Bernucca: The Biggest Losers of the NBA Offseason

On Wednesday, we took a look at the biggest winners of the NBA offseason, a baker’s dozen of players, teams, coaches and even an executive who had a spectacular summer.

Today, we look at the NBA offseason’s biggest losers, a collection of an unlucky 13 players, teams, coaches and even an owner. Yeah, take a wild guess at that last one.

We also felt the need to include one team’s fan base, which truly deserves better than it has gotten over the last couple of years.

Let’s get right to it.

ANDRAY BLATCHE: Two years ago, he was an amnesty release by the Wizards as they emptied the clown car. He spent two years playing for the minimum in Brooklyn, erasing an awful reputation and proving himself to be a valuable player who can back up both big spots and maybe even start. He opted out of his contract in June, looking for a multi-year deal at the mid-level exception or better. But he remains unemployed while carrying the Philippines on his back at the FIBA World Cup. Usually, big men get paid. Not this time.

ERIC BLEDSOE: He didn’t get an extension last year but figured he would get paid as a restricted free agent this summer. That didn’t happen, either, as he predictably lost a staring contest with Suns owner Robert Sarver, who throws around nickels like manhole covers, and GM Ryan McDonough, who appears to prefer assets to actual players. Bledsoe was looking for a maximum five-year, $80 million deal and didn’t have many backers in the media. He is probably worth more than the $48 million over four years that Phoenix offered, but that ship appears to have sailed as well, leaving Bledsoe with a $3.7 million qualifying offer.

BOSTON CELTICS: With eight first-round picks over the next four years, five players on rookie contracts, six expiring deals and a top-five point guard, owner Wyc Grousbeck promised fireworks this summer. But the offseason was a complete dud. Evan Turner? Tyler Zeller? GM Danny Ainge couldn’t even get a sniff of Kevin Love. Now the Celtics have a mismatched roster, with too many bigs and not enough firepower at the wings. And depending upon whom you believe, Rajon Rondo may want out.

LARRY DREW: He had a nightmare first season in Milwaukee, with some players openly arguing with each other in front of the media, others woefully out of shape and talk that he had lost control of the team as it sputtered to a franchise-worst 67 losses. But at the end of the season, he still had a job – until Jason Kidd’s utterly reprehensible back channel backstabbing forced out Drew while violating every basic tenet of an elite fraternity at the top of the profession. Drew isn’t a great coach. He isn’t even a good coach. But he deserved better than this.

ALONZO GEE: One of about a dozen small forwards the Cavaliers tried in the absence of LeBron James, Gee and his $3 million non-guaranteed deal began the offseason in Cleveland. He reportedly was traded to Charlotte, but that deal was reworked. Then the Cavaliers actually traded Gee to New Orleans. Then the Pelicans traded Gee to Houston. Now the Rockets reportedly have traded Gee to Sacramento. And it is likely he will be waived by the Kings. Alonzo Gee, the NBA’s Christmas fruitcake.

PAUL GEORGE: On July 1, he began his five-year, $92 million contract extension. On Aug. 1, his career was in jeopardy after he suffered a gruesome broken leg in the fourth quarter of a meaningless Team USA scrimmage. Recovery and rehabilitation is expected to last a year, so there is virtually no chance that George will play in the 2014-15 season. He should eventually return, but there is no guarantee that George will be able to display the form that made him a top-15 player and one of the NBA’s rising stars.

HOUSTON ROCKETS: Two years ago, GM Daryl Morey went down the rabbit hole and emerged with James Harden. Last year, he won the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. But this offseason, Morey seemed to outsmart himself. Trying to land Chris Bosh while retaining Chandler Parsons, he ended up with neither, somewhat gutting his roster along the way. He allowed Parsons to become a restricted free agent, then got burned when Dallas gave him the sort of poison pill contract Morey had utilized two years earlier. He traded Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin to create cap room to lure Bosh, who chose to remain in Miami. Morey is not out of moves, but if you want to put Houston’s offseason in analytic terms, Trevor Ariza + Jeff Adrien + Kostas Papanikolaou + Jason Terry << Parsons + Lin + Asik.

