Ranking the Top 15 Headaches in the NBA

There have been a number of players who despite being talented are considered headaches which few NBA teams would want on their squad.

Whether it's a team cancer or just an ordinary player with terrible contract, players can really frustrate fans.

Over the years, there have been a few household names who will be recognized for their crazy antics and off-court problems such as Ron Artest and Latrell Sprewell, but we've got a whole new generation of problematic children and a lot of older players which had "issues" have actually matured a lot but are still known for being crazy.

So here it is, a list of 15 NBA players who are considered headaches by fans and teammates alike.

Honorable Mentions

Honorable Mentions:

Vince Carter - Was very hard keeping him off the list, but it helps that he will be paid very little from here on end.

Ryan Hollins - I liked him more after watching the fight against Charlie Villanueva, but this guy doesn't play a shred of defense.

Lance Stephenson - He should really be on here, but Lance hasn't played an NBA game yet, and is considering playing overseas now that there's a lockout.

I remember reading somewhere that Larry Bird called him the best player on their team. I think he's going to be good too.

Mike Miller/Mike Bibby - Miller is a great guy and was actually beneficial in some way during the playoffs. As far as Bibby goes, he got paid $216,110 with the heat, how much did you expect?

Brandon Jennings - Had a sophomore slump, will bounce back. Fear the Deer.

Travis Outlaw - Overpaid but their team has cap space, and none of it was his fault.

Al Harrington - Overpaid but it's your fault Ujiri.

Jeremy Tyler - A lock to be on this list when we do see him play, Tyler is the problem child of the 2011 draft.

Luke Walton - Overpaid

Josh Childress - Overpaid

Baron Davis - When your owner heckles you, you know there's something wrong. He's actually been decent for Cleveland though.

Robin Lopez - Andrea Bargnani, except not good offensively.

Richard Jefferson - Overpaid

15. Aaron Brooks

Aaron Brooks won the NBA Most Improved Player award in 2010 after averaging 20 points, five assists and 40 percent shooting from deep. It had looked as though Brooks had finally broken out and was ready for stardom in the league.

This past season, Brooks was on his rookie deal of only $2 million and was expecting a contract extension. The Rockets however, didn't give him one, and with the thought of a new CBA in place for next season, the fact that Houston wouldn't extend him made the 26-year-old uneasy.

From there on, things went downhill. Brooks was taken out of the starting lineup and saw his minutes continue to drop. The unhappy guard was supposed to be an All-Star, but he was given the role as a backup.

In a game in February, Brooks was benched with six minutes left in the fourth, and instead of heading to the bench he went straight to the locker room. The next day, Brooks did not travel with the team which had a game versus the Nuggets.

Aaron Brooks was a considered a team cancer in Houston, but it could have been mainly because rising point guard Kyle Lowry was doing so great.

Brooks was traded to Phoenix shortly after for Goron Dragic and a first-round pick. The Suns were expecting the Brooks from 2009-2010 even though he was still expected to come off the bench, but Brooks continued to play poorly for Phoenix.

Brooks ended up playing just over 18 minutes a night for the Suns, which was less than what he saw with the Rockets. He averaged 10 points for the Suns, which was only a little better than Dragic.

Aaron Brooks could have been considered a headache in Houston, or to Suns fans who expected more, but ultimately the person who should most frustrated with him is Aaron Brooks.

He went from being worth eight figures last year, to being worth a mid-level now, and nobody should be more annoyed at that than Aaron Brooks himself.

14. O.J. Mayo

O.J. Mayo did really well in the playoffs. After his first two seasons, Mayo could have been mentioned in the same conversation as young scorers like Durant and Granger but fell off in production during his third season rather than taking a step forward like most players do.

His average in minutes and points had dropped off greatly, and Mayo was unhappy with his situation in Memphis.

O.J. Mayo was linked to many trade rumors throughout the season and was nearly dealt to Indiana for Josh McRoberts and a first-round pick at the trade deadline.

Mayo was suspended for a game after getting into an altercation with guard Tony Allen over an online card game.

Why is this whole Mayo situation frustrating? Well for one, Memphis just enjoyed a very good playoff run and nearly went to the conference finals but lost to the OKC Thunder in a seven-game series.

