The Most Disappointing NBA Players This Season

These expectations are why the Cavs, despite being 31-22 and No. 3 in the East, were in a state of disarray and panic before basically doing a full-on rebuild in two hours at the deadline. But the Sixers, who are just hanging on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference at .500, are one of the feel-good stories of this NBA season.

Other expectations are salary driven. Someone making several millions dollars a year is to be counted on as a star, and anything short of that puts a major albatross around your name. The NBA has created a ton of these albatross situations with all of the ridiculous contracts being thrown around to random players that nobody has ever heard of. Like, why is Bismack Biyombo the highest-paid player on the Magic? He doesn’t even start!

This season, there have been plenty of disappointments to go around — both from the start of the season and from salaries. From sidelined superstars, to rookie disappointments, to players who can’t seem to grow, to big-contract busts, the NBA is filled with players who have consistently missed the mark all year. To be fair, every NBA season brings us several examples of this — usually with the Knicks. Some teams have had several players come up short of expectations, which has inevitably affected their final records.

With that said, let’s take a look at some of the biggest disappointments in the Association this year.

2017-18 stats: 6.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.8 APG

What we expected: The fulfillment of the #Process

It’s not Fultz’s fault that he has been nursing a shoulder injury all year, but this season looks very troubling for his long-term development. His shooting motion has major mechanical flaws, and looks nothing like the more conventional one he had in college. One video recently showed Fultz missing three consecutive free throws in practice, which is likely not what Sam Hinkie had in mind when he laid out the #Process

2017-18 stats: 2.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.0 APG

What we expected: More than one game

Hayward’s season ended just five minutes into his first game with the Celtics. He was one of the most coveted NBA free agents last summer, and his signing was expected to make Boston legitimate challengers to LeBron’s Eastern Conference title. They’ve done well without Hayward; they currently stand as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. But if Hayward were healthy, they would be the clear favorite to win the conference — and perhaps even to unseat the Warriors.

2017-18 stats: 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.0 SPG

What we expected: An MVP-caliber season

Another “no fault of his own” situation, Leonard has played in just nine games all season due to a quad injury. He also reportedly wants out of San Antonio, making for some rare drama for the Popovich-led Spurs.

2017-18 stats: 17.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG

What we expected: A superteam

The acquisitions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were supposed to provide for a superteam in Oklahoma City, giving Russell Westbrook a much-needed supporting cast. One that could give the Warriors a run for their money in a seven-game series.

Although the team has played much better over the last month or so, its big three has yet to produce superteam-like results. OKC is currently on pace for 46 wins, which is actually one fewer than they had last year without George or Anthony. And Melo’s production has taken a sizeable hit: He’s averaging under 20 points per game for the first time in his 15-year career.

2017-18 stats: 17.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 4.3 APG, 2.1 SPG

What we expected: Not tweeting himself off a team

And in just one tweet, Bledsoe was out of Phoenix. He may be playing fairly well with the Bucks, but the Suns have to be disappointed that one of their few good players tweeted his way off the team. While he denied that this tweet was about his situation with the Suns, its correlation with the firing of head coach Earl Watson didn’t make his denials look particularly convincing.

2017-18 stats: 12.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.3 BPG

What we expected: A return to Laker contention

Lopez’s offensive stats have taken a nosedive in his first season in L.A. He’s averaging just 11.8 points per game, after averaging over 20 in each of the last two seasons. His offensive rating has also fallen to a career-low 101, for all of you analytics guys out there.

2017-18 stats: 4.0 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 0.6 BPG

What we expected: A contract-year bump

Noel took a major gamble this July when he declined a four-year, $70 million contract offer from the Mavericks. When no other team bit, he was forced to accept a meager $4.2 million to return to Dallas on a one-year contract. And based on the way he’s played this year, it wouldn’t be surprising if he never sees another payday like the one he declined in July.

2017-18 stats: 5.8 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.3 BPG

What we expected: A starting center

Biyombo is a solid defensive sub off the bench, as his averages of 5.8 rebounds per game and 1.4 blocks per game in 18.9 minutes per game would suggest. But with a $17 million salary — the highest on the team — you’d like to have a little more than a solid defensive player coming off of the bench.

2017-18 stats: 12.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.7 APG

What we expected: No major decline in stats

Last season, Batum averaged 15.1 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and 5.9 assists per game. He’s experienced sharp declines in all three categories this season, and many of his advanced stats have taken a hit as well: His value over replacement players stands at just 0.8, after recording at least 2.0 in every year since 2012-13.

2017-18 stats: 11.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.5 APG

What we expected: A compliment to LeBron

While nobody was expecting vintage Dwyane Wade to show up this season, it’s safe to say that nobody thought he’d only be averaging 11 points per game either. He was an All-Star two years ago, and had a fairly decent run for the Bulls last year. Wade was also reuniting with LeBron James, with whom he had won two championships.

Unfortunately, Wade has started to show his age. The 36-year-old made little impact with the Cavs before being shipped back home to the Heat, where he could be playing his final season. He looked nothing like the Dwyane Wade of 2006, or even the Dwyane Wade of 2016 while he was in Cleveland.

