The Road to Redemption: A Look at the Worst NBA Teams of Last Season

Last year, these teams were terrible.

They were the cellar dwellers, the table-proppers of their division—if not conference.

Now, about ten games into the new season, we take a look at how their fortunes have altered.  Is there light at the end of the tunnel, or will it be more of the same for their beleaguered fans?

Miami Heat (15-67)

The worst team of last season, hands-down.  The former-Seattle Supersonics had five more Ws than they did—although a convincing case could be made that the Heat's collapse was by the design of ol' Riles and team.

In spite of their ill-disguised efforts, the balls did not bounce their way, and they were left with the number-two draft pick instead. Now, after a respectable 5-5 start, Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers are looking like a more than adequate compensation for Derrick Rose.

The Heat have not quite turned the corner.  Although things are looking up, there may be holes in the team, most notably the lack of size in the middle. Udonis Haslem, in spite of his heart and intensity, will have problems hanging with the Howards, Yaos, Bynums, or even the Perkins of this world.

They do have a valuable chip in multi-talented Shawn Marion, and his $17 million expiring contract. If they manage to hang on to Dwyane Wade after the war of 2010 and maybe even add another superstar, the Heat could be back in business, just two seasons removed from the atrocity of 2008.

Oklahoma City Thunder (20-62)

They were the second-worst team last season in spite of the heroics of ROY Kevin Durant. With the fourth draft pick, they picked point guard Russell Westbrook.  Westbrook was considered by many to have gone too high but OKC felt he was the best fit for their team.

This season they are the worst—1-10 after 11 games, good for an absymal winning percentage of .091.

Any consolation? Their defense is not the worst.  There are nine teams with more points allowed than them and both the Bobcats and Clippers have scored fewer points per game.

Kevin Durant has not run into the proverbial "Sophomore Slump," averaging 21.1 points per game so far. Russell Westbrook is looking pretty good, averaging 11.8 points and 3.1 assists in 23.3 minutes played per game.

Are there any other positives for this new franchise? The high lottery pick they are going to get this season is going to come in handy, adding to the core of Durant-Westbrook-Green.

The should have a bright future, which is good—'cause they certainly don't have anything else, having left their past in Seattle.

Memphis Grizzlies (22-60)

Despite not being the worst team statistically last season, the Grizzlies were regarded as the biggest joke after the perceived fiasco of the Pau Gasol trade. But a few games into the new season, analysts and observers were starting to retract their denunciation of GM Chris Wallace. Marc Gasol, a forgotten piece of the trade, and Darrell Arthur, who was acquired with the Lakers' draft pick, are playing well in a league starved for big men.

After a decent 3-3 start, the Grizzlies lost their next four games, and find themselves back in the familiar comforts of the Southwest Division cellar.

In spite of that, for the first time since Gasol senior won ROY, there is hope down in Memphis. Rudy Gay has been growing his game steadily, and the addition of the two tag-ons to Kwame Brown are forming a core with genuine potential.

Oh, there is also this "OJ Mayo" guy, as well.

Another reason for optimism? The Grizzlies are the only team currently under the cap, so they could make some waves in the free-agent market. After the Gasol trade, when Wallace commented that Brown had the biggest expiring contract I laughed and scoffed at the idea that any self-respecting free agent would love the southwest basement no matter how much money is thrown at him.

Now, with this nice-looking young team in place, Wallace is looking a lot smarter than me. Chris Bosh? It is not impossible...

Minnesota Timberwolves (22-60)

After the semi-glorious Kevin Garnett years, the T-Wolves went into rebuilding mode around the 20-10 stud that is Al Jefferson. Playing out of position at the five, Jefferson is helping the T-Wolves fans (dwindling as they may be) forget the Big Ticket.

The first season sans KG was expected to be rough, and Kevin McFail—excuse me, McHale—went into the lottery with the number-three pick.

With OJ Mayo on-board, he and Big Al could have formed a poor man's version of Shaq-Kobe.

Instead, McHale traded for Mike Miller and Kevin Love, the number-five pick taken by the aforementioned Grizzlies. Love was supposed to be a great passer at his position with high basketball IQ (Luke Walton is supposed to have high basketball IQ as well, see where that got him) while Miller was supposed to rain down treys while creating space for the Big Men to operate down low. The T-Wolves seemed to have the pieces in place.

Nine games and eight losses later, McHale's vision appears to be overtly optimistic. Granted, the T-Wolves have more problems than a couple of trades could have solved—but if truth be known, they do not appear any further away from lottery purgatory than last season.

They got rid of their lousy contracts though, going into 2010 with only $15.7 million. But as it stands, I can't really see LeBron or Wade or Bosh or Amar'e tripping over themselves for the chance to play with Telfair, McCants, Love, and Foye.

New York Knicks (23-59)

The highest-earning roster, and one of the worst records—the textbook case of how not to run a franchise. The moment Isiah Thomas was relieved of managerial duties and Mike D'Antoni took over the helms, New York was filled with optimism. Scarcely veiling their intent to go all in for the LeBron sweepstakes, D'Antoni seems to be called upon to be more of a used car salesman-cum-magician to make lemonade out of Isiah's lemons.

After ten games and an impressive 6-4 record later, the Knicks have shaken off the chains of the Isiah regime, right? Not so fast.

Sure they look better than they have for the past two seasons, and they are a potent offensive team. But it is still premature to start looking at the postseason.

Having more than $30 million in salary on the inactive roster is not exactly a GMs dream, and they have yet to shed any of their cumbersome contracts. Maybe D'Antoni's plan is for his players to stuff the stat sheet to make them more attractive.

At this rate, Zach Randolph might well be an All-Star this season. That should help find some takers for his $47 million contract. Maybe Eddy Curry will be so insulted by the Out Indefinitely-Overweight tag slapped on him that he won't pick up his $10.5 million player's option after this season.

And Marbury? Well, one more year of making headlines in New York is the max, since his $21 million contract expires this year—buyout or no buyout.

It is not a return to the glory years, but there have been worse times to be a Knicks fan.