7 Toxic Players NBA Teams Must Avoid on the 2015 Trade Market
The NBA is no different than any other marketplace—there's always a certain amount of assumed risk on the part of its buyers.
That's why the cost-benefit analysis of any transaction extends to both the incoming and outgoing players. Even the good ones come with no guarantees of producing or impacting the game at the same rate as they did with their old clubs.
But some guys simply carry too much baggage, turning those "Buyer Beware" labels into stop signs adorned with flashing lights and wailing sirens. That's when the word "toxic" enters the discussion.
Potential trade targets can be defined as such for a variety of reasons.
Some don't play well with others, leading to chemistry concerns inside the locker room or out on the hardwood. Others bog down the books with salaries that far outweigh their statistics or simply can't stay on the floor long enough to have a positive effect.
The following seven players might have some intriguing NBA gifts, but the sea of red flags flying around them should lead teams to avoid them at all costs during this trade season. That's going to take some conviction, because these players' toxicity is sure to make their current clubs try their hardest to unload them before the Feb. 19 trade deadline.
Eric Gordon, SG, New Orleans Pelicans
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Eric Gordon hasn't been the same player he once was since joining the New Orleans Pelicans in 2011, and given his lengthy injury history, it's becoming increasing unlikely he'll ever get back to his previous level.
The 26-year-old is currently posting career lows in scoring (11.8 points per game) and player efficiency rating (11.0). He has a pedestrian 42.2 field-goal percentage since the start of 2012-13, and this season he is averaging only 2.0 free-throw attempts per game—nearly three below his career-average of 4.7.
By most measures, Gordon is no longer anything more than a complementary piece. The lone exception to that rule? His massive $14.89 million salary, which climbs to $15.5 million next season if he exercises a player option he'd be foolish not to take.
The Pelicans have played 272 games since Gordon joined the fray. He's suited up for just half of them, sidelined at different times by knee, ankle and wrist injuries.
He's also been the source of several headaches in the Big Easy that have nothing to do with his part-time availability or sagging statistics. He pleaded for New Orleans to let him leave after signing an offer sheet with the Phoenix Suns in 2012. He had a shouting match with Pelicans coach Monty Williams during a game in April 2013.
When asked about the possibility of moving into the sixth man role for New Orleans this season—which could have addressed both the Pelicans' lack of depth and their ball-dominant perimeter starters—he shot down the idea without a second thought.
"I won't get into that because I thought they brought me here to lead and set the tone for the team," Gordon said, per John Reid of The Times-Picayune.
Maybe it's hard to be a team player for someone who's only playing half the games.
Reggie Jackson, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder
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Life should be sweet right now for Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson.
He's filling a valuable rotation role on a team with championship aspirations and a .737 winning percentage when reigning MVP Kevin Durant takes the floor. If Jackson plays his part, he could be looking at a major offseason payday once he hits restricted free agency.
But the explosive 6'3" guard isn't interested in being anyone's supporting actor. He wants the bright lights, big money and bigger numbers associated with a lead role.
"The Oklahoma City guard...wants to be a starter, for one, not to mention an All-Star and perhaps even a Hall of Famer," wrote Sam Amick of USA Today.
There's nothing wrong with dreaming big. But there's also little in the way of evidence that Jackson is capable of having that type of career.
His traditional numbers peg him slightly above average (14.4 points, 4.7 assists), while his 15.5 PER puts him even closer to mediocrity. He's had some success as a spark plug, but seemed overwhelmed when injuries forced him to shoulder a heavier load earlier this season. He averaged 20.2 points and 7.8 assists in the 13 games he started, but he shot just 41.6 percent from the field and 27.0 from long distance.
That isn't a recent phenomenon, either. His playing time has spiked the past two seasons, and his field-goal success rate has fallen both years.
Add in the fact he might only be a half-season rental—Amick reported Jackson wanted Eric Bledsoe money (five years, $70 million), but OKC wanted to stay in the Kemba Walker range (four years, $48 million)—and he just isn't worth what it would take to acquire him.