One day, we’ll look at pictures of Wade with the Cavs like we look at pictures of Patrick Ewing on the Magic, Joe Montana on the Chiefs, or Ken Griffey Jr. on the White Sox.

2017-18 stats: 6.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.3 APG

What we expected: A bigger step forward

Bender has shown only minimal growth since being drafted No. 4 overall in 2016. He’s started just eight games all season, and has yet to make much of an impact in the games he has played. He may be just 20 years old, but the lack of growth here is troubling.

2017-18 stats: 2.0 PPG, 0.0 RPG, 1.0 APG What we expected: More than one basket made

The four-year, $72 million contract the Lakers gave Deng before last season has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster so far. Deng posted career lows in points, assists, and field-goal percentage last season. In fact, his awful year last year is the only reason he’s not higher on the list, because his expectations were tempered from the get-go.

But even by these standards, Deng has faltered: He’s played in just one game all season, and has been a healthy scratch for most of the rest. He’s making $17.2 million this year, and is owed $36.8 million over the next two seasons.With guys like this, it’s no wonder the Lakers haven’t been relevant in years.

2017-18 stats: 1.7 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.6 APG

What we expected: ^^^ More than that

It’s hard to believe that Noah is just four years removed from finishing fourth in MVP voting and winning Defensive Player of the Year. But that’s what happens when you go to the Knicks.

2017-18 stats: 8.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.1 APG

What we expected: An asset

When Crowder was bought over in the Kyrie Irving deal, he was supposed to be part of the Cavs’ defensive solution in Cleveland: He had averaged a solid 105 defensive rating over the last two seasons in Boston.

Instead, he’s played a major part in the Cavs’ defensive woes: His defensive rating has shot up to a career-worst 114, and the Cavs’ defense stands as the third-worst in the entire NBA. Only the Kings and Suns have a lower defensive rating than Cleveland does. And Crowder is doing little to help in this respect.

2017-18 stats: 10.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.7 APG

What we expected: An improvement to Sacramento

Hill is cut from a winning cloth: He had made the playoffs in eight of his nine NBA seasons prior to this one, including playing a pivotal role in the Jazz’s first-round victory against the Clippers last year. If someone could help change the culture in Sacramento, it’d be a veteran like Hill.

Instead of Hill’s winning repertoire rubbing off on the Kings, the opposite happened, before he was traded to Cleveland: Hill’s conventional stats have taken a nosedive (he averaged 16.9 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game last season), and his net offensive-defensive rating is negative for the first time since he was a rookie.

Hopefully, he can turn things around in The Land.

2017-18 stats: 6.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 0.6 BPG

What we expected: Growth

It’s still probably a little bit premature to call the 22-year-old Okafor a bust, but he’s trending very much in that direction right now.

After a so-so rookie season in 2015-16 and a rough 2016-17, Okafor is averaging just 13.1 minutes per game this year with the Sixers and Nets. The fact that a guy drafted No. 2 overall in 2016 can’t crack the lowly Nets lineup says a lot about where he could be headed.

2017-18 stats: 11.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.5 APG

What we expected: A solid Kyrie replacement

Rose’s MVP season of 2011 is a bygone memory now.

The former Bulls star signed a minimum-salary deal with Cleveland this season, after a fairly successful year with the Knicks, and he was seen as someone who could help pick up some of the slack left by the departure of Kyrie Irving. This experiment ended prematurely, with Rose being traded to the Jazz, who cut him shortly after acquiring him. Rose played just 16 games with the Cavs, averaging 9.8 points and 1.6 assists per game in the process.

Who would have ever thought Rose would be a mid-season free agent?

2017-18 stats: 8.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.0 APG

What we expected: A $94 million man

Parsons is being paid like a superstar, but is playing like a scrub.

From 2013-2016, Parsons established himself as a solid player, averaging 15.4 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and 3.2 assists per game. While these weren’t stats worthy of the $94 million contract, Memphis isn’t exactly a marquee destination for free agents. So if the Grizzlies want to get any quasi-relevant player to sign with them, they’re going to have to overpay.

And that’s what they did with Parsons.

This move has proven to be a dire mistake: After averaging just 6.2 points per game last year, Parsons is averaging just 8.8 per game this year, and is mostly coming off of the bench. Not a good look for someone who’s making more than DeAndre Jordan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George Jimmy Butler, and Kyrie Irving — just to name a few. And there are many more.

2017-18 stats: 15.2 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 4.6 APG

What we expected: The centerpiece of the Kyrie Irving trade

When Thomas was sent to Cleveland in the Kyrie Irving deal, it was expected that he would be the third piece to the team’s “Big Three” once he returned from a hip injury. He averaged a whopping 28.9 points per game last season, and had made the All-Star team in his previous two.

Instead, the Cavs got someone who looked entirely incompetent on both ends of the floor. His scoring average from last year to this has been nearly cut in half, to 14.7 in his 15-game Cavs career. Things got so bad in Cleveland that the Cavs had to disable comments on their Instagram when the team wished him a happy birthday. Nobody expected Thomas to be out of Cleveland as quickly as he was.

The Kyrie Irving trade has not worked out well for the Cavs so far, to say the least.