As the NBA season gets ready to come to a close, there are a lot of teams that have big decisions to make. Extensions will be offered, and players will be cut or traded. With megastars like Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant set to become free agents, there are several franchises who’s near future will be dictated by what transpires this summer. There are very few offseasons in sports that garner the attention that the NBA does. Even with the large amount of time to prepare for the possible moves, mistakes can still be made. The following transactions are players that either didn’t live up to expectations or were just a poor allocation of funds.
10. Markelle Fultz – Philadelphia 76ers
#F2G3 years / $25,111,320
Contract year stats: N/A / 2018-19 stats: 8.2 PPG, 3.1 AST, 3.7 REB
Fultz is still extremely young, but his contract is bad based on where he was taken in the draft. Fultz was drafted number one overall and expected to be the missing puzzle piece to add to the rising duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Since he was Fultz has only played in 33 games in the two-year span, and the 76ers have nothing to show for the selection.
The young guard ran into multiple roadblocks including a nerve injury that severely affected his jump shot. He ultimately became a lost cause for Philadelphia as they were trying to compete for a championship. In February of 2019, the 20-year-old guard was traded to the Orlando Magic for Jonathan Simmons and a couple of draft picks. He remained sidelined for the remainder of the season and some wonder if the problem is mental. Either way, the highly touted prospect looks to be on his way out of the league soon if he doesn’t improve immediately.
9. Chris Paul – Houston Rockets
4 years / $159,730,592
Contract year stats: 18.6 PPG, 7.9 AST, 1.7 STL
2018-19 stats: 15.6 PPG, 8.2 AST, 2.0 STL
Chris Paul managed to make it through the postseason healthy this year, but the Rockets didn’t capitalize, as they lost to the Warriors in six games.
While his teammate James Harden was putting up a historical statistical season, Chris Paul quietly showed signs of decline. He missed over 20 games due to injury for the third consecutive year, while posting his lowest point total ever. The Rockets signed Paul in hopes of beating the Warriors but it just hasn’t happened. With Paul now 34, if he continues to decline, the Rockets will be stuck paying max dollars to an aging point guard. He’s due $38.5M next year.
8. Timofey Mozgov – Los Angeles Lakers
Торопитесь – ссылка, как всегда, в био 
/ / / / "…And please don't forget to take part in the contest we launched together with Scorum. You have an easy chance to win my Brooklyn Nets jerseys…" 
More to link bio 4 years / $64,000,000
Contract year stats: 6.3 PPG, 4.4 REB
2018-19 stats: 4.2 PPG, 3.2 REB
The numbers on the deal don’t sound like a lot in comparison, but the fact that he’s been traded three times since he signed that contract is proof of how laughable of a commitment it was. He earned this money from his postseason run in which the came back 3-1 on the Warriors to win the title.
7. Andrew Wiggins – Minnesota Timberwolves
5 years/ $147,710,050
Contract year stats: 23.6 PPG, 4 REB, 2.3 AST
2018-19 stats: 18.1 PPG, 4.8 REB, 2.5 AST
Andrew Wiggins was trending in the right direction for the first few years in the league before he began to plateau. Wiggins had a career year in 2017, and after much deliberation decided to sign the 5-year extension, which means he’s getting paid until 2023.
Since that breakout year, his point total and shooting percentage have dipped to 18.1 and 41.2 respectively. The Timberwolves appear to be stuck with Wiggins and Karl Anthony Towns without much of a direction to go in.
6. Kevin Love – Cleveland Cavaliers
: @davidliamkyle4 years / $120,402,172
Contract year stats: 17.6 PPG, 9.3 REB
2018-19 stats: 17.0 PPG, 10.9 REB
Kevin Love is a talented player, but his contributions to the team’s overall success aren’t worth the 4-year extension he inked in July. The Cavaliers are well over the salary cap and the 30-year-old power forward missed 60 games due to injury this past season.