Brook Lopez, C, Brooklyn Nets
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Brook Lopez should be the Brooklyn Nets cornerstone. He's younger than Big Three teammates Joe Johnson and Deron Williams, presumably pushing toward his prime while they fall farther away from their own.
But the Nets haven't treated Lopez like a centerpiece. Rather, they have tried unloading him onto any and every potential trade partner, pulling him off the market only when they realized how little teams would be willing to give up to get him, per Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
None of that is likely to change—neither Brooklyn's desire to ship Lopez out nor other teams' reluctance to part with anything remotely valuable in exchange for him.
"Lopez epitomizes everything that’s gone wrong with the franchise since the move from New Jersey three summers ago," wrote CBS New York's Steve Lichtenstein. "The excessively-compensated contract. The durability issues. The lack of inner fire to get after every 50-50 ball. The preference for awkward isolations in lieu of team-first ball movement."
On the court, Lopez is a walking reminder of the NBA's past. He's incredibly skilled in the low post and comfortable taking aim from mid-range.
But the league no longer caters to his style. There's an emphasis on pacing, spacing and ball movement, and Lopez doesn't help address any of those areas. The 7-footer has also never been a good rebounder (career average of 7.2 boards per game), and his lack of mobility makes him an obvious target for pick-and-roll attacks.
Any club that deals for him would need to change its style to fit his strengths and stretch itself thin to cover his weaknesses. It would also have to hope that the injury issues that have kept him out of 144 games since the start of 2011-12 would somehow fix themselves.
Anyone interested yet? What if I told you he holds a $16.77 million player option for next season? Exactly.
JaVale McGee, C, Denver Nuggets
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Does a trade market still exist for mercurial Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee? It has to, doesn't it? Players aren't supposed to be equipped with his combination of size, speed, agility and explosiveness. There has to be a coach out there confident enough to feel he can finally tap into McGee's massive potential, right?
Well, no, actually. At some point, intrigue fades away. Not every project that starts is guaranteed to finish. It feels like that's where the basketball world is at with McGee.
Despite being 27 years old and having six-plus seasons of NBA service under his belt, he's still nowhere close to polished. He has only made 14 appearances in 2014-15 and still managed to find his way onto "Shaqtin' A Fool," the only program that has proven capable of making him a star.
There's too much give-and-take with McGee. He either thinks he's better than he is, or he is simply unable to harness his talent. There's a reason he has only averaged more than 18.1 minutes twice in his career.
During one of those seasons, 2010-11, he was suspended by the Washington Wizards for reportedly trading "several punches" with then-teammate Andray Blatche, per Michael Lee of The Washington Post. The following year, he logged heavy minutes for a Wizards team that fired coach Flip Saunders after a 2-15 start, then traded away McGee 41 games into the season.
"McGee, with his talent, his boundless but frequently wanton enthusiasm, and his apparent disconnect with reality, may literally kill a coach someday by attempting some foolish play at the worst possible moment that leads to a sideline stroke or heart attack," Grantland's Rafe Bartholomew wrote in January 2012.
McGee has missed extensive time with leg injuries both this season and last. When he does see action, he's a limited offensive player, a liability at the free-throw line (career 58.6 percent) and still too dependent on athleticism alone.
His basement has climbed a little over the years, but not at the same speed that his ceiling has fallen. His $12 million salary for 2015-16 is going to be tough to stomach whether he's in Denver or elsewhere.
Larry Sanders, C, Milwaukee Bucks
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Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders has it all, and not in a good way. He checks off every box that can lead to a player making this list: off-court trouble, on-court decline, wages that grossly exceed his level of performance, etc., etc.
Sanders seemed like a rising star just two seasons back. In 2012-13, he flirted with a nightly double-double (9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds) while tallying 2.8 blocks in 27.3 minutes per game. He had an obvious gift for providing elite-level rim protection and enough athleticism to get by on the offensive end as an above-the-rim finisher.
The Bucks invested heavily in his growing stock and gave him a four-year, $44 million contract extension that summer, which kicked in at the start of this season. It's been downhill ever since.