Also, Mayo is still a very good player who Memphis will need if they want to improve on last season's accomplishments, by trading Mayo for a mid first-round pick and a lesser player, Memphis runs the risk of throwing away a future All-Star and getting back close to nothing.

Next season, Memphis looks like it will have even less minutes for Mayo as Tony Allen, an improved Xavier Henry and underrated rookie Josh Selby will eat up some minutes at the guard spot.

With Mayo requiring a pay increase at season's end, the cash-strapped Grizzlies team will likely look to move him next season. If Mayo is shipped away for anything other than a young, double-digit scorer, Memphis is getting robbed.

This is why he's a headache. His antics off the court aren't that bad as most players would be upset with losing their starting job and the fight over gambling could have been an isolated incident, but he's got a small window of time to step up his game before Memphis fans see the third pick in the 2008 draft let out the door.

13. Charlie Villaneuva

Charlie Villanueva had a great rookie season and a great contract-year with Milwaukee, and that's about it.

He's still a decent player, but his contract is big and ugly, and there's not a lot anyone can do about it. He's not trade-able currently, but if the Pistons lose Prince, his numbers can see an increase which might help Detroit's chances at moving him.

Charlie Villanueva is your normal player off the court, but he's had his moments. He got into a verbal fight with KG which lead to a big debate over KG's trash talking and whether Charlie V. should have tweeted anything at all.

This season in April, Charlie V. got tangled up with Ryan Hollins, and it was a weird sequence where Hollins was smiling as teammates pulled him away.

Villanueva didn't stop there. After realizing he was ejected, he continued to pursue Hollins who was at the Cavs bench. After he was taken away, he ran out of the Pistons locker room and into the Cavalier locker room hoping to fight with him but was restrained by police.

To add to the weird sequence, some say he's still looking for Hollins to this date...well I can't really confirm that last part.

So why is he a headache? Terrible contract which is not expiring, untradeable player who's not helping Detroit rebuild because of the minutes he earns, and even though fans generally like NBA scraps, weird moments like the one above aren't entertaining.

I guess that's all I can really say about Charlie V.

12. Hasheem Thabeet

When someone's on their rookie contract and still considered overpaid, you know they're a bust. If I hadn't seen this photo of him tripping Lebron I'd have him higher on the list too.

Hasheem Thabeet is why Bismack Biyombo wasn't selected with a top-five lottery pick in this year's draft. The second overall pick in 2009 has accomplished nothing other than being the highest drafted pick to be sent to the D-league in his short career.

Thabeet averaged 1.1 points per game and also racked up 1.6 boards nightly. Unless he improves tenfold, he will be remembered as one of the biggest busts this decade.

Luckily for Houston fans the Rockets didn't quite give up "everything and the kitchen sink" for him. Actually, they got a first-rounder that eventually helped them unload Brad Miller.

The other plus to Thabeet is that he's 7'3" and 263 pounds. His biggest issue (foul trouble) is coach-able, and in the NBA, we have to acknowledge big men take much longer to develop than other positions.

The kid blocked 4.5 shots nightly in college and is considered one of the most dominant defensive forces in UConn history. There was a reason why he was drafted so high, and I say give him two more years, and he'll be as good as Samuel Dalembert.

Overall, he was a huge headache for people in Memphis, but right now, nobody's complaining over in Houston.

11. Marvin Williams

The player on the right is who the Hawks selected second overall in 2005, the player to the left is who they could have selected.

To add to the headache, Williams is owed $7.5 million next year, and the Hawks are about to lose Jamal Crawford to free agency because of it. Williams was signed to a five-year, $37.5 million contract in '09, and he's totally overpaid for the 10 PPG he scores.

Marvin Williams is a great guy, and there's nothing wrong with him as a person, but he's a headache to his team and fans regardless.

10. Stephen Jackson

Milwaukee obtained Stephen Jackson in a trade with Charlotte just before the 2011 NBA draft. The trade was a great one, and Jackson will be much more useful than Maggette or Salmons were last year.

"Captain Jack" lives up to his nick name and has a reputation of pulling bad teams into the playoffs, which is exactly what the Bucks would like to from him this year. He's old now but was still good for 18.5 points nightly last year.

Despite all the good that Jackson brings, there's no denying he's a nutcase. A key part of the 2004 "Malice at the Palace" brawl, Jackson had fought with Detroit fans and was suspended for 30 games by the NBA.

