In free agency, teams can overlook one bad season in the NBA. Everyone’s optimistic, there’s hope around the franchise, yada, yada, yada.
Have two bad seasons, and immediately, some teams back away. Is there a trend forming? Is it just a bad situation? Is the player done?
Add injury problems on top of two bad seasons in the NBA, and most teams will stay away from a player, especially if they’re getting up there in age. Have two bad seasons in a row, injury problems, and are aging very poorly, then there’s virtually no chance for most players to continue in the NBA. The obvious exceptions are the without-a-doubt Hall-of-Famers who stick around in the league too long, like Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, and Michael Jordan (Wizards edition).
There’s always one player that makes you think, “Why isn’t anyone going after him?” And, for that one player, there’s also a handful of players that make you think, “Why is anyone going after him?” It’s a give and take relationship for us fans.
Because this same scenario happens season after season, I’ve ranked the top-7 players in the NBA with the most to lose this season for a variety of reasons. Injuries are a main concern, and obviously, age factors into the equation, as well. But, there are plenty of other variables that play into these decisions. I’ll get to those shortly.
Oh, and of course, when I use the word “lose,” I’m referring to the money a player is losing. I just wanted to clear that up in case someone thought this was a like an NBA Biggest Loser-type column. I’m definitely going to do that at some point, but today let’s talk about contracts, free agency, and players who have the most to lose next season.
All seven ranked players are going to be in contract years, meaning their current contract expires at the end of this season, and all seven are in make-or-break situations with their careers.
When the stakes are the highest, who is going to rise to the occasion? That’s what we’ll find out with these seven players in 2014-15.