In November 2013, he suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb during a fight outside a Milwaukee nightclub. After returning from that injury, he then missed time with a fractured orbital bone. He played 23 games in all, shooting just 46.9 percent from the field and 47.3 percent at the charity stripe.
He had similar struggles out of the gate this season, averaging only 7.3 points and 6.1 rebounds in 21.7 minutes over 27 games. He also served a one-game suspension for his flagrant-2 foul on Portland Trail Blazers forward Nicolas Batum.
Sanders hasn't played since Dec. 23. He was first listed as being out with an illness, but Bucks coach Jason Kidd later said Sanders was out "due to personal reasons," per Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Then, Bleacher Report's Howard Beck brought word that Sanders had been suspended a "minimum of 10 games" for violating the league's anti-drug program, Sanders' second such suspension in the past 12 months.
Sanders has three more years and $33 million left on his deal. Wojnarowski reported Milwaukee hasn't yet discussed a buyout with Sanders, but "most league sources expect the discussion to eventually go that direction," according to Grantland's Zach Lowe.
Lance Stephenson, SG, Charlotte Hornets
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The Charlotte Hornets knew they were taking a risk by signing Lance Stephenson last summer, and it has unfortunately played out as a worst-case scenario.
The ball-dominant swingman has been an awkward fit alongside Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson. Stephenson hasn't produced consistently or efficiently enough to justify taking touches away from Walker, and Stephenson's 15.8 three-point percentage hasn't helped Charlotte create room for Jefferson in the low post.
But, as has often been the case with Stephenson, there are more than on-court problems at play here.
He has reportedly "clashed with teammates," league sources told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, which sounds like a broken record given his tumultuous tenure with the Indiana Pacers.
Fox Sports' Bill Reiter heard that Stephenson had the biggest negative impact on struggling Pacers center Roy Hibbert last season. That fits with a previous report from ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst and Mike Wells that Stephenson was the target of Hibbert's jab at the "selfish dudes" in Indiana's locker room.
Stephenson just signed a three-year, $27 million pact in Charlotte over the offseason, but the Hornets may already be experiencing buyer's remorse. CBS Sports' Ken Berger reported earlier this month the Hornets "continue to explore trade possibilities" with the 24-year-old.
Stephenson's age and versatile talent—he led the league with five triple-doubles last season—could tempt some team into giving him a look. But that club would first need to clear the smoke left by the burnt bridges behind him.
He'd be a giant chemistry risk for a contender, and rebuilding clubs shouldn't want him in charge of a young roster.
Deron Williams, PG, Brooklyn Nets
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At one point, Deron Williams seemed capable of threatening Chris Paul's "point god" throne. But now, the Brooklyn Nets signal-caller is fighting to grade out as an average NBA point guard.
Of the 122 guards that have played at least 25 games this season, Williams ranks 89th with a 39.6 field-goal percentage. He sits 14th overall with 6.3 assists per game and has posted his lowest PER since his rookie season (16.8).
Williams, by the way, owns this season's 10th-highest salary at $19.75 million. That number will climb to $21.04 million for 2015-16, then $22.33 million the following year.
That seems slightly excessive, even by Brooklyn's wasteful-spending standards.
Williams is 30 years old and in his 10th NBA season. There is no going back to his younger days. His challenge is salvaging whatever still remains of that talent.
And that's only if his body allows him to do so. He's had multiple problems with his ankles and is currently on the shelf with a fractured rib. As bad as his physical issues have been, the psychological damage done by them is even more troubling. Williams admitted last summer he no longer feels like the best player on the court, per Newsday's Rod Boone.
If all of that isn't enough to scare suitors off, Williams also has a reputation of being a coach-killer. Jerry Sloan resigned as coach of the the Utah Jazz in 2011 after "repeated clashes" with Williams, per Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears. Former Nets coach Avery Johnson was dismissed in December 2012 on Williams' behalf, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News.
If Williams was still playing near a superstar level, he could maybe get away with all of that. But he isn't, so he can't.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
