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Biggest Disappointments Of The Last Five Years
6th September, 2005 - 9:06 am
By Aaron Bronsteter
RealGM has been around for five years as of August and leading up to the season, I will be compiling the Standing 10 column based around the best of the best (or worst, in this case) of the last five years. Happy anniversary RealGM!
10) The 2004-2005 Minnesota Timberwolves
After finally getting past the first round of the playoffs, Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves looked like a brand new team. In 2003-2004, the Timberwolves won more than 70% of their games and with the leadership of Garnett, paired with the veteran prowess of both Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell, the shooting touch of Wally Szczerbiak and the additional help from role players like Troy Hudson and Mark Madsen, the Timberwolves looked like one of the best up and coming teams in the league.
When 2004-2005 rolled around, people expected big things from the T-Wolves, but the team’s chemistry was off. The Wolves ended up not making the playoffs, firing veteran coach Flip Saunders, who had one of the longest tenures in the league and had front office guru Kevin McHale take the bench.
In the offseason, the Wolves traded Sam Cassell, lost out on Michael Finley, rid themselves of Latrell Sprewell and look to be building from the bottom-up, seemingly to the chagrin of Garnett.
9) Kwame Brown
Looking like one of the most promising high school prospects of all-time, Kwame Brown was selected with the first overall pick of the Michael Jordan era Washington Wizards . Thus far, Brown has averaged a woeful 7.5 points-per-game and 5.5 rebounds-per-game.
In his rookie year, Brown was berated by arguably the best player to ever grace the hard wood (Jordan) and put to shame in front of his teammates. Brown, despite showing flashes of skill every now and then with some pretty post moves, would seemingly never recover.
Brown will get a fresh start in Los Angeles under the tutelage of arguably the best basketball coach of all-time, Phil Jackson, who has been known to make everyone he coaches into a better player. The Lakers are taking a big gamble and are hoping it pays off.
8) The Jay Williams Bike Accident
Selected with the 2nd overall pick in the NBA Draft after Yao Ming, Jay Williams had a promising NBA career ahead of him. Unfortunately, Williams decided to take his career for granted and try his luck with a motorcycle. Williams would get into an accident that could have potentially paralyzed him. Luckily for Williams, he was able start rehabbing from his accident in recent months and may be able to play on an NBA court again one day.
The Bulls decided to release Williams from his rookie contract and paid him despite the fact that Williams breached his contract by riding on the motorcycle to begin with.
7) The New York Knicks
Having the highest payroll in basketball and one of the highest in professional sports altogether, one would think that the Knicks could at least compete for the playoffs. However, the Knicks have not had a record above .500 since 2000-2001.
After the horrific Scott Layden era, filled with horrible missteps and the unbearable long-term signings of players who had a single good season in the pros, the Knicks have still yet to improve.
The current philosophy being utilized by hall-of-famer Isiah Thomas is to simply trade for whatever talent is available, despite their position and pray for the best. Thus far, it has yet to work, but at least Thomas was able to trade for fan favorite and hometown star Stephon Marbury to run the Knicks to keep the fans in the seats. Along with the youthful Jamal Crawford and sharp shooting Quentin Richardson, it looks to be a somewhat promising year for the Knicks. And by somewhat promising, I mean that they may actually come close to making the playoffs.
6) The fall of the International player
After all of the work that David Stern did to attempt to make the league into an International phenomenon, players from overseas have taken a huge stock hit in the last few years. Year after year of continuous busts are likely the cause of this downfall, mostly attributed to high lottery selections like Darko Milicic and Nicoloz Tskitishvili, both deemed to be the two top prospects in Europe.
To add to this problem, both Fran Vasquez and Roko Ukic opted to play in Europe rather than for the teams that drafted them into the NBA. If players are actually going to turn their backs on the NBA in favour of more money overseas, what will happen to the International craze that floated around the league over the past few years?
5) The Return of Michael Jordan
“Why Michael? Why?“
That is likely a quote that stemmed from Michael Jordan’s decision to return to the NBA and play for the Washington Wizards . Jordan was running on his last tank of gas and could barely get above the rim any longer.
Thankfully, Jordan’s legacy was not soiled by his return and most people seem to simply block his two seasons with the Wizards from his mind, hoping that they never see him or clips of him in blue and silver ever again.
4) Player trade demands
Why is it that all of a sudden a player can simply ask to be traded and get his wish? That’s what many were wondering when Vince Carter was able to weasel his way out of Toronto for practically nothing in return. All of a sudden, players as menial as Jimmy Jackson are able to demand a trade and have their wish granted to them.
Whatever happened to the phrase “suck it up and shut up”? These players are making millions of dollars and all of a sudden they call the shots around the league. This new trend is simply sickening and will hopefully subside in the coming years.
3) The Crumbling of the Lakers
Kobe and Shaq or Shaq and Kobe? That was the question that nobody wanted to stick around and find out the answer to. Instead, Mitch Kupchak unloaded Shaq for three players, one of which has underachieved, one of which was released via the amnesty clause and the other was traded for Kwame Brown.
This is what happened to a team that seemed to be unstoppable until the team-oriented Pistons dismantled them in five games despite being the unanimous underdog in the series.
Now Shaq is living it up in Miami, with Pat Riley doing whatever it takes to get talent around him, while Kobe has been reunited with Phil Jackson and Kupchak has pretty much sat on his hands for most of the summer.
2) The Pacers versus Pistons battle
In one of the most disappointing moments in basketball history, a huge brawl broke out at a Pacers and Pistons game in Detroit. This was no ordinary brawl, as fans got involved, throwing cups, chairs and beer at players after Ron Artest sifted through the fans at the Palace of Auburn Hills to find the fan that pelted him with a cup.
This prompted other players to get involved, hitting fans and anyone who stood in their way and resulted in the suspension of Artest, Ben Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, Stephen Jackson and an array of other players in one of the nastiest moments in NBA history.
1) The Kobe Bryant case
When an NBA superstar is cast into the spotlight, it is mainly for their rim-rattling jams or thrilling buzzer beaters. However, in this situation, Kobe Bryant was thrust into the spotlight after being accused of sexually assaulting a teenager while seeking medical advice in Colorado.
Bryant was placed under the microscope for over a year due to these accusations, which he would eventually be acquitted from in one of the most unforgettable court cases in sports history.
Bryant’s reputation and superstar appeal suffered mightily and will likely never reach the heights that he had attained years prior as a member of the Lakers’ dynasty with Shaquille O’Neal. If that wasn’t enough, Bryant was cited as the reason for the downfall of the Lakers and the departures of both Shaq and Phil Jackson.
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