Top 5 Worst Lottery Contracts
1) Ben Gordon – 2 years 25.6 million – Ben Gordon’s ridiculous contract is the reason why some GM’s are fired. After showing promise with the Bulls for the first 5 years of his career (18.5 PPG during that stretch), he took the money and ran… right to the Pistons. Ben Gordon had 3 very average years in what should have been the prime of his career, posting 12.5 PPG over his tenure with Detroit. He was then dealt to the Bobcats (along with a 1st round pick) for Corey Maggette. The Pistons may have hurt themselves because of the deep 2014 draft class in which their traded pick is only top 8 protected. At least the Bobcats acquired a real locker room presence and leader. Gordon may also lead the league in the number of times a ball is dribbled off of your own foot, but unfortunately that is not an official stat… yet.
2) Eric Gordon – 4 years 58.7 million – One of the 3 locker room cancers on this list, Eric Gordon could not care less about the Hornets. Sadly but truly, Eric Gordon is slowly becoming a wasted talent. After showing all signs of becoming a future star with the Clippers, he was dealt to the Hornets in the trade that included All-Star PG Chris Paul along with many others. Before being traded, he was open about wanting to stay with the Clippers (Red flag 1). When a player openly states that he’s not interested in your team, you may want to reconsider. But wait… it gets worse. After playing in just 9 games over an injury-riddled lockout year, the Hornets decide to… give him a max contract! A little background: Gordon signed a max deal with the Suns and specifically stated HE DID NOT WANT THE HORNETS TO MATCH IT. Red Flag 2: fool me once shame on me, fool me twice and well the Hornets matched it. After the recent blow up with head coach Monty Williams, his days are numbered. With all of the off-court issues and lack of on court production, I don’t see Gordon ever living up to his contract. High maintenance players rarely do.
3) Michael Beasley – 3 years 18 million – On to the second of our 3 locker room cancers: the tremendously talented Michael Beasley. I am always perplexed when I look at his numbers because he COULD be a dominant player, but he eats 8 packs of skittles a day and more than likely smokes all night. I was and was not surprised that a man who has one of the worst work ethics makes more money in a year than any of us will see in a lifetime (more than likely). He also has that “in the right system, and he has the potential” thing about him, so it’s not surprising that a team took a shot on him. The Suns only have 2 years left to deal with his antics and then they can rid themselves of his 11.14 PER (Player Efficiency Rating).
4) Andrew Bynum – 1 year 16.5 million – On to the Mount Everest of horrific contracts: Andrew “3 point threat” Bynum. I can only imagine how this trade could have sounded on the phone if they knew what would happen. 76ers: “Let’s get rid of Andre Iguodala and these worthless players…” Magic: “Since we’re sending Howard to Los Angeles, and you’re sending Iguodala to the Nuggets, we will take that scrub Vucevic off your hands and unproven rookie Harkless and send you 16.5 million dollars worth of worthless. If you’re really lucky he will never actually play for you.” 76ers: “Sounds good. Let’s make it happen.” Oh man, you can’t fully blame the Sixers for this one though because no one saw this coming. This could be one of the most lopsided trades ever depending on how the players pan out. Kudos to Orlando Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan for pulling this one off.
5) Dirk Nowitzki – 2 years 43.6 million – First off, I would like to welcome the Mavericks to the lottery! They had made the playoffs every year since 2000. Moving on to Dirks contract, it is a shame because I am one of his biggest fans and really do respect him, but that contract… He unfortunately attracted Alex Rodriguez Syndrome this off season upon entering the last 2 years of his contract. It happens when top players get really lengthy deals and can never live up to their salary. It’s not his fault, but it’s not the Mavericks’ fault either. They were just a victim of circumstance. He is averaging about 17 points and 7 rebounds this year, which is off from what he usually puts up, but he has been riddled with injury after injury this season. It’s a shame to see Dirk declining as he is now being out-produced by Carlos Boozer.
By Jack McNally
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