In 2006, Jackson got into a fight with someone at a strip club, fired his handgun a number of times in self-defense after being hit by a car outside moments later.

Jackson has served a number of suspensions and was third in the league for number of technical fouls earned last season.

Despite all of this, Jack is a good guy. Honestly. He is an example that a person who is a nutcase won't always be that way.

Look at Ron Artest. He's not the same Ron Artest that is seen on every single NBA fight on YouTube anymore. Rather he's more of a goof ball nowadays.

He's still crazy, don't get me wrong but not half as bad as he used to be.

So why will Stephen Jackson be a headache for Milwaukee fans next year? Well, like I said, he's a lot better a person than before but he's still got some crazy left in him. In his press conference with the Bucks, Jackson not only considered himself as "underrated," he also said that he's "underpaid."

Jackson who will be making roughly $19.26 million in the next to years would like to have a two-year extension with the bucks, and at age 33, that's a bit concerning.

The Bucks already know what could happen when you throw big contracts at older players (Salmons/Maggette), so I doubt they'd be dumb enough to prematurely extend Jackson to an even larger deal than his current, but it could be a problem in the future.

Milwaukee is a young team which should make the playoffs next season. If they're a top-six team in the east a year from now (and Jackson is still mobile), it wouldn't be a bad idea to keep him. When or if that day comes, I wouldn't be surprised if we see another Latrell Sprewell situation.

Overall, Jack will be good for Milwaukee and aside from a few techs here, and there, he'll be Milwaukee's TYLENOL pill and not a big headache next season, and it's too early to think of any other reasons for this guy.

9. Andrew Bynum

Andrew Bynum is widely considered a top-three center in the NBA. Personally, I don't see him higher than Bogut or Horford, but he's been a great player in the stretches when he could keep healthy.

So why's he a headache? Well first off Bynum isn't exactly a ''Shane Battier" type of teammate. Bynum has a pretty big ego, and the 23-year-old is still immature.

A pointless elbow to J.J Barea and citing his team has trust issues just worsened the situation for the Lakers this postseason.

Bynum was quoted saying, "With the trust issue, everything broke down," and "I stopped helping my teammates because my guys kept getting lobs and easy plays, so I succumbed to not helping my teammates, so that's something I can easily fix."

Bynum broke an unwritten rule by going to the media first before talking to anyone else about it.

Anyway, all of that isn't enough to put him on the list. The real reason why I have him here is because of the unwarranted hype Andrew Bynum gets despite having proven little since coming into the league.

I get it, he was 17 and has shown flashes. But six whole years of him being in the league and people are still talking about his "potential" is what gives me a headache.

How many guys out there get paid $15 million based on their potential? It's very possible he ends his career like Yao Ming has had to, but there's this group of people who just refuse to believe Bynum is anything short of a superstar.

If I was a Lakers fan, I'd be pretty cheesed if I heard Jim Buss calling this guy "untouchable," especially when you consider Dwight Howard could be available on the market.

Overall is he a headache? Totally. Is it his fault? No, he's a good player, and he can't control what people say/expect of him.

8. Rudy Fernandez

Rudy Fernandez was supposed to be the next big Euro in the league but turned out to be the next big crybaby.

After just his rookie season, Fernandez had already started controversy in the 2009 offseason where he expressed his displeasure at the rumor of Portland signing Hedo Turkoglu. The reason was because Fernandez didn't want a player who would take away from his playing time.

Though, technically, Portland owes him one (ask anyone from Toronto), the idea of a rookie getting in the way of a block buster signing like this is pretty outrages. Turkoglu scored a decent 16.8 PPG, and if he had brought a similar game to Portland, the Blazers could have made a deep playoff run in Brandon Roy's last healthy season.

A year after Rudy Fernandez saw his numbers drop. His minutes per game had only dropped by 2.4 minutes, but the reason for that was his terrible field-goal percentage (37.8 percent) and the drop in his three-point percentage.

Despite this, Fernandez decided to publicly demand a trade.

Publicly demanding a trade is one of the dumbest things a player could do. First off, it instantly hurts your chances at getting traded, unless you're a star.

It's very possible if Fernandez privately asked for a trade, he could have been sent to another team in a deal where Portland would also get back a young talented player. Since he made it public, teams knew the pressure was on Portland and wouldn't offer as much from there on.

