'Huge' Sports Moves That Ended Up Being No Big Deal
Not every "huge" move in the sporting world pans out.
Every hyped move can't live up to LeBron James joining the Miami Heat. Or LeBron James returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. For those who need some variety, not every move can have a happy ending like when Peyton Manning decided to join the Denver Broncos.
No, many big moves never match the hype level. Fans, media, players, teams—everyone deserves blame for hyping something up. Sometimes it pans out.
But there's always a chance the whole thing goes south. Looking ahead, think about the much-hyped arrival of Derrick Rose with the New York Knicks. Rose has an injury history and the modern Knicks are, well, the modern Knicks. Putting the odds of a title run at 50-50 seems generous.
Best of luck to Rose and hoping it works out. Otherwise, the whole thing might join the following list of scenarios hyped as big ordeals that wound up being rather shoulder-shrugging affairs.
Albert Haynesworth's Payday
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The Washington Redskins and owner Dan Snyder could write a book titled "You Can't Purchase Championships."
Washington's more egregious buy of this rather ill-fated period was nabbing defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth for the cool price of $100 million.
To be fair, at the time most scoffed at the asking price. Believe it or not, back then such a price was a little silly for a defender. Adjust for Washington inflation in the sense the team loves to blow cash, though, and it makes more sense.
Wild price or not, most admitted Haynesworth would be a monster for the Redskins on defense, provided he didn't laugh all the way to the bank and stop trying.
It's no fun accusing anyone of doing any such thing, but Haynesworth only appeared in 20 games over two years with the team, tallying 6.5 sacks in the process.
Dallas Steals Chandler Parsons
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They say everything is bigger in Texas, but that doesn't apply to the wheeling and dealing that goes on surrounding NBA teams.
Polarizing Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban went out and stole Chandler Parsons from the Houston Rockets. Parsons had only spent three years with the team that drafted him and had a restricted tag, one Cuban was more than willing to shrug at.
In theory, the Mavericks were a team looking for the proverbial missing piece while trying to gun for a championship led by an aging Dirk Nowitzki and big man Tyson Chandler. After winning the Finals in 2010-11 and devolving into a one-and-done roster, it didn't sound too crazy.
Except it was. Parsons appeared in only 66 and 61 games with the Mavericks, losing in the first round both years anyway.
Over the summer, Parsons inked a deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. Readers maybe haven't heard about it because the hype machine learned its lesson.
Nnamdi Asomugha Helps Make a Dream Team
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Some dream teams don't work out.
Quarterback Vince Young described the Philadelphia Eagles that way to reporters back in 2011 before everything went south. The Eagles had inked a bunch of players in a flurry of cash, led by elite cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.
This wasn't so ridiculous. Asomugha had made the Pro Bowl the prior three seasons with the Oakland Raiders and established himself as one of the top lockdown corners in the league.
As Darrelle Revis has shown so far in 2016, though, the status evaporates in a hurry.
Asomugha crumbled in a new scheme and was just another guy out there. Three games into his stint with the team, he coughed up two touchdowns to a guy by the name of Victor Cruz to help jump-start the New York Giants wideout's stardom.
The Eagles went 12-20 during Asomugha's tenure.
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Jay Cutler Befuddles the Bears
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Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is a hot topic right now because his struggling team has to do without him thanks to injury.
Nothing too new there. Cutler joined the team in 2009 and hasn't played a full 16-game season since his debut campaign. He's thrown more than 20 scores in a season just four times and crept into double-digit interceptions six times.
Cutler joining the Bears was a huge deal at the time. He had spent three successful years with the Denver Broncos and joined a team that had looked viable at 9-7 with Kyle Orton under center the year prior.
Clearly it didn't work out, or it hasn't yet. One may argue it still could, but 2016 doesn't look kind. In a way, Chicago failed Cutler with shuffling coordinators and such as much as he failed them, but either way the move didn't match the hype.
Kevin Love Joins the Cavaliers
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See, Kevin Love saw things like declarations of six titles by the Heat and comments made in other sports like the "dream team" comment by Young and didn't provide much in the way of a soundbite for the media when joining the Cavaliers.
Good thing, too.
Love has been the scapegoat for anything and everything since his arrival in Cleveland. Over two years he hasn't averaged more than 16.4 points, his lowest total since 2009-10.
An odd fit, Love fell into a secondary role behind Kyrie Irving and James. He won a title last season, sure, but averages of 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds on just 22.6 minutes in the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors are what one would expect from a role player, not a guy sitting on a $110 million contract.
Maybe the Cavaliers win a championship without Love. Maybe they don't. But was his joining the team an extension of the Big Three rule that helped dominate the NBA? Hardly.
