him.
Now, he's left shopping his pass-only skills to prospective employers. Whatever market exists for a 6'4" guard who can't shoot (career 37.1 field-goal percentage) and doesn't defend has been awfully bearish since his release.
A(nother) D-League stint might be needed to help revive Marshall's career.
Thomas Robinson
4 of 8
Drafted: No. 5 in 2012
Career Per-Game Stats: 4.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.6 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 14.8 MPG, 10.9 MPG
Thomas Robinson fits the physical profile of an NBA big. He packs a chiseled 237 pounds on his 6'10" frame, and plays with both the ferociousness of a hustler and the skills of a star.
At least, that's what his collegiate body of work suggested. A finalist for the 2012 Naismith Player of the Year award, he seemed headed for bigger and better things when the Kings scooped him up near the top of the 2012 draft board.
But he's since been spiraling back down to Earth, racking up loads of frequent flier miles in the process. He's made three NBA stops already—he closed out his rookie season with the Houston Rockets, who traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers this summer—none of which have fostered his development.
Outside of an alarming speeding ticket, he's moved at pedestrian speeds in Portland. Less than 10 minutes of floor time have come his way over his first four games with the Blazers, who have a top-heavy frontcourt rotation, but no reserve bigs that should match Robinson's pedigree.
He should have the best chance of any player on this list to carve out a lengthy NBA career, but I'm not sure it will be the bright future he had envisioned.
Hasheem Thabeet
5 of 8
Drafted: No. 2 in 2009
Career Per-Game Stats: 2.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.1 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 10.8 MPG, 11.0 PER
Hasheem Thabeet may have been destined for NBA failure.
He was as raw as prospects come—he didn't start playing basketball until he was 15, via SI.com's Zac Boyer—but that didn't keep the Memphis Grizzlies from investing the second pick in the 2009 draft in the 7'3" giant.
As players drafted behind him started passing, then lapping, him on the hardwood (James Harden, Tyreke Evans, Ricky Rubio, Stephen Curry, DeMar DeRozan, just to name a few), Thabeet became a regular on the draft-bust circuit.
Assuming numbers never lie, Thabeet's tell an ominous tale. He's had more NBA employers (four) than career points or rebounds.
I'm not sure how much of that is his fault, though. He's yet to suit up for the type of cellar dweller that could afford to give him proper floor time to develop.
He's not about to get it with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Besides the championship thoughts running through the franchise's head, it has its own young big man prospect (Steven Adams) to nurture.
If it's not in Oklahoma City, though, where will he find his next NBA paycheck? Some teams are willing to wait for size, but not when that size is already 26 years old.
Jeremy Tyler
6 of 8
Drafted: No. 39 in 2011
Career Per-Game Stats: 3.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG, 10.1 MPG, 10.0 PER
Second-round draft picks might not seem to elicit top-prospect status, but Jeremy Tyler is the exception to the rule.
He had a camera crew documenting his life while only a sophomore in high school. Olden Polynice, who spent 15 years in the NBA, told Pete Thamel of The New York Times that Tyler had "more upside than any player I’ve seen since LeBron." Once regarded as a top player in his high school class, he skipped what would have been his senior season and went to play pro ball in Europe.
The decision, unfortunately, proved disastrous. He flamed out in Israel, then enjoyed moderate success while playing in Japan.
He slipped to the second round of the 2011 draft, then landed with the Golden State Warriors following a draft-night exchange. He saw limited action with the Warriors, then joined the Atlanta Hawks at the 2013 trade deadline. He nearly parlayed a strong summer league showing into a roster spot with the New York Knicks, but a foot injury ended his training camp and may have cost him that spot.
After all of these twists and turns, though, the mercurial big man might finally have the NBA chance he's been waiting for. New York's D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, acquired Tyler in a trade, and the parent club will surely watch his progress after losing starting center Tyson Chandler for four to six weeks with a small fracture of his right fibula, via ESPN New York's Ian Begley.
There's plenty to like about Tyler's game. He has good size (6'10", 260 lbs), great explosiveness and a surprisingly potent mid-range stroke. But will those missed developmental years come back to haunt the 22-year-old?
Jan Vesely
7 of 8
Drafted: No. 6 in 2011
Career Per-Game Stats: 3.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG, 15.5 MGP, 10.1 PER
Jan Vesely was the talk of the 2011 NBA Draft after he locked lips with his girlfriend before heading up to the stage to shake commissioner David Stern's hand.
Two years later, though, and that's still the most exciting moment of Vesely's NBA career.
He was a part-time participant during his rookie season for the Washington Wizards (18.9 minutes per game), and saw that playing time sliced during his sophomore campaign (11.8). He's yet to log a single minute in 2013-14 for the Wizards, who recently declined his team option for next season.
An athletic 6'11" forward who battles at both ends of the floor should be able to find an NBA job, right?
Not so fast, says TNT analyst David Aldridge. He told ESPN's Tony Kornheiser that he doesn't see Vesely "lasting five years in the league" thanks to a skill set that features "nothing," via Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post.
I'm not sure the skills section on a resume is supposed to be left blank.
Sadly, for him, there may not be any significant additions to that resume by season's end. If he can't see the floor when Nene (calf) is out of action, then it's hard to think he has much floor time in his future.
Royce White
8 of 8
Drafted: No. 16 in 2012
Career Per-Game Stats: N/A
This slide is tough to write. As a card-carrying member of Iowa State Cylones Nation, I've seen White at his best.
He has point-guard skills in his thick 6'8", 260-pound frame. He's a tenacious rebounder with the handles to start a break, the explosiveness to finish that play at the rim and the court vision to spot an open teammate. He plays with a good motor, throwing his weight around at both ends of the floor.
But the NBA fans haven't seen that yet.
His rookie season never got off the ground with the Houston Rockets. His battle with an anxiety disorder, which includes a fear of flying, left him seemingly at constant odds with Rockets management. The two sides never reached an agreement on how to balance his struggle with the league's demanding travel schedule, and Houston eventually traded White to the Philadelphia 76ers this summer.
Only, this wasn't the same White who had suited up for the Cyclones in 2011-12. According to Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News, White was out of shape after spending so much time away from the floor. He racked up 20 fouls in 94 preseason minutes, shot just 39 percent from the floor and turned the ball over at an alarming rate.
White was cut by the Sixers before the start of the regular season.
It's impossible to sign White without adding those off-court issues along with him. But if the on-court product doesn't improve, that may not be a dynamic that NBA execs will have to consider.