Since Portland thought they had a very good young player, this made it very hard to deal Fernandez because they just wouldn't get what they felt was equal talent back. Also, I personally feel that the nature of the trade demand (and Rudy's ego) repelled teams further after the event.

Still, this was the past, and in January this year, Fernandez had made it clear he has backed off the trade demand.

So why will be a headache next season? Surely Dallas is a great fit for him right?

True, Dallas is a great fit for him, and if he can maintain the defense he had in last years playoffs, he'll see a good 29 minutes nightly on the Mavs. The reason why he's bound to be a headache is because Fernandez, like many other players, has a been offered to play overseas this season.

Most NBA stars have out-clauses which ensure they come back to league, but some players (Sonny Weems for example) will spend the whole season abroad regardless of when the lockout ends.

Rudy Fernandez was offered a huge deal by Spanish Club Real Madrid, and if he accepts such a deal, the Mavs will be very annoyed.

Even if Fernandez comes back whenever the lockout ends, when his contract expires next summer, he'll be forced to head overseas.

Who knows, maybe he breaks out and has a stellar statistical season in Dallas, maybe they win another championship.

Any and all of the good which could come from Fernandez next season will become temporary if he decides to ink a deal overseas. In my opinion, it's very likely that he considers it.

7. DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins was a blessing for Sacramento. He fell to them at No. 5 despite being the best Big Man and second best player in the draft.

Cousins scored 14.1 points and grabbed 8.6 boards a night while displaying a very good passing game, which tells us he will be an All-Star in the league.

Ever since college, he's had issues with his character and his volatility which was great for the Kings on draft night, but it will also give Sacramento coaches a headache.

Before Cousins had played a single regular season game, there were a number of teammates who privately complained about him and his attitude.

After a game against the Thunder, Cousins got physical with teammate Donte Green for passing the ball to Tyreke Evans and not him in the final play of the game. Cousins also made immature choke signs at Golden State G/F Reggie Williams, the Warriors also went on to win that game.

Cousins finished the NBA season being fifth on the list of players with most technical fouls.

All this and oh, did I mention he's 20-years-old? Being that young, most players are just trying to adjust to the league, they don't really develop an ego until they're a little more established, and most players who acted like Cousins in their rookie seasons ended up playing in China or Turkey shortly after they reached 30 (not literally, but you get my point).

Cousins isn't a great defender and takes bad shots. Both of those aspects can improve.

If I was a Kings fan, I'd love this kid and everything about him as of now because his attitude isn't really going to matter if he can average 20-10 soon.

But, if he becomes a lazy bum and butts heads with Tyreke/Jimmer, he can become frustrating to fans and staff alike.

6. Richard Hamilton

Rich Hamilton needs to be traded. He's overpaid and in a crowded rotation.

Hamilton doesn't like being benched and was one of the players involved in the "Boycott" of coach John Kuester, reportedly called him a failure and a career assistant.

The Pistons have another overpaid player in Ben Gordon who they have to give playing time to, and with young players like Rodney Stucky, Will Bynum and newcomer Brandon Knight expected to receive playing time next year, the 33-year-old Hamilton needs to go.

The problem is that nobody would take him with that contract. The whole situation is a headache, but why should it be blamed on Richard Hamilton?

Well, the Pistons had a deal in place to deal Richard Hamilton.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were ready to accept a trade with the Detroit Pistons which would send Richard Hamilton and his terrible contract over to Cleveland, and thereafter, the Cavs would buy out Hamilton's contract allowing him to play for Contenders like the Bulls, Celtics, Heat or Lakers.

The trade was scrapped after Hamilton refused to have his contract bought out.

Now some will say, "It's his money, and he doesn't have to give it up to anyone."

True, but when you're protesting against your own team (which is paying you a ton) and making a bad example for the young players, you are really a jerk for not accepting the only way out of the terrible situation you've made.

The funny thing is that it's not like Hamilton is expected to get paid $5 million instead of the $24 million he's owed over the next to years. The Cavs were willing to keep him until the end of this year, then buy him out in his final year.

A buyout would be paying Hamilton a good $5 million to $6 million upfront and releasing him to a contender. While agreeing to lose $6 million may still seem like a bad thing to do for Hamilton, fans have to understand his current deal only partially guarantee's him money on his last deal anyway.