Dwight Howard Goes One-and-Done
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Dwight Howard—the Los Angeles Lakers had it all planned out.
Howard would mess around and win a title while teaming with guys such as Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, then assume the mantle as face of the franchise once Bryant decided to hang up the sneakers for good.
Right.
Howard crashed and burned with the Lakers, only averaging 17.1 points per game while injuries blasted the roster around him and he seemed to clash with both Bryant and the coaching staff.
But hey, Los Angeles made the playoffs—and suffered a first-round loss for the first time since 2007 and first sweep in the opening series since 1967.
Howard bolted after one year, and his joining the Houston Rockets was met with less hype, to say the least. Three years and not much notable later, his joining the Atlanta Hawks was mostly quiet.
Folks know he plays for the Hawks now, right?
Robert Griffin III Does a Double Faceplant
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After tallying nearly 5,000 yards of total offense alongside 47 total touchdowns during his last collegiate season, Robert Griffin III was supposed to be the next big thing in the NFL.
Griffin came off the board second to the Washington Redskins in 2012 and had a strong debut with 20 passing touchdowns to five picks. Washington exited in the first round of the playoffs.
Then the wheels came off.
It got weird in Washington in 2013 when Griffin only suited up for 13 games, then nine in 2014 before he missed all of 2015. The team cut him in March 2016, ending the relationship with a guy it traded away two first-round picks, a second and more so it could move up to grab him.
Look, Griffin joining the Cleveland Browns wasn't nearly as hyped, but it deserved a mention. If there were a situation where he could go to find success, most in the know would have ranked a team with Hue Jackson as head coach pretty high on the list given his ability to develop quarterbacks.
We may never find out the result. The huge move with the guy who might revive his career and the Browns is now on pause after he attempted 26 passes in his new home before suffering what might be a season-ending injury.
Carmelo Anthony Heads to the Big Apple
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The Knicks were Carmelo Anthony's team well before Rose landed in town.
Anthony wasn't shy about wanting to play for the Knicks and got his wish in 2011 when the Denver Nuggets struck a three-team deal to send him to the Big Apple.
Since 2011, the Knicks have won more than 36 games in a season twice.
This isn't all Anthony's fault, of course. He's still mostly been a statistical monster and had plenty of memorable highlights. But the supposed great pairing with Amar'e Stoudemire didn't work out, and Anthony's presence in New York hasn't exactly made the historic locale a sudden hot spot for big-name free agents.
Anthony seems to enjoy trying to help revive the Knicks. As hinted in the intro, maybe it happens. But as of right now? Anthony joining the Knicks hasn't really changed much of anything in the Association's landscape.
Brooklyn's Big 3
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Speaking of changing NBA hierarchy, the Brooklyn Nets tried to jump on the whole Big Three strategy and flailed around like a fish out of water.
Just look at what Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said when the team pulled what it thought was a blockbuster move back in 2013, per NBA.com: “Today, the basketball gods smiled on the Nets. With the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, we have achieved a great balance on our roster between veteran stars and young talents. This team will be dazzling to watch and tough to compete against."
Sure.
Smile, as in a second-round playoff exit in 2013-14, followed by 38 wins and then 21 last year. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce simply couldn't help a roster featuring Joe Johnson and Deron Williams, which probably explains why Pierce ripped the team and some of the veteran players to shreds in an interview with ESPN.com's Jackie MacMullan (h/t ESPN.com's Mike Mazzeo) a few years later.
That, folks, is not how one builds a dynasty.
Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel
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Tired of hearing about these guys? Let's go two-birds-one-stone strategy.
Johnny Manziel wanted to "wreck this league" with the Browns. That's according to former Browns quarterback coach Dowell Loggains, who relayed Manziel's message during an interview with Bo Mattingly on his ESPN radio program (h/t Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, via SI.com's Josh Sanchez).
And he did—which is to say he wrecked the Browns. He played two years in the league, appeared in 14 games and threw as many touchdowns as interceptions, both coming in at the lucky number seven.
Tim Tebow had more luck. Diehard fans will boast about his winning a playoff game. For those who haven't heard, it came against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Winning that playoff game cost the Denver Broncos second-, third- and fourth-round draft selections via trade to move up and take Tebow in the first place. He too played two years with the team that drafted him, appearing in 23 games and throwing 17 touchdowns to nine interceptions. He later attempted eight passes over 12 games with the New York Jets before fizzling out.
Most know the story from there. Manziel has been in and out of the news for various reasons and isn't close to sniffing a football field again. Tebow has his sights set on the MLB.
Two big, hyped moves, one gigantic shrug of the shoulders.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
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