Biggest Disappointment
picks and analysis by Devin Gray (@devingray33) and Pat Choi (@patty_choi)
PC - Lamar Odom, Dallas
Mavericks
Usually an awards ceremony forgets the
biggest disappointment, but we didn't, and my player that I name as the biggest
bust is Lamar Odom. He was last season's sixth man of the year for the Lakers,
but has played at his career lowest in all stat categories with the Mavericks
this year including a career low 20.5 mpg. Odom requested a trade to a
contending team after he heard he had almost been traded to the New Orleans
Hornets in a three-team deal before the season began. He could never find his
roll on the Mavericks’ team and could not consistently get solid minutes. In early
March, Odom missed a few games for 'personal reasons' but it was actually
hidden from the decisions of head coach Rick Carlisle. Dallas then assigned him to their
NBA D-League affiliate. Finally the end of his time with Dallas came when they
decided to list him inactive for the rest of the season, so they potentially could
use him as a trade asset until the end of his one-year contract. Odom's career is certainly not over, he just needs to
forget this season happened and get in better shape to focus on which
contending team he can help win a championship in the 2012-2013 season.
DG - The Charlotte Bobcats
Unlike real awards shows which only acknowledge excellence, we have picked examples of on-court 'talent' that has not performed up to expectation. While the Bobcats' expectations were minimal going into this season compared to the expectations Odom had upon moving to Dallas, posting the NBA's worst winning percentage of all time deserves some recognition in the biggest disappointment category. The Bobcats were historically bad winning just .106 of their games and finishing with a final record of 7-59. The Bobcats were awful, lost their last 23 games in a row, coach Paul Silas and forward Tyrus Thomas actually fought in the locker room, Bismack Biyombo showed he was still very raw, while Kemba Walker battled DJ Augustin for playing time, Corey Maggette played in only 32 games, they didn't have Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw left for San Antonio, Eduardo Najera fractured his forehead, and Gerald Henderson was their leading scorer. Just an ugly year in Charlotte, but hopefully Anthony Davis can fix all that.
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