So overall, Hamilton would have still earned a similar amount if he accepted the trade, and he might've gotten a second ring as a result. Unfortunately, Hamilton was firm on making every single penny he's owed.

Was he one of the NBA's "good guys" before the last year or two? Yes, but he's been a big headache for the Pistons ever since.

5. J.R. Smith

J.R. Smith is one of my favorite basketball players. He can score a point for every minute he's given on any given night and is a top-five sixth man in the league.

Ever since coming into the league out of high school, Smith has had a ton of off-court issues and was a key factor in making Nuggets coach George Karl lose his hair.

Smith  played a role in the Knicks-Nuggets brawl in 2006, and was handed a 10 day suspension. A year later J.R. was suspended for three games for his role in a nightclub incident where he allegedly beat a woman and spit on her before tearing her dress.

What made it worse was that he didn't show up to the court trial, but eventually was ordered to do 500 hours of community service and spent 30 days in jail in 2009.

Smith has had his drivers license suspended a number of times, and even crashed into his former teammate Carmelo Anthony once. In 2009, J.R. had to spend 90 days in jail for an incident where his friend Andre Bell was killed. Smith ignored a stop sign and was not wearing a seat belt when it happened.

J.R. Smith closed his Twitter account in the summer of 2009 because of a controversial accusation that he was associated to the "Bloods" street gang.

Aside from the off-court stuff, on-court we're used to him having a new feud with coach George Karl every six to seven months, and to this date, I'm amazed how the two have been together so long knowing this league.

From not talking to coach, to poor punctuality for practice, to lack of effort, it's become an annual occurrence to see J.R Smith having problems with his coach.

J.R Smith is truly one of the biggest head cases in the league, but despite this he's one of the most likable guys for his unique attitude. Gotta love him as a fan, stock up on aspirin if you're his next coach.

4. Hedo Turkoglu

Hedo Turkoglu is like Gilbert, except he's a little more productive. I'll admit seeing Hedo go to another team and stink there will be painful because he's a fan favourite, but at the same time, Orlando needs an improvement.

His stats are understandable because at 32, not a lot of players can keep up their production, but Turk needs to kill himself the way Ray Allen and Grant Hill did before he sees his numbers drop even further.

Like Gilbert Arenas, he's a likable guy, and Turkoglu doesn't have any off-court issues, but he's just the wrong guy at the wrong place at the wrong time. Orlando should offer Turk to a team for someone like Richard Jefferson or offer a draft pick and Turk for Charlie V.

RJ is bad too but he shoots more efficiently, and Villanueva is probably the better overall player. Since there's no real risk in dealing Turk, at this point, it's worth a try.

Overall Turkoglu will be loved like ice cream if he's in Orlando, but fans should prepare for brain freeze. I hope he can prove me wrong and pull off averages of 13 points and 5.5 assists, the Magic could really use any improvement from Hedo Turkoglu.

3. Gilbert Arenas

Agent Zero is overpaid, past his prime and it's the worst time possible for it. The Orlando Magic need to improve their roster if they want any hope at keeping Howard.

What a lot of people don't get is that even if they make it to the conference finals (which is pretty far if you ask me), Howard will still probably leave. The entire Orlando team is getting old and Jameer Nelson, Turkoglu, Richardson and Arenas are all going to see a decline after next season.

The Magic are hoping they could start Arenas and give him more time on the court as Gilbert thrives with a large role, and struggles to be efficient with a smaller role. In Washington Arenas scored 17 PPG but that stat line dropped a huge amount when his minutes took a hit in Orlando.

Still, with that being said, it will take a miracle to see Gilbert score 12 points on 50 percent, let alone come back as "Agent Zero."

The Magic could probably find a decent forward if they dump Nelson, and might  find a better old and overpaid player than Turkoglu by trading Turk and a first-round pick (emphasis on the might).

There's a small chance the Magic will find wiggle room next season, but there's no chance that they'll do anything with Gilbert.

Also because it might be relevant, I'll just add that this is a guy fought with a Wizards team mate over gambling, leading to him bringing his guns to the locker room, a guy who faked an injury so his friend could get more minutes, and he's the same guy who spends most of his time playing video games.

