NBA Versions of Randy Moss: 10 Players Teams May End Up Exiling for Nothing
It is still early in the year, but if the first few weeks of the season have told the NBA community something, it's that certain players who shifted teams are just not cutting it in their new homes.
In the NBA, it is not all that rare for teams to try and get rid of players through trades or buyouts. Sometimes these situations are necessary for the team’s future as well as for the player.
Here are a few names that teams around the league will be pushing to forget as the season progresses and might end up on other teams or available in the open market.
10. Shaquille O’Neal
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The Celtics have Jermaine O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal and Kendrick Perkins to play at the center position. One would think that's a good group to have, but the reality has proven that it is not.
Actually, the Celtics are playing their best when Glen Davis is playing Center in a small lineup next to Kevin Garnett. So where do we go from here?
Kendrick should be back at the beginning of next year, and Jermaine O’Neal brings more to the table at this point than Shaq. Where does that put Shaq when the Celtics are fully strong and develop a better identity at the center position? Right at the end of the bench.
Something tells me this will not be good for Shaq’s ego and he will seek a trade to (yet another) contender or a contract buyout to sign with another team before the deadline to be eligible for the playoffs. After all, Kobe does have five rings now.
9. Darko Milicic
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David Kahn swings, and he misses! And that is probably rubbing off of young forward/center Darko Milicic. Nowadays, it seems Milicic can’t make a shot on the court. Starting at center, he is making only 23 percent of his shots. That’s just sad.
It is safe to bet that his shooting numbers will climb to the 40’s as the season goes on, but it is not safe that Milicic will be a wolf for a long time. For whatever reason, Kahn decided that this was the guy he wanted to hand $20 million over the next four years. That is just one problem with his team.
Minnesota will not be relevant this year, which might lead into a period of rebuilding. Wait, weren’t they already rebuilding? Well, yes. But I guess they will have to find new blocks to build with because their current approach, especially in the frontline, is pretty pathetic. A contract buyout would not be out of the question, but most likely the Wolves will just live with Milicic making $5 million a year and playing like he makes $5.
8. Ramon Sessions
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When the Cavaliers signed Ramon Sessions this summer to a long term deal, many people considered it a great move. So far into the season, it does not look that way.
The Cavaliers backcourt is mainly composed of Mo Williams and Sessions at point guard, and Boobie Gibson and Anthony Parker at shooting guard. Out of the four players, Sessions is by far the least productive.
On the season, Sessions is averaging 10 points, less than three rebounds and a shade over three assists per game. For a player that was to be brought in as the starting point guard, that is just not enough. But it does not end there; he is also turning the ball over almost three times a game while averaging a little over 20 minutes per contest.
Out of all the players on this list, Sessions is probably the one who one would think could be given a better chance to improve. But the way players are moving around this year, it would not be surprising to see him shipped out to a team in a package deal with Antawn Jamison.
7. Marvin Williams
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Unless you are an Atlanta Hawks fan, you probably don’t know a lot about Marvin Williams. In a nutshell, Williams is a swingman that barely averages double digit scoring and makes over $7 million a year. He is also not a monster in any other aspect of the game, either.
So what is the deal here? Williams is clearly not at the same level of talent as Joe Johnson, Josh Smith or Al Horford. So why have a guy like that eating up valuable money that could be used to, well, re-sign Josh Smith? There is no answer to that question.
The Atlanta Hawks spent way too much money re-signing Joe Johnson this summer, and although they got a better deal with Horford, that is still a lot of money to throw at two guys. Also, Josh Smith, who might be the best talent on the team, is still not re-signed.
Atlanta is going to have to go firesale mode with some players, and that will likely mean Marvin Williams will be shopped like a TV on Black Friday.
6. Hedo Turkoglu
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So much for a guy that would fit perfectly next to Steve Nash! So far, Turkoglu has looked nothing different than how he looked in Toronto in a miserable year last season. He is averaging 10 points per game and not doing much else. The big man “playmaker” is averaging 1.7 assists per game.
