Worst MAX Contract guy in NBA History...?

[AbeVigodaLive]

One year in... has any player in NBA history performed so poorly in Year 1 of his max or near-max contract (non major injury division)?

Andrew Wiggins is shooting 39.3%.
His VORP is a career low -0.6
His PER is a career low 11.8 (previous low was 13.0... last season)
To be fair, his DBPM is a career best -1.2... granted, that still makes him far below average, but it's a positive stat!

But seriously... we all know the guy is scuffling along. We're beating a dead horse by simply saying he's playing poorly. How poorly is a different discussion.

Is he historically the absolute worst?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Don't know if it's the worst in history, but it certainly would make a top 10 or 15 list if ever there was one. He still has a positive net rating, so he isn't a lineup saboteur in the same way Shabazz or Crawford were in their time with us.

The sad thing is he actually has moved the needle a little bit in the "do shit" stats - things we flagged as a problem for him going back to his rookie year.

It amazes me though how his ability as a shot maker has fallen precipitously. As you or someone in a prior thread said, his 2nd season with us looks pretty damn good right now! Years 5 thru 8 are usually when guys peak as shot makers and scorers, yet he's actually getting worse! This doesn't happen to other franchises I tell you!!!

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Allen Houston was said to be a major reason the amnesty clause was created in the 2005 CBA. Chandler Parsons. Gilbert Arenas. Wall's max was the most untradeable contract in the league before the Achilles injury.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Don't know if it's the worst in history, but it certainly would make a top 10 or 15 list if ever there was one. He still has a positive net rating, so he isn't a lineup saboteur in the same way Shabazz or Crawford were in their time with us.

The sad thing is he actually has moved the needle a little bit in the "do shit" stats - things we flagged as a problem for him going back to his rookie year.

It amazes me though how his ability as a shot maker has fallen precipitously. As you or someone in a prior thread said, his 2nd season with us looks pretty damn good right now! Years 5 thru 8 are usually when guys peak as shot makers and scorers, yet he's actually getting worse! This doesn't happen to other franchises I tell you!!!

To be fair, Shabazz and Crawford were paid accordingly.
Here's what I found...

Vin Baker? He was given a big contract coming off a down year (seem familiar?) And he bounced back a little bit in year 1... before falling apart after that. Turns out he was alcoholic and the last anybody heard of him was over coffee beans at Starbucks.

Like Wiggins, he had a negative OBPM, DBPM and VORP. It was a very large contract... but not a max contract at the time. That's all I've got.

S. Marbury? Nope.
S. Francis? Nope.
S. Kemp? Nope.

A. Houston? Nope. He actually made two ASGs and even averaged a career high 22.5 ppg 4 years into the deal. Ultimately, his knees gave out on him... but his production wasn't nearly as bad as many people thought.

And yes. John Wall's contract is terrible, even if healthy. That one is a franchise killer. But again... this is about bad production from healthy guys. John Wall's stats were about the same this season prior to injuries.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Don't know if it's the worst in history, but it certainly would make a top 10 or 15 list if ever there was one. He still has a positive net rating, so he isn't a lineup saboteur in the same way Shabazz or Crawford were in their time with us.

The sad thing is he actually has moved the needle a little bit in the "do shit" stats - things we flagged as a problem for him going back to his rookie year.

It amazes me though how his ability as a shot maker has fallen precipitously. As you or someone in a prior thread said, his 2nd season with us looks pretty damn good right now! Years 5 thru 8 are usually when guys peak as shot makers and scorers, yet he's actually getting worse! This doesn't happen to other franchises I tell you!!!

To be fair, Shabazz and Crawford were paid accordingly.
Here's what I found...

Vin Baker? He was given a big contract coming off a down year (seem familiar?) And he bounced back a little bit in year 1... before falling apart after that. Turns out he was alcoholic and the last anybody heard of him was over coffee beans at Starbucks.

It was a very large contract... but not a max contract at the time. That's all I've got.

S. Marbury? Nope.
S. Francis? Nope.
S. Kemp? Nope.

A. Houston? Nope. He actually made two ASGs and even averaged a career high 22.5 ppg 4 years into the deal. Ultimately, his knees gave out on him... but his production wasn't nearly as bad as many people thought.