So yeah, he's kind of a nut but in a playful way, and his character won't be an issue with anyone as long as it comes with effort. Also, did you know the Wizards were able to void Arenas' contract after the gun affair? I bet would have now.

So assuming Gilbert is given a bigger role and amazingly improves his shooting percentage from 36 percent to 40 percent, I will conclude that he's still going to be a migraine for the Magic.

"Old Gil" was not very motivated last year, so hopefully he stops planking (picture) and tries his hardest at proving me wrong here.

2. Andrea Bargnani

Andrea Bargnani has been one of the biggest headaches for Toronto. First off they select him as the first-round pick, creating a ton of hype only to see him progress slowly as a player.

He spent his first four years looking like a startled deer out on the floor, he seemed afraid to be aggressive on any side of the floor. He was talented but just not assertive, and that ate Raptors fans alive because you knew had it in him to be good.

This last year he finally brought it, on offense. Bargnani was finally a real man, he had all the confidence in the world to shoot the ball and occasionally drove to the basket too.

The celebration was short-lived as Raptors fans quickly came to realize he showed no grit on defense, and had no rebounding instinct. The Raptors were the worst defensive team in the league, and Bargnani played a huge role.

Despite common belief, Andrea Bargnani has the talent to grab seven boards nightly, and he's actually a decent defender man on man. In an interview with an Italian reporter, Bargnani was asked why he didn't rebound the basketball he said, "We play basket-ball, rebound-ball."

If Bargnani was motivated he could have been an All-Star, and it's now or never for this big man because Toronto has a loaded frontcourt and will trade him if he doesn't get the message.

Personally I'm optimistic because he's lengthy and the position change will help him be more physical on the glass against guys who are 6'8" to 6'9". To add to that, his main problems (help defense and rebounding) are both areas of the game which could be masked and improved on with Toronto's coaching change.

Verdict: Toronto fans have had a headache ever since Bargnani got drafted, so he's on here, but don't be surprised if Bargnani becomes a well established power forward next season.

1. Andray Blatche

Andray Blatche is probably the last "good player" you could ever want. He's a double-double guy who saw his numbers increase every season in the league.

You'd think the Wizards would love this guy had you only seen his numbers, but that's only one side of the story.

Andray Blatche, "the man who just wanted a triple double," is a stats hog and team cancer. This was a guy who snapped at his teammate for grabbing his rebound and begged Yi Jianlian (who played on the Nets at the time) for the offensive rebound.

Andray Blatche hosted and appeared in an event called "Lapdance Tuesdays" at a South Beach club further damaging his reputation as an immature player who lacks leadership.

For two seasons straight, the Wizards were open to trade talks involving Blatche, but rumors really heated up after Blatche got into a fist fight with team mate JaVale McGee outside of a club in late December.

McGee is legitimate Center in a league with very few, while Blatche is a decent Power Forward on a bad team with, and comes with a ton of baggage. If I was Wizards GM, I wouldn't care who started what, Blatche would be the one being shipped out.

What makes things worse for the Wizards is that Jan Vesely (the sixth pick in this year's draft) may be better off playing power forward, this adds an urgency to trading Blatche.

The Wizards will have a hard time finding a real trade for Blatche, and if they're desperate to unload him it'll be for a salary dump and a pick. I could see Blatche heading over to Denver for Al Harrington, to Detroit for Charlie V. and possibly to Orlando for Nelson, but no deal which is really great for Washington comes to mind.

He has the size to play center, so the Washington should play him at the 5-spot just to showcase he's capable of doing so. This is one way to make his trade value rise because every other team in the league needs a Center.

Overall, whether they lose him for too little or keep him and hope his character doesn't effect the tireless worker in John Wall, I think it's safe to say Andray Blatche is currently the biggest headache in the NBA.

Conclusion

It was much harder naming crazy NBA players today then it would have been a few years ago mainly because headaches like Ron Artest and Zach Randolph have calmed down as individuals and are focused pro's now.

As for the overpaid bunch, they're not crazy at all (except for Gilbert), but they're equally frustrating to the fans.

If NBA teams are not improving, they're declining, and bad contracts and team cancers could set teams back years (ask the Knicks).

Thanks for reading everybody! Please, tell me what you think, I know I'm missing someone on here.

Did I mess up the order? Let me know and comment.