The season is young still; he might find his rhythm within the offense and turn things around. But a better guess would be to write this one off as a miss not a hit by Phoenix.
It does not look good for Phoenix right now, and even Steve Nash has come up in trade rumors. If Phoenix is finally ready to end an era (which might have already ended) then that would mean players like Turkoglu will be shopped or waived.
Given that Turkoglu makes over $10 million per year, it is safe to bet that Phoenix will be looking for a trade, and if things keep going they way they are with Turkoglu, not getting much back.
5. Jose Calderon
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Jose Calderon was signed to a lucrative contract not too long ago. He will be making over $9 million per year this season, and he is not doing anything to prove himself worthy of such sum of money.
There has been plenty of interest in the teams current backup point guard and a deal is expected at this point. With Calderon's play as of late, Toronto might run into the situation where trading Caleron might not bring any significant talent back to the Raptors.
4. Gilbert Arenas
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So far, not so good…that about sums it up for Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards. The only team the Wizards have been able to defeat is the Sixers, who have only been able to win two games in seven tries. Also, that was a one-point win.
But this is not all to blame against Arenas. In all fairness, he has only been a part of the Wizard’s last two defeats to New York and Cleveland.
Regardless, this team is not going in the right direction. It was recently reported that Coach Saunders left practice due to players complaining and lack of effort. Not good for a team losing to well, losing teams.
Arenas is a special situation here because he could arguably be considered untradeable by many NBA teams. His contract is one of the biggest in the league and there just simply aren’t many teams willing to absorb that out there. But that does not mean the Wizards won’t make the effort. If the Wizards don’t pull their act together, expect the team to try hard to ship Arenas elsewhere and not get much in return other than relief.
3. Antawn Jamison
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The worst thing about being Antawn Jamison right now is that the man really has no options and is in the worst situation for a productive 34-year-old veteran. Although removed from his prime, he was still a solid contributor to a very good Cleveland team last season. He is also making over $13 million a year.
Jamison has started the season with injuries, but even when he was on the court it was easy to see that there was no motivation. I can’t blame him for that. It is in Cleveland’s interest to develop their young players more at this point than to try and push for Jamison to do anything significant on the court.
Jamison is a Cavalier right now, but that will soon change. Sadly, given the situation he is in and the injuries he is sustaining, a trade out of Cleveland would likely be for nothing more than a salary dump and some picks if they are lucky.
2. Kenyon Martin
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Where to start with Mr. Martin? Well lets state the obvious. Martin is an overpaid power forward that is due $16.5 million this season and will likely play less than 50 games. Oh, and that is actually a good number given how prone he is to injury.
Everyone knows Denver management and even Denver players have no clue what the club would look like two weeks from any given day. A blockbuster trade can happen any day. This has a direct impact in how much the team is actually thinking of its own future with the current healthy players, let alone those out with an injury for at least another two months.
At this point, Martin’s value is probably just reduced to a salary dump at the trade deadline. He could potentially help another franchise for the remaining of the year while providing the nuggets a couple of young player and a draft pick of some sort in return. Look for Denver to try and deal Martin at the deadline and end up settling for a lot of nothing in return.
1. Baron Davis
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At the beginning of the season, the Clippers looked like they were poised to make a push for the playoffs as early as this year. Lately, that dream has been reduced to just developing the young pieces in the group.
And with that dream goes Baron Davis. There are already reports out there about the organization not being happy with Davis’ athletic shape and weight. There are also reports, although mostly speculations, that the Clippers are already looking into potential trades for the point guard.
In just three games, Davis averaged 10 points, three rebounds and five assists. In the following three Clippers games, his replacement, Eric Bledsoe, averaged 13 points, four rebounds, and seven assists.
Although it is unfair to judge players based on stats, this is at least significant to the point that the organization might want to move on with their young prospect and try to get something out of a trade for Davis. As the season progresses, this feeling will only grow until something happens.