And yes. John Wall's contract is terrible. That one is a franchise killer. But again... is that mostly because of injury? Remember, this is about bad production from healthy guys. John Wall's stats were about the same this season prior to injuries.

I find that hard to reconcile because any contribution from a healthy player is better than nothing from an injured player.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Don't know if it's the worst in history, but it certainly would make a top 10 or 15 list if ever there was one. He still has a positive net rating, so he isn't a lineup saboteur in the same way Shabazz or Crawford were in their time with us.

The sad thing is he actually has moved the needle a little bit in the "do shit" stats - things we flagged as a problem for him going back to his rookie year.

It amazes me though how his ability as a shot maker has fallen precipitously. As you or someone in a prior thread said, his 2nd season with us looks pretty damn good right now! Years 5 thru 8 are usually when guys peak as shot makers and scorers, yet he's actually getting worse! This doesn't happen to other franchises I tell you!!!

To be fair, Shabazz and Crawford were paid accordingly.
Here's what I found...

Vin Baker? He was given a big contract coming off a down year (seem familiar?) And he bounced back a little bit in year 1... before falling apart after that. Turns out he was alcoholic and the last anybody heard of him was over coffee beans at Starbucks.

It was a very large contract... but not a max contract at the time. That's all I've got.

S. Marbury? Nope.
S. Francis? Nope.
S. Kemp? Nope.

A. Houston? Nope. He actually made two ASGs and even averaged a career high 22.5 ppg 4 years into the deal. Ultimately, his knees gave out on him... but his production wasn't nearly as bad as many people thought.

And yes. John Wall's contract is terrible. That one is a franchise killer. But again... is that mostly because of injury? Remember, this is about bad production from healthy guys. John Wall's stats were about the same this season prior to injuries.

I find that hard to reconcile because any contribution from a healthy player is better than nothing from an injured player.

So start your own thread on Worst Contracts of any kind.

This one is about Max guys who promptly sucked balls more than ever before. Personally, I find healthy players who suddenly play worse after signing a big deal more disgusting and annoying than guys who couldn't meet previous levels of performance because of injury.

Even Vin Baker was dealing with health issues... just not the same kind we usually consider when we discuss athletes.

What's going on with Wiggins might be unprecedented, so I felt it was worthy of discussion.

[Monster]

Wiggins got paid after averaging over 23ppg on decent shooting percentages and his 3 point percentage took a nice jump. Keep in mind he was getting to the line at a pretty good rate...a rate of a star type.

Now to Abe's question...I doubt anyone has put up this type is sucky offensive stats with no fault of some major injury as a factor. Like I have said before it's so bad it feels like it has to be some sort of fluke...but it's continued on... in 3 February games he has taken 9 FTs. The rebounding has been there. Yay????

Meanwhile we get reports that some teams out there would basically take him for free. Otto Porter was basically dumped for not a whole lot a few hours ago. You would hope a few teams that were interested don't get cold feet or have added their guy because of some of the moves. If Barnes isn't the long term answer (relatively speaking) for the Kings Wiggins could be a guy they go after. Idk man Wiggins among many enigmas this franchise has had I think he takes the cake...nah actually he would just take it slowly and try and lay it softy on the plate but would lose it and it would drop awkwardly on the floor.

[mjs34]

I don't know if he is the worst contract guy, but certainly the most delusional!

Off-camera, Garnett said he was happy for Towns but also said he hopes KAT's second consecutive all-star berth will "light a fire" under Wiggins' posterior. On-camera, KG told Wiggins that he's mad at him for not being an all-star yet. "Next year is a motivation. Next year, that's what I'm aiming toward," Wiggins said.

[Monster]

I don't know if he is the worst contract guy, but certainly the most delusional!

Off-camera, Garnett said he was happy for Towns but also said he hopes KAT's second consecutive all-star berth will "light a fire" under Wiggins' posterior. On-camera, KG told Wiggins that he's mad at him for not being an all-star yet. "Next year is a motivation. Next year, that's what I'm aiming toward," Wiggins said.

There is video of this entire thing. There is a KG comment early on in the video about the beginning of his career that's probably worth the whole few minutes...it cracked me up at least.

http://www.nba.com/video/2019/02/06/20190205-area-21-minnesota

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

Rashard Lewis and Amare Stoudamire come to mind.