INDIANA PACERS: You woulda thunk Indiana’s 2014 freefall would have ended with its loss to Miami in the conference finals. Nope. The Pacers lowballed free agent Lance Stephenson, who left for Charlotte. Then Paul George broke his leg playing for Team USA and was lost for the season. Their replacements at the wing positions? C.J. Miles and Rodney Stuckey, who added up don’t equal Stephenson, let alone George. Backup center Ian Mahinmi suffered a shoulder injury playing for France leading up to the World Cup, and could be out three months. Indiana’s offense already was stuck in mud, and now the Pacers don’t have a player who can create his own shot. Don’t be surprised if they miss the playoffs.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS: They could have snagged two huge free agents and ruled the offseason if they hadn’t overpaid a 36-year-old Kobe Bryant and had waived and stretched a 40-year-old Steve Nash. Instead, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony said, “No thanks” and Pau Gasol decided to move on. After getting rid of coach Mike D’Antoni, GM Mitch Kupchak decided to use his cap room to re-sign half a dozen players whose stats were abnormally inflated by playing in D’Antoni’s system. And it took Kupchak 89 days to replace D’Antoni with Byron Scott, even though Bryant was clamoring for him. With no rim protection and defensive turnstiles Bryant, Nash, Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer, it will be another long season playing in the shadow of the Clippers.

MIAMI HEAT: They had the best player for four years and reached the NBA Finals every year. Now they don’t, and they won’t. The loss of LeBron James alone entrenches them on this list, but the residual effect is even greater. Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger signed up with the expectation they’d be playing with James. Dwyane Wade will have to do more and likely will do less, giving Chris Bosh the impression he is back in Toronto, only without the snow. With all due respect for LeBron’s unofficial scouting report, Shabazz Napier looks like the next D.J. Augustin. And even the coaching staff has had an upheaval. We hate to say we told you so, but we told you so.

GREG MONROE: There are some parallels between Monroe and Bledsoe. Both have been offered $12 million per year, both are looking for more money and both have lost staring contests with their respective teams. However, Bledsoe is nowhere near his ceiling, while Monroe (roughly 16 and 9 over the last three seasons) may be at his. You also have to wonder about a guy who seems obsessed with either (a) having teammate Josh Smith sent packing or (b) making more money than him. Monroe ultimately took the $5.5 million qualifying offer and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, when he will find out that Detroit’s offer was fair.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS FANS: Full disclosure: I am part of this group. Last season, they lost 63 games, including a record-tying 26 in a row. This season, they will be even worse after mad scientist Sam Hinkie spent his summer playing “Lottery Limbo,” the fun new party game that’s all the rage among NBA GMs. How low can you go? Hinkie spent his two first-round picks on guys who won’t play this season. He waived his starting shooting guard, who cost less than $1 million. He traded his best player for more “assets” in the form of expiring contracts and a future first-round pick. And his highest-paid player at $6.6 million is Jason Richardson, who sat out all of last season and probably will be waived or bought out. I understand the plan. I am even on board with it. Just don’t ask me to financially support it. And I am not alone.

DONALD STERLING: When Commissioner Adam Silver banned him for life and forced him to sell the team for his remarks that were nearly as senile as they were racist, Sterling vowed to fight to the end. Given his litigious nature, that scared more than a few folks who believed Sterling would retain ownership of the Clippers – and irreparably damage the NBA brand – simply by tying up his banishment in endless court proceedings. But the end came much sooner than he thought and, in a twist of irony, at the hands of his estranged wife, who for decades was his partner in bigotry. You could argue Sterling really isn’t a loser because he pockets a portion of the ridiculous $2 billion that Steve Ballmer paid for the Clippers. But the bottom line is that Silver has enervated Sterling by removing the only two things that truly interested him – owning the Clippers and fighting court battles.

Missed our Biggest Winners of the NBA Offseason? They’re right here.

Chris Bernucca is the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. His column appears every Monday during the season. You can follow him on Twitter.