On top of that, they finished the season with 19 wins. While the departure of LeBron James made this move seem necessary, you can argue that they were better off letting him walk for more flexibility in the future. The rebuild should’ve begun this past summer.
5. Gordon Hayward – Boston Celtics
4 years / $127,829,970
Contract year stats: 21.9 PPG, 3.5 AST, 5.4 REB
2018-19 stats: 11.5 PPG, 3.4 AST, 4.5 REB
In his first game after signing to the Boston Celtics, Gordon landed awkwardly on his ankle and suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in sports history. During his second season with the team, he was never really able to get it going. The team had problems with on-court chemistry, and Hayward’s lack of production could be partially to blame for that.
It was a great signing at the time, and injuries can’t be predicted, but right now the Celtics have to be a bit wary of if their big-time free agent acquisition will ever return to the player that he was in Utah. With Kyrie Irving potentially leaving, Gordon will likely be the highest paid player on the roster, and his 2018-19 was average at best.
4. Otto Porter – Washington Wizards
4 years / $106,524,975
Contract year stats: 13.4 PPG, 6.4 REB
2018-19 stats: 13.9 PPG, 5.6 REB
Porter became a $100M man after the Wizards desperately tried to keep the band together in 2016 with hopes of making a run at the Finals. With various injuries and chemistry issues plaguing the roster, the Wizards window for a championship closed and the ill-advised contract for Porter helped keep that window shut by eliminating their flexibility.
Less than two years after he signed, Porter was traded to the Chicago Bulls where he hopes to turn his career around after showing very little sign of improvement for three consecutive years.
3. Nicolas Batum – Charlotte Hornets
5 years / $120,000,000
Contract year stats: 14.9 PPG, 5.8 AST, 6.1 REB
2018-19 stats: 9.3 PPG, 3.3 AST, 5.2 REB
Batum was yet another one of the Hornets questionable offseason moves in the summer of 2016. They haven’t made the playoffs since they signed the 6’8 forward.
Batum would be the third best player on most teams in the NBA, and the Hornets paid him like he was the best. The Hornets will have some decisions to make with their star guard Kemba Walker eligible for a supermax deal worth up to $221M in the offseason. Batum’s contract has been untradeable and a large part of the reason that they are stuck on the outside looking in.
2. Chandler Parsons – Memphis Grizzlies
4 years / $94,438,523
Contract year stats: 13.7 PPG, 2.8 AST, 4.7 REB
2018-19 stats: 7.5 PPG, 1.7 AST, 2.8 REB
The Grizzlies made Parsons the 15th highest paid player in the league after having two consecutive seasons end with knee injuries. The oft-injured wing’s streak of unavailability has continued since. In the last three years combined, Parsons has appeared in 95 total games.
The Grizzlies aren’t the number one destination for free agents so the deal to sign him appears to have been a panic move. With his salary and output not matching up, it is very unlikely that they will be able to trade him before the deal is up.
The Grizzlies have already begun their rebuild with the trade of franchise cornerstone Marc Gasol, but it won’t truly be underway until they get Parson’s terrible contract off the books.
1. John Wall – Washington Wizards
4 years / $170,912,000
Contract year stats: 19.4 PPG, 9.6 AST, 3.7 REB
2018-19 stats: 20.7 PPG, 8.7 AST, 3.6 REB
The John Wall contract extension could hinder of the Washington franchise for years to come.
Starting next season, Wall will be making an average of $42.7M a year. He’s played less than half of the season in the past two years due to various injuries. He missed a majority of the 2018-2019 season due to a heel injury. Not long after beginning the rehab process for that, he suffered an Achilles rupture at his home in D.C.
He is expected to be sidelined for at least a calendar year, making the earliest he could return the start of the 2020-2021 season if he returns at all. This is an absolute nightmare for Wizards management. They must now try to rebuild around a $40M+ hole in their roster because they can’t anticipate that he’ll ever be the same.
